Felix Nilsson has just started the new international karting season aiming even higher than he did in 2011. On his second year in the KF3 class - that of the Juniors - the Swedish driver has every intention of showing the considerable progress he has made since last year. A new recruit in the very competitive Energy Corse team, Felix is determined to fight in the top positions. His first important meeting in 2012, the Winter Cup, provided a perfect example of what he intends to do...

New year, new colours! In Northern Italy, Felix Nilsson wore the white, blue and red suit of the Energy Corse team, double European Karting Champion in 2011. There was instantly a good feeling between the two parties, as Felix explains:
"The team is really very professional. Each person has a very precise role and set-up work goes very quickly. The Energy chassis behaves differently from the chassis I had in 2011. Driving needs to be smoother, but effectiveness is stunning. We spend a lot of time studying data acquisitions and this helps to make progress. As for the engine, I will be able to count on TM engines provided by Frédéric Dettings from GKS, who has an excellent reputation".
In Lonato, Felix Nilsson made excellent use of his Energy-TM, posting twice the third best lap time in race. Unfortunately, when he was very close to securing his qualification for the final phase he got involved in a crash that spoiled his remarkable performance. "The Winter Cup is a useful training exercise before the real debut of the season, i.e. the WSK Master Series in March. And I am very determined to confirm all my potential".

Debriefing
Ambitious and focussed, Felix Nilsson does not want to leave anything to chance. At the end of each race, he performs a sort of self-assessment, analysing every positive or negative aspect in each phase of the race, not just as far as driving is concerned, but also from the viewpoint of his management of the race, his feelings and his state of mind. This sort of analysis helps him to become stronger for the following race.

Speed is Definitely There!
During free practice, Felix Nilsson was frequently among the fastest drivers. "It is always great to be at the top of the timesheets, it makes me even more determined to do well. After free practice, I really felt I could make it to the top 10 of the qualifications. Unfortunately, the tyres I used during the race had a lower grip than those I mounted in free practice and my group was not the fastest. I set the fourth time in Group 3, so I just reached the 30th place (out of 104 entrants). I had to start from the 6th row in each heat and that was not exactly the easiest thing in the world!"