WSK International Series is in Spain to celebrate its season’s last round on the circuit of Zuera, near Zaragoza. WSK will award the KF2 and KF3 titles for drivers, and the EuroCup for teams in three categories. Also, Zuera will introduce the single-final in KF1.
Zuera, final attack. WSK International Series will have this weekend its 6th and final round of 2008 season. The location is the International Circuit of Zuera, a town near Zaragoza, Spain. The opening of this amazing track was last year, just by a race of the latest WSK Series. Next Sunday the 1,7 Km of Zuera’s circuit will award the winners of KF2 and KF3, after the winning already assigned to Sauro Cesetti (Birel-TM-Bridgestone) in KF1 and Marco Ardigò (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) in KZ2. Also, the WSK Series will award the winners of EuroCup for teams in KF1, KF2 and KF3, after the success of Tony Kart Racing Team in KZ2. Moreover, current weekend will introduce an intresting novelty: the single-final for KF1, that is a 35 Km race following the eliminatory heats without Pre-Final.
KF1 Superfinal. Sauro Cesetti has already won the KF1 title. Nevertheless, like every champion, he will race in Zuera with the sole goal to keep on winning more and more. He will therefore hold the balance of power in the chase for the prestigious positions in the WSK ranking. Among the pretenders to that goal in the final rush there are the driver from Oxshott, in Surrey, Will Stevens (Tony Kart-Vortex-Bridgestone) at a relatively better position (Cesetti got 84), 54 points over French Arnaud Kozlinski (CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone) and English Jason Parrot (Birel-Parilla-Bridgestone) both at 52 points. KF1 podium will be completed in the last WSK round that is still unpredictable, seeing that the second place can be achieved by as many as 12 drivers within a range of 22 points, including Gary Catt (Tony Kart-Vortex-B), Michael Ryall (Birel-TM-B), Armand Converse (PCR-TM-B), Davide Forè (Maranello-Maxter-B), Alessandro Bressan (Kosmic-Vortex-B), Jean-Philippe Guignet (CRG-Maxter-B), Antonio Piccioni (FAKart-Vortex-B), Mark Lichtfield (Tony Kart-Vortex-B) and Nikolaj Bollingtoft (Kosmic-Vortex-B).
KF1 EuroCup. The last round in Zuera put up as prize 50 points for KF1 Eurocup that can be gained achieving both victory and second place in Superpole and Final (that will be a single race in Spain). CRG SpA through the French pair Guignet and Kozlinski leads the ranking at 94 points above Birel Motorsport (90 points) represented by Cesetti and Czech Libor Toman. The close gap between the two first teams is more consistent over Tony Kart Racing Team that being at the third place with 81 points, leads a good number of pursuers. As a matter of fact, mathematics keeps at stake further four teams: Kosmic Racing Dept., MGM Racing, GKS and Maranello Kart have still a chance to win through in the end, although those who are more down in the ranking will have to count on the bad luck of the contestants.
KF2 is looking for its champion. 8 drivers are still competing for KF2 title. Though being at the top, Aniello Smarrazzo (FA Kart-Vortex-Bridgestone) and Jack Harvey (Birel-Parilla-Bridgestone) have not yet a consistent lead over their pursuers. That’s the reason why the end result is still open to a wide range of speculation. Smarrazzo, seventeen-year-old from Giuliano in Campagna (Naples) and Harvey, fifteen-year-old from Bassingham, in Lincolnshire, virtually start with no score. The present gap between them two, only one-point lead for the Neapolitan driver (69-68 total score), that’s not enough to wrap the title up. Practically in case the race evolves in a close challenge against them two, whatever the result, both will have only to manage and stay ahead their rival to gain the title. The priority they anyway got for the best positions on the podium will be useful instead to be safe from any potential attack of the pursuers.
Behind the two leading drivers a trio at even score is ready for a hard and yet possible recovery. James Thorp (Maranello-Maxter-Bridgestone) sixteen-year-old from Evesham, in Worchester, was the winner of both Pre-final and Final in the last race in Sarno. Roman Flavio Camponeschi (Tony Kart-Vortex-Bridgestone) keeps up too, back from his win of the European title in Braga (P) and the World Cup in Muro Leccese (I). Both of them are level at 53 points with Oliver Rowland (Tony Kart-Vortex-Bridgestone), a promising young driver from Sheffield, in Yorkshire. The latter is in pursuit of his first prestigious result of the season. The 15-point gap from the leaders imposes a strict condition on the three pursuers: to win both Pre-final and Final hoping that the leading drivers don’t achieve important positions. Should on the contrary Smarrazzo and Harvey run up against a very negative day, two single fourth places would cause them to fall in the ranking.
The situation is more difficult for Petri Suvanto (Tony Kart-Vortex-Bridgestone), fifteen-year-old from Hyllykallio in Finland and Robert Forster-Jones (FA Kart-Vortex-Bridgestone), seventeen-year-old from Southend-on-Sea, Essex. They are equal sixth at 45 points and the only chance they have to win the title is to achieve a double result between the first and third place to be added to the missing score of the two leading drivers and positions from 6th downwards by Thorp, Camponeschi or Suvanto. Finally Czech Zdenek Groman (Maranello-Parilla-Bridgestone) needs at least a victory in the Pre-final and a second place in the Final providing the contestants score badly.
KF2 EuroCup. The result of Eurocup in Zuera is even more unpredictable. In the ranking for teams, with 67 points still to be awarded in the ultimate round, 8 teams are shortlisted for win. Tony Kart Racing Team is at the top at 14-point lead above Birel Motorsport. Mathematics gives Tony Kart Junior R.T. as well as Morsicani Racing and Maranello Kart, the latter 30 points down, a chance to be still in the running. For the same reason Ricky Flynn Motorsport, GKS Paul Lemmens and Ward Racing can strive for a hard and not yet elusive win.
Distance duel in KF3. KF3 situation in the Championship is simpler than KF2, seeing that the only pretender to the title is French from Vallauris Brandon Maisano (Intrepid-TM-Dunlop) who has 28-point lead over Nyck De Vries (Zanardi-XTR-Dunlop), a Dutch discovery of 2008. Thanks to the great gap on his competitor, Maisano switched to the Rotax French Finals and didn’t come to Zuera this weekend. So, a second place in the PreFinal and a third in the Final will be enough for De Vries to win the championship. Italian from Bari Ignazio D’Agosto (Tony Kart-Vortex-Dunlop) is out of range of the title; 53 points behind and third in the ranking he is anyway in a good position to aim at maintaining a place on the podium. To win the title De Vries can only hope that Maisano trips up. Should that be the case the young Dutch who lives in the precincts of Sneek, should achieve at least two second places both in Pre-final and Final. Maisano on the contrary needs only 10 points to win the final victory. So a second place in the Pre-final (otherwise sixth in the Final) would be sufficient for the French driver to be a certainty for title and that is a result fully within his capabilities.
KF3 EuroCup. Intrepid France is at the top thanks to the results of Brandon Maisano and Jonathan Helias. A perfect score of 67 points that is obtained adding up win and second place both in Pre-final and Final is needed to beat the leading team. Actually his nearest pursuers have no chance to achieve such a result: De Vries Competition 41 points behind, is out of the chase for the title seeing that he competes with the sole Nick De Vries. Maranello Kart, third at 43 lengths will risk his all with Aaro Vainio and Kevin Ceccon. FPR Competition (with his leading driver Ignazio D’Agosto) having 66-point gap from the leader, by reckoning has still a few expectations of success. Intrepid France however can easily make a counterattack. French team needs only 24 points, attainable by few isolated positions, to shelter from the attacks of other contestants.
Final runway in KZ2. The second 2008 WSK title has been awarded to Italian Marco Ardigò (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega), from Brescia, that won KZ2 in the second last round. The remaining ranking on the contrary has still to be drawn up, seeing that Belgian Jonathan Thonon and his countryman Rick Dreezen (both on a CRG-Maxter-Vega) are equal second at 44 points. So with 37 points still to be awarded in Zuera, the chase for the second place will especially involve almost every driver that managed to score. Realistically many of the favourites at the beginning of season then loosing positions due to some mishaps during the various races, may still close the gap and strive for a prestigious second place if they will manage to score well both in Pre-final and Final in Zuera.
KZ2 EuroCup. The situation of KZ2 Eurocup is always the same as drivers ranking. Tony Kart Racing Team has already won for certain the title. On the contrary the chase for the second place is still open to whatever team, at least theoretically speaking. Here too Maranello Kart and CRG share the prestigious second position. The 58 points the above teams scored, might not be a sufficient lead over CRG DS Racing at 45, PDB Racing Team at 42 and Birel Motorsport at 41, seeing that the points still to be gained in Spain are well 67. Indeed by reckoning, even without score it might be sufficient the only Spanish round to shoot to the second place. Should that be the case it would depend anyway on other contestants’ results. |
