FIA Karting: A World Championship of breathtaking intensity at Franciacorta
The Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - OK and Junior at Franciacorta will go down in history as one of the most spectacular ever. All the predictions were thwarted by a series of twists and turns before witnessing the crowning of Dries van Langendonck (BEL) in Junior and Kirill Kutskov in OK.
Both on the track and behind the screens, the Franciacorta FIA Karting meeting showed just how exciting kart racing can be. Competing for a World Championship in a single event is always a very special challenge. However, the 2023 event exceeded all expectations, with a series of twists and turns worthy of a thriller right up to the end of the competition. The tension generated by this type of event was at its height, as the FIA Karting world title represents for the competitors. The presence of 234 drivers from 57 nations undoubtedly raised the tension several notches. FIA Karting President Akbar Ebrahim and FIA Karting Vice-President John Ryan came to watch the event and present the trophies to the winners. They were privileged witnesses to a magnificent example of karting at the highest level.
The results from Franciacorta will have an impact on the International Karting Ranking (IKR), as you will soon be able to see by following this link.
Junior: van Langendonck dominates the Final without a fight
The Super Heats of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - Junior confirmed the domination of Christian Costoya (ESP-Parolin/TM Kart/Vega) in OK-Junior as well as the rise of Filippo Sala (ITA-LN/TM Kart/Vega) and Dries van Langendonck (NLD-Exprit/TM Kart/Vega) to the top three. Lewis Wherrell (GBR-Exprit/TM Kart/Vega) and Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL-KR/IAME/Vega) finished 9th and 10th in the Final intermediate rankings, a long way from their objectives.
Starting from 3rd place, van Langendonck took the lead on the second lap of the Final and went on to pull further and further away from his rivals. Scott Kin Lindblom (SWE-Tony Kart/Vortex/Vega) was 3rd ahead of Sala. Taym Saleh (DEU-KR/IAME/Vega) and Lewis Francis (AUS-KR/IAME/Vega) clashed and retired. Van Langendonck continued at a fast pace and set the fastest lap of the race to edge Costoya by more than two seconds at the finish line. He went on to win the World Championship title with the Forza Racing team. Lindblom followed Costoya onto the podium, while David Cosma Cristofor (ROU-KR/IAME/Vega) finished 4th ahead of Stepan Antonov (KR/IAME/Vega) who moved up 10 places.
KR Motorsport, with 542 points, finished top of the 2023 OK-Junior team standings ahead of Forza Motorsport with 376 points and Parolin Motorsport with 364 points.
OK: Kutskov wins an incredible Final
At the end of the Super Heats, Kean Nakamura-Berta (JPN-KR/IAME/MG) was leading ahead of Rene' Lammers, (NLD-Parolin/TM Kart/MG), the 2023 European Champion, then Fionn Mac Laughlin (IRL-KR/IAME/MG) and Gabriel Gomez (BRA-CRG/IAME/MG), the 2022 Champion, in 4th place. Joe Turney (GBR-KR/IAME/MG) was 7th ahead of poleman Mark Dubnitski (EST-CRG/IAME/MG).
The Final saw three drivers leave the track at the first corner, while Lammers dropped back to 9th. Nakamura-Berta led ahead of Mac Laughlin and Turney, who quickly took the lead. Gomez climbed back into the lead and came to threaten Turney. The Brazilian briefly took 1st place before tangling with Turney and putting an end to their hopes of victory. When he tried to restart, Turney was hit by another kart and was injured, which led to the race being neutralised and then to a red flag with 14 laps remaining.
The restart took place in single file and Kirill Kutskov (KR/IAME/MG) maintained his lead over Nakamura-Berta. Very fast, Lammers then moved up to 2nd position with the objective of catching the leader. However, his attempt was unsuccessful and Kutskov took the title with a 0.184" advantage over Lammers. Nakamura-Berta took 3rd place on the podium, while Enzo Tarnvanichkul (THA-KR/IAME/MG) finished 4th and Arthur Poulain (FRA-KR/IAME/MG) 5th. Louis Iglesias (FRA-CRG/IAME/MG) made up 23 places to finish 8th. Only 14 karts made it to the finish. After Morgatto in 2022, it was the second success in the World Championship for the Spanish team DPK Racing.
Prema Racing won the 2023 OK team standings with 487 points. Parolin Motorsport followed in 2nd place with 451 points, with CRG finishing 3rd with 379 points.
Apicella and Phillips win the Road to the first OK-N World Cup
A support race organised by Italian ASN ACI Sport to showcase the new OK-N and OK-NJ categories, the "Road to the first OK-N World Cup" finally rewarded Jesse Phillips (GBR-KR/IAME/Vega), winner of the OK-NJ Final ahead of Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD-KR/IAME/Vega). Asher Ochstein (ITA-CRG/TM Kart/Vega). In OK-N, Antonio Apicella (ITA-KR/IAME/Vega) clearly won the Final ahead of Maxime Geley (FRA-Sodi/TM Kart/Vega) and Gianmarco Cortopassi (ITA-Maranello/TM Kart/Vega).
The results of the Franciacorta event can be found on the official FIA Karting Championship app for mobile devices and on the website.