Successful EM main rehearsal
Just 9.3 seconds behind the Finnish winner Juho Valtanen, Jasin Ferati finished 12th in the final of the European Championship dress rehearsal. The 15-year-old kart driver from Winterthur found himself in a conflict of emotions after his debut in the OC championship in France: He was happy about the best international result to date and annoyed about missing out on the top 10 classification.
Around two thirds of the karting elite used the starting opportunity to familiarize themselves with the tricky first European Championship track two weeks before the first highlight of the season in Angerville near Paris. In contrast to many title contenders, Ferati was able to put himself in the limelight. In the pre-final in extremely difficult conditions, the Millennium driver fought his way up the field from 33rd on the grid thanks to a brave gamble with the rain tires and finished the race on the slowly drying track in 12th place.
That meant the same position at the start of the 25-lap final, but it turned out even better. Ferati came back from the first lap in ninth place in the leading group and held his own in the top 10 until the 14th lap. The fact that he subsequently took a little fewer risks in the battle for positions cost him a few more places. "You're always smarter in hindsight. Since I had already survived several tricky situations unscathed, I just didn't want to push my luck too far,” said Ferati, who can travel to the European Championships in good spirits after the successful dress rehearsal. There he meets 72 competitors from all over the world on the Easter weekend.