No. 005
JULY 2016
O R O U E TW 0 S 3 X RIE E S ZUERA 2016
Legend Interview // Peter de Buijn
Driver Interviews // Alexander D’Arcy // Berkay Besler // Chris Lulham // Eshan Pieris
GET READY FOR 2017 // RGMMC & IAME
FIRST X30 SUPER WINNER // Viktor Oberg
THE PADDOCK MAGAZINE IS THE WAY TO STAY CONNECTED TO WHAT’S GOING ON IN RGMMC’S RACE PADDOCKS. ANY TEAM OR DRIVER WITH NEWS IS MORE THAN WELCOME TO SEND IT TO US TO PUBLISH. Every RGMMC organised event will have another issue, sharing information and news about drivers as well as teams and much more. Known for being different, RGMMC is moving away from the traditional race booklet, creating a magazine that supplies more information about the sport and news about the teams as well as drivers. We will be creating an informative, entertaining magazine over the next months, giving our readers, an insight into the karting industry and paddock gossip. Together with our new IPTV media partner Telemundi, we will be also supplying online video content such as interviews and news stories about the actual event. Digital versions of the IAME event issues are available for download at: WWW.X30EURO.COM
If your team or driver has any news to share, please send it to us at info@rgmmc.com, so we consider to publish it in the following issue.
For placing adverts in our magazine contact us via e-mail at info@rgmmc.com.
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CO ABOUT US
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2017 RGMMC & IAME
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FIRST X30 SUPER WINNER: VIKTOR OBERG
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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE PADDOCK: PETER DE BRUIJN
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X30 JUNIOR WINNER EURO 1: CHRIS LULHAM
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X30 SENIOR WINNER EURO 1: BERKAY BESLER
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MAKING HISTORY: A SRI LANKAN DRIVER ESHAN PIERIS
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THE RISE OF: ALEXANDER D’ARCY
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5 THINGS WE LEARNT: RACING IN CASTELLETTO
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RACE PREVIEW 20 SOCIAL MEDIA 22
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Design and visual concept by Weinblum + Stahl www.weinblum-stahl.com
INTRODUCING THE ORGANIZERS The RGMMC Group is a well established motorsport management company, with its interests in event organization and promotion, consultancy, manufacturing of chemicals as well as technology innovation. Established over 20 years ago, we have created a strong competent reputation in the motorsport world. Being involved in Karting, Rally Cross, Touring Car, GT Series, Formula racing and Motocross, is what differentiates the RGMMC Group to its competitors. At the RGMMC Group we have a simple driving philosophy which was embedded in the company from the first day. Our philosophy Attention to Detail and Innovation still today remains to be the heart of the company. We function in a high speed industry – keeping up with the times is an absolute must in order to push the market further. We look forward to our 2016 series, with plenty of new innovations being released on the market place as well as our newly formed company branding and ideals.
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ROLAND GEIDEL
JAMES GEIDEL
With a wealth of experience spanning some 40 years in sales, marketing and sponsorship, Roland is able to combine his passion for motorsport with a pragmatic business approach, which led to the creation of RGMMC as one of the most respected event management companies to exist in the world of karting.
From driver to Formula and GT racing engineer, James has gone on to become a race team manager and owner, developing a deep practical experience and understanding of the sport. Now he is concentrating his effort on the continuous development of RGMMC, where his skills in motorsport business and management are being fully implemented.
2017 RGMMC & EXCITING NEW PLANS... 2017 will prove to be an exciting year as RGMMC & IAME together have developed a new concept for IAME drivers worldwide. It has been decided that the amount of rounds of the X30 Euro Series will be raised from two to four rounds, and that the series will be the official European series for X30 IAME classes. Apart from the changes to some technical details, such as tyre compounds and a review of weights, RGMMC & IAME plan to set a new standard with the X30 Super class. A team sport will be created, including a maximum of 34 drivers, split between 17 teams. There will be a driver’s championship and a team’s championship. In order to be eligible, teams will have to present their documentation and provide a high level professional image. The news doesn’t stop there. RGMMC will create a platform for the Mini classes and create overseas opportunities for drivers to further travel the world and take place in high quality sporting events, aimed not only to create a bench mark for the drivers but further market the sport to the general public. “The main goal is to develop the sport of karting, taking into consideration the industry, the world economies and situations, and most importantly the clients, which include parents, drivers and teams.” More news coming soon...
For viewing information please visit: www.x30euro.com
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FIRST X30 SUPER WINNER Viktor Oberg > As the first ever X30 Super winner, how did it feel taking pole position at Castelletto? It felt great! It’s always a special feeling to win a race, and considering this was the first ever X30 Euro by RGMMC, it gave an extra boost to my self-confidence. > After a difficult weekend trying to take P1, what were the final adjustments to the kart/engine for you to take over and dominate the final? Honestly, none! We adjusted a lot throughout the weekend and in the end I think we knew how to setup the kart. Therefore, from prefinal to final we changed nothing, except the new tyres of course. > You have a lot of experience as a driver. Many new drivers can be fast, but how does your experience give you a different outlook on a race and preparing for the finals? In my opinion, the biggest difference now compared to myself 5 years ago is my ability to stay calm. I seldom get stressed. However, I always get a bit nervous, but try to change that into positive energy before a race. > How does it feel to drive the X30 Super compared to any other classes you have raced in your life? It depends what category you compare to, of course. It is some kind of mix between the KF and the old ICA engines. I am amazed about the similarity and reliance of the engines that IAME have managed to produce. It is a great thing for the sport! > Going into round 2 and the championship finale, are you confident that you can be the first ever X30 Euro Series Champion in X30 Super? For me there is nothing but winning in my mind. So yes, very confident!
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WWW.X30WORLD.COM/IAME.INTERNATIONAL.FINAL INFO : Ce.Di.Nap/Victory Concept - 43, Rue Clément Ader, 77230 Dammartin en Goèle (FRA) Mail : victoryconcept@hotmail.com - Phone : +33 (0)6 08 92 47 58
’ LEGEND INTERVIEW PETER DE BRUIJN
n the first ever X30 Euro magazine, we had the pleasure of interviewing Nick de Bruijn, well known team boss and race driver. We spoke in detail about the PDB brand and the legacy. As most the world of karting is aware, Nick is the son of karting legend Peter de Bruijn. Let’s take a trip further back and find out more about Peter. Peter, you are one of the most known in the world of karting, how did you get involved in karting and what made you stay in the sport for so long? Like most of the karting drivers, the family was the drive to start racing karts. My father Jan brought me to the Zandvoort circuit many times to watch the races, where I saw Jim Clark winning his last race in 1967. My father went to school during the evenings after work, and by coincidence sat next to Mr. Ruud Hofmann who was racing karts himself. He had just changed from direct drive to 125cc gearbox, and wanted to sell his old kart with a Westbent 100cc engine. When I’m not mistaken for 600 guilders (ca. 250 EUR). I remember first we went to our home circuit
Strijen, where I got really excited by all the karts. My father bought the kart, and told me first to take the kart completely apart and build it back together before driving it. I was 12 years at that time! After one month I succeeded to put the kart back together. We lived in the centre of my hometown Vlaardingen and the kart was on the top floor of our apartment. We tried to start the engine in which after one hour we were successful. This annoyed the neighbours incredibly! Most likely because of this, my interest has always been in the technical side of the sport too. After not finishing my high school, I only wanted to be involved in karts and racing. If your passion is with something you admire so much you can stay with it for your life like I will do! Over the years, you have worked with some of the best drivers in the world. In your opinion what makes a great driver and how do you go about training and developing a driver? I believe a great driver is born and his development depends on his environment. There are exceptions but most start at a very early age with karting due to family interests. Most of them come to our team after already having passed first years of struggle. My first feeling I want to have is that the child loves the sport and is willing to put the effort into it. To become a great driver, you need firstly the talent, and secondly the drive to want to work for it. Your physical condition and mentality are priority! Every good driver in my team over the years has been willing to work as a mechanic in the team as well.
Many parents getting into the sport often get confused about how to get into karting and get very mislead during the process. What would your recommendations to newcomers into the sport be? I recommend when people get interested, firstly to inform themselves very well before starting. Often karts are bought on the internet for cheap prices. Then they are disappointed because of the quality and expenses in order to repair it. Over the last 10 years, karting has taken a dramatic turn. If you were in charge of karting. What would you do to grow the sport – from technical to sporting? To be honest, I believe my feeling is not what the sport needs to grow. My vision in life and sport is freedom and development. But this vision will make the sport too expensive and complicated. I see and believe that mono brand compe-
titions are the favourite for the majority of the people. The categories we have today like Rotax, Parilla X30 and Vortex Rok are doing very well. Let us not forget the 4-stroke categories all around the world which are bringing so many people to the sport. As PDB moves forward, what is the 5-year plan for PDB and where do you see the sporting going? We are fully committed to the Parilla X30 series as a priority, because of our more than 40 years relationship with IAME as well as the Rotax series. Furthermore, we are concentrating more on the Mini classes which are most important to develop the sport and business. Drivers today are moving into cars with 15–16 years old or younger so if we want to give any service, we need to start very early!
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X30 JUNIOR WINNER EURO 1 Chris Lulham
> As the first ever X30 Junior winner at the Euro Series, how did it feel taking pole position at Castelletto? It felt great and well earned at the same time. We had put in a lot of preparation and perfected the kart over 2 weeks of testing for this win. The anti-climax from the mechanical failure at my last big race, the Europa challenge, made this win feel even better. This has been my biggest achievement in my racing career. > Going into round 2 and the championship finale, are you confident that you can be the first ever X30 Euro Series Champion in X30 Junior? It will be my first time there, we’ll be out there three days in advance to prepare, I am quite confident. I am aspiring for first place. > At what age did you begin karting? And how did you get involved? I’ve always had an interest in cars, I started karting at the age of 6. I gained interest from a birthday present I received, which was an off-road buggy, this encouraged me to try circuit racing. I began competing in the British championships by the age of 8, and this year the European championship. > What is your five-year motorsport plan? In the next five years I’d like to be testing single-seat racing cars, while remaining in karts. By the end of five years I’ll be 18 and I hope to be racing single-seat cars. I am currently part of YRDA (Young Racing Driver Academy) which is run in association with Arden International, the Formula 4 racing team and hope to be driving with them one day.
X30 SENIOR WINNER EURO 1 Berkay Besler > As the first ever X30 Senior winner at the Euro Series, how did it feel taking pole position at Castelletto? When, at the beginning of the season, we decided to race at the X30 Euro Series, it was a question mark for me. Because of different tyres and carburettor adjustments during the race, because I spent most of my time on Rotax class racing. But the race itself, I should say I enjoyed very much and it was a real team work that weekend... I must really say my thanks to Birger Bouvin and Emre who always keep me motivated at all times. It was a big pleasure and joy for me to win. Bret Ward, Sam Marsh, Hugo Ellis are really fast and experienced guys and I enjoyed very much to be in a competition with them. > Going into round 2 and the championship finale, are you confident that you can be the first ever X30 Euro Series Champion in X30 Senior? For the second race I am confident and feel ready. Only thing is I have never been to Zuera, but I don’t think it will be a disadvantage. Also with Komet tyres I felt very comfortable on the asphalt, so I hope it will be a good race weekend for me. > Over the years you have raced in many series, you seem to be at the top of your game at the moment. How have you prepared yourself and developed yourself as a driver? After years of the Mini class it was not easy to adopt to Junior class, at the most difficult level (Rotax EURO Series). I was totally in a different world. My body strength was not enough to hold the long weekends. So during development phase (mentally and physically), we knew it would be good in the very near future, but I think as a team and myself we managed to hold the pressure even at the worst times. I must once again say my biggest thanks to Guy De Nies, Birger Bouvin and Emre Ergokcen who were my biggest back-up during my last five years on the kart track. And of course to my family, too. > What is your five-year motorsport plan? In my plans, we will still be karting next year. After that, it all depends on sponsorships. We can jump to car racing, any GT Series, for example Porsche Cup, if we are alone with our own resources. Or if luck strikes us along the way, and we manage to obtain a long term sponsor, we would like to spend some time in single seaters, maybe F4 or F3. Which path will we take... I don’t really know at the moment. Only thing I know, is I will put my best efforts on the track as always.
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INTERVIEW WITH ESHAN PIERIS
t Castelletto, Eshan Pieris was racing in Europe for the very first time with a brand new team in the shape of KMS Hungary. Eshan hails from Sri Lanka and had never raced outside of Asia before. Where he comes from, Europe is regarded as a dream for any budding racers and where you need to be, if you ever want to make it in racing. Over the weekend, I caught up with him to find out if it was what he expected and what the future looks like for him now that he’s been here. Age: Who is Eshan Pieris? Home Country: To bring you up to speed with Eshan’s Class: history, he started racing in Sri Lanka five years ago at a track called Team: “Speedrome”. One year later his dad Chassis: built a race track. The first three years, Number: he was hobby racing in rental karts. “ The only exposure we have to karting in Sri Lanka is rental karts. There’s no race series and the karts aren’t that great compared to X30’s.” So it seems strange that Eshan would want to get into racing in the first place, but it’s his Dad’s history that drew him into it. ” My Dad used to race cars in India in the open class. It’s not a big international event but it was a big deal at the time, especially coming from Sri Lanka.” So, like a lot of racers out there, Eshan is following in his Dad’s footsteps, although he very quickly took his career to the next level.
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First steps to Europe “ After a couple of years I started running with RL Karting based in Malaysia. I started off by doing the Asian Rotax Series in the Senior class before moving on to DD2’s and Senior X30 this year. It took me quite a while to get up to where I wanted to be – which was in the top three. But after two years of hard work I was finally running there consistently.” This year was almost Eshan’s first year in cars but advised by his team he decided to stay in karts another year and do the X30 Euro Series! 18 Sri Lanka Senior X30 KMS Hungary BirelART 224
“ In Asia everyone always talks about Europe as being the best place to race in the world so when I saw the X30 Euro Series, I saw that as a good opportunity for me to come over. I really want to learn from all the drivers here as I feel that’ll make me a much better driver.”
Initial impressions So after a 14 hour plane journey, Eshan arrived in Europe for the first time and on arrival to the circuit it’s fair to say he was blown away!
“ I’ve never seen anything like this before. When I arrived Tuesday morning the first thing that hit me was the amount of grip everywhere. It looked like there was just so much grip and I’ve never seen that before. Also things new to me were a Café on site and a shop to get spares.”
Driving a circuit like Castelletto would have been a huge difference to what Eshan is usually used to, so you would have thought he would have struggled but he appeared to adapt quicker then expected. “ The biggest difference in the first few sessions were how more physically demanding it was! Once I adapted to that, I was alright.” A great start! Eshan qualified in the top 10 which is impressive given the quality of the field. Although the rest of the weekend may have not gone quite to plan, he was very quick but just lacked some of the race pace of the competitors around him. But Eshan seemed to take the positives away from the weekend. “ With a lot of help from my team and my friend Berkay Besler, I have been able to really surprise myself in terms of pace. Being two tenths off pole in qualifying is a great start and I was only a tenth off the top five! I’m still down on experience but I think what I’ve shown is that I can do it, I just need more time.”
The experience Eshan will take away from this will be huge! I’m sure everyone remembers their first big European event and how much better you are in your home country when you go back. At the next round Eshan will be more comfortable with his surroundings and more confident within himself. “ In round two I’ll be just looking to improve on round one. After the series is finished, I’d like to go back to Sri Lanka feeling that I have improved as a driver.” On top of improving himself, Eshan’s hopes are also to try and inspire others to go on the same journey as him… “ I’d like to try and inspire drivers to make the trip over to Europe and pursue the sport seriously if they love it. I’ve only been racing for five years and if drivers out there start young and are passionate, they should not be afraid to come here and give these big events a go.” But where does Eshan see his racing career going… “ Of course the plan is to go to cars and hopefully that happens soon as I’m already 18. From there who knows what’s next…”
Photos by Gary Khor
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INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDER D’ARCY By Chris McCarthy
lexander D’Arcy could be one to watch this weekend after his recent rise in pace, which has seen him running at the front in championships all around Europe.
would be really good. Obviously, having Sam and Callum in the awning was just a bonus!”
“We also really liked the look of the calendar. Both Castelletto and Zuera are great tracks with different challenges. I’ve raced at Zuera before, so I’m confident I’ll be able to get a good result there.”
Castelletto didn’t quite go to plan for Alexander! He showed real promise in qualifying, finishing the session in ninth just 0.262 seconds off Lulham’s pole time. Age: 14 However, things seemed to go downhill in the heats after he found himself getting involved in other drivers incidents. He was left with a lot of work to do on Sunday afternoon, especially after a pre-final that couldn’t have gone any worse.
Home Country: Greece Class: Junior X30 Team: BKC Racing Chassis: Expirit Number: 28
In the final, Alexander managed to gain five places to finish 12th, setting a time that was just 0.2 seconds slower than Lulham who won the race. Alexander will be coming to Zuera feeling he now has a point to prove. Since joining the BKC Racing Team he has developed alot as a driver and says being in the same awning as a Vice World Champion has really helped! When I asked Alexander what brought him to the X30 Euro Series he said: “Doing this series was a decision me and my dad made together. We felt that it would have really competitive grids and we knew the organisation of the championship
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This may be Alexander’s sixth year racing, but it’s only his third outside of Greece so I guess you could say he’s still relatively new to this level of competition. That said, a good result at Zuera could really boost his confidence to go on for a shot at a championship assault next year!
Personally, I had never really heard of Alexander before Castelletto but I’m sure it’s a name we’re going to be hearing a lot more of over the next 24 months!
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S G N T I TH R N E A V I F LE ABOUT E CASTELLETTO W 1. TYRE STRATEGY CRUCIAL
RACING
One of the most exciting things come Sunday, was who would pick what tyre strategy for the finals. Both the prefinal and final were point scoring races with not a huge difference between them. Each driver had two sets of tyres for the weekend and most drivers were saving the second set for the final. But some decided to go new for the pre-final. Ben Wooldridge in Juniors was one of those and he won the pre-final by almost three seconds. He said his aim for the final was “a top 3 finish” and he achieved that but only just! He later admitted that perhaps saving the new tyres for the final may have been a better strategy. That’s what Chris Lulham did – he finished 5th in the pre-final and then comfortably won the final and now leads the championship. Will we see anyone take the same gamble for new tyres in the pre-final at Zuera?
2. THINGS CAN CHANGE OVERNIGHT…. Going into Sunday, Milan Petelet (Juniors) and Rinus van Kalmthout (Supers) looked almost unbeatable in their respective classes, although Petelet conceded heat three to Wooldridge. But overnight their competitors seemed to find pace or they were being very good at keeping their cards close to their chest! On Sunday they both managed a 2nd and 4th in the finals which left Petelet 4th in the championship (3 points off the leader) and van Kalmthout 3rd in the championship (5 points off the leader).
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4. X30 ENGINES PRODUCE CLOSE RACING! Reflecting on the opening round of the X30 Euro Series, it’s fair to say the X30 engines produce very close racing. We had three very exciting classes which all took their own twists and turns over the weekend and we had lots of drivers in the mix for a podium. One reason drivers seem to like the class, is because of the equality between the engines, and Castelletto proved exactly that. Having 14 Juniors covered by just 0.4 seconds in qualifying, was good example of this!
3. TEAMWORK A KEY TO SUCCESS PDB Racing teammates, Taylor Greenfield and Viktor Oberg, were open to tell everyone how they were working together to try and catch Rinus van Kalmthout who stormed to take pole by 0.392 seconds at Castelletto in Super X30. The pair were data sharing, working on setup and they were rewarded on Sunday as they were 1st and 2nd in the pre-final and 1st and 3rd in the final taking a win each! They closed the gap down to Rinus, who, at one stage, looked unbeatable!
5. NEVER FORGET YOUR EDUCATION On Friday, Senior X30 driver Saul Robinson had to fly back to England missing practise and qualifying to do a GCSE exam. Saul then came back to do the rest of the weekend but would have to start all of his heats from last. Credit has to go the Fusion driver as he put himself on the outside of row five for the pre-final where he finished 9th before taking 4th place in the final. All of which has left him 5th in the championship, 13 points behind Berkay Besler. It just goes to show, your education should never be forgotten and big sacrifices can sometimes lead to great rewards.
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X30 EURO SERIES TO CLIMAX IN ZUERA Following its successful debut in Castelletto Di Branduzzo in Italy at the end of May, the brand new X30 Euro Series will make its comeback on the race track and host its second and final race of the season in Zuera, Spain from July 14st to 17th.
rganised by none other than the RGMMC Group in collaboration with IAME, the X30 Euro Series proved in Italy that its new concept is highly prosperous, offering international karting drivers the chance to compete in four different categories: Junior, Senior, Super X30 and Super Shifter. The latter was not available for sign up for the season opener but will be for the race in Spain. After 50 drivers from 18 different nations competed in Castelletto, the series expects an even bigger turnout in Zuera. The Circuito Internacional de Zuera is located in Spain’s North, not far from the city of Zaragoza. The 1.700-metrelong track presents a big challenge to the drivers: Many
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highspeed passages, a turn-intensive second sector and the technically difficult third will try to lure drivers into mistakes which will eventually determine victory or defeat. While the series only consists of two events, the fight for the title is not any less exciting. First and foremost, the Juniors’ class has a lot of excitement to offer as the drivers proved to be very close together in Italy. Chris Lulham (Fusion Motorsport) emerged as the biggest title contender in the class as he was able to set the fastest time in qualifying and win the all-deciding finale. Nevertheless, the Brit first has to be victorious over a handful of strong rivals: especially his fellow countryman Ben Wooldridge (Vital Motorsport) will try all in his power to make up for
Date: Distance: Gearing: Junior Laptime: Orientation:
14 – 17 July 1.700 metres 11/68 65.074 sec clockwise
Start
his missed chance in Castelletto. Kilian Meyer (CRG SPA) and Milan Petelet each showed strong performance during the season opener and are another force to be reckoned within the spurt for the title. Fewer favourites for the crown can be found in the Seniors’ class but nevertheless, fans are in for a treat as both Brett Ward (MLC Motorsport) and Berkay Beslar (Bouvin Power) want to repeat their sensational performances shown in Italy. But they have to be careful not to risk too much, as Hugo Ellis (Vital Motorsport) silently positioned himself in a promising position for the title fight in Zuera as well. In the newly-founded X30-Super class it was Rinus van Kalmthout (Daems Racing) who impressed in Castelletto, but he had to admit defeat to the strong PDB Racing duo Taylor Greenfield and Viktor Oberg who were both able to celebrate a victory each in Italy. Van Kalmthout heads into the all-deciding weekend as the not-so-secret favourite nevertheless as the reigning Rotax Max EURO
Challenge runner-up proved his incredible speed multiple times during the Italian season opener. Furthermore, all is to play for in the Super Shifter class which was not part of the inaugural weekend. Fans of the series can expect a supreme fight for the title in said series. While some favourites already emerged in all of the respective classes, the decision will be made in Spain and it might be a surprising one as all of the drivers are still very close together. The season finale on the Circuito Internacional de Zuera will surely be one for the ages. RGMMC offers a full range with live streaming, live timing and social media coverage. More information regarding reports, photos, results and live TV stream are available on the official websites www.x30euro.com or www.telemundi.com. To the media: Text and photos are of charge for editorial use. If you need more information or further photos please have a look at our website www.x30euro.com or contact us at info@rgmmc.com.
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WHAT THE DRIVERS SAID AFTER
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