The last two Qualifying Heats of the Academy Trophy took place at Rødby in sunshine with the temperature rising steadily. The A-D heat saw a double duel at the front. While Norway’s Marius Barry-Berg and Australia’s Max Walton battled it out for victory, France’s Lisa Billard and Switzerland’s Karel Staut pulled out all the stops. In the chasing pack, a collision eliminated Indonesian Kimi Rae Fitriansyah and Slovenian Aljaz Vidmar. Denmark’s Romeo Haagh, who had started 4th, was relegated to last place following contact.
The final lap remained intense right to the end and Barry-Berg finally got the better of Walton, while Billard did the same with Staut. These battles enabled Poland’s Klara Kowalcczyk and Italy’s Cristian Tonalini to catch up with the leading quartet in that order. Lithuania’s Markas Silkunas was a long way back in 7th place.
The A-B heat began with a spectacular collision at the start between the two drivers on the second row, New Zealander Arthur Broughan and Angolan Lorenzo Campos. Argentina’s Santino Panetta, who had started 2nd, was involved in the incident, but managed to restart in last place. Four other drivers were left out. The slow procedure was initiated, led by leader Rocco Coronel.
On the restart, the Dutchman didn’t get caught out and went on to win. Greece’s Vasileios Apostolidis won an incredible battle for 2nd place against Finland’s Aapo Timonen, Japan’s Ryutaro Sakai and Spain’s Hugo Marti. Colombian Sebastian Garzon, who was initially present in this group, eventually lost ground, but saved 6th place when Panetta came back from the back of the pack. But Panetta was eventually disqualified for sporting reasons.
With six heats won by six different drivers, the Final promises to be a hard-fought affair. Greece’s Apostolidis did well to take 1s place after the heats, ahead of Australia’s Walton, Norway’s Barry-Berg and Lithuania’s Silkunas. Lisa Billard will start 10th.
Info Kartcom with Kartlink / Photos © KSP