Australian Joseph Mawson was forced onto the sidelines due to illness in Round Two of the WSK Euro Series at the Zuera circuit in Spain on Sunday.
After recording a pair of 19th place finishes in his opening two heat races, Mawson was overcome by a fever that he’d been battling against in the lead up to the event and was unable to compete on Sunday.
“All week I’d been a bit off colour and then on Saturday afternoon it got worse and turned into a fever, then I got a stomach bug to top it all off,” said a disappointed Mawson.
“After the second heat I felt terrible this got worse overnight and into Sunday. It’s very disappointing not to be racing but I could hardly get out of bed at the hotel, let alone go racing.”
Throughout the day, Mawson’s health deteriorated and he spent Sunday night in hospital to receive treatment.
Mawson, who is competing with the Top Kart Racing team, believes that he had made progression forward since his last event in the rough and tumble KF category. He has already set his sights on his next event in two weeks time at Sarno in Italy.
“This weekend, I struggled to get on top of things early enough and as a result qualified down the order. In the second heat I felt as though I made some strong progression forward and ran just outside the top ten until I was punted backwards,” said the Australian Motor Sport Foundation-backed driver.
“The kart was really good early in the race and up until about mid-race, then I lost a bit of speed which made me vulnerable.
“My next two events are both at Sarno, so that should also help me as it’s not as I will be learning two new tracks. I’m really looking forward to that.”
Mawson also confirmed to Speedcafe.com that Australian Ben George will be his mechanic for the remainder of his European campaign. Tasmanian-born George has resided in Europe for the majority of the last decade.
Italian CRG driver Felice Tiene won the KF category in Spain ahead of Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci. In the KZ1 gearbox category Max Verstappen claimed the victory in both finals contested across the weekend. British drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ticktum finished one-two for Ricky Flynn Motorsport in the Junior ranks.
