January 20, 2020 by Bradley Philpot

Super-Pole to Victory for Super Pole Grzyb!

After claiming the top spot in qualifying for the second year in succession, Michał Grzyb became the first new BRKC champion in seven years with a flawless drive from lights to flag in the Grand Final at BRKC 2020

In the most competitive field of drivers ever seen at the British Rental Kart Championship, it was Michał Grzyb who emerged victorious after storming to pole position in the Super-Pole shootout for the second year in succession. Having slipped to third in the Grand Final in 2019, it was a different story this time around, as Grzyb’s victory looked assured from the early stages after reigning World Champion Michael Schoettler tangled with Mathias Grooten and lost time with a bad pass flag.

After attempting to serve his penalty (which Grooten prevented by refusing to be allowed back through), Schoettler set about reeling in Grzyb, at one stage gaining up to two tenths of a second per lap on the Pole as he took the BRKC lap record several times. However, the three second margin ultimately proved to be too much of a challenge, and Schoettler was forced to settle for second place.

The fight for third was far less straightforward, as Mathias Grooten attempted to make up for the time loss incurred by the earlier Schoettler incident to catch his compatriot Mats De Jong and claim the final spot on the podium. Despite an effort to undercut De Jong, Grooten was unable to find a way through and De Jong defended perfectly until the finish, to take his first BRKC podium.

“It’s an amazing feeling, competing here at the highest level.” – Michał Grzyb

In the heat stages, it was Selina Balneger who headed the scoreboard, courtesy of four wins from four races over the course of Saturday and Sunday. However, heading into the Super-Pole shootout for the Grand Final, Patryk Nieroda had moved to the front of the championship thanks to a strong Semi-Final. Some shock absentees included pre-event favourite Ruben Boutens, as well as Ed White, Lewis Manley, Yoan Medart – and various other finalists from previous years.

In the Super-Pole shootout itself, the laptimes were closer than ever, with nine drivers covered by 0.150s. Surprisingly, Nieroda could only manage P9 despite driving last, and reigning KWC Kart World Champion Michael Schoettler was mired in the middle of the pack in fifth place. However, both of these drivers would move forward during the race itself, aided by their preferential kart selection championship positions prior to the Grand Final.

The Kam Ho Masters’ trophy for drivers over 40 years old went to South African Richard Jute, whilst the Genevieve Reason Memorial Trophy for exceptional performance and determination during the event was awarded to Selina Belneger for being the only driver to score four heat wins during the competition.

Click here to watch the full video of BRKC 2020 on Motorsport.tv

Final Results:

Pos	No	Name	Behind	Best	On	Grid	Grid +/-	Team
1	18	Michał Grzyb		30.865	49	1	=	MG Racing Team
2	21	Michael Schoettler	1.858	30.771	56	5	+3	Eco Racing Germany
3	14	Mats de Jong	14.154	31.011	47	2	-1	Traxxis
4	11	Mathias Grooten	14.648	30.983	52	4	=	BlueStar Racing Team 2
5	19	Patryk Nieroda	14.873	30.903	51	9	+4	MG Racing Team
6	17	Regis Gosselin	15.214	31.156	54	3	-3	Black Horses
7	8	Selina Balneger	15.561	30.946	49	6	-1	Traxxis 2
8	13	Wojciech Grzyb	18.531	31.097	49	8	=	MG Racing Team
9	9	Sean Brierley	25.753	31.158	46	7	-2	Briars Racing
10	20	Dawid Chart	1 Lap	31.234	50	10	=	Hussayra Karting Poland