Rain is the protagonist in the WSK Super Master Series at Cremona Circuit
Qualifying heats on Friday have been spoiled by the rain, but nearly all leaders of qualifying practice confirmed their pace.
After the morning qualifying sessions, the rain that started the weekend at Cremona Circuit for the second round of the WSK Super Masters Series continued to persist in the afternoon. This added difficulty to the first qualifying heats on Friday for the over 300 drivers participating in this significant, early-season, international event, slightly complicating the schedule.
KZ2 – The first heat goes to Bertuca, and the second to Luyet.
In the first heat A-B, the Italian and championship leader Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega) emerged victorious after an initial dominance by his teammate, the Romanian Daniel Vasile. Despite losing the initial lead, Vasile had to surrender to another Italian, Giuseppe Palomba (#12 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart), who managed to secure the second position in the closing stages. Tigran Bunatyan (#69 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart) claimed the fourth position. In the second heat C-D, Swiss driver Jean Laurent Luyet (#29 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) seized the victory, pursued by two Tony Kart drivers, the Dutch Marijn Kremers and the French Tom Leuillet, who staged an impressive comeback. Maksim Orlov (#44 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) and the French driver Emilien Denner (#11 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) also performed well, finishing in the fourth and fifth positions. Francesco Celenta (34 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) staged a comeback of 10 positions, finishing in sixth place.
OK - Eyckmans and Bondarev are the first two leaders.
In the first heat A-B, the Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart-LeCont) took the victory after a comeback of 6 positions, finishing ahead of the Brazilian Gabriel Gomez (#263 CRG Racing Team/CRG-Iame) and another Belgian, Kai Rillaerts (#240 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex). The Swedish driver Elliot Kaczynski (#210 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex) secured the fourth position, with the French Jimmy Helias (#270 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) in fifth. The pole-sitter, the Irish Fionn MacLaughlin (#267 VDK Racing/KR-Iame) was forced to the back instead.
In the C-D heat, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) managed to had the best of the Australian Dante Vinci (#203 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) in the last two laps, with Stepan Antonov (#273 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) in third place. The Swiss driver Kian Fardin (#259 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) finished in fourth, while the Englishman Noah Wolfe (#247 Var by Birel/BirelART-TM Kart) was fifth.
OKJ - Sala, Kraeling, and Costoya win the first three heats.
Filippo Sala (#327 Ricky Flynn/LN-TM Kart-Vega) immediately secured the victory in the first heat A-B after starting from the pole position. The Italian driver preceded the Ukrainian Lev Krutogolov (#380 Borsch Racing/Tony Kart-Iame) and Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#328 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart). In the C-D heat, the German Arjen Kraeling (#308 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), who set the fastest time in qualifying in Session-3, won the race against the Finnish driver Joel Anton Pohjola (#Tony kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) and teammate Scott Lindblom.
In the third heat, the Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#337 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) took the victory, but the championship leader, the Austrian Niklas Schaufler (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame), made a recovery to the second position, with Dutchman Rocco Coronel (#343 Victorylane Karting/KR-Iame) in third place.
Due to the rain, which extended the race times, the remaining three heats that were supposed to take place at the end of the day are postponed to Sunday morning.
OKNJ - Lovatt wins the heat recovering.
After an initial dominance in the OKNJ category by the Italian poleman Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega), the Englishman Archie Lovatt (#712 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) prevailed in the latter part of the heat, completing a significant comeback. Behind the leading duo, the third position went to the Slovakian Alex Molota (#717 Firefly/Gillard-TM Kart), who had already performed well in qualifying. This placement came after a penalty was imposed on the Italian Ludovico Mazzola (#713 Mazzola/Exprit-Vortex). The Romanian Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart), the winner of the first round in Lonato, secured the fifth position instead.
MINI GR.3 - Blandino wins the first heat.
Cristian Blandino (#550 Kalì-Kart Racing/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega) continues his rise even in Cremona after the success in the last race in Lonato. The young Italian driver confirmed his speed in the first heat after securing the pole position in qualifying. The Belgian Bruno Priam (#576 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) positioned himself in second place, with his teammate Gioele Girardello in third. Close behind were some of the category's key contenders, including the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#503 Team Driver/KR-Iame), the Spaniard Daniel Miron Lorente (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame), and the Australian William Calleja (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
MINI Gr.3 U10 - Moscardi and Perico win the first heats.
The Italian poleman David Moscardi (#560 BirelART-TM Kart-Vega) reaffirmed his victory in the first heat A-B of the youngest category after proving to be the fastest in qualifying. The Canadian Simone Rocco (#565 Fusion Motorsport/KR-Iame) secured the second position after a comeback, while the American Lucas Palacio (#575 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) also completed a comeback to finish in third. In the C-D heat, another Italian, Niccolò Perico (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), took the win ahead of compatriot Achille Rea (#515 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Bulgarian Alexander Lazarus (#506 Team Driver/KR-Iame).
The program of the WSK Super Master Series, Rd2 Cremona Circuit:
Saturday, February 10th: warm-up from 8:00; qualifying heats from 9:50.
Sunday, February 11th, new: warm-up from 8:00; manches OKJ from 9:20; Live TV and Live Streaming from 10:20 Prefinals and from 13:25 Finals (13:25 KZ2, 13:55 MINI U10, 14:25 MINI GR.3, 14:55 OKJ; 15:25 OK; 15:55 OKNJ).