Also new to this year’s Grand Finals is a slick new billet shift paddle system for the DD2. In addition to having a really cool look, DD2 competitors have reported the new system is easier on their hands and feels more positive when shifting gears.
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On-track action started in the morning at 9:20, approximately one hour after the driver’s briefing. Like the day before, the first class on track was the Junior MAX division. However, this time it was the even numbered karts having first crack at laying down some fast times. In addition to the main grandstands, some popular viewing spots this morning were the areas with the live timing screens.
It is worth noting that it is not just those in attendance at Ghibli Raceway that have access to live timing and scoring. Anyone with an internet connection can go to the Kart Data site at http://live.kart-data.com/LT09/RGF. There you can have access to live timing as well as short videos from around the facility with the lovely and talented Jenni Wade. The goal of the video series is not just to be informative, but to also be interactive. If there’s something you’d specifically like to know about, email Kart Data and let them know. You may just get your answer in a video.
After the Juniors, the Senior MAX drivers took to the track followed by DD2. Being a desert track, Ghibli Raceway gathers a fine layer of sand and dirt on it throughout the evening. As such the first group of drivers out on track face the slipperiest conditions. As track running continues, the track gets cleaned off and the times start getting faster and faster.
Official qualifying got underway promptly at 2:05 PM with the odd-numbered Junior MAX competitors hitting the track. The fastest in that session, Finland’s Miika Laiho, posted an initial pole time of 61.162 seconds. During the even numbered Junior session, only United Arab Emirates’ Edward Jones was able to go quicker and posted the fastest time of the Junior MAX qualifying sessions at 61.151 seconds. Rounding out the top three is Edward Brand from the United Kingdom who was just 2/100 of a second behind Jones.
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During the Senior MAX qualifying sessions, perennial Grand Finals frontrunners South Africa picked up another pole position when Sean Frost set a blistering time of 60.289 seconds to be over one and a half tenths faster than Estonia’s Mario Vendla. Right behind Vendla in third was Tyler Greenbury of Australia.
As if to put an exclamation mark on South Africa’s qualifying effort, Durban’s Ralph Odendaal laid down the law in DD2 qualifying with a smoking fast lap of 58.547 seconds. Following Ralph to round out the top three were Lithuanian Kevin Gracholskis and Christophe Raymakers of Belgium. Ironically, all three of the top qualifying times were set in the first session for odd numbered karts.
Today’s track action is now complete and the teams are now cleaning up and preparing to head back to their hotels so they can get ready for tonight’s barbeque dinner provided by BRP-Powertrain. Tomorrow the competitors will get a brief morning warm up before heat racing competition begins. Be sure and follow the action live through the “Live Timing” and “Race TV” links on the right side of this page.
| Darren White (Canada) Darren White is a 19-year-old DD2 driver from Port Hope in Canada (near Toronto). Darren has been racing karts for six years and is making his second appearance at the Rotax MAX Grand Finals. He says he’d love to race cars someday but that is all dependent on funding. He says if karting was all he ever did, that would be fine. Darren rates La Conca as the best track he’s ever race at and that, so far, he is finding Ghibli very interesting with its mix of fast and tight sections. He says the biggest moment in his karting career has been to qualify for the Grand Finals because that was always a dream of his to do. Now, he’s been to two. |  |
| Danny Brand (Holland) Danny Brand is the current European DD2 Masters and Belgian DD2 champion. This is quite impressive considering the 36-year-old has only been racing karts for only 5 years. During his short career, the resident of Gasselternijveen (near Assen) has already achieved many accomplishments and lists taking second place in the pre-final at his first Euro Challenge race (Salbris 2008) as his favorite. Danny stays dedicated to his racing endeavors and lists his goal is to keep winning championships. He also has other interests and enjoys racing BMX bikes. He also cherishes his quality time with his wife Arja, and his two sons, four-year-old Max and two-year-old Nick. |  |
| Stepanova Nekeel (United States of America) Stepanova Nekeel is another driver from the Northwestern United States that is making a name for himself. Stepanova is 17-years-old and started racing seven years ago with an 80cc Comer powered TonyKart Cadet. He qualified for his first appearance at the Grand Finals by winning the Senior MAX title at the Gatorz Series in California. While this may be Stepanova’s first Grand Final, he has already competed outside the US when he ran in the German KF2 Championship Series in Wackersdorf, Germany. Although he is still a Senior in high school, he has already started taking college courses for advanced credit and plans on attending university next year as an engineering major. |  |
| Arthur D’Huy (France) After racing karts competitively for nine years, France’s Arthur D’Huy is attending is first Grand Finals. This week at Ghibli Raceway the 18-year-old will be competing in the DD2 class. Arthur qualified to come here by winning the French DD2 National Championship at Salbris in France. In addition to French races, the resident of Bordeaux has also competed in Rotax Euro series races and says his favorite track is Busca in Italy. Whila away from karting, Arthur enjoys swimming, staying fit and follows many types of racing and says he is a fan of all motorized sport. |  |
| Hugo Ouellette (Canada) There are lots of famous brother teams in motorsports, and The Rotax MAX Grand Finals has the Ouellette brothers, Pier-Luc and Hugo. Twenty-year-old Hugo is making his third Grand Finals appearance this year having run in the past as a Junior in Lanzarote and a Senior at Viana do Castelo in Portugal where his top-ten finish is stil one of his proudest moments. Hugo has been karting for 10 years and looks to emulate his brother’s championship from two years ago in Al Ain. If the opportunity ever arises, the Montreal resident says he’d love to do some rally racing. |  |