The finals played on Saturday 1 December marked the end of the 2018 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals.
A very hot day saw five of the eight Italians engaged in the finals of their respective categories. Pietro Pons (Mini), Elia Galvanin (Junior), Claudio Pagliarani (DD2), Cristian Trolese (DD2) and Fabio Cretti (DD2 Masters) defended the tricolors in the race.
Mini – Pietro Pons, despite a contact of which he was victim to the first curve, became the protagonist of another very solid test, considering that this was his first appearance at the Grand Finals. Pons crossed the finish line in 18th position, reaching the top20.
Pons: «It was a beautiful event here in Brazil. For me it was the first time in an international race and I am satisfied with my weekend. I'm sure I'll be back in Italy with a much more "full" experience than my arrival in Recife.»
Junior – After a somewhat difficult start, Elia Galvanin managed to find the square with his Prague and the performance of the Final is the demonstration. Taken from the 25th position, the vicentino has put in place an extremely profitable set, which brought it in 13th position on the finish line less than 1′′ from the top10 absolute.
Galvanin: «There’s a bit of regret that I couldn’t find the feeling right away, but I’m still satisfied with the final result. At the beginning of the heats we were not sure we could enter the Final but, thanks to a very positive Prefinal, we managed to access them. In the Final then we continued on the forgery of the race on Friday and in fact we ended very close to the top10.»
DD – Despite a technical problem, Cristian Trolese managed to close in 6th square after a spectacular Final full of duels. Prior to Trolese's inconvenience, he was launched to the foreman, the top5 drivers, a sign that his team put him in a position to express himself at the best on a very insidious route.
Trolese: «When I realized he was about to tear off the pot, I was almost unbelieving. For a moment I thought I'd stop, but in the straight, after seeing that few laps were missing, I shook my teeth and did what I could not abandon the competition. In the end we were rewarded, it was a result more than sweaty.»
A contact in the first laps, instead, prevented Claudio Pagliarani from bringing home the first success in the Grand Finals. At the 7th appearance in the international race organized by Rotax, after a series of convincing heats, Pagliarani was among those in the competition for the final triumph. Following the crash and another contact, however, the Cesena driver was forced to surrender.
Pagliarani: «I am deeply sorry for what happened. After an excellent start, I felt I had the step to be able to stand in front and did not hesitate to try the attack. Unfortunately, however, the space was not very much and so I was forced to start from the bottom. I was one of the fastest during the comeback, but another incident finally put an end to my chances of reaching the finish line.»
DD2 Masters – The bad luck struck Fabio Cretti at the decisive moment of the kermesse, or the Final. At the start, in fact, some drivers in front of the Lombard have collided, forcing it to overtime to avoid them. Started from the bottom, Cretti managed to close anyway in top20, in 19th square.
Fabio Cretti: «It was a shame to end the Grand Finals in this way, but I still go home with a high mood. We arrived here with the goal of entering the Final, so anyway for us it was a kind of victory considering also that we had the rhythm of the best 10.»