Report
Champions of the Future Academy Round 5 Recap: Fighting to the front
Our F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE supported karters were back in action over the weekend for Round 5 of the 2024 Champions of the Future Academy Programme in the United Arab Emirates.
Tasting success and showing unwavering determination around the Al Ain Raceway, Luna Fluxa Cross continued her battle for the title whilst Sara Matsui also showed her speed in the OK-N Senior category.
MINI 60 (8 TO 12 YEARS OLD)
Ava Lawrence showed how much she’s progressed over the course of the season with a strong showing on Day 1. Qualifying in P14, the Emirati racer steadily made up ground during both of the Heats, gaining four places in Heat 1 and rocketing up eight in Heat 2.
Securing a P9 spot on the grid for the Final, Lawrence’s improved racecraft was evident as she took the chequered flag in fourth — narrowly missing out on a podium by three tenths. However, she wasn’t left empty handed as her efforts earned her the P2 medal in the Under 10s class.
Her momentum carried over in Day 2. After Qualifying in P12, Lawrence managed to improve by eight places across the two Heats. Lining up in sixth for the Final, she couldn’t quite replicate the same moves up the order and had to settle for fifth, but she did achieve her second Under 10s medal of the weekend, finishing second in the class.
OK-N JUNIOR (12 TO 14 YEARS OLD)
Both of our the junior karters endured a tricky opening day but kept up the fighting spirit throughout. Victoria Farfus led the duo in Qualifying with the 15th-fastest time but dropped back after a receiving a technical penalty in Heat 2. Starting the Final in 19th, the Brazilian battled hard in the mid-pack, gaining seven places to take the chequered flag in P12.
Angelina Simons Torres started off on the backfoot in Qualifying. Setting off from P30 in both Heats, the only way was up for the Spanish racer, who leapt up nine places in Heat 1. However, her Qualifying result had set her back further than she would have liked and her day came to an end with a P30 finish in the Final.
It was all about digging deep on Day 2, as both karters struggled in Qualifying, with Farfus lining up in P24 ahead of Simons Torres in P28 for the Heats. Simons Torres seemed to thrive more once she had the chance to battle it out on track, climbing up 12 places in Heat 1 and nine in Heat 2, whilst Farfus slipped back four places.
Unable to make the inroads forward they would have liked during the Final, the pair didn’t add any points to their tallies, with Simons Torres finishing in P25, two places ahead of Farfus.
OK-N SENIOR (14 TO 18 YEARS OLD)
Sara Matsui was the driver to beat in Qualifying for the OK-N Senior category on Day 1, as a rapid performance saw her claim her first international pole position by 0.086s.
Despite dropping back to fourth in both Heats, the Williams junior managed to secure a spot on the front row for the Final. Getting her elbows out, Matsui battled hard but unfortunately couldn’t hold on to the podium and eventually finished in seventh.
Meanwhile, Charlotte Page enjoyed her strongest round of the campaign so far. Building off of a P14 result in Qualifying, her race pace proved to be even stronger. A P13 and P9 result in each of the Heats gave her a platform to build off and the Australian kept the speed up into the Final, where the finished in 10th.
It was a tough day on track for Championship leader Luna Fluxa Cross. Qualifying outside the top 10, the Spaniard couldn’t match the results she’d enjoyed at previous rounds and after losing two places in the Heats, she ended the day in 16th.
Bouncing back from a disappointing Saturday, Fluxa Cross was back on more familiar form on Day 2. After Qualifying in eighth, she endured a mixed run in the Heats — gaining five places in Heat 1 but then, losing three in Heat 2 due to a technical penalty.
Her relative consistency was rewarded, as her points tally across Qualifying and the Heats gifted her a fifth-place start for the Final. With the podium within touching distance, Fluxa Cross pushed to her limit to take the chequered flag in third and give herself a 105-point lead in the Championship Standings with one round remaining.
Buoyed by how she ended Day 1, Page kept her positive run going and started off on the right foot with a stronger Qualifying result in 11th. Although a DNF in Heat 1 knocked her back, she quickly shook it off and moved up three places in Heat 2. Despite starting outside the top 10 in 14th for the Final, the Australian eventually celebrated her best result of the campaign in eighth.
Sadly for Matsui, she wasn’t able to reach the same heights as the opening day. A positional mistake meant the Japanese racer qualified in P15 and she later got caught up in an incident in Heat 2 which left her with a damaged kart and a five-second penalty. The Final didn’t improve her fortunes, with Matsui forced to take evasive action to avoid a crash ahead and she had to settle for a P16 finish.
The 2024 COTFA grand finale will take place at the Al Forsan International Sports Resort in Abu Dhabi from December 2-4, during the Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend. To see the full list of results from Round 5 and to view the remaining round on the calendar, visit the COTFA website here.