After a race marathon in Italy, Maxim Rehm from Germany was a guest in Belgium last weekend. He utilized the start of the Champions of the future to prepare for the start of the FIA Kart European Championship in two weeks. After a strong performance, he left a good impression.
Maxim Rehm already knows the racetrack in Genk, Belgium, from previous years, but the prescribed tires in this year's European Kart Championship were new to him. "For the first time, we must start with MG tires, which are completely new to me. We now have to adapt to them and gain as much experience as possible," the youngster said before the race started.
In the free practice sessions, he managed to adapt well to them and was one of the fastest in the 90-man field early on. However, in qualifying, the lack of experience was again noticeable. "I did not warm up the tire enough and therefore did not get a good lap," Maxim commented on his 26th place.
Nevertheless, he still had a good starting position in the heats and fought his way up to the top three. But time penalties and a failure threw him back. Placed 31st, he missed the direct move into the final and had to qualify over the second chance race. With a clear victory he did it and showed himself satisfied: “The victory showed where we stand. Nevertheless, I am now far behind in the pre-final and I am missing the new tires in the final to fight in the front.”
Maxim attacked anyway and advanced to position 19 in the pre-finals. In the final he continued his catch-up chase and made up for some ranks again being placed 14th. "Today was a good day. The racing pace is here and I feel ready for the European Championship. If everything goes according to plan in two weeks, we will be competitive in the fight for victory," said the Ricky Flynn Motorsport protégé.
On Friday, Maxim is already back in the kart. Then the new season of the German Kart Championship starts at the Erftlandring in Kerpen.
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