Last couple of races of the Summer took place at the Titi Aur Academy and it was all it should have been and more. We had fun watching 10-year-old  Anelisse Ionașcu at work, racing in all-red, 2Performant eKart. But also the other kid drivers that are putting in the hours to make good time on the track. The future is for those who work hard while having fun. There’s probably no better recipe for success.

The sun was shining at the Academy and the adrenaline was rushing in, everytime someone geared up an engine somewhere. This time, the MiniWatt category had two consecutive days of competition. So two stages, that were supposed to happen weeks apart, but didn’t due to factors outside anyone’s control. The first one, on Saturday, held the regular (fourth) stage of the season, while the second, on Sunday, was Slalom final day. 

The Qualies started well for Anelisse on Staturday, who managed a best of 01:10.028, which allowed her to start the first final of the day from the second sport. Just half a second behind Unciuleanu who stepped up when it mattered and won the Qualifications session. And off they went in the 5 laps of the final. It was an odd race with few overtakings, but the racers made up for it with focus and determination. The stubbornness of these kids is the the good kind and we love watching it in action. They arrived at the Finish Line in the exact same order as they started. Unciuleanu won the race, while Anelisse Ionașcu came in second, two seconds behind. The third spot was grabbed by Rusu, while Pisica and Tariceanu completed the grid last. 

As usual, in the second final of the day the drivers’ starting line-up was reversed and things got pretty interesting pretty soon. Unciuleanu under-performed and finished 4th, Pisica held on tight to his 3rd place, while the only girl in the race climbed up to 2nd again, making sure her performances only get better and better. Congrats to Rusu who won the race almost three seconds ahead of Anelisse.

On the second day, the gods of eKarting made Slalom. Where skill and finesse are the main attributes for any driver going for Gold. And our golden girl showed her colors from the beginning. The best time in Qualies belonged to Anelisse (00:45.569) followed by Augustin Rusu (00:47.375), Unciuleanu (00:48.535), Alex Pisica (00:49.559) and Tudor Tariceanu (00:51.988).

And again, off they went in the first final of the Slalom stage. It was an extremely tight race in front. Unciuleanu sealed the deal with an excellent time: 01:29.178. Second came Anelisse who narrowly escaped Rusu’s final attack – just a quarter of a second between them. But it was the second final where Unciuleanu really shined. He came back from the last spot and won the race, thus taking home the 25 points. The second place belonged to Tariceanu who surprisingly upped his game, while Anelisse finished third.

Overall, a solid weekend for Anelisse who was runner-up in both races and walked the podium for the 4th and 5th time this season. And as usual, it was a privilege to watch her in action.

Next stop? The 6th and final stage of the season: the Radiokart e-Prize in September.