Fourth round of the CIK-FIA World Karting Championship, the rendezvous in Sarno on Saturday was dominated by the reigning World Championship, Nyck De Vries (Zanardi-Parilla). Heading off Karol Basz (RK-BMB) by a mere 41 thousandth in his last qualifying heat, the Dutchman clinched pole position at the last minute of the first Race. A perfect start allowed him to retain the advantage and Nyck soon built up a safe gap from his nearest rivals to grab another success … Three hours later the same scenario repeated itself: Dino Chiesa’s protégé took the best start and led the race from beginning to end. « It was pretty tight during the qualifying heats, but I still managed to sign the pole », he explained at the end of the day. « It helped me no end, as on each occasion I was able to take a great start and build up a gap right from the first lap. One pole, two victories; all in all it has been a perfect day! »
If on the one hand De Vries’ leadership did not suffer at all, further back it was far more animated. Second in the first Race, Ignazio D’Agosto (Tony Kart-Vortex) found himself shoulder to shoulder with Alex Albon (Intrepid-TM) in the final lap of the second race. The two drivers swapped positions several times, but the last word was for the Brit, the latter also limiting the damage in the championship regarding Nyck De Vries. « We just weren’t fast enough in the first Race », Alex admitted. « So for the second one we modified the tuning prior to the final round of the season at Suzuka. »
Third in the first Race, Karol Basz (RK-BMB) dropped back to 5 th spot whilst Flavio Camponeschi (Tony Kart-Vortex) also managed to get into the top-5 twice during these rather limpid Races. This coming Sunday, the programme will be identical, with a qualifying heat in the morning (10.55hrs) followed by two Races in the afternoon (14.25 and 17.20hrs).
KF2 World Cup: Spinelli on pole in the Pre-Final
As compared to the KF1 World Championship, held over five races, the KF2 World Cup is held over one single meeting. In other words, only the result of the Final is taken into account. However contestants still needed to get through the qualifying heats … What with 94 competitors and only 34 places available, it would not be an easy task. Winner of four heats out of five Loris Spinelli (Tony Kart-Vortex) not only clinched his ticket for the final phase, but he also ensured his pole position for the Pre-Final (which determines the grid for the Final) ahead of Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (PCR-Parilla).Both regular and fast, the two Italians impressed. However it will be an open debate and any forecast could well be a risky affair. Third in the intermediate rankings, the Thai driver Tanart Sathienthirakul (Tony Kart-TM) will also have something to say, just as the Dane Christian Sorensen (Tony Kart-Vortex) or even the Italian Paolo Ippolito (Tony Kart-Vortex).With five qualifying heats on their programme, some have experienced bad luck when having to retire from one of these. No way does their position reflect their true level of performance. This is the case of the Italian Giuliano Maria Niceta (Intrepid-TM, 14 th), winner of the KF3 World Cup at Sarno in 2009, as also for the Dane Nikolaj Moller Madsen (FA Kart-TM, 17 th), KF2 European Champion in 2010, not forgetting the Italian Alessio Guazzaroni (Tony Kart-BMB, 28 th), who set best lap time in the practice sessions to everyone’s surprise and who confirmed this by winning one of the heats. However they will only have one objective in the back of their minds just before the Final at 16.10hrs: victory!
KF3 World Cup: Verstappen, « Speedy » and Leclerc impress one and all
All followers of the KF3 World Cup will need to be patient until Sunday morning to discover the names of the 34 finalists. For the 102 competitors, the qualifying heats have not as yet finished. But several drivers have affirmed– or confirmed – that they are amongst the favourites. This is the case for the Dutchman Max Verstappen (CRG-Parilla) and the Italian « Speedy », alias Antonio Fuoco (Tony Kart-Vortex), invincible up until now and who will be going head to head this Sunday morning during their unique common qualifying heat. However, had not the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Intrepid-TM) been penalised twice for excessive speed at the start, the latter would have had a perfect score sheet having been ahead of his two main rivals on the track. The other young drivers in fine form are the Brits Matthew Graham (Zanardi-Parilla) and Callan O’keefe (FA Kart-Vortex), both winners of two of the heats. But as is the want of this World Cup, only the winner of the Final (16.45hrs) will allow the victor to add the World Cup to his record of achievements. |
