125GP Shifter Race; Sat 17 Sept at Vereeniging – Fabienne Lanz has neverbeen one to give up on a chance to test her skills to the limit and when she was offered the chance to race a 125cc shifter kart she grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Friday was the first time Fabienne managed to test the 125cc 6 speed gearbox kart using the TM engine. It takes a little more than 3 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph with a 125cc shifter kart with 6 gears, with a top speed of 160 km/h on longer sections.
“Practice went quite well as I got used to the six gears and found the best places to change the gears out on the track. The acceleration is unbelievable; I had to hold on tight when I accelerated the power was really something else. I practiced some standing starts, but nothing comes close to gaining experience on starting for real in the races, i’ve managed to qualify fourth this morning so im happy with that so far”, commented an excited Fabienne.
During the first heats of the day Fabienne had the challenge of racing her new machine for the first time where overtaking proved interesting using the six gears, the kart behaved very different to the single gear ratio of the Vortex Super Rok kart she normally races.
It is remarkable how well Fabienne seems to gel with her machine, as she learned very quickly the set up of the kart which enabled her to set the fastest lap in heat one, and found overtaking quiet effortless as she secured a well deserved second place overall for heat one.
The fastest lap secured her Pole position for heat 2, however as the race progreseds she got held up by a back marker and had a come together with another kart mid way and fell to the back of the field. Fighting back up the grid Fabienne secured 2nd place finish in her class , even with some slight damage to the karts shifter mechanism she manage third quickest time.
By Heat 3 Fabienne had improved her start technique, only losing two places off the start line this time. Carefully easing out the clutch she managed to get maximum torque to immediately catch up with experienced driver Robert Briggs who she managed to pass and head straight for the leading kart who had pulled an immense distance of almost the main straight in front. Smooth driving and determination enabled her to close this gap down on a 48:22 sec lap time, two tenths of a second faster than the leader. Fabienne just ran out of laps and had to settle for second place.
All the effort paid off for Fabienne as she took the overall class win for the day, notching up another ultra smooth race for the young female karting star.
Fans can catch Fabienne at the next race in the Rotax DD2 SA National Final at Zwartkops, on 1st and 2nd of October. Later this month she will be at the Castrol EXTREME Motorshow from 23rd-25th Sept at Zwartkops Kart track.
23 – 25th September- Next Event – Castrol EXTREME Motorshow
Castrol EXTREME Motorshow will be from 23 till 25 September, where you will be able to get up close to many racing cars, vintage cars and new. Fabienne will have her Racing Golf 1 on display and will glide around the track for the daily Power Cruise. Her high performance kart will also be on display and she is looking forward to having fun with everyone on track if you wish to challenge her in the rental karts. Fabienne will also be available for autographs and any questions you may have. Please do go and meet Fabienne, you might pick up a few tips. Fantastic fun guaranteed for all the family in this adrenalin car day.
More information can be found on www.extremeautoshow.co.za