The first major championship event of the season, the Rotax Winter Cup took place at the Valencia Circuit in Spain.
In Juniors, Adam Smalley took the initiative from the get go! After featuring at the sharp end of the timesheets through testing, when it got to crunch time in Timed Qualifying, Smalley delivered the Pole Position time, besting his nearest rival by 0.036s!
This provided the Junior driver with the luxury of the Pole Position start for all his heats.
A combative first heat saw Smalley finish the race in 4th position, as the top 5 crossed the line within half a second of each other.
Smalley was once again embroiled in a train of karts fighting for the win in Heat 2, finishing 3rd at the line, just 0.3s off the win.
Smalley finished his final heat with another 3rd position, giving him 5th on the grid for the Pre-Final.
A hotly contested Pre-Final saw Smalley knocked back at the start, after re-gathering himself and a few fastest laps on the way, he finished 7th at the flag.
Starting the Grand Final from 7th, Smalley got a brilliant start straight into 4th position, later moving up to 3rd. The front pair came together multiple times, with both drivers receiving 10 second penalties for driving standards. Smalley kept his nose clean and crossed the line knowing he was the victor of the Winter Cup!
Rotax Max saw a line-up of Josh White, Tom Croydon and Stephanie Le Vesconte race for the Winter Cup. A strong qualifying performance from Josh put him 6th overall in the combined Qualifying Classification, providing him with good positions for the heats.
Heat 1 saw White deliver on his strong pace, taking the lead on the fourth lap from which he was never headed. Le Vesconte gained 6 positions in her race, finishing in 12th followed by Croydon just behind.
The second heat saw Josh White once again claim a strong result, finishing in 2nd position. Team-mate Le Vesconte once again made good progress through the field whilst Croydon was unlucky in his race finishing in 14th.
Josh White finished his final heat in 3rd position, with Croydon and Le Vesconte both coming forward again in their heat to finish 11th and 12th respectively.
The strong finishes from White put him 2nd on the grid for the Pre-Final. Le Vesconte would start 24th and Croydon from 28th in the competitive field.
A hard faught Pre-Final saw White shuffled down the pack from his unfavoured outside starting slot. The tight pack was hard to come through as Josh finished in 5th at the flag. Tom Croydon moved u 4 positions to finish in 24th, whilst Le Vesconte was a victim of contact from another driver, putting her out of the race on lap 1.
The Grand Final saw White make a great start, immediately into the podium places as him and the two leaders broke away from the pack. The order at the front however didnt change as they were all setting identical times as the race went on. Josh finished the race in 3rd position, banking another podium finish for Coles Racing at the Winter Cup.
Croydon and Le Vesconte both made progress in the Final, finishing in 23rd and 26th at the flag after a tough wekeend.
Coles Racing enjoyed a double podium at the Winter Cup after showing great pace throughout the entire weekend. This bodes well for the fast approaching Rotax Euro Challenge and Super One Series!
