Lonato del Garda (ITA), 19.11.2023: The first round of the WSK Final Cup 2023 at the South Garda Karting in Lonato concluded with a resounding success, thanks to a strong turnout of 340 drivers representing 52 nations. This made the event one of the most participated in global karting. The second and final round of the WSK Final Cup will follow suit next weekend at the Franciacorta Karting Track, with all the protagonists from Lonato vying for category titles.
After the initial two days, featuring 39 qualifying heats showcasing the top contenders, the concluding day in Lonato unfolded in a spectacular final phase. This included the Prefinals and Finals of all categories, where there were some surprises, with additional stand-out performers taking the spotlight.
The winners of the Prefinals.
X30 Junior - Prefinal: Fred Saareks (SWE) (#724 AD Motorsport/Energy-Iame-MG)
X30 Senior - Prefinal: Federico Rossi (ITA) (#807 PRK/Tony Kart-Iame-MG)
OKJ - Prefinal A: Christian Costoya (ESP) (#376 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega)
OKJ - Prefinal B: Sebastian Lehtimaki (FIN) (#311 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega)
OK - Prefinal A: Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) (#200 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont)
OK - Prefinal B: Dmitry Matveev (/) (#204 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont)
MINI U10 - Prefinal A: Niccolò Perico (ITA) (#557 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega)
MINI U10 - Prefinal B: Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP) (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega)
MINI Gr.3 - Prefinal A: William Calleja (AUS) (#513 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega)
MINI Gr.3 - Prefinal B: Devin Walz (USA) (#514 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega)
KZ2 - Prefinal A: Cristian Bertuca (ITA) (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-LeCont)
KZ2 - Prefinal B: David Trefilov (DEU) (#40 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart-LeCont)
The Finals of the first round of the WSK Euro Series.
KZ2 – What a duel! Zanchi takes the win.
The final of the KZ2 category was undoubtedly one of the most exciting races, where the battle for victory was only decided in the last moments. Matteo Zanchi (#52 Zanchi Motorsport/CRG-TM Kart-LeCont) emerged victorious after a fierce battle with Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart), who had been the top contender for victory throughout the weekend.
The two Italian drivers crossed the finish line ahead of the German David Trefilov (#40 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart), who won Prefinal-B. However, Trefilov was penalized one position after the race, and the third place went to another Italian, Alex Maragliano (#12 Renda Motorsport/Sodikart-TM Kart). In fifth place, there was a close finish between the German Paul Maximilian (#36 DR/DR-Modena Engines) and Maksim Orlov (#27 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart).
The Frenchman Tom Leuillet (#10 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) made a comeback to finish seventh, and the eighth position went to the Finn Paavo Tonteri (#32 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart).
KZ2 Final Result
1st Matteo Zanchi (ITA)
2nd Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
3rd Alex Maragliano (ITA)
OK – Matveev wins the Final from Pavan and Wisniewski.
The victory of OK went to Dmitry Matveev (#204 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont), who had already won Prefinal-B. The other contender in the category, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#200 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont), who won Prefinal-A and started from the second row, was unfortunately forced to retire early. Meanwhile, the Italian Luigi Coluccio (#216 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK Vortex), who had been a protagonist in the heats and Prefinal, lost ground to finish in ninth place. His teammate Sebastiano Pavan closed second, and the third spot on the podium went to the Polish driver Gustaw Wisniewski (#230 Koski Motorsport/Tony Kart-Iame). The Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#223 Leclerc by Lennox/BirelART-TM Kart) also had an excellent final race, competing for a podium finish. The Colombian Salim Hanna (#208 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) secured the fifth position.
OK Final Result
1st Dmitry Matveev
2nd Sebastiano Pavan (ITA)
3rd Gustaw Wisniewski (POL)
OK-Junior – Lehtimaki wins the sprint against Schaufler.
The final race was won by the Finnish driver Sebastian Lehtimaki (#311 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega), who had already won Prefinal-B. In the early laps, he managed to take the lead from the Italian driver Iacopo Martinese (#301 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame). Lehtimaki secured the victory in a close finish against the Austrian Niklas Schaufler (#345 DPK Racing/KR-Iame), while the Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#376 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega), the winner of Prefinal-A, claimed the third spot on the podium. Martinese finished fourth, followed by the Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#329 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) and Italian Filippo Sala (#324 Ricky Flynn Motorsport/LN Kart-TM Kart), who managed to position himself well.
OKJ Final Result
1st Sebastian Lehtimaki (FIN)
2nd Niklas Schaufler (AUT)
3rd Christian Costoya (ESP)
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Perico wins also the Final.
Niccolò Perico (#557 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega) secured a impressive victory after winning Prefinal-A. Perico crossed the finish line ahead of the Greek driver Jason Kosmopoulos (#583 Cosmorally/Energy-TM Kart) and another Italian, Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#526 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who made a remarkable comeback. The Estonian driver Mark Loomets (#558 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) claimed the fourth position, while the Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega), winner of Prefinal-B, settled for fifth place.
MINI Gr.3 Final Result
1st Niccolò Perico (ITA)
2nd Jason Kosmopoulos (GRC)
3rd Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (ITA)
MINI Gr.3 – Blandino has the upper hand on the strong rivals.
In MINI Gr.3, the Italian Cristian Blandino (#622 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart) emerged as the absolute protagonist, winning the final race against the two American teammates, Devin Walz and Mark Pilipenko, both with the BabyRace team on Parolin-Iame karts. Another strong performance came from their teammate, the Peruvian driver Mariano Lopez, who finished fourth, ahead of the Canadian Ilie Crisan Tristan (#539 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) in a comeback of six positions. The Swiss driver Riven Esteves (#509 Team Driver Racing Team/KR-Iame-Vega) finished in tenth place after leading in the qualifiers and heats
MINI Gr.3 Final Result
1st Cristian Blandino (ITA)
2nd Devin Walz (USA)
3rd Mark Pilipenko (USA)
X30 Junior – Bogdan Cosma Cristofor victorious at the debut.
The Romanian driver Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#712 Team Driver/KR-Iame-MG) had a winning debut in the X30 Junior category, as he has been transitioning successfully from victories in MINI and proved to be comfortable in the higher category. He secured victory in the final after a good duel with the Swedish driver Fred Saareks (#724 AD Motorsport/Energy-Iame). The Serbian driver Luka Malbasa (#714 Team Driver/Tony Kart-Iame) was third on the podium and was followed by the Bulgarian Lyuboslav Ruykov (#711 Team Driver/Tony Kart-Iame) and the Swedish driver Jonathan Landstrom (#722 AD Motorsport/Energy-Iame).
X30 Junior Final Result
1st Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU)
2nd Fred Saareks (SWE)
3rd Luka Malbasa (SRB)
X30 Senior – Albanese wins the duel with Rossi.
An exciting duel unfolded in the X30 Senior category between the two Italian drivers Federico Albanese (#815 Italcorse Racing Team/Italcorse-Iame-MG) and Federico Rossi (#807 PRK/Tony Kart-Iame), ultimately resolved in favor of Albanese in the closing moments. Coming in third, with a bit of a gap, was Giulio Olivieri (#816 Zanchi Motorsport/Tony Kart-Iame). The Swedish driver Leon Hedfors (#809 DR/DR-Iame) closed his effort in fourth place, while the fifth place went to the Ecuadorian driver Francisco Paredes (#810 MLG Racing/Parolin-Iame).
X30 Senior Final Result
1st Federico Albanese (ITA)
2nd Federico Rossi (ITA)
3rd Giulio Olivieri (ITA)
Info: www.wskarting.it/index.asp
The second round of WSK Final Cup:
26/11/2023 FRANCIACORTA / MINI – OKJ – OK – KZ2 – OKN - OKNJ
