The weekend that just ended on the Rødby track in Denmark, where the 3rd and penultimate Round of the FIA European Championship took place for the OK Junior and OK categories, was an intense one full of emotions. In the top class, after the success in the Czech Republic, Gabriel Gomez got there as provisional leader of the standings and CRG in P1 in the team standings, confirming a solid and constant path from the point of view of performance in such a long and articulated Championship on very different tracks.
The umpteenth confirmation of the competitiveness of CRG materials also arrived in Denmark, with Gabriel Gomez who had won the Champions of the Future on the same track just 15 days before the FIA race. Also last weekend all the CRG drivers got off to a very good start, with excellent performances right from the free practice, but unfortunately in the qualifying practice a problem with a tyre prevented Gomez from expressing his full potential, causing the Brazilian to close the sessions only P26 in the general classification. However, CRG’s potential in this case was highlighted by Mattia Colnaghi, excellent P10 in the general classification of the qualifying sessions. In qualifying Heats all the 4 CRG drivers lined up in the OK category were protagonists, first of all gaining the qualification for the Final and with Gabriel Gomez in particular, who was able to conquer the 5th position on the starting grid, ahead of Colnaghi (P9), Mark Dubnitski (P17) and Simone Bianco (P28). In the Final Gomez also raced thinking about the general classification, without taking excessive risks, but always showing a fast and constant race pace, recovering very well up to 2nd place, behind his direct rival for the Championship Rene Lammers. The tussle in the first laps, on the other hand, penalized Colnaghi who dropped to P12, while Dubnitski was very good at finishing in the top ten, making up 7 positions. Bianco finished the race in P22, penalized by the tussle in the center of the group and by a feeling with the track that was never at its best throughout the weekend.
As far as the Championship is concerned, the victory allowed Rene Lammers to take the lead in the provisional standings with 208 points, but Gomez is in 2nd place only 6 points behind his opponent, while Alex Powell seems to be almost out of the game for the title in P3 with 165 points. Very short gap also among the teams, with CRG that dropped to P3 with 16 points to make up in the last round in Italy. The final race scheduled on the Cremona track will therefore be a much-awaited event, where the titles will be awarded and the show will be of the highest level.
As regards the OK Junior category, it must be said that Gabriel Koenigkan did not have a good qualifying and thus somewhat compromised his ambitions for the weekend, finishing in P26 in the Final, after starting from P20 on the starting grid. More unlucky were Oliver Rasmussen and Javier Herrera who missed qualifying for the Final after losing two Heats. Also for the Junior category attention is now going towards the last appointment in Cremona scheduled for July.
CRG drivers’ post-race reactions:
Gabriel Gomez (OK): “The unlucky qualifying practice session in which I had a pressure problem with a tyre, made our weekend start uphill, but then we kept calm, working well during the Heat and the Super Heat, without making mistakes and conquering P5. Chassis and engine have always been perfect and in the Final I quickly made it to the podium, then in the final stages I had perhaps asked too much of the tires and I didn’t have the chance to attack for the win, but this P2 is still excellent and in Cremona we will have every chance of winning this title considering the only 6 points that separate us from Lammers”.
Mattia Colnaghi (OK): “I had an excellent qualifying, P4 in my group, as I have always been fast and constant in the qualifying Heats, until I conquered a place in the top ten for the starting grid of the Final. Then in the Final, after a good start, when Turney passed me, I got my tires a little dirty and lost contact with the leaders, finishing in P12. However, it was a very positive weekend for me and one that gives me a lot of motivation for the last race in Cremona”.
