WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT KRISTIANSTAD

In the homeland of electronic music, the most prestigious prize for direct-drive karting is awarded, namely the CIK FIA World Championship.

PHOTO: VROOM ARCHIVE

TEXT: A.GIUSTINI/S.CORRADENGO

2015 KF European Championship, the duel: Tom Joyner (144) and Ben Hanley (133) fighting for title victory. At the end of the competition, Hanley is awarded as the new champion.

"There was a time, I used to look into my father's eyes. In a happy home, I was a king I had a golden throne ..."

so began one of the hits of the famous Swedish trio Swedish House Mafia and, in fact, this year the "golden throne" of direct-drive karting will be assigned in Sweden, in Kristianstad.

With the CIK FIA World Championships for the OK and OKJ classes scheduled on 23 September, the Asum Ring marks the fifth consecutive appearance on international calendars, proving that the circuit in the Scania region enjoys a high reputation in the karting scene. The pride of the circuit is its infrastructure, which makes the on-track experience comfortable, and its layout which requires a great dose of skill and talent.

The circuit

With a length of 1,221 meters, the Asum Ring corresponds to the type of circuit where the pace through the curves is very important, as it does not have deep or hard braking points, except in three spots, concentrated in the second sector and in the last corner. This would suggest a set-up requiring a very precise front end and tending towards oversteer, not excessive so as not to over stress the tires too much, and a clean fast line line through the wide-radius curves and a fast exit from the tightest curves.

This type of track favors drivers with a cleaner driving style rather than late-brakers. The geographic location, in a predominantly wooded area, also influences the layout itself, which has several changes in height. Finally, the presence of particularly pronounced curbs suggests their moderate use; especially in the two S-sectors of the first section.