The KRA final race took place at Circuit International Aunay-Les-Bois, Essay, located in the lower region of Normandy, France. Though it is still summer, the weekend morning temperature was about 4 to 12°C. It was better in the afternoon - partly cloudy and windy and even at about 20°C, it was still fairly chilling.
Cameraman riding high on a cherry picker for live TV coverage
Alvis came to the final race standing 5th in the championship after 12 races, 32 and 28 points away from Bastien FLAHAUT in 3rd and Benjamin GONZALEZ in 4th. He was determined to finish ahead of them to secure a spot in the KRA 11-15 Championship podium.
KRA Championship Driver Standings
The start of Friday free practice session wasn't that smooth for Alvis as he experienced acceleration and brake problems. The kart continued to accelerate even though the acceleration pedal was released and the brake pads were not biting effectively on the brake disc. Alvis was struggling and eventually he spun out at a corner but was able to recover and return to the parc ferme.
KRA mechanic Pascal and X30 Challenge Europa Champion Vincent Fraisse checking Alvis's kart
More than 2 seconds away from 'pole sitter', Gaetan, an invited local racer.
Reduced to a 4 tenth gap on the 2nd session after some checking and cleaning
Lap time was looking good with the gap down to one tenth from Gaetan
It was a relief for Alvis as the kart was working normally after that and at the end of the day, he was able to keep his pace up with Gaetan. Keeping in mind that he was 5th in the championship, he needed to maintain his speed and perform during the race in order to get onto the championship podium.
Alvis knew that he needed to relax and stay calm for the final practice on Saturday morning and condition himself up for the qualification session later.
Having some fun imagining driving round the corner with the kart trolley
Alvis stayed away from the traffic and lapped by himself during Saturday practice
It went well and the gap was down to 5 hundredths of a second
The final practice gave Alvis a great confidence boost now that he was within reach of getting pole. He knew that he needed to put in a perfect lap in order to achieve that. However, he tried not to give himself too much pressure by watching a GP3 stream to relax his mind instead of thinking too much on where he needed to push harder during qualification.
Just before heading to the parc ferme for the qualification session, Alvis turned to me and said 'I believe I can be on pole'. I said nothing but gave him a thumb up and a smile.
Alvis heading out for qualification
Weighing after qualification in parc ferme
Yes...!!! Alvis on pole with purple sectors 1 and 3, narrowly missing out on sector 2
Alvis had put everything together into a single lap to grab pole from Gaetan. It was really important for Alvis as he needed to be in that position to be competitive. The objective was to finish as high as possible in front of Bastien and Benjamin.
Alvis got off to a really good start and stayed ahead of the pack with Alexandre (No.22), 2nd in the championship, following behind. There were some attacking and defending moves for 3rd place and that allowed Alvis and Alexandre to get away from the chasing pack. There were moments where Alexandre was right on Alvis's bumper but a few mistakes allowed Alvis to build a gap.
Formation lap through turn 12
Alvis passing the first corner on the final lap
Objective met for race 1. To finish as high as possible in front of Bastien and Benjamin. Alvis won the first race and that brought him closer to them with just 5 and 9 points to the championship podium.
Alvis and Alexandre in parc ferme
Podium for race 1
Champion spraying celebration with Gaetan as Alexandre jumped off the stage
Finishing in front of Bastien and Benjamin remained the objective for race 2. Again, Alvis had a good start and there was a small incident with the 2nd and 3rd position at turn 3 during lap 1 which helped Alvis to pull away with a one and a half second gap. He built his momentum for the remaining laps and maintained his more than 2 seconds lead all the way to the checkered flag. Alvis met his objective again for race 2 and scored the highest points possible for the two races and put himself in the final spot on the podium for the championship. However, that was not the end as there were two more races on Sunday that would decide the final championship standings.
Warming up formation lap on race 2
Alvis coming through turn 3
Posed for race 2 victory in parc ferme
Podium for race 2
Alvis was in 3rd, 23 and 27 points ahead of 4th and 5th respectively. He was too far from winning the championship and thus keeping his 3rd place was the priority on Sunday. Finishing ahead of Bastien and Benjamin and avoiding any DNFs for both races remained the main objectives.
From the assessment of races 1 and 2, starting from exterior was difficult. Hence, getting pole was really important. I guess the pressure caught up to Alvis as he did not manage to put all best sectors into one lap this time and even if he did, he would have been about one tenth off pole. Though he was 2nd in qualification 2, he would start races 3 and 4 on the exterior lane of the first row. That put him in an unfavourable position.
2nd in qualification 2
Having to avoid a DNF in mind, Alvis tried not to get any contact or into any accidents. That made him run wide at accident prone turn 1 and drive cautiously through turn 3 on the first lap resulting in him ceding 2 places. He maintained his 4th position all while trying not to risk by making unnecessary overtaking moves. Keeping his objective in mind, he was overtaken by Arthur, leader of the championship without much resistance on the last lap and extended his lead to 32 and 34 points.
Dropped 2 places to 4th after turn 2
Crossing the finishing line 5th on race 3
On theoretical calculation, If Benjamin finished 1st and Alvis finished last or was disqualified on the final race 4, Alvis could still lose his podium for the Kart Racing Academy Championship. To counter that, he followed a safe strategy approach for the final race. The objective was simple and clear. Do not finish last, get disqualified or DNF for the final race of the KRA Championship.
With a more intensified final race, Alvis avoided the charging pack at turn 1 and 2 by running even wider to avoid a DNF causing him to lose 5 places after turn 3. Though he was capable of overtaking, he knew that was not the objective. He knew he just needed to follow the mid pack and bring the kart back to the parc ferme and the final spot of the KRA Championship would be his to keep.
End of final race
Returning to parc ferme after the final race
Great effort from Alvis for race 1 and 2 on Saturday that put him back into close contention for the final spot on the championship podium. A good strategy and objective setting on Sunday extended his lead on race 3 and finally sealed a spot on the podium for the KRA Championship on the final race. Alvis not only earned himself a trophy but also his KRA kart that battled along him throughout the season as a prize for finishing 3rd in the championship.
Alvis receiving his trophy from Mr PIGNOLET, Directeur Général / CEO SodiKart
Happily posing with his KRA Championship trophy
Kart Racing Academy Championship Podium
KRA 11-15 1st Season Top 3
Kart Racing Academy Final Driver Standings
