The final of the Champions of the Future Euro Series (CotF) in Franciacorta, Italy, was a big disappointment for Mathilda Paatz. After a good start to the weekend, which raised hopes of a good result, the DPK-Racing pilot was slowed down by a defective race engine. In the heats, in which some of the young talents were over-motivated and went at it with a crowbar, Paatz had to avoid the collisions and accidents in front of her and thus fell back to the end of the field several times.
The final weekend of the Champions of the Future Euro Series in Franciacorta, Italy, started with a setback: Already in the first free practice Paatz was slowed down by a defect in the race engine, which not only cost valuable practice time but also the important drive unit. The DPK driver therefore had to contest the rest of the weekend with a replacement engine. Nevertheless, Paatz convinced in the practice sessions with a good speed and fast lap times.
The 14-year-old was also able to repeat this performance in the important qualifying. Although Paatz did not find the optimal position for the fast lap in her group and lost around two tenths of a second as a result, there was clear progress compared to the previous races. In the overall classification, the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé finished in 58th place out of a total of 104 participants. Things did not go perfectly in the first two heats on Thursday, which Paatz finished in 17th and 14th position, but the 14-year-old could be satisfied with her performance.
A Friday to forget
Friday was a day to forget. In the three remaining heats, Paatz could not improve and only reached positions 32, 21 and 28. Twice after the start, the student was on the wrong line and could only avoid the accidents in front of her with difficulty. In addition, the DPK driver could not keep up with the pace of the leading group. "We lacked the speed on Friday, maybe I pushed the tyres a bit too hard on Thursday," mused Paatz. "The spare engine also degraded a bit over the course of the weekend and unfortunately I wasn't as competitive as a result."
In the Superheat on Saturday, Paatz wanted to add another highlight to end the weekend on a conciliatory note, but here, too, the German Sport Driver's Association protégé had no luck. When the start was interrupted shortly before the start of the race, the field jammed up at the end and Paatz pushed in her front spoiler even before the starting lights came on, which was punished with a five-second penalty after the race. After the successful start, the 14-year-old had to avoid another accident and thus fell back to the end of the field. In the end, no more than 31st place was possible in the Superheat, which was still enough for 60th place overall out of 104 participants*. Paatz was also the best young talent from Germany.
Mathilda Paatz takes the positive experiences with her and concentrates on the upcoming tasks. From 5 to 8 October, the FIA Kart World Championship will take place in Franciacorta, in which the Cologne native will participate together with DPK-Racing. The performance on Thursday and in qualifying are encouraging for the World Championship, and Paatz will also be well equipped with an additional engine. A month later, in mid-November, Paatz will be fighting for sponsorship for the 2024 season at the finals of 'FIA Girls on Track'.
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