Riki Christodoulou’s hopes of causing a major splash at the ICA European Championship meeting at Mariembourg, Belgium, yesterday afternoon were swiftly drowned after engine problems forced the ’03 JICA British Champion out of action.

Among the annual gathering of the continent’s best drivers ‘Christo’ was the fastest within his group and clinched a heat win during qualification  by an unprecedented five seconds. A spin in the second race unfortunately meant that he was back on the eighth row in 15th for Final A  but the pace shown in the emphatic victory on Saturday, coupled with his strong speed in practice and testing the previous two days, gave the team hopes of a very positive overall result.

While holding 10th in the first competitive foray the big end broke on the 15 year old’s Kart negotiating lap 11 of 14. The DNF meant that Riki classified 30th and was even further back on the grid for the main final. Still hopeful of gaining a respectable finish Christo took to the track in the repaired Kart but with the engine still under performing and eventually ‘conking out’ was relegated to the role of a bystander.

It was a frustrating event for the driver who had hopes of shining on the international stage and certainly has the ability and speed to do so.

Team Christo’s next major meeting will be the final round of the ICA British Championship next weekend at Larkhall where Riki still has a chance of taking his second consecutive national title.