King of Europe-Leader Conti breaks top duo from Poland, Adam Kerenyi finishes fourth
Last weekend, the King of Europe gathered for the fifth race of the 2012 season for the first time at the Hungaroring near Budapest.
The latest results of local hero and Dotz teamrider Adam Kerenyi ensured brisk run onto the stages.
Also, the starting field was extensive: 51 drifter wanted to test the curves that a week earlier were raced by Vettel, Alonso & Co.
The track boundary consisted of impact protection elements, which are used in motorcycle racing (with Skyleder coated foam rubber blocks), so-called "sponge", which...
... was quite affected after numerous crashes both in training and in qualifying.
By far the most common damage this weekend: a torn bumper, which, due to its delicate nature, was afterwards only fragments.
Romanian Ciortan Calin was one of those who made a trip into the sponge area.
Adam Kerenyi however had a different kind of problem: The Hungarian had to give in at the second qualifying round due to a bursted radiator hose.
Due to the regulations further qualifying rounds are only allowed when the car is up and running again as long as this qualification still lasts, so Kerenyis mechanics had to hurry. But the team led by Tomi was mastering the situation and ...
... Kerenyi - now also without bumpers - could compete two more rounds which was enough.
A strong performance as a team was shown by the Polish drifters. In the qualification they brought seven riders into the top ten. Ciortan Calin was winner in front of Dawid Karkosik (picture top) and Piotr Wiecek, King of Europe leader Francesco Conti was 6th behind Bartek Stolarski (picture bottom) and Dotz teamrider Adam Kerenyi finished qualifying in 8th place.
After the King of Europe driver briefing provided by CEO Mike Proceur, it became serious.
In the first battle rounds every favorite could prevail. With the exception of Roman Kolesar, who had to race against Kerenyi. Kerenyi went on to the last 16 like the three leaders of the overall ranking...
... Francesco Conti (pictured), Benjamin Boulbès and Ciortan Calin.
Marcin Czarzasty was the next opponent of Adam Kerenyi. The two fought an epochal battle, and after two 5-5 scores there was a recall. And there the Dotz teamrider had the higher average drift angle in the first run and took a 7-3 advantage. And Kerenyi handed Czarzasty a 5-5 in the re-run to rise to the final four.
In the other half of the panel, there was Italian Francesco Conti,who shows an impressive form for the entire season and qualified relatively easily for the last eight, where he met Piotr Wiecek from Poland (pictured).
After a 7-3 for the Italian Wiecek had to risk everything and lost out to a drift cancellation.
The first semifinal saw the match Adam Kerenyi against Maciej Bochenek from Poland with his Nissan Skyline. In the first run Bochenek had benefits due to a slight understeering at Kerenyis BMW, which he didn´t give away on the re-run. Bochenek advanced with 6-4 and 5-5 to the final.
In the second semi-final, the spectators saw a great match between Conti and David Karkosik from Poland. Despite a slight advantage at the average drift angle for the Italian, Karkosik could keep up with his aggressive attack-oriented style. In the second run of the recall Karkosik was punished for a small mistake and, ultimately, had to settle for a place in the small final.
There Karkosik met Adam Kerenyi. In the first race led by the Poles, however, the Dotz teamrider put himself right in the thick of the side - so dense, that the tire smoke took his view. That was the trigger for an error Kerenyis and a 3-7 in the first run. Despite a heroic struggle and a 6-4 in re-run Kerenyi had to be satisfied with a 4th place after two podium finishes in a row.
The final was a repeat of the first King of Europe race in Poznan: Maciej Bochenek against Francesco Conti. The Pole won the first run quite clearly with 6,5:3,5 so the Italian had to go full risk.
Conti outdistanced Bochenek with a drift angle of 28-25 and took the run with 6-4, but the winner with a narrow margin of 0.5 points was Maciej Bochenek.
Winner and the SpongeBob from the Hungaroring: Maciej Bochenek (center) in front of Francesco Conti (left) and David Karkosik. Fourth was Adam Kerenyi, who further advanced in the overall standings. Conti leads with 460 points ahead of Boulbès and Calin, each with 370 and Dotz teamrider Adam Kerenyi with 340 points. The next King of Europe-race takes place late August in Romania.
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posted: 07.08.2012