Goff taking on the Italian job

Upcoming karting star Max Goff is heading to the final round of the prestigious Italian Open Masters championship this weekend on the back of a superb European performance that saw him fight his way through right from the back of the pack.

The Brigstock ace – competing in the WSK International Series for the first time at the demanding Lonato circuit near Garda in Italy – overcame adversity to register a twelfth place finish in the final, out of some 90 entries. What’s more, 2007 marks his first campaign in the fiercely-contested KF3 class (JICA in the UK), after making the leap from Mini Max last year.

“It was a huge step-up,” he confirmed. “In Mini Max maybe three people could win, but in JICA there are as many as ten or twelve. The competition is a lot closer and tighter, the engine has a lot more power, the tyres are far grippier and you’re travelling faster but braking even later.

“Lonato is a track with a bit of everything – hairpins, long straights, chicanes…it’s very challenging. In WSK there are different styles of racing from different countries, and if you make just one mistake you could find something like eight karts coming past you.”

It was not a mistake that was to cost the 13-year-old, however, but rather mechanical problems with his kart following an encouraging showing throughout the build-up.

“We were quick in practice,” Max said, “then in timed qualifying we were seventh in our group and tenth overall. In the first heat I got up to fifth at the start, but then the carburettor went down and we ended up 21st. It was very frustrating, but at the same time just one of the things you have to deal with in karting. In the second heat I finished fifth, which I was quite pleased with.

“Before the first final we found a faulty spark plug and the engine wouldn’t start, so we didn’t even get out for that one. That also meant we had to begin 34th and last in the second final. It was really hard to fight my way through, but I was lucky in that six drivers ahead of me got taken out at the start.

“After that I just went for late lunges to try and make my way through the pack, because really I had nothing to lose. I had only expected to get into the top 20 from where I started, but I came through to twelfth which made it quite a good weekend in the end.”

Max has now turned his attentions to the final round of the Italian Open Masters at Val Vibrata in the Abruzzo. He registered his first points in the hotly-fought series last time out at Garda, courtesy of a superb second-place finish after switching across to a Maranello chassis from his previous BRM mount. That vaulted him up from nowhere to 14th place in the points table in a field of some 42 drivers, and another strong performance this weekend could see him break into the top ten.

“I’ve never even seen the track before,” he admitted, “but hopefully we will manage to get into the points again.”

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