Niklas Krütten shows fighting spirit at DKM Season Final
Niklas Krütten experienced an up-and-down season final of the international German Kart Championship (DKM) on his home track in Kerpen last weekend. A total of 106 Top-drivers from 14 different nations participated at the great Event at Erftlandring in Kerpen, Germany. The 12-year-old was amongst the youngster starters in the field, securing 12th position in the Junior Ranking after showing great fighting spirit and becoming established in the Top-10 of the German Kart-Elite.
The first free training sessions started on Friday in cool temperatures around 4°C. Niklas´ speed was competitive throughout the day and a fourth place in the final practice underlined his potential. The latter could not be brought up for qualifying on Saturday: an overheating engine reduced the performance of the kart, leaving Niklas in P23 in the overall rankings.
All hopes were now on the pre-runs, but an unexpected hard driving style by some racers at the back of the field spoilt Niklas run to the front. He was involved in a collision in both pre-races without his fault, after having made up good progress to the top. Only P28 in the classification was the lowest point at the weekend.
“There was nothing I could do in both cases”, said Niklas. “You always face the danger of getting involved in an accident when starting so further down on the grid. But the driving I saw here was sometimes quite senseless. I try to forget Saturday quickly and focus on tomorrow.”
But the bad luck did not find an end. Niklas started from P28 into the first final run on Sunday and after having driven up into 16th place in only five laps, he was sandwiched by two slower drivers, forcing him to spin. He crossed the finishing line in P23.
In the second and final race of the season, the 12-year-old had nothing to lose and attacked once again. Coming from 23rd on the grid, lap-by-lap he overtook his counterparts and after setting lap times as good as the front runners, he finished in 12th position.
“After all the bad luck this weekend it feels nice to finish in the Top-12 at the end. Of course, I am disappointed and a little sad, that despite my speed and the great support by my Team Forza Racing, I was not able to show more on my home track. But that´s Racing.”
The young driver from Trier had still a lot of reasons to be proud. He finished in 12th place in the Junior Championship in his Rookie-Season, being one of the youngest by far and has also achieved to be the seventh best German Kartdriver.
The DKM might have come to an end, but the season is not finished for Niklas yet. There are three more international Top-Events awaiting the young Karter. During autumn break, he will take part in the Trofeo delle Industrie in Lonato as well as at the WSK Final Cup in Adria. The highlight of the year will be the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas, the kart race with the most competitors worldwide, taking place in November.