The first race of the WSK Series 2009 took place on La Conca track and it was characterized by the variable and cold weather. In the three-day race opening officially the international karting season the Tony Kart Racing Team found extremely variable weather conditions, with rain, wind and temperature below 10°. These conditions influenced in a significant way all the week-end. In the KF2 the drivers lost time due to some contacts happened at the green of the traffic light, they were all able to fight for the first positions.
In KF1 the Racing Team drivers entered easily in the qualifying top ten, Ardigò gained the 3rd position and Catt the 4th, fighting for the “Super Pole”, it was just a matter of tenths. The rounds and the long race of the Super KF was influenced, as we already said, by uncertain weather conditions which didn’t allow the Tony Kart Racing Team to work in a homogeneous way on the set-up having constant points of reference. In the final, of 40 Km, Ardigò ended to fight for the victory already at the third lap due to a contact and he was forced to recover many positions starting from the end of the group.
In KF2 a sequence of accidents at the first bend clipped our drivers’ wings, however in this class we gained a second position thanks to Ben Cooper, the British driver of the Tony Kart Junior Team springing forward from the starting line in the pre-final. The potential of the technical material is higher than the results we gained and many of the new EVR chassis with Vortex engines arrived in the first positions of the ranting.
The first bend of the track La Conca forced the drivers starting from the external side to look quickly for more space moving in the line in the centre. This situation caused numerous contacts at the starting. An accident together with a timely downpour made necessary the exposition of the Red flag, already at the green of the final. Even if our drivers Smarrazzo, Kanamaru and D’Agosto were involved in the accidents, they gained points which are important in order to win a such long and hard Championship as the WSK Series.
The high quality of our products was proved also by our team partner, which did good both in KF2 and in KF3 fighting for the victory, we are talking about the Morsicani Racing Team in KF3 with the Russian Danil Kvyat and the Ricky Flynn Motorsport with the British Mackenzie; in the next events there will be also other partners in this list.
INTERVIEW
Giacomo Aliprandi - Tony Kart Racing Team, Team Manager:
“The week-end was influenced by unfavourable atmospheric conditions which didn’t allow us to show our potential. In KF2 the numerous contacts occurred at the first bend after every starting made the situation even more difficult. We developed in a good way the material and the data we gathered are precious and they give us a proof that we are working in the right direction. We will keep our work-plan unchanged and we will see the results already in the next races.”
Engineer Alberto Viglino – Tony Kart Racing Team, research and development department:
“At the moment we are working on new products and now it is the best moment to do this kind of work. This will allow us to develop in the best way our material in the culminating point of the season. The weekend of the WSK race was influenced by the weather, unfortunately the season has started early and these are the consequences”.
Gary Catt - Tony Kart Racing Team driver, Super KF and KZ:
“The week-end was not one of the best ones, I had an accident in one of the round so in the final I start from the back and I was forced to fight at the middle of the rating at the beginning of the race.
I gained some points which will be useful for the WSK season. We don’t have to forget that there are still many races and every single point can be important at the end of the Championship.”
Marco Ardigò – Tony Kart Racing Team driver, Super KF and KZ:
“Today we paid the consequences of extremely variable weather conditions. Our potential is really high and at the Winter Cup we will be protagonists again. In spite of this we valuated and tested many solutions which we will use during the season.”
Aniello Smarrazzo - Tony Kart Racing Team 2009 driver, KF2:
“It was my first race with the Tony Kart Racing Team and I am happy with the group and with the way I integrated with them. I gained points for the Championship even if a contact at the first bend made me lost the possibility to fight for the podium. I appreciated the method of work of the team, everybody wants to reach the highest level and it is really stimulating …I am looking forward to competing in the next race.”
Ignazio D’Agosto - Tony Kart Racing Team 2009driver, KF2:
“It has been an hard week-end this one at the beginning of the season. I still have to work hard in order to exploit the technical potential that the team provide to me. In particular, I come from KF3, category without the front brake, so I have to work on the use of this brake. The final has been interrupted due to the rain and some contacts made me loose the third position. However I proved that I can stay in the first positions and with the help of the team I can quickly improve my abilities.”
Yu Kanamaru - Tony Kart Racing Team 2009 driver, KF2:
“I have always been among the first ten drivers and I gained points in pre-final and final, finishing the race in 5th position. My expectations are higher and I still want to do better. The team is the top and I get on well with everybody.”
Stefano Marcelo - Tony Kart Racing Team 2009 driver , KF2:
“In the end it has been a positive week-end, even if unfortunately I was involved in a contact already at the start. I am still learning how to work with the team and what to do in order to optimize my performances in the best way. Of course during the next events I will learn more about how to manage with the race week-end and also about how to use my kart in the best way.”
OFFICIAL TEAM OF THE TONY KART RACING TEAM – 2009 WSK SERIES
SUPER KF and KZ1
Marco Ardigò Italy
Gary Catt Grait Britain
KF2
Ignazio D’Agosto Italy
Stefano Marcelo Philippines
Aniello Smarrazzo Italy
Yu Kanamaru Japan |
