7th in an Ardennes Adventure

On 28th May Alfie travelled to Spa-Francorchamps in the beautiful Belgian Ardennes forest to compete in Round 2 of the IAME Benelux Series.

The circuit is perfectly nestled within the historic F1 track and as he went out for practice on Saturday the high shrill of the IAME kart engines was occassionally drowned out by Maclaren owners blasting there way just to the left down through Blanchimont. The kart circuit itself is short flowing and fast but the biggest challenge is the chicane just before the home straight. Get this wrong and it will spit you into the wall and a rapid trip to the kart shop.

Unfortunately, with this being a new track to Alfie and with much to change to find speed and grip , he was not perfectly set up for Saturday qualifying and could only manage 22nd. But each time he took to the track he was getting better. Starting 15th in his first heat he drove the wheels off the kart and got up to 10th despite damage to his exhaust which was misdirecting the burning gases up the back of his neck.

Come Sunday, we were greeted with rain for practice and further speed was coming. So much so that in Alfie's second seat he was able to make progress from 15th to 6th. He would start the final in 12th.

The final was contested over 19 laps and was a terrific contest. Alfie worked his way up steadily with UK rival Zach Ripley to 7th. With Zach ahead of him the pair were able to gap the karts behind and set about chasing the leaders. Depsite closing the gap in the closong laps it was too much. On the last lap, Zach left the door open and Alfie threw his kart donw the inside as the approached the long donwhill 180 left but he left his braking too late and Zach was able to cut back inside to preserve the position. 7th position was safe and Alfie came home very pleased with such a strong showing.

Alfie lies 12th in the standings after two rounds with Genk, Belgium and Ostricourt, France to come in the summer.