Challenging weekend in La Conca. Adaptation, rain and tough racing
The race weekend in La Conca, Italy, was mainly about adaptation for Libor Vlasák. It was his first time racing on this track, and at the same time he had to quickly adjust to different tyres than those used in FIA events. The WSK series runs on its own tyre specification, which behaves differently on track.
“I had to adapt a lot. New track, new tyres and a completely different feeling from the kart,” Libor explains.
Rain complicated the practice sessions
The preparation was also heavily affected by the weather. It rained the entire Thursday, so there was no running at all. Drivers only got back on track later, which meant much less time to properly set up the kart and learn the circuit.
Qualifying did not go as planned.
“There were about 35 drivers on track and I couldn’t find a clean space to set a fast lap. There was a lot of traffic and someone was always in front of me.”
Four heats on Friday
Because of the lost track time, four race heats were scheduled for Friday.
The first race was still run on a damp track. Libor started from the back of the grid and had nothing to lose, but the race was quickly affected by a large incident.
“One driver spun in front of me and took me with him. Around seventeen drivers ended up off the track in that corner.”
The second race was solid but uneventful – neither particularly strong nor problematic.
The third heat, however, was much better. Although the start wasn’t ideal, Libor began overtaking drivers almost every lap and steadily moved forward through the field.
“I had good pace and I was passing someone almost every lap.”
Unfortunate prefinal
Only 76 drivers advance to the prefinal, which means extremely tough competition. Libor had a strong start and was fighting for positions early in the race.
Unfortunately, the race ended prematurely.
“Someone hit me from behind and pushed me off the track, so I couldn’t finish the race.”
Valuable preparation for the European Championship
Despite the setbacks, Libor sees the weekend as a valuable experience. His pace improved throughout the event and he gained important knowledge of the circuit.
“This was more of a preparation race. The next event will be the European Championship here in La Conca, and I’m really looking forward to it because now I already know the track.”
There was also a positive atmosphere in the paddock.
“I met Daniel there, so the paddock had a friendly atmosphere as well. That’s always nice.”