The 2012 French Karting Championships had to wait to the last final of the last of the five GPOs of the season to crown the winners of the three categories. It is hard to imagine a tougher competition than this! The doubling of points at the Laval meeting increased uncertainty in the different classifications, while the weather was relatively fine, with few rains on the department of Mayenne this weekend. Finally, three talented drivers, who had taken centre stage since the first round held at Varenne, in early March, won the championship titles of this national competition. Two rookies, Gabriel Aubry and Paul Boutonnet, won in KF3 and in KF2 respectively, while Maxime Roy, who has competed in the gearbox class since 2009, conquered the title in KZ2.
KF3: Bollier a Revelation, Aubry Confirms His TalentKF3 drivers formed the most numerous group of the GPO on the circuit of Laval Beausoleil, in the most open category as far as the race to the title was concerned. Among the favourites, Gabriel Aubry (Birel/TM) was the one who better managed his lead, despite some very disappointing time qualifying sessions on Saturday. He closed his time gap when the head of the race was decimated by a spectacular tangle that involved about a dozen drivers, on the first meters of pre-final 1. Not so lucky in Final 1, Aubry had to give way to an unstoppable Jules Bollier (Kosmic/Parilla) who conquered the first of his three weekend victories, while Franois Bcamel (Kosmic/Parilla) and Matteo Raspatelli (Tony Kart/Parilla) took the second and third places on Saturday. On Sunday, Bollier continued his triumphant march in the pre-final as well as in Final 2, climbing up from 11th to 2nd place in the French Championship, ahead of Bcamel. Aubry managed his strategy perfectly, holding off his rivals and avoiding race-ending incidents, to receive as reward the KF3 title.
KF2: Boutonnet Triumphs, Gonzals on the ThroneAlthough Paul Boutonnet (Tony Kart/Parilla) had been the leader since the first meeting of the season, he was not 100% sure he could win the title at Laval. However, the fact that his main rivals did not perform as expected, together with a Pascal Belmaaziz (DR/Vortex) in excellent form, as well as Nicolas Gonzals (DR/Vortex) gaining momentum and Anthoine Hubert's (Tony Kart/Vortex) arrival on the scene, all this contributed to his success. Boutonnet adopted a cautious approach, avoiding all the hurdles along the way, apart from a withdrawal in the second pre-final 2, luckily followed by a second place after a strong recovery. DR Racing team members monopolised the first places, except for Hubert's victory in Final 1. Gonzals won the pre-final and the final on Sunday, paving the way for his partner's success while also fighting for a podium finish. Unfortunately, this plan did not work out as expected when Belmaaziz was inflicted a 5-place penalty during the start procedure. Belmaaziz could no longer fight for the title and had to be satisfied with becoming Vice Champion, while Moineault, though not in brilliant form this weekend, took the third step of the podium.
KZ2: Roy Brilliantly Precedes FiaultAlthough he was not at the Essay GPO, Maxime Roy (Tony Kart/TM) retained the Championship lead. Charles Fiault (Sodi/Maxter) thought he could show some brilliant performances in his homeland and fight for the title. But the battle turned to the advantage of Roy, who performs at his best in international competitions and who scored the highest number of points with his two victories in the final race. He conquered the KZ2 title ahead of his worthy opponent Fiault. Christophe Benoit (Birel/TM) skilfully took the 3rd place against a fiery-tempered Nolan Mantione (Birel/TM) who was not as successful as expected.
