Since the end of the 2021 Rok Cup in November, Alex had a few weeks to relax and enjoy the Thai winter. Cool sunny days, Christmas and New Year on the beach. Swimming and playing tennis was the name of the game. But with the Rok Series announcing 29 January as the first round of the 2022 Championship, it was soon time to get back into karting mode and prepare to build on a positive 2021.
A day of practice on Thursday was the first indication that things could go well and by the time Official Practice on Saturday came, Alex had already broken his personal best lap times… Twice. The team nervously anticipated a decent qualifying session on Sunday morning.
Setting yet another personal best in qualifying with a time of 55.354, Alex had placed himself 6th on the grid. Not only his highest qualifying position, but he was now just 0.3 behind Pole Position. Another “best-ever” in his short career.
Heat 1 started with a lucky escape as he avoided an accident entering turn 3 and from there, settled into a well controlled 5th place finish, again a personal best position for Alex.
While the Pre-Final had no incidents at the start, a slight misjudgement on the first lap saw Alex lose a position. For the rest of the session he not only held his nerve, but also held the fuel tank between his legs as the securing bolt came out! He kept the kart on track to earn a 6th place start in the final.
In the Final, Alex again made a slight mistake on the opening laps as the leading karts came together, however, he quickly regained the lost position and fought hard to keep it for the next 16 laps. The fuel tank issue came back to haunt him again and the last 4 laps were spent blocking a charging kart from behind, while keeping the fuel tank steady with his legs… Multitasking at its most difficult! Finishing P6 is the best result in a final he has ever achieved.
Like a true racer, Alex was still disappointed with not finishing higher. But the string of personal bests in lap times, finishing positions and goals achieved has shown
that he has made big improvements in his performance since the end of last season. Now is the time to regroup and look to the future to further advance his education in kart racing.
Thanks as always to our sponsors Seara Sports and Sicily for their support.
Comentários