The results of the third round of the FIA Karting European Championship - OK & OK-Junior, which has just finished in Sweden, may give rise to further reflection on what makes a driver or a team perform at a high level. There are more questions than answers here.
First of all, we should rule out the illusory hypothesis that a driver can be strong enough to triumph in all circumstances, as well as that there is a chassis or engine brand capable of winning every time. Trends may emerge over a few events, or even exceptionally over a whole season, but it is a combination of circumstances and efforts that give the impression that one brand is inherently better than the others. In reality it is always a package that wins. The match between chassis, engine, carburettor, tyres, team and driver is put together in long sessions of work.
Looking closely at the results of the early season European events, FIA Karting and Champions of the Future, in the OK and OK-Junior categories, it is not easy to draw conclusions.
The leader of the European OK Championship with two victories (Portugal and Spain), Joe Turney (Tony Kart/Vortex) suffered a clear drop in performance in Sweden. Alex Powell (KR/Iame) was not looking too good until he won in Kristianstad. Matheus Ferreira (KR/Iame) was much more comfortable in Kristianstad in the Champions of the Future than in FIA Karting.
In OK-Junior, the maturity of the drivers plays a greater role, but there are also a number of cases that stand out. The most striking example could be that of Dmitry Matveev (Tony Kart/Vortex) who worked perfectly in Portimao in continuity with his start to the season, before going off track in Zuera and not finding his full potential in Kristianstad. The examples could be repeated and the weather or bad luck are far from an explanation for everything. Psychology, technique, how can we know?
The point of this brief reflection is simply to recognise that it is almost impossible to assess the absolute value of a performance and to make predictions for the next stage. This is perhaps the charm of top-level karting, and it complicates the lives of those involved. No matter how hard the teams work, nothing is guaranteed. With chassis and engines from the same factories, the results can be so different despite the competence of the technicians and the talent of the drivers. Karting is without doubt the most complicated mechanical sport based on the simplest machine design.
We could have also talked about luck or superstition in the sport as well as the influence of the colour of the helmets... The only thing that is absolutely certain is that karting is an incredible education for life and that it forms the motorsport champions of tomorrow. | 
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