RMCGF: Cooper and Babington Leading in Rotax DD2; North Americans Strong

The racing in the Rotax DD2 division this week in Spain has been nothing short of excellent. The class is stacked full of talent and the exciting Lucas Guerrero Circuit has created some stellar battles.

Rotax DD2 Heat A vs D:

The first of two DD2 heats on the day took place with rain just off in the distance. Groups A and D lined up on the grid as the excitement built for the primier Rotax category. It was Sean Babington (UAE) taking home his third heat victory of the week in an easy fashion. He was followed by Aussie Jordan Boys and Rasmus Markkanen (Finland). Rounding out the top five was Stefanos Kamitsakis (Greece) and Xen De Ruwe (Belgium). All five of these drivers had a fantastic battle from start to finish and the racing was quite clean and professional. As for North Americans three team USA drivers competed in this one with Michael Ilavia finishing tenth and Gavin Reichelt fifteenth. Disaster struck for Nick Neri (USA) as he was involved in an early incident pushing him back to 31st position.

Jeff Kingsley rebounded nicely with a fourth place finish in his third and final heat. He will start the Prefinal from 14th. (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

Rotax DD2 Heat B vs C:

The second group of DD2’s was a massive moment for Canadians as three-time Rotax Grand Finals Champion Ben Cooper scored the victory with a stellar drive. Cooper ran a strong consistent race and edged out the victory over Edward Brand (GBR) and Ferenc Kancsar (HUN), was able to pull off a third place and was heavily involved with battles throughout the entire race. Canadian Jeffery Kingsley (CAN) had an amazing drive locking down fourth position, catching the leaders on the final lap. Rounding out the top five was Bradley Liebenberg of South Africa.

Canadian Fred Woodley bounced around the top-five in the early stages but was knocked back to tenth when the heat finished. Finally John Buzza (Canada) ended up seventeenth and Johnathan Kotyk (USA) was 28th respectively.

Heat Race Rankings:

Three heat wins from the pole sitter Sean Babington has earned him the provisional pole for Saturday’s PreFinal. Ben Cooper will start alongside while Jordan Boys and Bradley Liebenberg fill row two. Xen De Ruwe and Ed Brand are on row three. Fred Woodley will start from ninth, with Kingsley back in 14th. Americans Michael Illavia and Gavin Reichelt avoided the Last Chance Race ranking 23rd and 25th while Nick Neri, John Buzza and Jonathan Kotyk were relegated to the Last Chance Race.

Click Here for Heat Race Standings (Unofficial)

Rotax DD2 Last Chance Race:

As the rain began to fall heavily again, the DD2 drivers poured onto the track for their Last Chance Qualifier. The lights went out and all that you could see was a spray of water. When it all settled it was Ferdinand Habsburg (Austria) who secured the first transfer spot followed by Alexandre Anstett (France) and Sandro Lukovic (Bosnia). With three spots remaining it was Sanad Al Rawahi (Oman) and Francisco Hernandez (Argentina) capturing two of them leaving one remaining. Team USA driver Nick Neri who started in 13th position had a very impressive drive and landed the sixth and final transfer spot. Unfortunately there were two North American drivers eliminated in the LCQ. John Buzza of Team Canada and Jonathan Kotyk of Team USA both gave very strong efforts but could not reach those final transfer positions.

David Illavia has been very impressive this week in Rotax DD2 and he will start the PreFinal from the 23rd position. (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)