Kart: The smallest is already champion, the biggest still has to wait

After the summer break, the teams and drivers of the autobau Swiss Kart Championship (SKM) traveled to the Levier circuit near Pontarlier, which is located close to the border. Nicolas Rohrbasser, the leader in the top class KZ2 of the switch karts, traveled to France with a 60-point lead over André Reinhard - he returned with a reassuring 66-point advantage.

Both heats and the final had the same finish: The tall Geneva native won each race ahead of André Reinhard and Sven Müller. Nevertheless, it was not enough to secure the championship title early. At the grand final on September 23 and 24 in Lignières, however, Rohrbasser needs just ten more points.

So Reinhard can only hope for a miracle and Müller wants to maintain at least third place in the championship on the TCS circuit below the Chasseral.

In the OK Senior class (powerful 125cc two-stroke engines with direct drive and no front brakes), Yannik Klaey won all three races. After retirement in the first heat due to a defective ignition and fourth place in the second, Samuel Weibel's lead over Pascal Von Allmen in the championship melted away.

But with second place in the final ahead of his overly cautious title rival, Weibel kept the damage within bounds, saving twelve points from his 18-point lead. Klaey also still has theoretical chances of winning the title.

In the Iame X30 Challenge with identical eight-liter two-stroke engines, Steven Planchamp countered after his technical problems last time in Busca (I) and took the maximum of 75 points for pole position, victory and fastest race lap in all three heats. The hard-fought battle for second place after Micola Vital's retirement (loose rear bumper) was won by Jack Ayliffe very narrowly ahead of Lena Bühler.

Patrick Näscher was never able to intervene in the top fight, finished fourth in the final and lost the overall lead again to Planchamp. The latter will travel to Lignières with a 13-point lead. One of the two will certainly become champion.

Mike Müller also still has to wait
After his flawless performance in Italy, Mike Müller wanted to close the bag in the X30 Juniors (same karts with less horsepower) in Levier. But in the heats he drove too cautiously (3rd and 4th place), in the final he was involved in a mass crash and only managed to get back to 5th place with a lot of effort.

Last year's champion Savio Moccia was disqualified twice for technical infringements and thus dropped out of the title decision. In return, Jasin Ferati can now theoretically still prevent Müller from winning the title after his three race wins in Levier.

And so, in the end, only one kart driver could already cheer. In the Super Mini class (60cc two-stroke), little Elia Sperandio once again showed his great class. The twelve-year-old won all three races superiorly and thus comes to the home finale as the first and worthy champion 2017.

There is no question that he will not rest on his laurels and wants to strike again in Lignières. So far, Sperandio has won all the final races, and he doesn't want to change that.

Incidentally, all the races can be followed afterwards on the Internet - but in Lignières, Auto Sport Schweiz, as the organizer of the finals, expects as many spectators as possible on site. The Swiss kart drivers deserve a beautiful backdrop.

Information: Markus Lehner

http://swiss-sport.tv/sports/3-andere-sportarten

http://www.savoiechrono1.com/arch.php

www.motorsport.ch