As Round 7 of the Federal Tyres King of Europe series commenced, it would see drivers venture from as far as Australia, Japan and the Middle East as the series collaborated alongside King of Nations for the first time ever.
The legendary PS Racing Center Greinbach in Austria would be the perfect challenge for the drivers to go head-to-head, combining both high speeds and tight, technical bends to push them to their limits.
As several thousand spectators lined the circuit after a morning of practice, the qualification points would be more vital than ever as we approach the final round of the season for the Pro drivers. It would be even more so for those competing in the Pro2 and Queen of Europe series as this was their final round of the season with double points on offer!
In the absence of King of Europe and King of Nations judge Vernon Zwaneveld, triple King of Europe champion Adam Kerenyi was the perfect guest judge to fill the spot for the weekend alongside Steve 'Stiggy' Evans as he detailed exactly what he wanted to see from the difficult layout.
Series leader Joe Hountondji recovered from two disappointing rounds with car issues to once again land the top spot in qualification with 96.23 points as his brother and team-mate Eli took second. Roman Kolesar marked an impressive return to the series as he took the third spot and after just a few practice laps, Australian guest Luke Fink took the fourth spot after narrowly missing out on third. It would be Eli Hountondji who landed the highest attack speed with an impressive 130km/h.
In the Pro2 series, Yvez Klossner took the top spot with Zango Zoltan Jr in second with series contenders Pavlin Penev and Daniel Brandner securing the third and fourth spots consecutively.
In the Queen of Europe series, Karolina Pilarczyk continued her push for retaining her Championship crown as Michaela Sacherova took second place, Kristalina Stefanova third and Tessa Whittock in fourth.
As battle day commenced, the sun shone down on the track as the huge crowd returned larger than ever to witness the action unfold.
With the battles underway, early shock exits would include Japanese drivers Toni Arakaki and Keiitirou Kadekaru alongside Kuwaiti driver Nasser Al Mutairi as their European opponents proved too strong to enable them to progress. Continuing car issues would end the weekend for Australian Luke Fink against reigning King of Nations champion Nicolas Delorme. After working on the car throughout the week, the V10 E46 M3 is expected to come back better than ever for this weekends upcoming final round.
Reigning King of Europe champion Remmo Niezen made his way into the Top 8, but unfortunately car issues would also call an end to play for him as Joe Hountondji pushed his way past, progressing into the final.
With a shock match-up in the small final, Nicolas Delorme found himself up against underdog Hungarian driver Zango Zoltan who had shown great form throughout the weekend. Delorme made no mistake of ensuring that he once again returned to the podium as he clinched the third spot.
As Joe Hountondji and Nicolas Maunoir went face-to-face in the final battle, a slight 6-4 advantage to Joe in the opening run was all it took to secure the narrow victory as a 5-5 tie in the second run stopped Maunoir claiming his second victory of the season. Joe Hountondji will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief that his recent bad luck streak is seemingly past him as he continues his push for the title this weekend.
In the Pro2 series, despite a win this round for Pavlin Penev, it’s not enough to secure the tightest Pro2 championship in King of Europe history as Brandy Brandner secures his first ever championship victory on home soil! Brandner took the second place spot this weekend with Zango Zoltan Jr in third.
In the series rankings overall, Brandner takes the win with Penev in second as Axel Francois lands his second overall podium in third after taking the second spot in the King of Touge final just a few weeks ago.
In the Queen of Europe series Michaela Sacherova took the top spot this in the final round, while Karolina Pilarczyk took second and Tessa Whittock third.
This means that Karolina Pilarczyk takes enough points to retain her coveted Queen of Europe title while Michaela Sacherova takes second and Tessa Whittock in third overall!
Click here for the ProSeries and KON photo gallery
Click here for the Pro2/QOE photo gallery
Official event video
Joe Hountondji now extends his lead at the top of the overall rankings over brother Eli, Rick Van Goethem and Nicolas Maunoir, but we now approach the double-point final round of the season this weekend in Serres, Greece. In the King of Nations series, Luke Fink, Nasser Al Mutairi, Hirohide Tanaka and Toni Arakaki all stand a chance of knocking Daigo Saito from the top spot with double points also on offer. Absolutely anything could happen in this incredible final round! With parties throughout the weekend and street parades for the drivers, this is certainly one round not to be missed!
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