Niklas Krütten with true masterpiece at World Championship in Bahrain
The young rising motorsport talent Niklas Krütten from Germany rounded-up his successful season with a masterly performance last weekend. At the CIK-FIA World Championship on the Bahrain International Circuit, he established himself in P13 and was the best German driver amongst the most recognized drivers from the world. On his way into the final, he made-up a total of 64 positions and demonstrated a charge through the field which has not been seen at a World Championship race since 2011.
The world elite from the kart sport with 139 drivers from 35 nations met at the Bahrain International Circuit for the season highlight. The start into his first World Championship could have not been any worse Niklas Krütten. Having set continuously Top-10 lap times in the free practice sessions, the 14-year-old suddenly lacked engine power on the straights during qualifying and only managed 77th position in the overall standings.
With great will and a grand driving performance, Niklas used the pre-races on Friday to make up some ground. With 50 overtaking moves in the five „Heats“, he fought his way up into 44th position. He secured himself a place in the pre-final races and was able to continue in the competition. The great fight back from the young German did not end there. Coming from P22, he improved ten places in the pre-final and finished in P24 overall, making the almost impossible possible to start in the Final of the best 34 drivers of the world. Until the chequered flag, the 14-year-old raced through the field to make-up another 11 positions with a strong start and courageous overtakings. Niklas Krütten established himself once and for all amongst the best up and coming talents worldwide with P13 in the Final and the best German racer. At the same time, he is the first driver to improve a total of 64 positions between qualifying and final since 2011.
„My first world championship was nearly finished after the poor qualifying“, said Niklas after the Final. „Afterwards, I really gave my best, focused and squeezed every last bit out of my kart. To be number 13 of the world is simple incredible. We could have fought for the title without the technical problems we suffered during qualifying. But all ifs and buts, this is part of the job and everyone can built their own picture about my performance. „It was a great finish to a great season for me. I would like to thank Ricky Flynn Motorsport, One Engines, ProPerformance as well as my parents and my sponsors for all the immense support this year. A special thanks goes to my mechanic Kris Baillie, my race engineer Micky Moose Higham and my fitness couches Richard Stirling and Sascha Baschin.“