First indications in Lonato’s practice for the WSK Champions Cup

Qualifying practice at the South Garda Karting in Lonato launched Blandino to the top of MINI Gr.3, Bissa in MINI U10, Lyzen in OKJ, Denner in KZ2, Pesl in OK, and Viapiana in OKNJ.

The WSK Champions Cup at the South Garda Karting Circuit in Lonato has started with great promise, marking the first event of the WSK Promotion’s season. Approximately 280 drivers from 51 countries have participated in the MINI, OKNJ, OKJ, OK, and KZ2 categories.

The official program kicked off with qualifying sessions that highlighted the initial protagonists of this opening event of the international season. There is considerable anticipation for the new technical competition among the major global manufacturers and top-level teams, along with many young talents eager to leave their mark. The extended weekend program of the WSK Champions Cup includes qualifying heats leading to the final phase on Sunday, January 21st, which will be broadcast live.

MINI Gr.3 - Pole position for Blandino.

In the MINI Gr.3 category, the Italian Cristian Blandino (#550 Kalì-Kart Racing/TGroup-TM Kart) took the lead with a time of 52.884s, narrowly ahead of Mark Pilipenko (#522 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) by 0.242s and the American Nicola Stanley (#539) by 0.297s. The Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#503 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who was the winner in the WSK Champions Cup Under 10 category last season, secured the fourth position with a margin of 0.330s, ahead of Danish racer Matteis Stigsen (#556 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart) by 0.343s.  

MINI Gr.3 Under 10 - Bissa is the quickest in Session 1.

Two sessions were required for the qualifications of the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 category. In Session-1, the fastest was the Italian Patrick Bissa (#588 Bissa/EKS-TM Kart) with a time of 53.111s, followed by another Italian, Niccolò Perico (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), at 0.229s, and Stepan Mazepin (#517 SM Racing/OTK-TM Kart). In Session 2, two Italians stood out again, with Lorenzo Leopardi (#589 LGK Racing Kart/BirelART-TM Kart) setting the fastest time in 53.508s and Antonio Ianni (#537 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart) securing the second-best time by just 0.097s. The third-fastest time was recorded by the French racer Mattis Brageot (#547 Spirit-Karting/Parolin-TM Kart) at 0.133s.

OKJ - Lyzen posts the overall fastest time in Session 2.

The OKJ category witnessed intense competition. The Italian Filippo Sala (#327 Ricky Flynn/LN-TM Kart) was the fastest in Sesison-1 with a time of 47.750s. However, the Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#328 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) closely followed by just 0.066s, and the Dutch Dean Hoogendoorn (#319 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame) was ended at 0.071s.

The absolute pole position was secured in Session 2 by the Polish driver Borys Lyzen (#346 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) with a time of 47.708s. He was leading the Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#337 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) by 0.046s and the Italian Iacopo Martinese (#309 KR Motortsport/KR-Iame) by 0.065s.

KZ2 - Denner leads the pack.

Two sessions were also required for KZ2. In Session 1, the Swiss driver Ethan Frigomosca (#49 Gerber Team Corse/Maranello-TM Kart) delivered a surprising performance, clocking the fastest time in 45.857s. He was followed by the French Jean Nomblot (#8 CPB Sport/Sodi-TM Kart), who was 0.049s behind, and the German driver Luis Laurin Speck (#47 TBKart/TBKart-TM Kart) at 0.079s.

The absolute pole position was set in Session 2 by the French driver Emilien Denner (#11 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) with a time of 45.636s. The Ukrainian Slavik Putiatin (#17 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart) secured second place, leading his teammate, the Estonian Markus Kajak, by 0.09s and the Italian Giuseppe Palomba (#12 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) by 0.097s. The winner of the previous edition, Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART/BirelART-TM Kart), secured the fifth-best time at 0.169s.  

OK – Pesl takes the pole position.

In OK,  the fastest of Session-1 was the Scottish driver Zac Drummond (#220 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) with a time of 46.719s. The Romanian David Cosma Cristofor (#205 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) closely followed by 32 milliseconds and the Dutch racer Mess Houben (#211 BirelART/BirelART-TM Kart) stopped at 0.246s. However, the absolute pole position went to Czech driver Jindrich Pesl (#237 Intrepid Driver Program/Intrepid-TM Kart) in Session-2 with a time of 46.568s, after a close battle with the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame), who secured the second-best time, trailing by 0.095s. The Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#209 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) posted the third-best time at 0.206s.    

OKNJ – Viapiana is the fastest.

OKNJ category ran a single session and the fastest turned out to be the Italian Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame) with a time of 48.308s, after a close competition with the Slovakian Alex Molota (#717 Firefly Racing Team/OTK-TM Kart), who secured the second-best time, trailing by 0.059s. Another Italian, Pietro Bagutti (#701 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart), achieved the third-best time at 0.109s. Among the top performers, the Bulgarian Lyuboslav Ruykov (#720 Zanchi Motorsport/Tony Kart-TM Kart) followed at 0.123s and the Japanese Sara Matsui (#708 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) at 0.153s.

The program of the WSK Champions Cup, Lonato:
Saturday, January 20th: warm-up at 8:00; qualifying heats from 10:00.
Sunday, January 21st: warm-up from 8:00; live on TV and Live Streaming from 9:20 Prefinals and Finals from 12:30 (12:30 MINI GR3, 13:00 MINI U10, 14:00 OKJ, 14:30 KZ2; 15:00 OK; 15:30 OKNJ).