Forza Racing and Robert Shwartzman proved the old saying that it’s ‘not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog’ with a terrific performance in the CIK FIA World Championship in Bahrain (23 November).
As he entered the last lap, the young Russian star was poised to become the 2013 KF Junior World Champion - but in the dramatic final moments claimed 3rd place overall.
“It was a hard race. Twice he (Robert) got himself into a good position. He caught Lando and passed him, but Norris was clever and attacked him right back which put Robert back to 5th or 6th I think. And then he fought back to 2nd and at that point, as he went into the last lap, we were World Champions,” explained a philosophical Team Owner Jamie Croxford, adding: “I closed my eyes and Robert was a little bit nervous and didn’t close the gap in the hairpin at the top of the hill. Nikita (Mazepin) closed and passed him. They touched a little, but only because there was no space. It wasn’t the fault of either driver as two karts into one corner wouldn’t work.”
Despite being caught in the white heat of the fight for the world title, the Forza Racing driver sportingly ceded the advantage he gained by cutting a small section of the track. He crossed the finishing line in 4th place, but was later promoted to 3rd after Mazepin was given a ten-second penalty by the stewards for exceeding the track limits on his drive to 2nd place.
After his 3rd place at the opening round of the World Championship (held at Sarno, Italy on 3-6 October), Shwartzman was praised by Croxford: “To finish the season and be World Champions would have been great, but we’ve still pulled off a massive achievement. Robert is very fast and that helped us. He has a lot of natural ability and our personal approach helped him, as we can focus on his needs as an individual and give him the material to go out and show what he can do.”
Jamied added: “We might be a new, small team but we are not daunted by taking on the works and big teams. We almost won the European title also. Again that came down to the last lap and we were 4th overall. We won the KF3 European Championship last year (with George Russell) and have a great team, with me, Cara (Russell), Shane (McFadden), Kyle (Moore) and the help of GFR Engines. It is a family environment and that works for us. The mentality of the driver is important and if he is in good condition, anything is possible. Fingers crossed, we will continue on this level next year.”
The team and Robert are now considering stepping up to KF2 category for 2014, although Croxford is playing his cards close to his chest: “We’ll go testing and see what happens. When we have some effective data, we’ll make an informed decision and go from there.”
For more information and to discuss a race seat with the team or arrange a test day, compete in a club meeting or have a day of one-to-one driver coaching, please contact Jamie on +44 7921 393 940.
