Having raced competitively since 2013 Oscar Targett is making waves in the motorsport community. His already impressive wrap sheet has seen him cut his teeth in the Australian Micro Max Championship and work his way through a number of Australian Karting competitions to compete in the sport’s top level KZ2.
Practice: Throughout the sessions on Wednesday and Thursday both myself and the team were confident that the speed was there to have another competitive weekend challenging well inside the top 10 and working into the top 5. The package was strong and after testing a couple different setups we were ready to go for the races.
Qualifying: Not the strongest showing in qualifying put me 14th on the grid for the first race, but with a progressive grid format we knew we could move forward. Heat 1: After a strong start I found myself up 2 positions with very good race pace. Another 3 overtakes throughout the race, one of which on the new crowned European champion, put me up into 9th where I would remain.
Heat 2: Another strong start boosted me up to 8th. Very strong pace in the first few laps had me all over the back of the leading pack and in a position to attack the top 5. But contact on lap 4 whilst making an overtake for P7 put me out of the race.
Heat 3: Due to the progressive grid system I had to start from 31st for this heat. In just the first sector I was up 11 positions to 20th. That’s as far as I got. An engine failure half way through the first lap put me out.
Prefinal: Starting from P27 good race pace along with some late dives allowed me to gain 12 positions up to 15th. I believe an even bigger comeback was possible in this race but some engine issues in the late laps held me back. This would put me off P15 for the final.
Final: After Saturday’s engine failure it was clear that even with repairs and a correct run in procedure in Sunday mornings warm up, the engine power was no longer the same. As in the late laps of the pre final a distinct lack of power was there throughout the final. P15 was all I could manage.
Summary: Whilst once again we showed that we could run with the world’s best I am disappointed with the result. Whilst the circumstances were out of my control it would have been nice to obtain a better result for myself, the team, and everyone at home supporting me. This weekend though has further showed me that I am a front runner in European karting and has raised my confidence for the World Championship to be held in Le Mans, France on the first weekend in September.
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