Helias takes top 6 at WSK debut

Jonathan Hélias quickly made his mark in the WSK series by but taking 6th place in his debut race in Angerville. Jonathan missed the first meeting in La Conca but this result takes the Team France driver straight into 15th place in the provisional standings.

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Up against a field of 83 international class drivers, the advantage of home ground was a welcome asset for a driver who doesn't have a lot of experience at this level. When he was racing in the Cadet category, Jonathan won several races here in Angerville (not far from Paris), notably an epic round of the French Championship contested in the rain.

Drivers have taken to the WSK series because of the increased number of practice sessions it offers them to try out different set-ups. So the Thursday before the race saw Jonathan already hard at work on his Intrepid chassis with the support of his team, LM Karting. Jo ramped up his lap times so that he was able to finish in the Top 10 in each of his practice sessions.

Being 4th quickest in qualifying practice - just one tenth of a second off pole position - earned Jo a place on the 3rd line of the grid for the qualifying heats. “I wasn’t entirely happy with the kart during timed practice. We were a little bit off the pace. But with Ludovic Miretti, my team-manager and Franck Jouve, my mechanic, we did some fine tuning on the set-up and after that things went much better, to the point where I managed to clock a fastest lap during a race on the Saturday.”

Jo had a good run during qualifying and finished all of his heats between 6th and 9th place, earning him 10th spot on the grid for the pre-final. The dash from the start is always hairy in Angerville but Jo managed to stay clear of trouble and joined the best part of the chasing pack. He crossed the line having made up two places, pocketing the points for 8th place.

Showing no trepidation, our fearless Intrepid France driver battled for all he was worth to get amongst the Top 5 in the final. “I was lying 5th at one point but got caught by Kevin Ceccon and my team-mate Brandon Maïsano. They both have a lot more experience than I do but I never let them get away from me. I tried to take Ceccon during braking on the hairpin in the final lap and it worked! I finished 6th, right on the tail of Vainio, the guy from Finland who won the Winter Cup.”

Jonathan was the 2nd best-placed Frenchman, which is a great result when you consider this was his first major international race. “I was reasonably happy with 6th place in this race because the field was European championship level class, although I won't be satisfied until I get on the podium, which I hope to do in the next race."

Photo: CCcommm

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