Goff wins Bridgestone Cup

BRDC Stars of Tomorrow JICA runner-up Max Goff has added yet another karting trophy to his burgeoning collection, by triumphing in the Bridgestone Cup just a week after storming to victory from the back of the grid in Monaco.

Having finished second at Lonato near Garda in Italy back in June – in the penultimate meeting on the 2007 Italian Open Masters calendar – the Brigstock ace went into the weekend with high hopes, and he acknowledged prior circuit knowledge was a definite boost.

“Normally the first couple of sessions are wasted just learning the track and getting used to the braking points and so on,” he explained, “but when you already know the track it’s a bonus, and we were amongst the fastest from the word go. It’s a really good circuit, very fast and flowing with hairpins and off-camber corners.

“Qualifying didn’t go too badly and we were seventh overall, though we were struggling a bit with engine problems and a lack of power.”

That being the case, and up against the crème de la crème of KF3 opposition from across Europe, a trio of top six finishes in the heats – second, fifth and sixth – was highly commendable, earning Max a front row starting spot for the pre-final which he converted into fourth place at the chequered flag, thereby determining his grid slot for the all-important grand final. Though he would bog down off the line and drop to ninth position on the opening lap, he rapidly regained his composure to pick his rivals off one-by-one and withstand a late challenge from French ace Brandon Maisano to lift the laurels.

“I wasn’t too disappointed at starting fourth,” the 13-year-old assured, “because the grand final was 28 laps long, so I knew if I had the pace I would be able to come through.

“That meant I wasn’t too bothered about the bad start either, and even when I was overtaken three laps from the end I was quite confident I could get back ahead again. It was quite a hard race, because I had never driven on the European-spec Bridgestone tyres before. If someone had told me two weeks ago I would win both the Monaco Kart Cup and the Bridgestone Cup I would never have believed them! It’s really good.”

1. Max Goff (GB, Maranello/XTR)
2. Raffaele Marciello (CH, Alonso/Vortex)
3. Mirko Torselllini (IT, Birel/MRC)
4. Hans Grenhagen (SE, Tony/Vortex)
5. Michael Heche (CH, Intrepid/XTR)
6. Mackenzie Taylor (GB, Alonso/Vortex)

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