The third race of the season in the FIA European Kart Championship in Rodby, Denmark, was a rollercoaster for Mathilda Paatz. After an unsuccessful qualifying, which put an early damper on her hopes of reaching the final, the DPK-Racing driver got on better and better during the heats. In the last Superheat, which was all about a conciliatory finish, Paatz shone with a strong catch-up.

"The screwed-up qualifying ruined the whole weekend," Mathilda Paatz said contritely after the European Championship race in Denmark. Due to technical problems, the 14-year-old was unable to burn a decent lap time into the asphalt, so in the end she only finished 59th out of 62 participants. "With this starting position, it is almost impossible to have a solid weekend and reach the final.

Nevertheless, the Cologne native once again showed her fighting spirit. Every heat was contested with ambition and discipline, which was rewarded with good individual results. In the second heat, the 14-year-old made up five positions, while the result lists of the fourth heat even showed six improvements. Nevertheless, the catch-up was not enough to keep her chances of reaching the final.

Strong performance in the Superheat

In the final superheat, Paatz therefore no longer had any pressure. She only went into the race with the aim of finding a conciliatory conclusion. In the process, the German Sport Driver's Association (DPK) promotional driver shone. With strong lap times and impressive overtaking manoeuvres, the DPK pilot made up numerous positions, so that in the end she finished in 15th place out of 29 starters.

"The result in the Superheat shows what would have been possible without the botched qualifying," says Paatz. "On the one hand I'm very happy with the good finish, on the other hand I'm annoyed about the missed opportunities this weekend that would have been possible with a better starting position." Paatz is now on holiday in Portugal to recharge his batteries before the Champions of the Future Euro Series and the FIA European Kart Championship in Cremona, Italy.  

1. July 2023 FIA Karting EM