BNL returns to Genk for the finale

“The Home of Champions” will be the customary season finale for what has been an
exciting year of racing over all six Rotax-powered classes, where some new names
will join the honour roll, and some will add their names again.

In Micro Max, Dutch racer Senn Lindemann goes into the final race weekend on 195
points, a 50-point lead over Belgium’s Vic Van Campenhout, who still has a chance
to close the gap. A further 15 points behind in third is Great Britain’s Jack Freeman,
who has impressed in his first competitive year in Europe. Along with that, Ryan
Rijvers has consistently improved over the course of the year and is sitting fourth in
the standings after a good showing last time out at Mariembourg.

RMCET Mini MAX Champion Boaz Maximov from the Netherlands has a slender
ten-point lead going into the final race weekend of the season, ahead of fellow
countryman Max Sadurski, as the battle between the two looks set to go right down
to the wire. Along with that, there are two other drivers that could also be in the mix
for top honours, with Belgium’s Alexander Van Meeuwen and the Netherlands’ Mats
Van Rooijen rounding out the top four, who are covered by a mere 41 points.

Junior Rotax sees Denmark’s Mikkel Pedersen head to Belgium with a 32-point lead
over Dan Holland Racing’s Scott Marsh, with JJ Racing’s Kasper Schormans a
further three points behind in third. But there is also a close pack of drivers hunting
down the top three, with the likes of Great Britain’s Vinnie Phillips, the Belgian pair of
Tijs Daems and Tom Braeken and Dutchman Tommie Van Der Struijs hot on their
tails. An interesting statistic about this year is that none of the top three having taken
a win so far this year, which may change at Genk.

Two-time Senior Rotax champion Sean Butcher is looking to make it three in a row
at the circuit, as he took the lead by a very small margin of just five points, after
dramas for initial points leader Kaï Rillaerts from Belgium on the first day of racing at
Karting des Fagnes in early July. But they will both need to keep their eyes on Czech
driver Eliska Babickova, who is only 24 points away from Butcher and has the pace
to challenge for top honours. Even with the top six drivers covered by 70 points,
there is a very good chance that even Kai Hunter, Paul Fourquemin and Jayden
Thien will have a point to prove.

DD2 will also see a potential grandstand finale, as another driver in the paddock is
looking to secure his third successive title in the form of Belgium’s Glenn Van Parijs,
but it is Great Britain’s Mark Kimber who came out of the penultimate round with a
51-point advantage. However, it does not mean that the Strawberry Racing driver will
have it easy at the fast flowing and technical Genk circuit right up until the last
chequered flag. Recently crowned RMC Nordic champion Estonia’s Ragnar Veerus,
who has a win in the BNL this year, has an outside chance to snap up another title in
2022, so he could be one to watch.

There is a dog fight in DD2 Masters for this year’s title, as there is another advantage
of 10 points going into the last weekend, as last year’s RMCET champion Paul
Louveau from France is on 168 points after a perfect weekend of four straight wins
back in Mariembourg. But never count out Ian Gepts, who will look to secure the title
on home soil at Genk, as the circuit served him well back at the Easter holiday
weekend in April. Germany’s Michael Becker and Grand Kick-Off winner, Belgium’s
Luca Filippone also have a mathematical chance of winning the title, as the top four
in the standings are covered by 79 points.

“It’s been fantastic to see the number of entries we have had this season, along with
the close racing,” said series organiser Esmée Rosman.

“The fact that the titles will be decided on the last weekend of our anniversary
season is fantastic for us, and for the international competitors that have been joining
us since 2008. It gives us all here at the BNL Karting Series a welcome sense of
achievement, seeing that so many drivers keep on returning back to our
competitions.”

At the end of the racing, the champions will be crowned, with five Rotax MAX
Challenge Grand Finals tickets being given away to the champions in Mini, Junior,
Senior, DD2 and DD2 Masters, bringing the 15 th anniversary season to a thundering
crescendo, accompanied by the Rotax roar.

BNL KARTING SERIES Website: https://www.bnlkartingseries.com/