Parolin and talent René Lammers OK European Champion!
Already the 2022 European OKJ Champion, Parolin Motorsport has just won the 2023 FIA Karting European OK Championship at Cremona with Rene Lammers. Barely 15 years old, the Dutch driver is a pure product of Parolin Motorsport with whom he has spent his entire karting career, since 2019. Trained in the school of 60 Mini and OK-Junior, Lammers certainly showed off his talent this year in OK against the top specialists.
"It's a crowning achievement," enthused Marco Parolin. "We've been crowned European Champions for the first time. 3rd in Spain, 2nd in the Czech Republic, Lammers took the lead of the Championship thanks to his victory in Denmark. In Italy, he drove a strategic race at the front of the class before securing the title with 4th place in the Final with the fastest lap of the race.
“His 65-point lead over the runner-up speaks volumes for his dominance. The team can be proud of its work since the start of the season. The Parolin brand is back in the spotlight after our successes in Mini and Junior. Winning in OK was one of the objectives of our commitment and we are very happy to have achieved it in this way. Our ambition has always been to work with a driver over the long term, training him from an early age. Well done Champion!"
Parolin Motorsport showed remarkable competitiveness in both categories at Cremona. Miguel Costa had put in some good performances, finishing 5th in the final heat, until a retirement in the Super Heat ruled him out of the Final. Anatoly Khavalkin made strong progress through the heats before finishing 7th in his Super Heat. He then climbed back up to 17th in the Final. As for Rene Lammers, he started with 2nd place in Qualifying, then went on to win four heats and his Super Heat with the fastest lap. Always the fastest on the track, he took as few risks as possible in the Final and finished 4th with the title.
In OK-Junior, Christian Costoya was best placed to perform from 5th on the grid in the Final. He spent most of the race in the top five before suffering a brutal attack which ruined his hopes. Despite this, he finished 6th in the European Championship. Zac Drummond didn't have an easy start to the meeting, but he managed to come back from 11th in the Final to take 7th place in the standings. Jack Iliffe got off to a good start but retired in Heat 1 and then again in the Super Heat, but still finished 24th in the Final. Sebastian Lehtimäki put in a very convincing performance in the heats, climbing up to 6th place, but he was pushed around in the first few laps and ended up retiring after a collision in the Final. Vivek Kanthan had started with four solid heats, close to the top 10, but crashed out in the melee on the first lap of the Final.
The performances of the satellite team Shamick Europe were also very positive. Andy Consani made up 20 places during the heats and finished 7th in the Final. Tiziano Monza had also qualified for the Final, where he moved up 19 places to finish 17th.
Parolin Motorsport returned to 2nd place among the OK teams and 3rd among OK-Junior teams, while Shamick Europe moved into the top five.
In view of its current performances, Parolin Motorsport will have a role to play in the FIA Karting OK and Junior World Championship which takes place from October 5th to 8th at Franciacorta.