Kart: First European Championship medal for Jasin Ferati
FIRST SUCCESS Jasin Ferati captured his first European Championship medal in karting in Essay, France, thanks to a superior qualification for the final. The Winterthur native's hunt for a top-12 finish was only halted by an engine failure. Milestones in life for Jasin Ferati: On August 2, he celebrated his 15th birthday in the circle of the KSM Schumacher Racing Team. In the days that followed, the [...]
Milestones in life for Jasin Ferati: On August 2, he celebrated his 15th birthday in the circle of the KSM Schumacher Racing Team. In the days that followed, the Winterthur kart driver advanced to the first group of the top class at the fourth and final round of the FIA European Championship.
The best international result so far
The 20th place in the OK final in Essay (F) is his best international result so far. This nourishes justified hopes for an equally good result at the World Championships in September in Sweden.
In the extreme heat of Normandy, much more would have been possible. In his first European Championship final, Ferati advanced from 28th on the grid to 14th place in the course of the first 16 laps before he spectacularly pirouetted off in front of the packed grandstand as a result of an engine failure.
Jasin Ferati: "At first I was deeply disappointed. I was doing very well and was confident of scoring a lot of points with further overtaking maneuvers when the kart stalled on the home straight. It wasn't until later that I realized that the result was also respectable."
With the exception of the botched qualifying session, Ferati was happy with his performance.
Jasin Ferati: "The four top-10 finishes in the heats and the medal for reaching the final move me up a good bit in the hierarchy of the world's best drivers. The fact that I also managed to outsmart Pedro Hiltbrand in the final, a former world champion who is once again fighting for the title, was a very special moment. That shows me that even in the concert of the greats, a lot is possible."
The knot is broken
An important piece of the puzzle in getting out of the midfield was a change in seating position by the omnipresent mechanic Marcel Prokscha. The Swiss immediately felt more comfortable in the Schumacher team's Tony Kart chassis.
"The knot has been broken. Jasin has made enormous progress," praised KSM team leader Nicklas Nielsen, who finished third in the final behind young Brits Dexter Patterson and Harry Thompson.
The new European champion was Hannes Janker from Germany, who was eliminated early on after a violent pile-up at the start, not least thanks to Hiltbrand's mistake.
Open account in the karting DM
Jasin Ferati's next race appearance is scheduled for the finale of the German Kart Championship at the end of August.
Jasin Ferati: "I still have a score to settle with the DKM. I reached the final at all the events without any problems, but like last time at my home race in Kerpen, I never got beyond 20th place due to accidents, penalties and technical problems. The task now is to rectify that on my favorite track in Genk."
