Karting Thailand: AKOC last round and National 5, Cadet, Mini Rok, Yamaha Results and 50 Photos

The last round of the AKOC 2009 Championship, merged with the penultimate round of the Thai National Championship, delivered intense racing in all categories. With one exception, the 125 Jr Open class, all AKOC titles were to be decided in Saraburi.

We have a lot of pictures to illustrate the results. Enjoy the ride!

Uploaded: Cadet, Mini Rok/Super Cadet and Yamaha classes

To be continued in a second article (Junior and Senior)

CADET

An all Thai class where the 5 cadets stayed together most of the time, with constant changes in race leadership

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Time Trials	Jakarin 501 1.05.379	Dhummatorn 585 1.05.649	Siraphop 567 1.05.655	Wittawat 527 1.05.774	Trin 555 1.06.134
Heat 1	Dhummatorn	Wittawat	Siraphop	Trin	Plash Naree
Heat 2	Jakarin	Wittawat	Dhummatorn	Trin	Plash Naree
Heat 3	Jakarin	Dhummatorn	Siraphop	Wittawat	Trin
PF Grid	Dhummatorn	Jakarin	Wittawat	Siraphop	Trin
Pre Final	Siraphop	Jakarin + 0.133	Wittawat	Trin	Dhummatorn
Final	Dhummatorn	Jakarin +0.310	Wittawat	Trin	Plash Naree

In heat 1 retirement for Khun Jakarin and for Khun Siraphop in heat 2. This enables the only Baby Roker, Khun Plash Naree, to make it to 5th position.

Khun Dhummatorn emerged on pole after the qualifying heats and leads the early stages of the pre final. He will gradually drop to 5th position

From 3rd position Khun Siraphop has made it to the top of the pre final after a few laps. Khun Jakarin (501) will fight till the end but will finish 2nd.

The final's formation lap

Jakarin leads followed by Siraphop and Trin

but by mid-race Dhummatorn has climbed back to 3rd position

Khun Jakarin gives a hard time to the new leader Khun Dhummatorn. Khun Siraphop, always in the top trio, had to retire on lap 8.

3rd and 4th behind Khun Jakarin are Khun Wittawat and Khun Trin

The winner is Khun Dhummatorn.

Waiting for the cups.

MINI ROK/SUPER CADET

Unusual for Khun Sasakorn, he is only 5th in the time trials. But when one checks the times, one sees that only 3 tenths separate the fastest, Khun Veravich, and 6th placed Christian Gaddi with 1.03.220. The five guys and the little lady Miss Tachapan were almost on an equal footing from the start. And this will last until the final. With the exception of heat 3 the gap between 1st and second-placed in the races was always less than 3 tenths!

Khun Veravich the fastest in time trials but his competitors are not far behind

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Time Trials	Veravich 1.02.907	Sato 1.03.060	Tachapan 1.03.070	Sanhanat 1.03.082	Sasakorn 1.03.132
Heat 1	Gaddi	Sasakorn +0.080	Tachapan	Sanhanat	Veravich
Heat 2	Sasakorn	Tachapan +0.285	Sanhanat	Sato	Gaddi
Heat 3	Sasakorn	Gaddi +2.461	Sato	Veravich	Andi Tangguh
PF Grid	Sasakorn	Gaddi	Sato	Veravich	Tachapan
Pre Final	Sasakorn	Sanhanat +0.111	Gaddi	Sato	Tachapan
Final	Tachapan	Sasakorn +0.286	Sato	Sanhanat	Veravich

Heat 1: Judging from the pictures we took there were no less than 7 successive leaders in that 5 lap race! Sato was the first leader, then Gaddi, then Sato, then Sasakorn, then Sato, then Sasakorn until the last lap... but on the finish line it was Gaddi with a 0.08 sec. lead over Sasakorn!

One lap and a half to go. Marino has just lost the lead to Sasakorn in the previous curve. His brain has switched off, he will lose another position to Gaddi in the next curve and 2 more positions in the following curve. He will finish 6th.

Miss Tachapan and Khun Veravich fighting for 3rd position. Can't be closer.

Miss Tachapan a temporary leader in heat 2

Half a lap to go in heat 2. The fight goes on between Sasakorn, Tachapan and Sanhanat. Sato is still 6th, he will finish 4th.

Heat 3: Sasakorn has taken the lead, the battle goes on for second position, Gaddi takes the advantage. Soon after Sanhanat and Tachapan will collide, finishing respectively 10th and 12th.

Very good effort by Perdana Putra Minang for 4th position... until a last lap incident relegated him to 11th position.

After the qualifying heats Khun Sasakorn is on pole for the pre final, sharing the front row with Christian Gaddi. 2nd row: Sato and Veravich. 3rd row: Tachapan and Sanhanat. All six drivers are ultra competitive, the final races will be exciting.

Behind the top sextuor Antonio Escalante (above) and Andi Tangguh Farid (below) share the 4th row.

Gaddi takes the lead of the pre final

The leaders of the pre final: Gaddi then Sasakorn then Gaddi then Sasakorn but...

...in the last lap evrything is still possible. Sasakorn will prevail followed by Sanhanat (+0.1 sec.), Gaddi, Sato, Tachapan...

...followed by Veravich, Perdana and Maximilian. Christian now leads the championship with a 3 points lead over Marino.

En route for the final!

The first leader is... Gaddi, followed by Sasakorn and Tachapan, Sanhanat and Sato who are constantly changing positions

Maximilian Fewtrell has managed a 6th position in the early stages, he will finish 8th behind Perdana Putra Minang (8th on that pic behind Veravich)

Sasakorn has taken the lead...

...and Sato has climbed to second

Gaddi has gone wide, Tachapan takes 3rd position

Drama in the previous curve, the leader Sasakorn has lost two positions to Sato and Tachapan...

...who takes the lead in the next corner

Tachapan and Sasakorn are in the lead, the battle for 3rd rages on. Gaddi finds himself between Sato to his left and Veravich inside. Rear tyres touch and Gaddi is sent high up in the air for a 180 degrees figure. Luckily he lands on 4 wheels but will not be able to re-start. He has lost the championship.

One lap later Christian is still trying to re-join the race, in the background Sasakorn is again in the lead

Tachapan tries but Sasakorn is not easy to overtake!

She did it though...

Last lap: Sasakorn is back to the front but Tachapan is not far behind...

...and prevails on the finish line. A fantastic victory by the tiny lady, all the more extraordinary since she was also racing in the Yamaha class. Try to race two classes in the AKOC format when it is 35 degrees in the shade! And win both of them as she did!

Marino Sato finishes a not too distant third and wins the AKOC Mini Rok Championship

I won. Twice! And according to well-informed sources I will be racing the AKOC Championship next season.

The AKOC podium: Perdana, Marino, Sasakorn, Sasint, Maximilian

AKOC Championship podium: Gaddi, Sato, Sasakorn

YAMAHA

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Time Trials	Praewphan 1.00.513	Tachapan 1.01.251	Khan 1.01.590	Wachirapong 1.01.613	Toby 1.02.049
Heat 1	Praewphan	Tachapan +3.084	Khan	Toby	Estefano
Heat 2	Toby	Tachapan +0.219	Khan	Estefano	Wachirapong
Heat 3	Praewphan	Khan +5.914	Toby	Estefano	Wachirapong
PF Grid	Toby	Khan	Praewphan	Tachapan	Estefano
Pre Final	Praewphan	Tachapan	Toby	Estefano	Khan
Final	Tachapan	Toby	Wachirapong	Estefano	Khan

Another Thai lady, Miss Praewphan, should have won the Yamaha class. She got pole in time trials, won heat 1 and 3 (she passed heat 2) and won the pre final.

but after one lap into the final... she had to retire.

Start of heat 1: Praewphan, Khan, Toby and Tachapan, who will climb to 2nd-placed

Tachapan leads most of heat 2 but Toby finally prevails

Praewphan first and Khan second in heat 3

Toby and Khan shared the pre final front row and were in the lead for a short while. Check the well orchestrated lady ballet at the end of the straight. Praewphan takes first from Toby and Tachapan third from Khan!