To see how Dorian Boccolacci dominated the final of the WSK Euro Series at La Conca for more than 11 laps was really something amazing, considering all the problems that the driver from the Lotus F1 Junior Team had to face. Though from the outside victory seemed attainable, a series of unfavourable circumstances from the very start of the meeting rendered his third place on the podium an extraordinary performance, which Dorian achieved thanks to his huge talent.
During his weekend at La Conca - one of his favourite circuits - Dorian Boccolacci showed once again his excellent state of form behind the wheel of a highly competitive official Energy/TM kart. He was third in his group during timed practice on Friday afternoon and took 5th place in a very tough Superpole where he finished just 0.06 seconds away from the second place.
"I ended up in Group E with a double handicap" he explained later. "First of all, in the 4 qualifying races I always started from the outside line, which is always annoying on this track. And the programme forced us to compete in 3 heats with tyres more worn than in the other groups, which had 12 laps less starting from Saturday morning".
In fact, the first start was not good, since Dorian could not find the right trajectory, fell from 2nd to 13th place and had to push hard to climb up to 5th. He was careful not to get boxed in during the following race and took victory, as well as setting the fastest lap time, and then he always remained in the top 5. Hopes for a good result in the pre-final, where he started third, vanished after a spectacular 360° spin, a few dozen meters after the start line and once again he had to attack to conclude in 9th place.
Dorian surprised everybody at the start of the final: at the second passage he was already third and four laps later he had taken the lead of the race. "I gave my best effort, but Barnicoat was always there. We managed to open a gap over our pursuers and then we started to duel towards the end of the race. I knew he would try to pass me. I was not taken by surprise by his attack and fought back by passing him while braking on the last lap. But on the last turn, he caught me and attacked. I did not try to protect my position too aggressively because I did not want to cause an accident. Basz, who was faster than us, took advantage of the situation to pass me and I was only third".
Despite three not totally favourable racing days, Dorian showed his indomitable fighting spirit, which enabled him to fight for the final victory during an exciting race. Although the driver was disappointed at not taking the top step of the podium, he was well aware of the extraordinary job done by Energy Corse, by TM and by his preparer GFR. But results are again very encouraging for the rest of his very busy season.