Preradovic started his journey in DKM

Young driver Maximilian Preradovic has started his first full season in DKM in the class KZ2. In the first race in Mülsen he collected important experience, although he has had some higher expectations. We bring his insight about the racing and his approach in his first exclusive interview!

Maximilian Preradovic is a young karting driver from Stuttgart region, who was driving before in different lower categories in Germany, but in this year he is taking full participation in the top german karting championship DKM in the class KZ2. He is driving for Solgat Motorsport team, Birel Art official racing team in Germany. His enthusiasm and dedication are the reason we organised this interview.

AR: How do you prepare your kart for practice and racing?

MP: Before every race I go around the kart to check if everything is in order, if something needs to be done, I change the part. When we get to the track and the mechanic inspects the whole kart. In general, my mechanic is taking care for the complete preparation and set-up.

What do you like most about racing?

The most I like fighting with others for places.

What is the most challenging thing for you during the race? How do you attack corners, how do you prepare for overtaking?

I try to brake before the corners as soon as possible to be fast and to get a clear exit for the rest of the way. It is important to drive close behind other drivers to protect yourself from the wind and then maybe wait for the one in front to make a mistake, it is more important not to make mistakes yourself and pass safely in curves.

Is there a lot of pushing, are the other drivers aggressive? Does that bother you, or do you adapt to that driving style?

Of course the other drivers are aggressive, we all drive to finish as well as possible, from the beginning I felt a little too much pushing, but with more experience it becomes normal and I don’t let it bother me.

What is your driving style?

I’ve always wanted to drive fair and clean, in curves I try to drive as clean as possible, and in overtaking I have enough aggressiveness to pass.

How do you prepare a strategy for a race?

The strategy for every race is of course to move up in the standings. My mechanic and I work out a strategy before every race, sometimes it’s better to finish your race in the same place and go for a safe qualification for the final.

Is speed important to you or do you drive constantly to gain experience and get a good feel for karting and see how the competitors drive and what tricks they use?

Both things are important to me, in the first race this year I showed that I have the same speed as the top 10, but it is also important to drive consistently, when you drive consistently you can see in which turn and which curve there were mistakes, besides that, the constant driving is the fastest.

In training, I have the opportunity to drive behind stronger and faster drivers, so I can see where they brake or how they enter a curve, besides that, we can analyze our data in the team and compare between us drivers, and you can also see who is driving how.

In which team do you drive? How does the team support you for training and racing? Who helps you during preparation – do you have a couch, manager, mechanic? What advice does he give you?

I’ve been driving since the beginning of my career under the Solgat Motorsport BirelArt team, they support me with everything possible, for example I can ask everyone in the team for help, everyone will explain and teach me, especially my mechanic and team chef. In addition, when we are not able to bring our kart, my team brings everything to me at the race. My mechanic helps me a lot at the races, for example, he watches my driving and explains to me where I make mistakes and how to do better, in addition, my mechanic supports me a lot mentally and gives me confidence. The kart is also not to be forgotten. My mechanic looks after every drive to improve my kart.

The first race in the DKM championship has ended. What were your expectations before the race and how did you feel after the race? What did you do well and what do you need to improve for the next races? How do you plan to improve? Do you have opportunities to train between races?

Unfortunately, the first DKM race did not go as we expected, we expected to enter the final and to finish in a good place, unfortunately the qualifying heats did not go very well, my mistakes and a few actions of other drivers did not allow me to enter the final. The positive thing after the first race is definitely my speed, I showed that I drive a good time, which guarantees a good place. I will have to improve my driving among the other 35 drivers, to make as few mistakes as possible. Of course I was not satisfied and happy with the result, but one race does not decide the whole championship, that’s why I quickly forgot all the negatives again and prepared to correct those mistakes, it’s important to look ahead to other races and do better what was not good in the previous race. Since the next race is in the Czech Republic, it is not easy to prepare for that race, you go with the team one weekend before the race for training, although sometimes it is not possible to go to every training, especially when it is abroad.

How do you rate this championship compared to the previous ones where you drove – what are the competitors like, karts, is it a much higher and more difficult level or according to your expectations?

This championship is definitely the strongest and hardest of all so far. Before this championship I still drove in the junior category, so right after the first season I entered the KZ2 class, I don’t yet have the experience of the drivers I’m driving against. The competitors are much better but also more mature because we are in the strongest German category, since the karts are much faster than the junior ones, they are also physically harder, that’s why I go to the gym every other day to be ready to drive. Before this championship, I did not expect to drive against drivers from any league, I knew what was waiting for me, the best German drivers drive in this championship. Last year I drove one race in that league as a guest, so I experienced the quality of the other drivers.

Who is your driving role model?

My role model is Max Verstappen because he is extremely strong in his head, which greatly affects his driving. I like his driving style. It is very important for us drivers to be mentally strong, and Max has already shown this many times in his career in difficult situations

What are your plans for the future?

My plans are now primarily to improve in karting, achieve good results in the future and get as far as possible, and then see what fate has in store for me.

Adria Racing is wishing you all the best in your future racing career!

All photos by Maximilian Preradovic