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Lucas Pace places 8th of 36 competitors in first qualifying heat at La Conca
The young Island Karting Club Junior champion Lucas Pace has succeeded to finish in the 8th position among 36 drivers from around the world in his first qualifying heat for groups C and D. His best time of 52.205 seconds was registered in the eighth and final lap of the heat on Friday.
By Alfred A. Farrugia
This fast lap was slower than his fastest lap recorded in the qualifying practice the day before on Thursday when he clocked a lap of 51. 487 seconds. Lucas was ranked 24th among 66 participants on the basis of his qualifying practice.
In his first qualifying heat he did better than the three young American drivers, which shows that the size of the country has nothing to do with the performance of individual drivers. It was wrong for the organizers not to invite Malta’s senior karting champion to race in his class because Malta is a small country!
In the second heat, for groups B and D, the times of all the drivers were slower than the heat of the other two groups, but this heat was more competitive and Lucas finished in 18th position. He again registered his fastest time in the eighth lap of this heat, stopping the clock at 52.787 seconds.
It remains to be seen how Lucas is going to do in this third and final heat for groups A and D. This will determine whether he will qualify for the pre-final, or will have to race again in the second-chance race.
It is clear that Lucas is doing his best. In the third non-qualifying practice session on Thursday he completed only 3 laps and was in the last position. In the fourth non-qualifying practice session he completed 13 laps and moved two places to 34th position. The more experience Lucas gets on the track the better that he is getting, but evidently all the other competitiors are gaining more experience too, so the competition is very tough.
When one considers how much money has been spent on football pitches and what dismal results we achieve every now and then, is it not clear that more money needs to be invested in this discipline where Maltese competitors can achieve better results? All the motor sport followers wish Lucas the best of luck and success, and hopefully a good performance in the final race.
More information on this event may be found at http://www.maxchallenge-rotax.com/event2010/grand_final.html and live timing is accessible at http://live2010.kart-data.com/RGF/
