Federal Tyres King of Europe visits France

Round 3 of the 2017 Federal Tyres King of Europe series once again saw drivers flock from across Europe to visit the insanely high speed prestigious circuit of Anneau du Rhin in France.

After successful practice sessions throughout the Friday and Saturday, the drivers pushed hard in the intense summer heat to lay down their best lines for the judges. With a slightly different approach to the layout decided from Keiichi Tsuchiya last year, judges Stephen ‘Stiggy’ Evans and Vernon Zwaneveld would make the layout more challenging than ever to achieve the best from of the drivers.

As qualification took place on Saturday afternoon, it would be Eli Hountondji landed the top spot with an incredible run. His teammate and brother, Joe Hountondji took second place, pushing the Driftbrothers higher than ever on the team rankings.

Rick Van Goethem once again showed fantastic form as he took third place and Remmo Niezen was keen to catch up from his absence in Spain to take fourth. Marko Zakouril landed the top speed of the weekend with an incredible 168km/h!

In the Pro2 series qualifications, Maxi Grimm impressed the most as he took the top spot with Sven Snoeks in second and Quentin Deleplancque in third. An impressive debut for Queen of Europe driver Tessa Whittock saw her take first place in the series qualification as Sandra Junginger took 2nd and Corinna Graff third.

Laurent Cousin eventually flew the French flag the entire way through the intense Top 32 battles to land the coveted spot on the top of the podium. In a final encounter against defending King of Europe Champion Remmo Niezen, the judges couldn’t decide a winner, before Laurent Cousin eventually took the coveted spot after a one-more-time decider.

With the top two drivers decided, it left Nicolas Dufour to seal his place on the remaining spot of the podium after defeating fellow countryman, King of Nations reigning Champion Nicolas Delorme in the small final. In the Pro2 series, Jeremy Merires landed the top spot, while Timothé Stehlin took second place with Yvez Klossner in third.

Tessa Whittock made the ultimate debut in the Queen of Europe series as she landed the top spot on the podium after an unfortunate car issue rendered Corinna Graff unable to battle. Sandra Junginger took the third spot after losing out to Corinna Graff in the small final.

The current standings mean that Joe Hountondji remains on the top spot, with King of Nations Champion Nicolas Delorme in second and Eli Hountondji in third. Rick Van Goethem and Remmo Niezen follow closely behind in fourth and fifth positions.