The first weekend of the FIA Karting European Championship was positive for Nikita Ljubimov in the OKJ category.
The Tony Kart driver made his official debut in the European Championship, the top series of international karting, on the Spanish circuit of Campillos. After the start of the season spent improving his feeling and performance, Nikita’s work continued in Spain ahead of the European season.
Free practice gave Nikita the chance to improve further and work together with the team to find the right rhythm. In qualifying, Ljubimov tried to put it all together by setting a good time, useful for the start of the heat, finishing P12 in his session.
Friday and Saturday’s programme engaged the Estonian driver in five high-tension heats with consistently good results, including two P4s (with eight positions recovered), a P8, a P10 and a P13 after a penalty. Totally positive results that ensured access to the pre-final which ended in P9 and to the first FIA Karting OKJ final.
The final was not easy with many battles after the first laps, which were however intelligently managed by Nikita. P18 at the end which leaves plenty of room for improvement ahead of the next round at Portimao (Portugal) in a few weeks time.
Nikita Ljubimov: “I’m happy with this European Championship debut. Of course I always aim for the top positions, but I’m certainly growing a lot together with the team, step by step especially in qualifying. I want to say thank you to all Tony Kart team, my mechanic Graziano, Marco Ardigò for all the help, Vortex and of course my family and the people who support me. Reaching the European Championship was one of my goals and now I will do my best to keep improving. See you in Portimao!”
Nikita Ljubimov Press Office
Petrolhead Communication
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