Much appreciated by KZ drivers, the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve track does not make overtaking easy. More specifically, it's quite easy to avoid being overtaken by holding the inside line at Portimão very early on. Apart from the risk of losing your front fairing by following your rival too closely, it becomes difficult to find an opening to attack a recalcitrant driver who closes the doors. You have to take advantage of a mistake or take extra risks.

On the ninth lap of the KZ Final, Pedro Hiltbrand attacked Senna van Walstijn, whose heels he had been hot on since the start. The Dutchman responded on lap 10, taking the Spaniard to the outside. Giuseppe Palomba took advantage of the situation to make the inside of both of them with an excellent sense of repartee. Hiltbrand took several laps to get away from David Trefilov and catch van Walstijn a second ahead. He then needed just three laps to close the gap, demonstrating his superior speed. He immediately attempted a high-speed attack in the first corner of the 19th and penultimate lap, but van Walstijn closed the door on him by forcing him to ease off and he lost 7 tenths. Van Walstijn received a caution flag and was placed under investigation, but that was the end of the matter and the fate of the race was decided.

This is not to say that Palomba's victory was undeserved. The Italian drove a superb race from the front, taking advantage of a unique opportunity to take the lead and clinch the title. Van Walstijn's action offers more scope for interpretation. Did his impulsiveness cost him the title when he was forced to let his team-mate pass during his attack on Hiltbrand? Did Van Walstijn protect Palomba from a possible Hiltbrand comeback? Was the Dutchman's defence of the Spaniard's late-race comeback excessive or not?

As we saw at PFI during the OK and Junior World Championships, the tension is enormous when it comes to winning a world title in a single race. As in England, the particularities of the Portuguese circuit affected the final result. But that's the beauty of the FIA Karting World Championship. The spectacle is extraordinary and the outcome can be uncertain right up to the end, causing disappointment for those who don't win and an explosion of joy for the winners.

Finally, we should perhaps mention the choice of 'Option' tyres this year in KZ instead of the softer 'Prime' used until now. Not easy in these conditions to overtake with less grip.

History will remember the name of Giuseppe Palomba on the list of World Champions, an Italian driver who gave the French brand Sodikart its first world title as well as the consecration of the CPB Sport team.

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