Twenty two countries qualified to participate this year, where each country sends pre-qualified drivers to compete amongst the very best drivers in the world, all competitors race with the same make of Vortex ROK engines and are allowed to use their own choice of professional racing chassis.
Fabienne Lanz, the successful karting star, impressed spectators and fellow competitors alike as she lit up the track on the damp Friday practice sessions, topping the time sheets with a fastest lap time amongst 60 fellow competitors in the Super ROK 125cc category.
During Friday and Saturday, more practice and qualifying heats allowed Fabienne to fine tune her kart placing her consistently in the top three places.
An unfortunate engine failure on the second qualifying heat, two laps from the end, knocked Fabienne back in the overall average rankings that dictate the final race start positions and she had to settle for starting in a disappointing twentieth place out of thirty four on the grid.
On race day all the hard work and preparation throughout the week seamed to be in vain as Fabienne would now have a mountainous task to pick her way through the rest of the grid to gain as many places as possible in the 20 lap race. “My main aim was to keep clear of any incidents to have the best chance of overtaking the slower drivers, commented a frustrated Fabienne.
Finally after an exhausting race, Fabienne managed to steer clear of incidents and picked her way through the grid to claim 14th place with a fastest time of 44:28 seconds, which was 4th fastest lap time overall. Fabienne was still placed ahead of all other fellow South African nationals from her country.
“I’m satisfied that I managed to show the full speed in the kart although I could never prepare for such an engine failure, I am disappointed but that’s racing as they say – I’m happy that I had a safe race and I’m looking forward to next year”, continued Fabienne
“We are extremely happy that Fabienne once again proved her skill and determination by topping the timesheets against all her rivals. We are looking forward to welcoming her to Dubai where we will start a programme to coach future young karting stars at Stargate Dubai, where UAE will soon to have its own UAE ROK Championship, placing us firmly on the motorsports map in karting, commented Lex Akehurst, Managing Director, XSPORT Motorsports.