The Final of the European OK Championship took place under the same wet conditions as the other races on this Sunday in Sweden. While Joe Turney (KR/Iame) was certain of winning the title, the Final remained wide open as the rain continued. Fionn Maclaughlin (KR/Iame) shared the front row with Gabriel Gomez (CRG/Iame) ahead of Thibaut Ramaekers (KR/Iame) and Turney.
The first lap was already very hectic. Gomez retained P1 ahead of Turney, Noah Monteiro (KR/Iame) was 3rd, Louis iglesias (CRG/Iame) 4th and Jindrich Pesl (KR/Iame) 5th. Mclaughlin was 8th, Ramaekers dropped to 28th, Matheus Morgatto (Birel ART/TM) 32nd, Zac Drummond (Parolin/TM) 33rd and Lewis Wherrell (Exprit/TM) retired. Turney took the lead on lap 4. Kai Rillaerts (Sodi/TM) had moved up 15 places to 4th, Pedro Hiltbrand (Birel ART/TM) 17 places to 9th. Turney quickly got away by more than a second, while Rillaerts caught up with Gomez. Salim Hanna (KR/Iame) reached the top five after moving up 12 places, while Mclaughlin joined P7 followed by Hiltbrand, Iglesias and Jimmy Hélias (KR/Iame). At the halfway point, Rillaerts and Gomez were engaged in a great duel for 2nd position more than 4” behind Turney. Hitlbrand managed to overtake Hanna for 6th place, while Mclaughlin had moved up to 4th ahead of Pesl. There was a long battle between Hiltbrand and Pesl for 5th place. Gomez and Rillaerts clashed again for 2nd place on a less waterlogged track. Rillaerts let his rival pass, perhaps to avoid taking any unnecessary risks. Victory and the European Championship title went simultaneously to Turner, who crossed the line four seconds ahead of Gomez, who was also 2nd in the Championship. Kaï Rillaerts secured an important podium for Sodi, Mclaughlin was 4th and Hiltbrand 5th after climbing 21 places. Iglesias finished the race 8th and 4th in the Championship, Hélias 10th and Tom Dussol (CRG/Iame) 25th with a gain of nine places.
Provisional results pending publication of the final rankings.
Info Kartcom with Kartlink / Photo © KSP – Arthur Saulnier-Bruneau