Young Emirati karter Keanu Al-Azhari overcame tyre problems all weekend to set competitive times in his qualifying heats at the FIA Karting European Championship round at Italy’s Franciacorta circuit.
The Tony Kart Racing Team rookie missed Sunday afternoon’s Final by the narrowest of margins on a weekend where high temperatures and tyre wear were key factors.
I had a weekend with several ups and downs at the final round of the FIA Karting European Championship. I pushed myself for the best results but a lot of bad luck struck over the weekend. I had moments where I could prove I have gained speed and experience but a few incidents set us back in the heats.
Keanu Al-Azhari
In the final two heats I had massive struggles with my tyres and that put me eight-tenths off the pace and unable to compete against the other drivers for decent positions. I tried to do my best to overcome this issue and managed a P9 result in the final heat but I was seven-tenths off the pace.
Keanu Al-Azhari
After discussing the tyre issue and providing proof to the FIA and the tyre supplier I was given no choice but to continue with the set of tyres. It’s a real shame because I was not able to qualify for the final and was classified in 37th overall. I did my best and worked well with Tony Kart Racing and, when everything went our way, I was able to display my speed.
Keanu Al-Azhari
Weekend review
Seventy-one drivers took part in the opening practice sessions. Al-Azhari reported tyre problems in his first runs and was 19th and 22nd in his first two practice sessions, before placing 37th of 51 in qualifying practice with a best lap of 47.277 seconds.
Qualifying practice was much better. We used different tyres and they were more normal. Now we need to fine-tune the set-up during the heats since testing was wasted with bad tyres.
Keanu Al-Azhari
Friday afternoon’s first 12-lap qualifying heats were held in very hot (31°C), dry conditions. In a 24-kart heat, Al-Azhari charged through the field to finish seventh, 3.567 seconds behind French heat winner Enzo Deligny.
He contested four more 12-lap heats on Saturday after warm-up. As track temperatures rose he finished 13th in the first, again won by Deligny, but was later dropped to 22nd by a time penalty.
A strong run brought ninth in the second heat, followed by 15th in the next and ninth of 23 starters in his final heat. With all heats combined, he was 35th of the 71 OK Senior drivers.
On Sunday he raced in Super Heat A, which Deligny won, finishing 21st of 35. With both Super Heats combined, Al-Azhari was 37th, just missing the 36-kart Final.
Al-Azhari now prepares for the first round of the WSK Euro Series at Lonato on July 14th-17th.