In Monaco, Jiří Forman fared very well in the free practice, but his hopes were dashed by a technical breakdown in the race |
- 14. 10. 2007, Monaco -Full of expectation, determined to struggle for the best possible result, young kart driver Jiří Forman arrived in Monte Carlo to take part in the eleventh year of the prestigious Monaco Kart Cup. This racing event was held in warm, clear weather, at a track which was set up for this purpose directly within the Port of Monaco. The fine atmosphere of the races was intensified by the large audience. Jiří Forman was getting on very well at the beginning: in the first two free practice sessions, he ranked among the very best of the almost forty drivers contesting the KF3 Junior CIK-FIA category. It looked like he was going to reach the finals easily. Having set the fourth fastest time (49.548) in the official practice sessions, Forman claimed a fine position in the third line of the starting grid for the Sunday qualifying. But then, events took an unexpected turn. In the first, nine-lap qualifying session, held on Sunday morning, Forman, through no fault of his own, got involved in a collision, namely, the kart running immediately ahead of him went into a rotational skid and Forman could not avoid the crash. Consequently, the team had to concentrate their efforts on the repair of the damaged kart (TopKart/Comer/Dunlop) to get it ready for the second qualifying session. They had to fit a new front wheel suspension and to straighten the steering wheel shaft, which had been bent. However, they managed in time. Nevertheless, Forman was not able to start the engine of his kart before the second qualifying session. The cause was detected afterwards: the cylinder head gasket ruptured, causing water to leak into the combustion space, which was a failure not connected with the previous collision. Consequently, Jiří Forman could not qualify for the semi-finals and had to retire from the races. 'After a year of racing in Great Britain, this was an opportunity for me to compete with the best drivers from numerous European countries within my category. The results of the free practice sessions and of the official practice have suggested that I am capable of competing with them very well. This is why I am very sorry that, because of the engine failure, I was not able to take advantage of this opportunity,' said Jiří Forman after the races in Monaco. |
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