23^rd-25^th October 2020, ACI Italian championship, 7-Laghi 

6 elite drivers were in the ROK Junior category in the last round of the 2020 ACI Italian championship at the 7-Laghi international circuit in Castelletto di Branduzzo over the last weekend in October. Amongst them were 3 of the top 4 drivers in the championship, and Roy Shaw competing in his first ever ROK race, and his first Junior race at the circuit.

Friday 23rd October

Practice

On a wet track, with rain falling until the middle of the afternoon, Roy ran well and the team refined a good chassis setup.

As the day progressed, it became clear that the engine was not performing as it should, producing only 13’000 rpm instead of 15’000, and not pulling well out of the corners. The team diagnosed a fuel feed issue, and tried to fix it with a change of carburettor jet. In the final official practice it still malfunctioned, and Roy was 5th of 6 entrants.

Qualifying, 17:05

Roy drove well, finding new lines on a gradually drying track, but was held back by the engine issue. At one point a competitor drove past him on the straight with a 15+km/h speed differential! He qualified 5th of 6.

6 elite drivers were in the ROK Junior category in the last round of the 2020 ACI Italian championship at the 7-Laghi international circuit in Castelletto di Branduzzo over the last weekend in October. Amongst them were 3 of the top 4 drivers in the championship, and Roy Shaw competing in his first ever ROK race, and his first Junior race at the circuit.

Saturday 24th October

Warm-up, 9:00

In a very competitive but small entry of ROK Junior drivers, including the Italian Championship leaders, 2 of whom have won at World level, Roy showed his speed on a damp track. It seems that Friday’s engine problems with fuel feed have been sorted by a change of motor, and Roy ran quickest for the first 3 laps, then drove through the pit-lane following team signals. After a tyre cleaning lap he finished the session 4th.

Race 1, 11:30am 

On a damp track, Roy started from 5th place on the grid, and was passed by the other driver on the 3rd row in the first corner. The other driver did not have the pace of the leading trio, and on the 3rd lap Roy overtook him into the hairpin, but was already over 5 seconds adrift of the leaders. Roy then chased them for the remaining 12 laps of the race, setting a series of fastest laps to the excitment of the commentator, finishing less than a second behind them.

Race 2, 15:24 

On a dry track, Roy started from 4th place, with the newly crowned Italian champion directly behind him as a result of Race 1 problems. Despite it being Roy's first competitive lap on slicks at 7-Laghi in the Junior chassis, he held him off for a lap, then tried to follow as the new champion drove through the field to 2nd place. Roy finished the 15 laps in 5th place, 2 seconds behind the 4th placed driver.

Results:

6 elite drivers were in the ROK Junior category in the last round of the 2020 ACI Italian championship at the 7-Laghi international circuit in Castelletto di Branduzzo over the last weekend in October. Amongst them were 3 of the top 4 drivers in the championship, and Roy Shaw competing in his first ever ROK race, and his first Junior race at the circuit.

Sunday 18th October 2020

Warm-up, 8:03am

Roy was quickly on the pace, setting the fastest first lap on a dry track, and finished the session in  5th, 0.5s off the fastest.

Final 1,11:42am

From 5th place on the grid, Roy gained a place off the start, and held 4th place for the first 3 laps. At the end of the 15 laps he was 7s off the lead, in 5th place.

Final 2, 15:51

From 2nd place on the reverse grid, Roy made a great start into the lead, but outbraked himself into the first corner, and dropped back to 4th place. For the first couple of laps he battled with the 3rd place driver, until going wide and dropping back with dirtied tyres. He held the pace of the leading trio until crossing the line in 4th place at the end of the 12 laps less than 5s off the lead, with his fastest lap 0.3s off the best lap. His perseverance was rewarded after the race when a 10s penalty for the leader gave Roy 3rd place and its trophy.

Final 2 revision: Gara 2 classifica 

Results:                                                                Race videos: