Sun and pleasant temperatures for the drivers of the IAME International Final, the single-brand series hosted by Circuito Actua Karting, a hop from the airport of Lyon, France.

The international final of the championship promoted by IAME is dedicated to all drivers whose kart (choice of chassis is free) a Parilla X30 or X30 Shifter engine, with an impressive amount of verified entries: a grand total of 173 drivers have, in fact, showed up on the French circuit, across 4 categories foreseen (Junior, Master, Senior and Shifter) and who today battled each other in the first set of races counting towards the titles quest, before tomorrow’s decisive finals.
In the Junior dedicated to the youngest, it was Julien Darras (Tony Kart) who today conquered pole for Sunday’s prefinal: with two victories out of three heats, he was Saturday’s absolute ruler. Next to him at the start tomorrow there will be Jules Bollier (Kosmic), winner of the other heat right in front of Darras and  well positioned all day (two third places in the other two heats). Right behind the French duo, the German Tobias Dauenhauer (Intrepid), and chasing behind are Potty (Kosmic), Vitar (Praga) and Dingert (Parolin). Bad luck for Prudent (Tony Kart), always up front, but, after closing the third heat in 3rd place was disqualified after inspections, accumulating “heavy” penaltues that will see him start from the 12th spot.
Three heats also for the Shifter on gearshift karts: here the battle seems a closed duel between Thierry Delre (Sodi), who is in the lead after the penalties count thanks to two wins and a 3rd place, and Ronnie Bremer (Bremer), who didn’t miss a beat and placed 2nd overall with a win and two second places. Behind them the action was in any case heated: 3rd in the three heats was claimed by Mougeole (PCR), Klinger (Alpha) and Latorre (Sodi).





10 was the total number of heats (4 per driver) in the Senior category, with a full field that saw 88 drivers hit the track: at the end the strongest at the overall penalties count is Jules Gounon (Sodi), thanks to a clean sweep with 4 out of 4 wins. Right behind him are Sylver Garcia (Intrepid) with two wins and Jérémy Lopes (Tony Kart) with one victory. Same result, but with a position less, for Carpena (Kosmic). Following are Cout (Alpha), Fraysse (Tony Kart) and Ceribella (FA).
In the Master’s total of 6 heats (3 per driver), it is the Frenchman Duchanteau (Alpha) who comes out on top, with two victories and a 3rd place, followed by Foster (Sodi) and Allemand (PCR). Standing behind them are the American Russell (Sodi) and the French quartet of Raccamier (Tony Kart), Porte (Energy), Collinot (Tony Kart) and Blin (Kosmic).
Tomorrow will be the big day for everyone: the decisive battle of the 2012 IAME International Final.