Grapevine: Schumacher Promoted to 2nd in Kart Results

Michael Schumacher was promoted to second in the final results of the World Karting Championship final race, after the first-place finisher was disqualified.

Schumacher retired from the first of two races today with eight laps to go, after the German spun off and had his engine cut off permanently. In the second and final race, the Formula One World Champion finished third, with his final position being second after the FIA modified its official results following Marco Ardigo's disqualification.

Schumacher returned for a couple of days to his first love in motorsport terms. He declared that he had achieved the objective he had set himself, namely to have fun. "All I wanted to do was have some fun," said Schumacher after the event ended.

"I came here for the scrap, to race wheel to wheel in the pack and the result didn't matter. I really like this sport: compared with Formula 1, you are more involved in a manual sense, as you can work on your own kart, whereas in the single seater, all I can do is tell the engineers where I think something needs to be done.

"It was great to race here, in front of so many spectators and I hope karting will now be more popular in Germany. How has it changed since my day? There is no major difference, except that everything has evolved. Karting still remains the best school for motor racing."

Schumacher's "action" holiday has not been restricted to four wheels. In the evening, the Ferrari man flew to Padua, where he took part in a charity soccer match for National Drivers.