Monday 19 October 2009

British victory


The British outfit Kartograph won the six hour endurance in Monaco on Sunday, after a sterling effort at a time when penalties were being delivered like confetti at a wedding! Kartograph avoided problems, drove with style, and with reliability on their side, it was a worthy and winning performance.

Piquet Sport took 2nd place, picking up a number of 'stop-go' penalties on the way, but in all honesty were lucky to have the second step on the podium. On one of the pit-stops to serve a penalty, they not only re-fuelled and changed drivers, but failed to correctly heed a 'stop-go' at the same time, with Piquet staying only momentarily in the penalty box. A penalty should be served separately, and last a lot longer than a few seconds.

This was important for Dean Hawkey's team, who pulled back an amazing 9 laps after a disaster in the first of the three two-hour races, when the engine would not start after a driver change. Had Piquet Sport won and Team Hawkey been 2nd a protest would have been lodged, but as it was 'only' for 2nd place, the British team settled for 3rd place overall.

French racer Adrien Tambay, racing with Jules Bianchi, had an amazing escape earlier in the race, following a big shunt in the swimming pool complex when he hit the barriers very hard indeed. Fortunately he was thrown from his kart, which on this occasion was the better option than staying with his bent machine. Pale he might have been, but like a trooper he was back out on the track later in the race.

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