Formula Karting NL - Grand Prix Poeldijk Race 3B at Van Der Ende Racing Inn - 22 February 2020

On 22 February, the first round of the 2020 Formula Karting NL season was organized at Van der Ende Racing Inn. Called the Grand Prix Poeldijk, Advanced Racing Project driver Olaf Stofferis took up the challange and entered this event. This video shows his 3rd out of 4 races held that day. Olaf was assigned kart #25 for this race and he qualified 7th.

Race Report:

Each of the four races this day were preceded by a hot-lap qualification session. Getting a good starting position was important, as overtaking during the race proved relatively difficult. In order to create further scope for tactics, the regulations stipulated that every driver was required to take a “long-cut” (positioned just after the finishing line) at least once each race. This detour would cost a couple of seconds and the precise timing of this element during the race could mean winning or losing positions. At the same time drivers needed to be aware not to hit any of the barriers while taking the long-cut, as this would result in a 5 second penalty.

Olaf managed to secure 7th position during qualifying, but over the course of the race it became clear that he had potentially better pace than the two drivers in front of him. Overtaking proved a challenge though. The long-cut did not directly provide an overtaking opportunity, as Olaf and the driver in front Meroe Craft both timed this element in lap 6. However, Meroe did hit a barrier while taking the long-cut, and he received the black flag with the orange circle indicating he obtained a penalty for this. Although now virtually residing in sixth place, Olaf still would need to get by Meroe before being able to challenge for fifth. By the end of lap 7, Meroe hit the inside of the track while taking one of the final hairpins, and Olaf was able to also reach sixth position on track. He seemed to lose this spot again by the end of lap 9, by going too wide in the final hairpin section, but track positions were retained as his competitor left the door open on the inside two corners later. After closing the gap to Thorran Penders in front, any attempts to overtake proved in vain, and Olaf finished in sixth position.

Filming Equipment: GoPro Hero7 Black Edition
Formula Karting NL Website: https://www.formulakarting.nl/
Thumbnail Fotograph by Anouk Lam
Outro Music: Hyperspeed - Eveningland