Kicking off the 2021 FIA racing season in earnest, 13-year-old kart racer Dion Gowda travelled to Karting Genk, Belgium on 14-16 May to compete in Round 1 of the renowned FIA European Karting Championships.

Building on a strong showing at RGMMC’s Genk round earlier in the month, Dion proved dominant in OKJ Qualifying for Ricky Flynn Motorsports, ending the Friday sessions P1 in his group, third overall to line up on the front row for the coming Qualifying Heats.

Continuing Friday’s form as a front-runner, Dion started the day on a high with a win in Heat 1 at the Belgian circuit, starting the race well and fending off constant pressure from behind to take a lights-to-flag victory. Heat 2 saw another impressive performance, with Dion continuing to fight up front and crossing the line in P3, whilst the third Heat ended with a P4, just 0.064 behind the third placed finisher.

Despite the weather changing between wet, then dry, then wet conditions throughout the day, the young racer was able to end the Saturday with a solid P9 finish in Heat 4. Starting fresh with his final Heat on Sunday morning, Dion was able to apply what he learnt the day before to achieve another P3 at the chequered flag, securing his best Qualifying Heat average of the season to place fifth overall in the standings.

Starting P5, Dion entered the Final with confidence in his pace from the past two days, a fact that was soon demonstrated once the race began as the 13-year-old battledf or P2 in the opening laps. As the race progressed, a few minor mistakes proved costly and Gowda eventually finished the race in P11, just 0.4 off a top-10 result.

Qualifying – P1
Heat 1 – P1
Heat 2 – P3
Heat 3 – P4
Heat 4 – P9
Heat 5 – P3
Qualifying Heats – P5
Final – P11

Looking back on a mixed but generally positive weekend, Dion concluded:

“Overall I think this week has been one of my best ever at the track, although I was disappointed to miss out on what could’ve been a potential win in that Final race. It only means I will try even harder in the next round. I want to thank Jamie [Flynn], coach Harrison, Ricky Flynn Motorsports and Kokoro Performance for all their help and guidance. I feel like we have taken a big step forward and I’m looking forward to racing at Essay in a few weeks’ time.”

The FIA European Championships continue in less than two weeks, with Round 2 at Circuit International D’Aunay Les Bois (Essay), France, on 27-30 May 2021.

Photography by LRN Photo ©

Dion Gowda is supported by Strawberry Star Group, Ricky Flynn Motorsport, Kokoro Performance and Minus 273.

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