External factors affect Braeken's result in Lonato

The Belgian representative, in fact, had started the weekend with absolute pole position, obtained in difficult weather conditions related to the rain that fell on Friday.

The track then improved in the heats, where Braeken confirmed himself to be among the drivers to beat by finishing 3rd in the first of the 3 scheduled. The fact or incident that influenced the whole weekend took place in the second.

At the moment of the green flag, his kart didn’t and a Vortex team member (Vortex is the engine supplier of the event) intervened, pushing him and helping him to start, despite this being prohibited by the regulation. This caused the disqualification from the heat and the consequent 18 points of "penalty" in the standings. Even the good 5th position of heat 3 was not enough to raise the fortunes of his Heat series.

Starting 17th in the Final, Braeken managed to recover up to 11th position; a 5-second bumper penalty then relegated him to 14th position.

Tom Braeken, Belgium: “If I look at the potential, obviously I'm satisfied. I got the 2nd pole position in a row, out of 3 events with material never seen before the start of the championship, so, yes, I'm very satisfied. The consistency that was lacking in Adria has gradually increased between Genk and Lonato, and even the errors in Belgium here in Italy have not recurred. This result is strongly influenced by an external factor, but I don't feel like accusing Vortex; alas, we're human and to err ... is human. I'm upset to have received a penalty that canceled an excellent performance, but none of my entourage could have avoided it.”

 

© photo: M. Perrucca