Campionato Area Nord Centro Round
Laghi7 kart track Castelletto di Branduzzo 25 July 2010 As a member of Italian Kart Manufacturing giant Birel's Easykart Driver Program for talented drivers, Ronan benefits from automatic entry to the 2010 Easykart World Finals where the top 5 drivers from 15 countries compete for the World Champion title. Birel arranged for Ronan to compete in an Italian club round at Castelletto, near Milan, the weekend of 23 - 25 July to gain set up and track knowledge ahead of the World Finals taking place there in October.
The formidable 1256 metre track saw 63 Eastkart Cadets competing. As the grid was so large it was split into two groups, A and B. Race format: Qualifying > Heats > B Final > A Final Ronan qualified 9th in Group B (his time was 19th quickest overall).
Ronan started the Group B Heat in 9th, and after tangling with several other drivers at the beginning of this agressive race and losing a few positions, Ronan held his own and finished the Heat in 14th place.
The Qualifying and Heat positions are added together and ordered with the lowest receiving Pole position and so on. 9th and 14th earnt Ronan 19th on the grid in the A Final, but he was involved in a big pile up on the third corner and ended up down in 30th. He battled on valliantly to finish 26th with suspected steering damage - repairs will be needed urgently as Ronan is travelling on to Poland to compete in the European Finals in the same kart!
Ronan finished ahead of 2 of the 5 other cadet Easykart Driver Program members from around the world, this was a great experience ahead of the World Finals back at this track in October.[ Photo Gallery ]