Troubled weekend but point-scoring finishes for Martin Molnár

The OK Junior (OKJ) field increased to ninety drivers for the second round of the WSK Super Master Series at the South Garda Karting circuit in Lonato, but it wasn’t the increase that caused the difficulty but the battles turned out to be more heated than usual, resulting in a lot of crashes and retirements. In the ‘B-C’ Heat, for example, no fewer than twenty drivers retired early from the race.

For Martin Molnár, the weekend didn’t start well this time, as he was already struggling with a lack of pace before qualifying. He finished 17th in qualifying and 37th overall. In the first qualifying he started from 15th position and finished 7th, but his bumper got damaged and he was classified 12th. In the second heat he was involved in a crash and was eliminated from the race.

In the overall standings, the gap had grown so much that he had to take a risk and for the third qualifying he had two new tyres put on, which had originally been reserved for the Pre-Final and the Final. Martin was flying and finished third, moving up 12 positions. In the fourth qualifying session, a series of crashes saw him dropping back to 27th position, from where he steadily fought his way back. The crashes initially slowed the field down with a so-called “Slow Zone”, but despite this another crash occurred and the race was red flagged. In the chaotic race, Martin finished 12th.

By Sunday, they managed to make the kart a little more competitive and Martin’s pace was much better. He finished 3rd in the morning Warm Up and then in the Pre-Final, starting from 15th, he finished ninth, which earned him five championship points.

In the Final he started from 21st, improved several positions, but had another accident in front of him on the first lap, which blocked his way and he dropped back. Then during the catch-up he crashed through no fault of his own during one of the passing moves, damaging the suspension to the extent that he was eliminated from the Final. After the second round of the four-race championship, Martin is in 20th place with 12 points.

“It was a difficult weekend,” said Martin Molnár. “We struggled for long with a lack of pace. After I got dragged in a crash at the start of the second heat, which put me out of the race, we decided to put on two new tyres for the third heat and I finished third. If it wasn’t for the four-lap slow zone, I would have had a chance to win.”

“On Sunday my kart improved a lot, I finished third in the Warm Up and then in the Pre-Final I started from 15th and finished ninth. In the Final, I started from 21st position and improved four or five positions at the start, losing some of them when I had a crash in turn three. In the end, my race was sealed when, while overtaking, my opponent steered into my kart, damaging my suspension. The steering wheel was pointing to the right and the wheel was to the left, which prevented me from continuing the race. I’m happy that when my kart had the pace, I was able to get some good results, but I’d like to do much better than that.”

The third round of the WSK Super Master Series will be held at La Conca from 3-6 March.

Martin Molnár, OKJ results

Participants: 90
Qualifying Group: 17^th
Qualifying: 37^th
B-D Heat: 15^th to 12^th
A-B Heat: 33^rd (DNF)
B-E Heat: 15^th to 3^rd
B-C Heat: 15^th to 12^th
Overall classification of the Heats: 29^th
A Pre-Final: 15^th to 9^th
Overall classification before the Final: 21^st
Final: 33^rd (DNF)