Archive for 2006

Riki Christodoulou has finished an impressive fifth in the Formula Renault Winter Series, winning the battle of the karting graduates and finishing as the best placed newcomer. Having made the step up to single-seater racing with Fortec Motorsport, the Sutton Coldfield based teenager equipped himself well as he went up against seasoned Formula Renault racers. Riki secured his strong finish in the series during an event filled meeting at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire.

Inclement weather was the order of the day, but the first race was run in the dry and allowed Riki to improve upon his tenth place grid slot as he worked his way up to a solid sixth. For the second race Riki qualified fifth, but the track was wet and Riki suffered a slow getaway, finding himself in the middle of the field. This set the scene for a classic ‘Christo fight back’, as Riki clawed his way back into the top ten, eventually finishing eighth.

“I have really enjoyed my first taste of single-seater racing,” reflected Riki as the series came to a close. “ I immediately felt at home in the Formula Renault car and it was good to learn some new tracks and familiarise myself with the car. I was competitive in the opening race and I enjoyed the battle as I made my way towards the front. I was disappointed to have the slow getaway in the final round, especially as I had qualified well, but at least I was able to get some more wet weather experience.”

The experience gained from the four round winter series will stand Riki in good stead for a full-scale assault on the Formula Renault UK crown next season.  “It was always likely to be a steep learning curve, but Riki has handled the transition from Karting to Formula Renault exceptionally well,” commented father, Rick. “Riki loves the car and has learnt an enormous amount from the series. When you consider the single-seater experience of the guys he is racing against, we are more than happy with Riki’s competitive performance and the knowledge he has gained.”

Formula Renault Winter Series Final Standings

• Franck Mailleux (FRA) – 130pts
• Niall Breen (GBR) – 94
• Jordan Oakes (GBR) – 86
• Richard Singleton (GBR) – 64
• Riki Christodoulou (GBR) – 62

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou has finished second in the 2006 CIK-FIA European Formula A Karting Championship but was a handful of laps away from sealing his first continental title at Ampfing in Germany for the final round of three in Karting’s premier competition.

Christodoulou needed to cross the finish line either first or second in the second final in damp conditions last Sunday and was holding fifth in a tightly bunched leading group. With three circulations remaining the Briton was hit off the track by rival Mark Litchfield and rejoined the fray outside the points. The incredible and unprovoked incident meant that Italian Mark Ardigo, who could only manage 20th and 10th in the two races, retained his crown by just 8 points from the former British Champion.

The 18 year old qualified well and came through the three heats with 5th, 5th and 3rd positions to start the first final from 8th on the grid. After using the first third of the race to find his rhythm ‘Christo’ then stepped up the pace in wet conditions and recorded an excellent 2nd position. The second sprint took place on a slightly drier circuit with a distinct racing line. Like all the drivers, the Fernando Alonso Kart Genikart representative set off on wet tyres and was poised to go for the Championship until Litchfield’s interruption.

“To say I am disappointed and feel a little sore about the situation is an understatement,” the teenager from Sutton Coldfield in England’s Midlands said. “Two of the Karts in that top five group retired and I know that I would have had second place at least which would have given me the Championship. Finishing second and on the podium is by no means a bad result but when you have come so close to winning it is a little hard to accept right away. I drove well over the weekend and I think that I proved that I can handle the pressure of title-decider like that.”

After three rounds in Italy, France and Germany Riki has finished as the second best Karter in Europe and the top British driver.

Christo will now begin to prepare for the final round of the FA British series which will take place at the Rowrah circuit on September 10th. He lies 8th in the provisional standings but has been let down in recent races by mechanical hiccups.

Final 1

1. Bianchi, Jules (F) Maranello Kart, 2. Christodoulou, Riki (GB) Genikart-LTP, 3. Catt, Gary (GB) Tony Kart Racing Team, 4. Litchfield, Mark (GB) PF International Karting, 5. Fore, Davide (I) Tony Kart Racing Team, 6. Thonon, Jonathan (B) CRG, 7. Christensen, Michael (DK) PDB Racing Team, 8. Cesetti, Sauro (I) Birel Motorsport, 9. Croxford, Jamie (GB) PF International Karting, 10. Parrott, Jason (GB) Maranello Kart

Final 2

1. Christensen, Michael (DK) PDB Racing Team, 2. Iglesias, Jérémy (E) Kosmic Racing Dept, 3. Bianchi, Jules (F) Maranello Kart, 4. Kozlinski, Arnaud (F) Intrepid Kart Technology, 5. Sims, Alexander (GB) CRG, 6. Parrott, Jason (GB) Maranello Kart, 7. Lancaster, Jon (GB) Birel Motorsport, 8. Catt, Gary (GB) Tony Kart Racing Team, 9. Puhakka, Simo (FIN) PCR, 10. Ardigo, Marco (I) Tony Kart Racing Team, 25. Christodoulou, Riki (GB) Genikart-LTP

Overall Championship standings after 3 rounds (6 races):

1. Ardigo, Marco (I) 72, 2. Christodoulou, Riki (GB) 64, 3. Kozlinski, Arnaud (F) 56, 4. Catt, Gary (GB) 56, 5. Bianchi, Jules (F) 43, 6. Fore, Davide (I) 42, 7. Thonon, Jonathan (B) 35, 8. Christensen, Michael (DK) 34, 9. Convers, Armand (F) 34, 10. Litchfield, Mark (GB) 24

Category: News

Top British Kart racer Riki Christodoulou took a decent 5th position after starting from the back of the grid for the first final at Varennes in France for the second round of the CIK Formula A European Championship Last weekend.

The 17 year old from Sutton Coldfield managed a highest finish of 3rd from his three qualification heats and had to start from the second-to-last row of the grid but again demonstrated that the hype proclaiming the British youngster as the fastest talent in Europe was justified by cutting a path through to sixth position before half of the seventeen lap distance had been run.
Much to arch-rival Marco Ardigo’s dismay his closest challenger in the title chase was elevated to fifth after a driver ahead of him had been penalised.

Starting from 5th for the second final Christo, driving his Fernando Alonso Kart for the Spanish Genikart crew, was battling with main rivals Ardigo, Fore and Kozlinski and was firmly in command until a rain shower coated the circuit and caused confusion with half of the marshals red-flagging the race while the Race Director waved on for an extra circulation and then produced the chequered flag.

With Christo taking to the podium, chaos reigned as the paddock and organisers were unsure as the final status of the classification due to the flagging mess initiated by the rain. Eventually the second final was declared null and void and the Championship – with one round still to run at Ampfing, Germany on 20th August – will now count the scores of five finals as opposed to six and eliminate the worst result of each driver to formulate the standings.

Although a provisional leader-board has yet to be published Christo now has results of 2nd, 4th and 5th on the European stage and is in with a very decent shout of the title.

‘It was nice to finish the day with a podium even though it didn’t end up counting!’ the teenager commented. ’I am pleased with my drive from the first final as some bad luck in the heats meant that I had a lot of work to do. The Championship is still there to be won but we will have to go for the top step both times in Germany.’

Final 1 result:

1. Ardigo, Marco ITA
2. Catt, Gary GB
3. Kozlinski, Arnaud FRA
4. Fore, Davide ITA
5. Christodoulou, Riki GB

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou recovered from his last nightmare outing in the 2006 Formula A Renault Elf B4 Super 1 British Championship at PF several weeks ago to again scale the podium last Sunday at Larkhall in Scotland.

The teenager, driving his Fernando Alonso Kart for the Spanish Genikart team, picked up 1st and 2nd positions in the two finals after a determined and masterly display in miserable weather conditions.

‘Christo’ from Sutton Coldfield survived a mishap with his brakes during qualification when the pads fell out of the system after seven laps. He was still able to post the second quickest lap-time – missing pole position by a hundredth of a second – and then went on to win both of his heats.

The ’03 JICA British Champion pulled away from the rest of the field in a wet first final for a straightforward victory. In the second sprint he was holding third in a rough race and passed the chequered flag in the same position but was elevated to second place after Chris Rogers was given a five second time penalty for jumping the start.

The result was a perfect tonic for Riki who now heads to Varennes, France for the second round of the Formula A European Championship this weekend and also allowed him to forget the double non-score at PF.

“Apart from the hiccup with the brakes it was a good weekend,’” he commented. “I felt fast from the start and had a good speed through qualification and into the finals. The first race was quite easy. I got out in front early and built a small lead over everyone. The second final had a lot of bumping and barging but second place was OK on the amended results. I will need some bad luck to strike the others if I still want a shout of the Championship but I’ll give it my best shot.”

He now stands a provisional 6th in the standings with the penultimate round set to take place at the Clay Pigeon circuit at the end of July.

Larkhall Final 1

1. RIKI CHRISTODOULOU
2. CHRIS ROGERS
3. TOM ARMOUR
4. DANNY CRUTTENDEN
5. MICHAEL RYALL

Larkhall Final 2

1. JASON PARROTT
2. RIKICHRISTODOULOU
3. MARK LITCHFIELD
4. CHRIS ROGERS
5. DANNY CRUTTENDEN

Provisional Formula A standings

1. MARK LITCHFIELD   375
2. JASON PARROTT     370
3. DANNY CRUTTENDE    330
4. JAMIE CROXFORD     329
5. CHRIS ROGERS       326
6. RIKI CHRISTODOULOU    311

Category: News

The UK’s fastest Kart racer, Riki Christodoulou, wiped out his recent British Championship disappointment by taking an impressive 3rd position in the CIKFIA World Cup at the Suzuka circuit in Japan last weekend.

The 17 year old from Sutton Coldfield left for the long flight to Asia under a cloud after a broken chain and a cancelled second final due to a heavy downpour meant zero points at the PF International course and the third round of the 2006 Formula A Renault Elf B4 Super 1 British Championship.

The Team Genikart driver had been leading the series after a strong double win at Three Sisters but has now slipped to tenth in the provisional standings. Determined to banish some of his frustration ‘Christo’ headed to the Suzuka motorsport complex looking for turnaround in fortune.

After ending Timed Practice in 9th position he was then 4th in the second heat after further engine trouble had put paid to his first race efforts. In wet conditions once again the former Junior British Champion produced one of the best drives of the weekend as he started from 27th in the Pre-Final and fought his way up to a decent 4th.

He had to work hard once more in the main event itself as he was barged wide on the first lap and recovered from 8th place to carve his way into 3rd twenty-three circulations later and a well-earned podium ahead of the world’s fastest drivers. Christo was also the top Brit in the event that saw some nine different nationalities represented by 34 karters.

“Japan means a long trip but we were happy with the podium and it was definitely worthwhile going,” he said. “The Japanese fans are so passionate and dedicated to their motorsports and it is refreshing to be in that environment. Considering the bad weather again it was a good result and I’m sure it could have been a little bit better if it had been dry. Still, it was nice to come away and forget about PF. I am more motivated now to really attack the British Championship next time out.”

The fourth round of the British series will take place on June 17th/18th at the Larkhall circuit.

Category: News

Highly-rated young British racing driver Riki Christodoulou made a decent start to the 2006 CIK FIA European Championships with 2nd and 4th positions in the two finals against the continents best Karters. ‘Christo’ lies 2nd in the series standings and is currently top Brit.

The first round of three took place last Sunday at the La Conca circuit near the town of Lecce. 17 year old Christodoulou, who is driving for the Spanish Genikart team and steering the new ‘Fernando Alonso Kart’, was immediately on the pace in the top category of the sport, Formula A.

The Sutton Coldfield resident was 3rd quickest in qualifying and then proceeded to score results of 3rd, 2nd and 1st in his heat races showing some impressive speed despite two engines problems that forced some frantic mechanical work.

In the first of the finals Christo was fighting for victory but made a small mistake on the last lap and was beaten by just two tenths of a second by Italian factory Tony Kart driver Marco Ardigo. The second sprint took place in wet conditions and the former junior British Champion and 2005 British Formula A runner-up ran a lonely 4th for most of the race after the leaders had earlier escaped.

“It was an awesome weekend and I was quick right through qualifying, the heats and the finals. We were unlucky to have two engines seize on us and that meant that we had to waste a bit of time running the repairs in,” he said. “I got a bad start in the first race but caught up to the back of Ardigo and sat on his bumper. I think I moved past him too early because he was fast on one part of the circuit while I was quicker on another. I was blocking him for two laps and I tried to get the double right-hander perfect on the last lap and hit the first part of the section flat-out but ran a little bit wide on the second apex. It was still good to be back on the podium.”

“For the second final the heavens opened,” he continued. “I panicked a little bit because I have not had so much wet weather race time with the Kart and I fought back from 6th to 4th but the others had already got away. I was on my own for about 15 laps and it was a bit boring. I was catching Ardigo towards the end but ran out of time.”

“I am pleased with how the weekend went but also a little bit disappointed with 4th place because I know I can do better, “ he summarised. “Still, the result has set me up nicely for the rest of the year and has given me confidence.”

Christo is second, 8 points behind Ardigo in the provisional standings.

The second round of the European series will take place at Varennes in France on 25th of June and the five best results from the six finals will count towards the final ranking. Riki will return to La Conca this weekend for another round of the Italian Open Championship.

Final 1

1. Ardigo, Marco (ITA) Tony Kart Racing Team, 2. Christodoulou, Riki (GB) Genikart-LTP, 3. Thonon, Jonathan (BEL) CRG, 4. Rask, Aki (FIN) CRG, 5. Catt, Gary (GB) Tony Kart Racing Team, 6. Sims, Alexander (GB) CRG, 7. Bollingtoft, Nikolaj (DK) Tony Kart Racing Team, 8. Fore, Davide (I) Tony Kart Racing Team, 9. Kozlinski, Arnaud (FRA) Intrepid Kart Technology, 10. Convers, Armand (FRA) PCR

Final 2

1. Convers, Armand (FRA) PCR, 2. Kozlinski, Arnaud (FRA) Intrepid Kart Technology, 3. Ardigo, Marco (ITA) Tony Kart Racing Team, 4. Christodoulou, Riki (GB) Genikart-LTP, 5. Parente, Armando (P) DR Srl, 6. Fore, Davide (ITA) Tony Kart Racing Team, 7. Catt, Gary (GB) Tony Kart Racing Team, 8. Guignet, Jean-Philippe (FRA) CRG, 9. Litchfield, Mark (GB) PF International Karting, 10. Miskiewicz, Laurent (F) Sodikart

Championship standings after 1 of 3 rounds:

1. Ardigo, Marco 41, 2. Christodoulou, Riki 33, 3. Convers, Armand 31, 4. Kozlinski, Arnaud 27, 5. Thonon, Jonathan 20

Category: News

Highly-rated young British racing driver Riki Christodoulou made a decent start to the 2006 CIK FIA European Championships with 2nd and 4th positions in the two finals against the continents best Karters. ‘Christo’ lies 2nd in the series standings and is currently top Brit.

The first round of three took place last Sunday at the La Conca circuit near the town of Lecce. 17 year old Christodoulou, who is driving for the Spanish Genikart team and steering the new ‘Fernando Alonso Kart’, was immediately on the pace in the top category of the sport, Formula A.

The Sutton Coldfield resident was 3rd quickest in qualifying and then proceeded to score results of 3rd, 2nd and 1st in his heat races showing some impressive speed despite two engines problems that forced some frantic mechanical work.

In the first of the finals Christo was fighting for victory but made a small mistake on the last lap and was beaten by just two tenths of a second by Italian factory Tony Kart driver Marco Ardigo. The second sprint took place in wet conditions and the former junior British Champion and 2005 British Formula A runner-up ran a lonely 4th for most of the race after the leaders had earlier escaped.

“It was an awesome weekend and I was quick right through qualifying, the heats and the finals. We were unlucky to have two engines seize on us and that meant that we had to waste a bit of time running the repairs in,” he said. “I got a bad start in the first race but caught up to the back of Ardigo and sat on his bumper. I think I moved past him too early because he was fast on one part of the circuit while I was quicker on another. I was blocking him for two laps and I tried to get the double right-hander perfect on the last lap and hit the first part of the section flat-out but ran a little bit wide on the second apex. It was still good to be back on the podium.”

“For the second final the heavens opened,” he continued. “I panicked a little bit because I have not had so much wet weather race time with the Kart and I fought back from 6th to 4th but the others had already got away. I was on my own for about 15 laps and it was a bit boring. I was catching Ardigo towards the end but ran out of time.”

“I am pleased with how the weekend went but also a little bit disappointed with 4th place because I know I can do better, “ he summarised. “Still, the result has set me up nicely for the rest of the year and has given me confidence.”

Christo is second, 8 points behind Ardigo in the provisional standings.

The second round of the European series will take place at Varennes in France on 25th of June and the five best results from the six finals will count towards the final ranking. Riki will return to La Conca this weekend for another round of the Italian Open Championship.

Final 1

1. Ardigo, Marco (ITA) Tony Kart Racing Team, 2. Christodoulou, Riki (GB) Genikart-LTP, 3. Thonon, Jonathan (BEL) CRG, 4. Rask, Aki (FIN) CRG, 5. Catt, Gary (GB) Tony Kart Racing Team, 6. Sims, Alexander (GB) CRG, 7. Bollingtoft, Nikolaj (DK) Tony Kart Racing Team, 8. Fore, Davide (I) Tony Kart Racing Team, 9. Kozlinski, Arnaud (FRA) Intrepid Kart Technology, 10. Convers, Armand (FRA) PCR

Final 2

1. Convers, Armand (FRA) PCR, 2. Kozlinski, Arnaud (FRA) Intrepid Kart Technology, 3. Ardigo, Marco (ITA) Tony Kart Racing Team, 4. Christodoulou, Riki (GB) Genikart-LTP, 5. Parente, Armando (P) DR Srl, 6. Fore, Davide (ITA) Tony Kart Racing Team, 7. Catt, Gary (GB) Tony Kart Racing Team, 8. Guignet, Jean-Philippe (FRA) CRG, 9. Litchfield, Mark (GB) PF International Karting, 10. Miskiewicz, Laurent (F) Sodikart

Championship standings after 1 of 3 rounds:

1. Ardigo, Marco 41, 2. Christodoulou, Riki 33, 3. Convers, Armand 31, 4. Kozlinski, Arnaud 27, 5. Thonon, Jonathan 20

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou lost his lead in the 2006 Formula A Renault Elf B4 Super 1 British Championship last Sunday after a luckless outing at his home circuit Shenington for the second round of the series.

After qualifying on pole position, the 17 year old experienced engine problems in both of the preliminary heats. He had to fight his way through from a grid position of 17th in the first of the two finals to 7th but was hit off the circuit in the second race and was lucky to escape injury.

It was a bitter blow for the 2005 Formula A runner-up from Sutton Coldfield who won the first two finals in Wigan last month.

“It was really close for the pole position and everybody was pushing hard,” he said. “My weekend started on the wrong foot when the engine seized in the first heat. We then had further problems in the second heat and it put me down in 17th on the grid for the finals. I fought through to about 4th or 5th but I found that people were driving erratically. There was a lot of defensive driving going on from the second lap and it made for rubbish racing. I knew that the Renault bosses were there watching and I think it made people nervous. It was like bumper cars out there.”
“I set off from 7th for the second final and was in 3rd or 4th until I was smacked from behind and ran into Gary Catt,” he continued. “We both went off the track and onto a grass bank. He hit another driver in front of him and I ended up under his kart with his wheels spinning on my hands and arms; that was the end of the weekend.”

“It was frustrating because we had been fastest again but the problems in the heats meant that we had to start far back and even the best driver in the world is going to have problems carving through traffic like that,” the former national junior Champion added. “I just have to look forward to next weekend now.”

‘Christo’ lies a provisional second in the standings behind Mark Litchfield with the worst results being dropped in the Championship points system. On Wednesday he will head to Italy and the La Conca circuit for the first meeting in the European Championships. The third round of the British series will take place in three weeks time at PF.

Category: News

Genikart driver Riki Christodoulou will arrive at his home circuit of Shenington this weekend hopeful of defending his lead in the 2006 Formula A Renault Elf B4 S1 British Championship after a decisive clean sweep last month in Wigan.

The former national number one at Junior level won both finals in his first UK drive as part of the high profile Spanish Genikart set-up and steering the Tony Kart-constructed ‘Fernando Alonso Kart’.

The 17 year old now aims to show the rest of Britain’s best karters the quickest route around the Banbury course.

“I was maybe eight years old when I first raced at Shenington and have driven there a lot since; it is one of my favourite tracks,” he said. “The speed is quite high and I like the fast corners; it just seems to suit my driving style. The Championship only goes there once a year but I competed in a lot of club events so I must have raced there almost 30 times.”

“As I have gone through the classes there has been less testing, especially with Formula A, but I know the place like the back of my hand,” the Sutton Coldfield resident, who scored a second final win at the venue last year, added. “I have been racing at Shenington for nine years and it’s still easy for me to know right-away where to go and what to do.”

“It is not a difficult circuit but when you are on the limit and looking for that extra tenth of a second it is tricky and circuit knowledge comes into play,” the 2005 FA runner-up continued. “I can’t explain it really, I just know exactly when to put my foot down and when not to. I reckon we are hitting maybe 70-75mph, perhaps a little bit, more down the back straight. The bottom hairpin is really fast.”

“I don’t see why another double should not be possible,” he commented regarding the weekend ahead. “I have the right equipment and I am driving well at moment. I normally try to tell myself that a ‘kart is a kart’ but the Fernando Kart has been working well.”

The six round national competition represents the highest level of Karting competition and will next visit the PF circuit on May 20th/21st.

Category: News

One of Britain’s brightest motor racing prospects Riki Christodoulou claimed satisfactory 7th and 4th positions last weekend in the first round of the 2007 ‘Formula Renault UK with Michelin’ series but was left feeling slightly disappointed by his single-seater debut at a sunny Brands Hatch.

The 18 year old from Sutton Coldfield – embarking on his first season in the one-make competition that supports the British Touring Car Championship – was frustrated by both of his starts in the two races and could not break into the top three with his Fortec Motorsport FR2.0.

Although two solid top ten finishes could easily be labelled encouraging for a maiden outing, ‘Christo’ still felt a little downhearted with his performances. “The weekend went OK but it could have been better,” he said. “I made a mess of both of my starts and this determined my positions really.”

The teenager dropped to 7th spot after losing drive from the grid in Race1 and then a small collision robbed him of his front wing. “I got my timing wrong in the first race,” he recounts. “I let the revs drop too low and then panicked a little bit which meant a lot of wheelspin. I went from 4th to 7th on the first corner and then in Druids I wasn’t concentrating fully and touched the back of my team-mate which clipped the front wing. I had to finish the rest of the race without any down-force and I couldn’t go any quicker. It was a hard drive and the car was understeering.”

The second sprint witnessed slightly better, but his fourth place was taken after a fairly uneventful journey. “I was really focussed on the next start, too much, and again got away with wheelspin,” he continues. “I was 2nd and slipped back to 4th where I ran the rest of the race. It was a bit drawn-out from then on and there weren’t any chances to overtake and improve my position. Starts are obviously so important and that will be the main thing to work on for the next race.”

Christodoulou currently stands 5th in the early Championship points table. The second meeting of ten takes place in two weeks time (April 22nd) at Rockingham Motor Speedway.

Driver’s Championship after 2 of 20 rounds

• 1 Duncan Tappy 62
• 2 Adam Christodoulou 53
• 3 Jeremy Metcalfe 50
• 4 Dean Smith 49
• 5 Riki Christodoulou 38
• 6 Richard Singleton 34

Category: News

Genikart driver Riki Christodoulou completed an authoritative clean sweep at the Three Sisters circuit in Wigan today for the opening round of the 2006 Formula A Renault Elf B4 S1 British Championship.

The 17 year old guided his Fernando Alonso Kart to victory in both of the Formula A finals (the highest category in the sport) and was only denied a remarkable 100% performance by a technical problem in the first qualification heat.
‘Christo’ based in Sutton Coldfield and backed by Alpinestars, was fastest in the timed session, won the second qualification heat, started from pole for Final 2 and celebrated his first double since Shenington in 2004.

An axle worked itself loose while he was leading the first heat and caused his brakes to malfunction meaning that he dropped to 8th position. Unhampered in the second sprint he gave his rivals a preview of the race finals by confidently defeating Litchfield on the last lap.

Christodoulou cut through to the front of the pack by the second lap in the first final of the season and was followed by Litchfield. The teenager was able to gently pull away and then provided a repeat showing in the second race, clocking his second fastest lap of the afternoon on the way to the chequered flag.

“I felt good throughout testing yesterday and I knew I would be among the fastest,” he said. “I was confident, and this set up a decent weekend. The problem with the axle didn’t help and then I couldn’t get my speed going in the second heat; the engine would not pull but I stayed with Mark and was able to pass him going through the straight on the last lap.”

“I started fourth for the first final and pipped Litchfield for the lead. I was at the front for 15 laps and was happy because my times were consistent. I pulled away a few tenths at a time. I knew I needed a good start in the second Final and pushed really hard in the first few laps to break the tow. After that it was straightforward.”

“We had some results that have not really shown our speed in the pre-season races so far but this was a great way to start the British Championship,” he added.

The 2003 Junior British Champ is acknowledged as one of the fastest drivers in Europe and with his alliance with the Tony Kart-supported Spanish Genikart crew now has a potent race kit to fully display his potential.

Round two will take place at Riki’s home circuit of Shenington on April 29th/30th in the meantime he will travel to La Conca this week for the first meeting of the Italian Championship.

Category: News

Britain’s top karting talent Riki Christodoulou was shunted out of the 17th Andrea Margutti Trophy at the Parma circuit in Italy today despite shining through testing and qualification.

The team Genikart driver from Sutton Coldfield who is steering the high-profile ‘Fernando Alonso Kart’ created by Italian manufacturers Tony Kart was setting the pace through timed practice and then picked up results of 3rd and 1st in the qualification heats.

He started from 2nd position for a wet pre-final but an error with the set-up on his machine meant that he could not rise any higher than 4th. The track was damp for the Final sprint but while tussling for 4th place 17 year old ‘Christo’ could not avoid Davide Fore who had veered back onto the course just past the start-finish straight after having made an mistake and gone wide. The collision prematurely ended the meeting after 7 laps of the 20 for Christo.

“The final was a disappointment through no fault of my own but the weekend had been good up until that point,” the teenager and former British number one said. “I feel fast and comfortable with the FA Kart and now I am itching to get the results on paper to prove it.”

Since signing for the Catalan Genikart set-up in February Christodoulou has impressed with his speed and application during tests and initial outings mainly in Italy. He will get his chance to unleash his pace on his native rivals next weekend at Three Sisters (Wigan) for the first round of six in the 2006 B4/RENAULT British Championships.

Category: News

Britain’s brightest Karting prospect, Riki Christodoulou, has agreed to race for the Spanish-based Genikart team in the 2006 World, European, British and Italian Open competitions.

‘Christo’ inked the deal with the Tony Kart-supported crew on Monday and after visiting the team’s base in Catalonia last week. He will be Genikart’s sole representative in the premier Formula A category, which is the highest level of the sport. ‘Christo’, from Sutton Coldfield, is the only British driver in the line-up that will run machinery (the FA Kart) named after current Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso, while also adopting the Spaniard’s colours.

Technician Marc Genis will head the team. Alonso was Spanish and World Karting Champion in 1996 under the Catalan’s hand and has now commissioned revered Italian firm Tony Kart to produce the ‘FA Kart’.

It is a positive move for Christo, the 2003 Junior British Champion and 2005 Formula A British runner-up at his first attempt, in what is widely expected to be his last year in Karting before moving to single-seater racing. Spain is currently F1’s hottest fan base after the success of Alonso’s 2005 campaign and the team has already generated a decent amount of publicity within the Iberian Peninsula.

“I had some interest after the World Championship this year because my speed was good and I won a lot of heats. We had some engine problems that meant we weren’t finally able to take a good result but we had caught the eye of the factory teams,” commented the 17 year old yesterday. “We spoke with Mr Robazzi at Tony Kart and they wanted to find a team for me so the chance to drive with Genikart came about. We spent a while thinking about it because we had done a lot of work with the Birel last season but in the end, with the Alonso association and the team’s impressive set-up, it was not a difficult decision.”

“We start testing almost right away and I am really looking forward to it. I just want to win as many races as I can this season,” he added.

Genikart is expected to keep close relations with Alonso throughout the season and it marks the second time that Christo will have hooked up with the F1 star having been introduced as a guest of Renault at Silverstone while leading the British Championship in 2003.

Riki will head out to Italy for testing next week and prepare for his first races in Genikart’s blue livery at the Italian Winter Cup towards the end of February.

Category: News