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Konrad Bartelski takes chequered flag 26-08-08
Show Konrad Bartelski a race course in a mountain village and the old competitive instinct comes flooding back. This was Ischgl 2008 rather than Val Gardena 1981 – but there he was taking bends with reckless abandon and the occasional big air in an attempt to win a podium place.
The course in question was Ischgl's ART OF CART round-the-streets annual go-kart event – the go-karting world's answer to the Monaco grand prix – and Bartelski, who stunned the skiing world with his second place World Cup downhill result all those years ago at Val Gardena, just 0.11 seconds behind race winner Erwin Resch, was leading the all-star British team.
With fellow drivers Jonathan Goodwin, Britain's top TV escapologist; BBC producer Gary Hunter; Matt Woodall and Oliver Thurgood from ESPN; plus ski hacks David Holyoak and Rob Freeman, Bartelski found his team climbing the rankings as the gruelling three-day event progressed and excitement grew in the Tirolean village.
Bartelski consistently posted the team's best lap times, but Goodwin, fresh from a TV special swimming with killer sharks and days before he had himself set in concrete on the Thames embankment for another escape stunt, was also starring on the dramatic chicane-dotted course.
The team finished a creditable 18th in a field of 25 kart teams – after finding themselves up against professional rally drivers and a former Formula One driver. "It was fantastic to feel like Grand Prix stars for a weekend," said Bartelski, now a top producer with ESPN. "The whole thing was run just like a professional motor racing event, with big crowds and TV coverage – and we acquitted ourselves well against such tough opposition."
The event is growing in stature each year and anyone can organise a team to enter – from a company, a club or just a group of friends. It's a spectacular and thrilling opportunity for everything from company team bonding to a stag weekend. Full race gear, with helmet and fire-retardant suit, is provided, plus safety briefings and pit crews.
Next year's event will be on the weekend of 26-28 June. Contact Dominik Walser, Paznaun Tourist Office PR, at dominik.walser@paznaun-ischgl.com for more details.
Related Links: Ischgl ski resort guide
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