Tillotson Nations Cup (T4NC24)
Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero, Valencia, Spain
5-8 September 2024 | Track Length: 1,428m | Mechanic: Bastiaan van Loenen, Team PitParts
In September we travelled to Valencia Spain for the event that my family, team and I had been looking forward to all year - the Tillotson T4 Nations Cup, an event that brings the best 4-stroke pilots from all over the world to compete for the Tillotson World Championship and Nations Cup Trophy at the stunning Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero circuit.
To represent the Netherlands and drive against the worlds best - 212 drivers from 31 countries - in my rookie year shattered all my goals and expectations for 2024.
I wish to sincerely thank the following people for believing in me and supporting me throughout my journey to the world championships! My mechanic Bastiaan van Loenen, the Zanen, Bremer, Koolstra, Ontstenk, Beganovic and Hookstra families, everyone at Team Pitparts (expecially Krestho, Mike, Jimmy, Erik, Mathilde, Maarten and Dylano, and my team mates Witske Visser, Bram Ossewarde, Ricardo Dornbosch, Peter Janssen and Thijs van Huis), Jorn Helder, Jamie and Emiel Elzerman, everyone at Team NL, NXT GP, Tillotson NL, Formula Karting and Schuurman B.V., Jorge Pescador, Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero, and Tillotson Ireland (especially Mark, Nigel, James, Andy, and Lisa).
Most of all, my sincere grattitude to my mum and sister Nienke Lemmens, who gave up so much to make this happen for me!
Wednesday | Registration
And so it begins! .. or not! As eager as we were to get to the track start setting up for the week ahead, the prevailing thunderstorms and rain coming down hard over Valencia meant for a four hour delay (and a headache for the organisors). Driving to the track was an experience in itself as we were met with flooded motorways and rivers flowing down the back roads bringing with it a lot of trees and swearing, which, in retrospect of the devisatating flooding in the same area a month later, was pale in comparison.
As soon as the rain cleared, the 2025 Tillotson T4 kart was unveiled on track. It wasnt long before the gates opened and we were rushing in to register and collect our karts, which was a puzzle in itself. Despite the late start, Bastiaan did an awesome job setting up my kart,which we named “Pedro” so that we would be ready to go without much stress the next day. As well as new bodywork, the 2025 kart had a lot of new components and what I was most excited about - new Maxxis slicks that promised to be faster and grippier than the 2024 T4 tyres.
Thursday | Official Practice
On Thursday we had five unofficial five practice sessions to learn the track and work on our set up. Overnight the team at Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero did an awesome job of clearing and drying the track which had been covered in dirt and debris in the storm the day before.
Friday | Timed Qualification - CET 13:14
For the timed quali, I headed out on track in Group 2 to lead a seriously fast group of 36 drivers that had both the T4NC23 Senior champion and Vice champion. As mandated for the event, all drivers had one set of race tyres which had to be used from the timed quali onwards, so essentially the xx minute quali gave us time for one out lap (tyre scrub in), and 5 hot laps.
As I finished the outlap and was starting to pick up temperature in my tyres and was upping my pace in preparation for the first hotlap, a driver from behind started smashing me from down the back straight. As we headed into the final chicane, one massive hit in the braking zone sent me flying off the track and spinning in the stones - right in front of my mechanic who had to watch on as I jumped out of my kart and despirately tried to get it restarted within the allowed time. Unfortunately with the kart up against the barrier and with the marshalls unable to help it was quali over. After the race I learned that the driver was disqualified by steward decision. Ultimately it made no difference - not setting a time put me in 67th position heading into the qualifying heats where I would be starting every heat from the back of the grid ….aka the worst possible start to my T4NC24 drive, .
Timed Qualification Result - P67 after penalties (of 72)
Saturday | Shakedown
With the dissapointment of qualification still in mind, I decided to use the shakedown as a moment to get some confidence back ahead of the qualifying heats and focus on the three qualifying heats ahead. Although this was just the shakedown, it was pretty clear that this was not just any warm up session with drivers battling and pushing each other hard causing an unfortunate rollover on the first lap - the first I have experienced on track - and a red flag to end the session. Thankfully the drivers injuries were not serious.
Saturday | Qualifying Heats
C-D
P33 (P34) -> [P10] P12 after penalties
Without doubt, the first Qualifying Heat was my best ever race so far even through I was 33rd on the grid and crossed the line to start in 34th. After gaining a front faring penalty at the start (5 seconds) I gained 13 positions to P21 by the end of the first lap, and by lap 7, I was up 23 positions from where I started to P9. After some hard fast racing, epic passing, and a fastest lap that was just 0.156s off the time set by P1, I crossed the line in P10 - an epic 23 positions gained in my first ever world championship heat!
“I want to give a shout out as well to the biggest movers in that race. Finishing in 10th position, from the Netherlands, Olivier Lemmens up 23 positions in that race ... To do that in a 9 lap race, is simply ridiculous! ”
B-C
P34 -> [P27] P25 after penalties
The second Qualifying Heat was chaos from the first corner with drivers in the midpack fighting for every position - unsurprisingly there were 9(!) drivers with front faring penalties by the end of the race!. By lap 2 I was up 9 positions to 25th but a crash in lap 3 sent me tumbling back to 31st. I was able to recover to cross the line in 27th, adjusted to 25th after penalties.
B-C – CET 16:21
P34 -> [P15] P22 after penalties
The final qualifying heat was another epic race, albeit with another click from an unavoidable pile up in the first chicane! From my starting position in 34th I had gained 10 positions at the end of lap 1. Heading into the final lap I was in19th and pulled off a move to pass 4 karts in the first corner to cross the line in 15th (22 after a 5 second front faring penality). As with the first qualifying heat, my lap times were consistently up there with the leaders giving me confidence as we headed into finals day.
Overall Qualifying Heat Result - P38(=) (of 72)
Sunday | Shakedown – CET 09:10 / NZT XX:36
Overnight rain meant for slightly cooler weather, overcast conditions and a damp track made wetter as it started to drizzle just before we headed out,
Sunday | Superheat – CET 11:02
P19 -> P4
With an overall position of 38= (of 72) heading in to the superheats, I started the second superheat in 19th position on the grid. As before, my superheat had both the champion and vice champion drivers from 2023, and alot of drivers who, like myself, were hoping to get into the top 36 and make the T4NC24 final.
By lap 3 I had gained two positions to 17th but with close battling again and drivers defending their positions, I took a hit from the side that gave me a click and pushed my bumper into my tyres which meant I couldnt steer. After a few heavy kicks the bumper dislodged itself and I picked up the pace again after having dropped to 24th. On the last lap, I put down a 1.03:983 - top 10 pace - and crossed the line in my start position of 19.
On the inlap I slowed to let some drivers who were still battling to pass and watched in slow motion as another rollover happened in front of me - the 3rd in the T4 Senior class during the championships. One driver was taken to hospital but thankfully ok.
After the front faring penalty I dropped back to 23rd, 38th overall after the points for the Super Heats and Qualifying points were combined - dissapointingly just 2 points behind P36 and a spot of the grid at the T4NC24 final. Next year!
Overall result: P38 (of 72)
Congratulations to my Team PitParts teammate Bram Ossewarde - WORLD CHAMPION!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you to my mechanic Bastiaan, Team PitParts, my sponsors, NXT GP and Tillotson Nederland, and to Tillotson for the organisation.