A collision at the start ends Tony Kart's ambitions of winning the KZ world championship in Germany
On the Wackersdorf circuit, due to a first lap featured by a crash involving several protagonists including Tony Kart driver Tom Leuillet, the Tony Kart Racing Team is unable to go beyond the 5th place finish in the FIA Karting World Championship.
After the title gained in 2021 and the second place obtained in 2022, for the Tony Kart Racing Team, the curtain falls on the 2023 edition of the FIA Karting World Championship KZ, staged on the German circuit of Wackersdorf. The Tony Kart Racer 401 RR chassis, powered by Vortex VTZ engines (designed and developed by the "engine division" of OTK Kart Group), do not gather what was expected and deserved, in a weekend scene of the FIA Karting World Cup, reserved to KZ2, and of the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup, of the KZ2 Masters class.
In KZ category, the premises are excellent. On Friday, in fact, Tom Leuillet takes the pole position in the chrono practices: Tom achieves a time of 45.422 seconds, which earns him the second place (with a gap of 25 thousandths on the pole) in Group 1 and, consequently, third in the combined ranking. In the subsequent qualifying heats, the French driver also proves to be competitive, as demonstrated by a fast lap in the second heat and a victory in the third, as well as a second place in the A Super Heat, which grants him the third row on the starting grid for the final. Unfortunately, during the first frantic moments of the race on Sunday afternoon, he is the victim of an accident - which involves most of the leaders of the race - and is thus forced to raise the white flag.
Taking Leuillet's place in the final is Lorenzo Camplese, who is fast and competitive throughout the weekend thanks to a Top 10 in the qualifyings, a third-best result in the qualifying heats and fourth position in the A Super Heat. The Italian driver is good at disentangling himself in the complicated initial tussle of the final and already at the end of the second lap occupies the fifth position. Having defended himself brilliantly against the attacks of his rivals, their driver thus reached the Top 5 in the World Championship.
In his third race in the KZ category, Luigi Coluccio shows off with some noteworthy results: such as the third-best time in Group 2, set in the Friday afternoon's qualifying, or the fastest lap in the first eliminatory heat. The winner of the last round of the FIA Karting European Championship OK at Cremona is the leader of a solid comeback of 6 positions in the Sunday's final and crosses the finish line in the top ten.
Jean Luyet steadily improves his performance during the German event, but a premature stop in the final prevents the Swiss driver from collecting a good result in line with what he had shown so far.
On the occasion of the World Cup reserved for KZ2, with a total of 119 entrants, it is Norton Andreasson their best driver. The Swedish driver is in the Top 10 in all the eliminatory heats (excepted one) and achieved a fourth place as his best result. The Scandinavian driver performs better on Sunday: first, he climbs eight places gaining the sixth in the A Super Heat, then recovers another 9 places in the final and fights to the last for a place in the top ten.
No mistakes for Alexander Gubenko in the qualifying heat, where he also sets a fast lap, but an unfortunate stop in the penultimate heat prevents him to enter the final. Samuel Luyet achieves interesting results during Friday and Saturday, including a 14-place comeback and a seventh place in the last heat, but this is not enough to qualify for the last race of the weekend.
The Tony Kart Racing Team also attends the second edition of the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup, reserved for KZ2 Masters and drivers over 35 years of age. Roberto Profico achieves a fourth place in the B Super Heat and finishes sixth in the final, ahead of his teammate Rasmus Haugard, seventh. Victor Jimenez gains several positions in the intermediate rankings at the end of the qualifying heats and performs a comeback of 8 positions in both A superheat and the final. A pity, however, for Andre Nicastro, who had to stop in the final after finishing second in the heats and third in B Super Heat. Good starts for Andre and Eduardo Martins as well, although the two does not qualify for the final.
From Wackersdorf to Franciacorta: The Tony Kart Racing Team returns to Italy for the last round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series (September 13th – 16th) with drivers of OK and OKJ classes.