This time we have disputed the 2nd round of the CKCV at the Circuito Internacional de Zuera, where we had already ridden previously this season in the CEK. Therefore, we knew that we had a good base from which to start to try to look for the victory this weekend.
Overall it was a good weekend, although due to some problems, we managed to win both Sunday races with the team. Although possibly the most important thing of the weekend was not the result of any of these, but knowing that our driver, Alberto Hurtado, was fine (with a broken finger on his right hand), despite the serious accident he suffered in the second race on Sunday.
JAIME DEL PORTILLO
Jaime del Portillo had a good weekend overall. The Junior driver started the weekend a bit hesitant, despite having been training with his Senior teammates during the previous days trying to improve the line.
On Friday we found a lack of pace, and we were looking through the on-board camera videos and the data obtained to see where we were losing the most and how we could improve the time in those places.
With this, Jaime seemed to come to his senses, and on Saturday he started to run within 0.5s of the leaders in his category.
Finally we got to Qualifying, where Jaime got a P7, 0.2s off Pole. This means the smallest difference for Jaime in the whole season with respect to the front of the race, which shows the improvement that the driver is having little by little and that we are working in the right way.
With this boost of self-esteem we face Sunday in a good mood, knowing that although we still don't have the pace to fight for the victory, we do have it to try to hold the leading group.
In race 1 we were holding the lead for the first half of the race, but after that we started to fight for P7, which made us fall behind our group mates. Finally a P9 which we consider as a good result after the outcome of the race.
In race 2 a touch on the first lap sent us to the last position on the grid unfortunately. Despite this, del Portillo kept pushing and made a great comeback, crossing the chequered flag in P11, gaining 9 positions on track and riding alone in search of the front group.
A good weekend for Jaime, in which we have found the way to keep improving and in which, for the first time this year, we have seen that we can be consistently in the top 10 if we find a good race pace.
DIEGO ALONSO
Little by little Diego Alonso is improving on track, and learning to ride in the difficult conditions due to the amount of rubber accumulated. The results are not what we expected, but it is another small step forward for the Canary Islander in the improvement of his driving.
On Friday he had very good pace, running within 0.3-0.5s of the fastest times. The driver was very comfortable with the chassis, as well as being able to run fast during all the runs. However, in the last laps of Friday he started to increase the gap due to the rubber that was accumulating on track.
On Saturday something very similar happened to him, and that is that with new rubber he was not able to get the necessary corner time to improve his lap times, thus falling behind the rest of the grid in that aspect. Finally in Qualifying he got the 26th position, 0.7s off the Pole of the weekend.
On Sunday, for the Heat he got a P11, which meant a P27 for the final race.
In that race he could not do much, as on lap 2, due to a mechanical problem, he had to retire.
All in all, not the best way to end a weekend. Despite this, we are happy with Diego's development on track, knowing that little by little he is getting closer to the times of the fastest drivers.
DANIEL BRIZ
Daniel Briz once again consolidated a great weekend, where we had some small problems with the chassis set-up.
Throughout Friday and Saturday we were not fast anywhere on the circuit, only at the end of the straight. We spent the whole day trying different things to see if we could find out why we were losing so much performance to our rivals in that area.
After a not so good qualifying, it was time to go on the attack in Race 1 on Sunday, so we decided to go for a shorter run to try to get the better of our rivals.
In the end, it seems that this was the root of our problems. Briz was able to not lose acceleration at the exit of the corner with a longer gearing, so he was still achieving high speeds at the end of the straight, but the chassis became heavy, as the rubber did not break the grip at the corner exit.
With this, Briz finally took the victory in Race 2, scoring very good points for the championship and placing himself in the fight for the championship right at the halfway point.
ALBERTO HURTADO
For his part, Alberto Hurtado had the scare of the weekend. In the second race, fighting for third place at the entrance to the finish line, a very strong accident caused his kart to come off the ground, causing it to spin around several times with the driver on the inside, and at the end of all of them he was thrown out of the kart.
The rider tried to get to his feet, but fainted instantly and had to be taken first to the medical centre and then to hospital.
The accident resulted in several broken fingers, a cracked helmet and many bruises. Fortunately, it was only a scare compared to the hard moments experienced live.
