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“Grattan was a completely different track for me, but lots of fun,” smiles young Rios Jr. “We had loads of momentum from Lime Rock and Road Atlanta so I really wanted to make the most of this round.”

The weekend of racing could not have gone better for the rookie open wheel racer as he dominated nearly every on track session. The only time Rios Jr. did not top the time sheets on the weekend was in practice one where he went second quickest. Jesus Jr. would then go quickest in practice two by 0.431over second fast time. In qualifying Rios Jr. knocked it up a notch, taking pole by 0.861 seconds with a lap of 1:26.669 also a track record.

Running in Group Three, Rios Jr. took the lead off the start in race one and lead all 18 laps to win by 11.497 seconds and set fast lap with a time of 1:27.114 seconds. On a roll and tearing up the Grattan circuit on every lap, Jesus Jr. would use race two, to go one better to sweep the weekend. Off the start the 15-year-old racer took the lead and began to gap the field early as he set a torrid pace from the opening corners. After 18 laps it was Rios Jr. first to the line by 14.737 seconds for victory number two.

“Thank God we have won six in a row,” commented Rios Jr. from his home in South Florida. “It was a perfect weekend and I can’t thank the folks at Skip Barber enough for such a great program. There are so many good drivers and you really have to be on your game.”

The day started out very well as McLean qualified on the front row, only six-hundredths of a second off the pole-position. Tucking into second place on the start of the pre-final, McLean hounded the leader through the opening five laps, and benefitting on lap six, took the lead. Never looking back he drove away from his competitors and scored the pre-final victory, setting him up on the pole-position for the final.

“Sitting on Pole was nerve racking It was probably the most nervous I had been all year. I felt like a rabbit with a pack of wolves behind me. All I kept saying to myself was ‘how the heck am I gonna lead 25 laps?’ inside my head.”

The final race started out great as McLean took the lead entering the first corner. Moving into a steady race pace, he led the opening four laps before a slight bobble exiting the final corner shuffled him back to second. Regaining his composure, he posted the fastest lap of the race two laps later chasing down the leader. Taking the lead on lap eight via the disappearance of the current leader, McLean was now well out front. Continually posting some of his fastest laps of the race, he lengthened the gap to second place, and rounding the final corner of the final lap, tossed his hands into the air. He finally earned that elusive first major victory. First pumping all the way down the front straightaway, he then returned to the start/finish line to begin his victory lap. As he rounded the facility with the checkered flag in hand, the crowd roared with excitement.

“The win was great. What was even better were all the cheers I heard as I crossed the finish line, just shows how many friends I have made in this sport,” smiled an emotional McLean following the race.

“It took allot of help from people to get there, and I really want to thank the following people: Lon Herder, Ross and Cory Phiffer, Jake Collison, Tony and Frank Launi, George and Dave Conquer. Heck so many people have helped me over the years, and even though I edged him out for second in points and it feels really good I really have to say thanks to Paul Draganac for all the help he has given me since starting out,” continued McLean.

When the chequered flag was waived, the whole team exploded with joy after a new success at this 25th edition of the 24 Hours. Claude Jamin, «boss» of the team, found it hard to conceal his excitement, but took the time to analyse the performances of the No. 1 kart he is in charge with. “It is a great satisfaction for RTKF, for which I would also like to thank the Sodikart Group.

Their know-how and the quality of their products gave us incomparable help. While many teams had to face numerous problems, we ran a clean and fast race. Kart components such as the rear shaft, the suspensions or the steering column are under heavy stress during the 24 hours, but they held on just fine. The same can be said about the tubing. I am also proud to announce that the winning chassis here at Le Mans will be used again at the end of the Euro Endurance Series 2010″.

The Sodi/Reedster went like a clock from the beginning to the end of the race. Always in the lead group during the first hours, the RTKF-SODI Team took as few risks as possible, before they inexorably shifted to higher gear and build a solid advantage lap after lap. At mid-race they already had a 9-lap lead over their nearest challenger. And on Sunday, at 3 p.m., Anthony Abbasse crossed the finish line with a 12-lap lead, with RTKF-SODI kart no. 72 driven by the American Andrick Zeen on his side. “It was a tribute I wanted to pay to Sodi”, Claude Jamin continued. “The kart that won in 2009 was side by side to the one that has triumphed this year and the two karts where driven by the two Sodi official drivers who are with us”.

5,80 seconds to resupply (change of driver, refuelling, greasing of the chain and check of safety elements) and 1’10″ to change the engine, the brake pads and the tyres: this gives an idea of the hard preparation work made by RTKF together with Sodikart. This second victory in a row for Sodi ST32 did not come by accident for a brand that continues to win on all fronts, from Mini-Kart to KZ1, from speed to endurance races!

Le Britannique Adam Stirling a remporté la finale de haute lutte, tandis que le Français Anthoine Hubert parvenait à conserver la tête du Trophée Académie malgré une mécanique légèrement poussive. Encore une fois, la Fondation Julie Tonelli a pu participer à cet évènement international grâce au soutien des pilotes arborant le papillon rose sur leurs machines.

L’intérêt pour la nouvelle formule de la CIK ne se dément pas et la bagarre a été intense durant tout le week-end. Il faut dire que la tâche n’était pas simple pour les concurrents sur le tracé très rapide du Motorland Aragon, qui permet aux machines du M18 de dépasser les 100 km/h de moyenne. Longue de 1700 m, large de 10, la piste d’Alcaniz présente de nombreuses lignes droites, des montées, des courbes rapides dans lesquelles il est aisé de se faire distancer. Ici, la moindre petite faute se paie cash. Le profil du circuit génère des phénomènes d’aspiration non négligeables et il vaut mieux y disposer d’une bonne mécanique. On peut regretter que le pilotage n’y tienne pas une part plus importante.

Les favoris n’ont pas été distancés, sauf ennuis spécifiques, mais c’est un pilote peu connu qui s’est illustré en finale jusqu’à monter sur la plus haute marche du podium. Adam Stirling, âgé de 15 ans et originaire d’Irlande du Nord, n’a pas caché que le M18 lui permettait de participer à des grandes courses internationales avec un budget raisonnable. Sans aucun doute hyper motivé par l’enjeu, Adam a constamment joué dans le groupe de tête durant tout le week-end. Bien placé dans les deux préfinales (dont la seconde partant avec un ordre complètement inversé), le pilote Intrepid a pu gérer la finale dans le sillage du leader avant de porter une attaque décisive dans le dernier tour et remporter la course. Du grand art ! Le voilà propulsé à la 3ème place du classement.

Exclu de la 1ère épreuve en Allemagne pour son pilotage trop incisif, son compatriote et coéquipier Jordan Chamberlain a été irréprochable en Espagne tout en restant aux avant-postes. Il termine au pied du podium en 4ème position et revient dans le top 10 du championnat. Deux autres pilotes Intrepid se sont fait remarquer par leurs performances sans pouvoir concrétiser. Le Thaïlandais Tanart Sathienthirakul occupait la1ère position à l’issue des manches, mais deux abandons successifs en préfinale l’obligent à une remontée anonyme jusqu’en 15ème position. Avec un parcours du même acabit, le Français Vincent Fraïsse ne peut récolter les justes fruits de ses efforts, mais repart avec la satisfaction d’avoir repris 21 places en finale avec le 3ème meilleur temps à la clé.

In his ten years of Italian Grands Prix for Ferrari, Schumacher enjoyed a win rate of 50 percent which was established by clinching his fifth victory at the parkland circuit whilst challenging for an eighth world title in 2006. However, this season sees him go before the Tifosi tenth in the championship chase.

“Spa was quite an entertaining race weekend which I like to look back on, as we achieved a reasonable result considering the circumstances,” he said on Friday, having stormed to seventh place in Belgium from 21st on the grid.

“The next race at Monza might well be entertaining in a very different way, as I expect it to be a real challenge for our team.

“We have seen already several times this year that circuits with characteristics like those of Monza do not really play into our hands.

“Of course, we will go there prepared to try hard to achieve the maximum we can from our package and we will see to what extent we can achieve that and fight our way through.