Bram Chardon hopes for a World Cup podium together with his father

Koos de Ronde thinks it will be a good final. “On Monday I did a last training with the team, which went according to plan. The last few days I’ve been taking it easy with the horses. Thursday night we leave for Bordeaux, that is the easiest for the horses. The horse inspection is not until Saturday afternoon, so if we are there 24 hours in advance, that is fine in my opinion.”

“Both teams are ready, mine and my father’s”, says defending champion Bram Chardon. “I am looking forward to it. I am very curious about the course. We didn’t drive a course of the Hungarian course designer Gabor Fintha this year yet. Normally we look at possible lines and structures of a course designer before we leave, which enables us to have a focus in the training. This wasn’t possible for the final, because he has not built indoors recently. It is difficult to say what kind of course awaits us.” Bram sets the bar high: “My father and I have not yet stood on the podium of a World Cup final together. We both want to win of course, but it is a great goal to achieve that together.”

The final consists of two rounds scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. In contrast to the World Cup qualifiers, the result from the first final round also (partly) counts. 50% of the difference (in seconds) between the winner of the first round and the other drivers will be taken by the relevant drivers to the final day. The second round follows on the final day, followed by a drive-off for the top three.