Robert was in flying form this weekend at the Zuera track, Spain for the second round of the WSK Championship. The teenager from Navan, Co. Meath, who is racing in the KF2 class, has stepped up to become the Maranello Kart factory team leader, ably helped by Euan Jeffries, one of the most experienced kart mechanics on the European Kart racing scene who usually works with four-time World Champion Davide Fore. The stiff competition Butler faced in the highly competitive KF2 class did not faze the youngster at all - the evidence of this was in achieving the lap record for his class at the circuit near Zaragoza.

Robert and his father Gerry were confident about doing well in round 2 and literally couldn’t wait to get to the Spanish circuit, arriving there a week early.

Gerry said “A mix up in the dates ended up with Rob and I being the only two people at the track! The worst thing is I phoned Euan to see where he was and now everyone knows about it!”

A week later the Butlers returned to Spain and Robert fought hard throughout the heats to start 13th in the first final where he set a blistering pace early in the race to stamp his authority on 6th place, and by lap 5 was close behind Maranello team-mate Joel Johansson who was in 5th. However a botched overtaking attempt by the 7th place driver made Butler lose contact with Johansson, a gap Robert couldn’t close before the chequered flag fell, ending the race giving him a very respectable 6th on the starting grid for final 2.

A brilliant start from Butler in Final 2 put him in 4th place at the end of the first lap however the promise shown by his early pace of a possible podium finish was dashed by mechanical gremlins in the Parilla engine’s ignition system thus ending his race prematurely.

“The engine was quick down the straight but it wouldn’t pull me out of the corners and then it just broke,” said Robert.

Another Maranello team-mate, Yannick De Brabander, won both of the KF2 finals making for a successful weekend overall for the team.

Robert will race this weekend in the Italian Championship at Ugento in the southern province of Puglia.