Mathilda Paatz showed last weekend that she is also one of the fastest women in the world in karting: The young driver from Cologne, who made the switch to formula racing this season and recently impressed with a steep learning curve in Formula 4 France, took part in the Champions of the Future Euro Series in preparation for the World Shifter Kart Championship in Portimao (10th to 13th October). Although Paatz lacked the necessary bit of luck to finish at the front, the ADAC Sports Foundation protégée left a good impression with her strong performance, which gives hope.
Although Paatz is focussing on Formula 4 this year and has only competed in a few test days and two national kart races so far, the 16-year-old quickly found her feet in the shifter kart. However, the changeable weather conditions with lots of rain did not make it easy for the Cologne native. The qualifying result of 65th place was not ideal, but quite acceptable given the circumstances. In the first heat, Paatz was only just able to avoid a heavy accident in the pouring rain, which she only recognised late due to the spray. However, with five places won and 16th place overall, the German Sports Drivers' Association protégée could be satisfied in the end.
Mathilda also finished the second heat in 16th position, but a penalty dropped her back to 22nd place. In the third heat, the driver from Cologne had to settle for 21st place after a collision, before things got even worse in the fourth heat: Paatz had already made up a few places after the start when she tried an overtaking manoeuvre a little too forcefully. A competitor objected to this, which is why the race had to be ended after an accident with a rather demolished kart. The mechanics had their hands full repairing the damage before the fifth and final heat. The aim there was to preserve the chance of one of the two super heats on Saturday with a solid result. The rider from Cologne held her nerve, so that two places and 20th place were enough to qualify for the Superheat.
Paatz with good performance in the Superheat
Here, Paatz came up against the other two women in the 82-strong field: the 16-year-old finished 67th in the intermediate classification, directly behind the Austrian Emma Felbermayer in 65th place and Zoe Florescu Potolea, the winner of the 2023 edition of FIA Girls on Track, in 66th place. Although the two other participants have already been competing in shifter karting for the entire season and have taken part in the European Championships, among others, Paatz's ambition won out: the Cologne-based driver wanted to prevail in her guest appearance and finish the weekend as the best woman.
Saturday started differently than planned for Paatz, however, as the engine burst during the warm-up. However, the fact that her preparation was severely curtailed as a result and that the 16-year-old was one of the last participants at the pre-start did not seem to rattle the Motorsport Team Germany driver. On the contrary: the start in the shifter kart, which is not one of the strengths of the current Formula 4 driver due to her lack of experience, went very well this time. Paatz kept an overview and was able to make up three places in the early stages. In the end, thanks to good duels and a faultless drive, he even gained eleven positions and finished 23rd out of 36 starters. Paatz finished the weekend in 60th place overall and as the best-placed woman in the starting field.
Nevertheless, the ambitious rider from Cologne is not completely satisfied after losing too many places in qualifying and the heats due to the adverse weather conditions. ‘If I had coped better with the tyres in the rain, I could have done better in qualifying. Things didn't go perfectly in the heats either. But the good thing is that I have the pace to be in the midfield here,’ summarised Paatz, who is hoping for dry weather for the world championship in October. ‘Let's see what I can achieve then!’ But before that, she will head straight from Portugal to Le Castellet in the south of France, where the finale of the French Formula 4 Championship will take place this weekend (4th to 6th October) and Paatz will be chasing points at the end of her debut season.
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