Laval GPO: The Battle Continues The Laval GPO benefited from the nice summer weather as well as from the presence of numerous spectators, attracted by this high-level sport meeting. The classification changed several times in the different categories and a few new drivers made it to the podium, especially in KF2 and KF3 where Etienne Mordret made the grand slam with 4 victories in 4 races. After Pascal Belmaaziz on Saturday, it was the Belgian driver Bryan Laloux who dominated KF2 on Sunday. In KZ2, Anthony Abbasse and Thomas Mich engaged in a merciless duel, which ended with a final victory for each.
The scenario of the two days was identical in KF3, with Etienne Mordret's victories (Zanardi/Parilla) in the pre-final and final. The young driver made quite an impression with his maturity and burst of speed: regardless of his position at the start, he always won with a comfortable lead over his opponents. It was the Championship leader Esteban Ocon (FA Kart/Vortex) who was better able to respond to him by perfectly managing his races: 2nd in each of the finals, he strengthened his place in the provisional classification. On Saturday, Valentin Moineault (Sodi/Parilla) was able to defend his chances against the driver from Equipe de France, 2nd in the pre-final and then 3rd in the final, but luck abandoned him on Sunday during the last race. Thanks to his increasingly effective performances, Paolo Besancenez (Sodi/Parilla) achieved a 4th place on Saturday and a 3rd the following day, when he gave his maximum. As for Dorian Boccolacci (Birel/BMB), he was not as competitive as expected due to a mechanical problem that even forced him to retire during Sunday's final. Young Jérémy Demarque (Sodi/Parilla) displayed his fighting spirit on Saturday, after his second timed qualifying, though he could not keep his 4th place until the end of the final. Bryan Elpitiya (Zanardi/Parilla) made a stunning entry in the group of the leaders by conquering a 5th place twice on Sunday. Ocon, the Championship leader, is still followed by Besancenez, but it is Mordret who now ranks third ahead of Moineault and Boccolacci.
In KF2, Pascal Belmaaziz (DR/Parilla) achieved a double success in the pre-final and final on Saturday and scored some precious points, but things were not that easy the following day, with a fourth place in the final. Victor Sendin (Tony Kart/Vortex) lost it all after a mechanical problem during Saturday's pre-final and had to content himself with a sixth place on Sunday. These two drivers are now very close in the Championship and the Essay GPO will be decisive for the awarding of the national title. Rémy Deguffroy (Tony Kart/Vortex) showed some stunning performances and was comfortably second in Saturday's two races and third in Sunday's final after a penalty inflicted for not complying with the minimum weight. Kenny Vermeylen (Tecno/Parilla) and Bryan Laloux (Kosmic/Vortex) fought for the 3rd and 4th places on Saturday, while Léo Roussel (Sodi/Parilla) made it to 5th in the final, but was not equally successful the following day. The Belgian driver Bryan Laloux (Kosmic/Vortex) raised the tone again on Sunday with his new equipment by winning, no more no less, the pre-final and the final, followed by his compatriot Guillaume De Ridder (Tony Kart/Vortex) who was definitely very fast. Always well positioned despite a lack of brilliant performances on Sunday at Laval, Kenny Vermeylen (Tecno/Parilla) is currently third in the Championship. Anthoine Hubert (Sodi/Parilla), much more competitive than on the eve, climbed on to the final podium on Sunday.
In the top category - KZ2 - Thomas Mich (Birel/TM) saw his domination challenged by Anthony Abbasse (Sodi/Maxter), the outgoing Champion, during Saturday's final, which he won by making an excellent start and by controlling Mich, who had the handicap of a gearshift lever not working properly and was lucky enough to conclude second, despite all these problems. The young driver Charly Bizalion (Intrepid/TM) took advantage of his recent international experience to achieve two nice third places that gave him his first podium in the French Championship. Unfortunately he was involved in a spectacular accident the following day, at the start of the pre-final, but suffered no serious consequences. The local favourite Charles Fiault (Sodi/Maxter) resisted well to Thomas Mich (Birel/TM) during Sunday's pre-final, but could not repeat his brilliant performance in the final due to a mechanical problem that forced him to retire. No one else could worry the grand leader of the Championship, who took a giant step towards the title, since Anthony Abbasse (Sodi/Maxter) concluded with a third place on Sunday. It was indeed Mathieu Gaillard (Energy/TM) who claimed the second place in the final and got back to third place in the provisional standings behind Abbasse. 5th in the pre-final and 4th in the final on Sunday, Christophe Benoit (Birel/TM) found again his usual burst of speed. A special mention goes to Brice De Gaye (DR/Maxter) who conquered a 5th place in the final, one of his most brilliant results.
