7/27/05
BRP - ROTAX EUROPEAN KARTING CHALLENGE READY FOR ACTION!
Montreal, Canada — The opening two rounds of the 2005 Rotax Mojo Max Euro Challenge held in France and Great Britain were outstanding success, and BRP-Rotax and RGMMC, now present Round 3 of the popular series this weekend in Austria. With more than 130 competitors coming from 23 different countries, the Rotax Mojo Max Euro Challenge has undoubtedly become the most multinational meeting in international karting.
The fight in the RM1 category is very intense. Christiano Margado of South Africa leads the point standings but is hotly challenged by Niclas Lindberg of Sweden and Diatsidis Dimitris of Greece. Only 21 points separate the three competitors.
Englishman Tristram Oman tops the charts in the Rotax Max Senior category. Oman enjoys a 34-point lead over his fellow countryman Martin Pierce and Ribero Tiago of Portugal.
Competition is also extremely intense in the Rotax Max Junior class as the top seven competitors are within a few points from one another. Christian Van Balen of Belgium is first at the moment, just 17 points ahead of Stéphane Richelmi also from Belgium. The third race of the series, held this weekend in Austria, will be crucial for many.
The Rotax Mojo Max Euro Challenge offers an exceptional opportunity for drivers and teams who intend to compete at the highest levels of international karting.
Team Portrait — Here’s a profile of British team HRS - a team that used the Rotax Challenge to raise its profile on the European scene.
Portrait HRS with Nigel Horner
Q. Why does the HRS Motorsport Team compete in the Rotax Mojo Max Euro Challenge?
A. Apart from the obvious enjoyment of competing in Rotax at all levels, HRS uses the European Challenge as a shop window for promoting the CRG chassis and the team’s engines.
Q. Having enjoyed considerable success in the UK domestic market place, Europe offers a logical step-up for HRS to demonstrate the team’s preparation, development and racing abilities at the highest levels.
A. As usual with Rotax racing, it gives the HRS team a cost-effective way of competing in an environment that other classes of karting are not able to, without the need to spend considerably more. To race in Europe in the other categories would not really be financially viable for the team.
Q. Tell us about the HRS Motorsport Team…
A. HRS was created over seven years ago, bringing together Tristram Oman and Nigel Horner, in a combination that covered all aspects of the sport necessary for a successful karting business and team.
The move to the CRG chassis last year has seen a significant rise in the overall profile of the team, with a close relationship now existing between HRS, CRG and the Rotax organizations.
While the team supports other classes in karting, the Rotax classes are the core to the success of the business and team, with Rotax engine preparation and sealing complementing an active kart shop based at the Warden Law circuit near Sunderland in the NE of England. From its Warden Law base, the team can cover everything its customers need to enjoy success in, and enjoyment from, this fantastic sport.
Over the years, HRS has run a large number of drivers ranging from ROTAX Mini Max at club level through to Rotax Senior Max at the Grand Finals. In fact, HRS has been represented at every one of the Rotax Max World Finals, coming close to breaking the South African domination on several occasions, with their drivers finishing in the top four at the last 3 events.
Q. Does the HRS Motorsport Team compete in any other series’?
A. HRS is involved at all levels in all classes of karting in Britain, including the MSA Max Super One British Championship Series, Stars of Tomorrow Championships and 'O' Plate meetings for a number of classes. HRS claimed the 2002 Rotax Max Senior British Champion with Tristram Oman.
The team actively supports events at its local tracks and encourages new 'blood' into the sport through driver coaching and involvement in the ARDS process. Team engines have been used by racers throughout Britain and Ireland (and Europe!) with considerable success.
Outside of karting, HRS is very closely involved in the support of team member Martin Stevinson, who competed in the Rotax Max Grand Finals in South Africa in 2003 as Britain’s "Masters" representative. Stevinson races in the Mazda Mx5 Championship, which is a good platform for karters who want to make the move to cars, but without the resources to spend vast sums of money to do so. The Mazda Championship (under the banner of Max5 Racing) has the same cost-effective approach to racing that Rotax has and even the ‘Max’ title carries through from karting to cars.
Q. What is involved in competing in the Rotax Mojo max Euro Challenge?
A. Apart from the obvious geographical challenges involved in traveling to the different countries throughout Europe, the HRS Team approaches competing in the Rotax Mojo Max euro Challenge in very much the same way as it does the British Championships.
The level of preparation of the karts (and team personnel) is to the usual high standards HRS applies in all its operations. All engines and chassis’ are checked before being loaded into the team’s support truck for the (usually long!) journey to the venue. Because of the distances involved, the time away from "home" is greater, with a week to ten days the norm to allow for the testing before the event and the drive home afterwards.
The logistics of European competition demands additional planning to get to and from the event but the actual racing side, while more competitive due to the nature of the opposition, is handled in a way that the team understands from its many years of racing.
Remaining 2005 ROTAX MOJO MAX EURO CHALLENGE race schedule:
September 16-18: Genk (Belgium) — see www.kartinggenk.be
