Tony Kart on the European podium of Portimao
Positive start for the Tony Kart Racing Team in the FIA Karting European Championship at the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal. Their Tony Kart Racer 401 RR, after the podium gained at the Champions of the Future Euro Series two weeks ago, still on the Portuguese track, gathers another second place in the OK class. Once more thanks to the power of the DST Vortex engine, the "engine division" of the OTK Kart Group, for the OK class, and of DJT one, in OKJ.
In OK category, Joseph Turney is one of the best interpreters of the Portimão track and, during the qualifying heats on Friday and Saturday, he shows off a series of three victories and two fast laps, which worth him the second position at the end of the races. The British driver confirms his second place also in the super heat, while in the final, due to a messy first lap, he loses several positions and is forced to recover, what is able to do also thanks to his excellent pace, as proved by the fastest lap obtained. He therefore closes the weekend on the middle step of the podium, between two other Tony Kart-Vortex (Ward racing) chassis. Less lucky, however, has been the race for the OK world champion in force, Tuukka Taponen. The Finnish driver jumps from the fourth place in the eliminatory heats and then is able to achieve three victories in the qualifying heats, which allow him to move up to the third place in the general ranking. Unfortunately, a crash at the start of the final involves Taponen, who is bumped out of the race a few metres after the start. Regularly competing in the shifter category this year, Juho Valtanen confirms the good trend of a fortnight ago with another final result in the Top 10 also in the "Senior" single-speed category. A few unlucky events do not allow Luigi Coluccio to express his potential, differently from what we saw in the WSK Super Master Series and two weeks ago on the occasion of the "COTF", while a penalty for the front spoiler in the wrong position in the super heat breaks the excellent path of the rookie driver James Egozi, seventh position at the end of Saturday and author of a win and two podiums in the qualifying heats. Keanu Al Azhari is the sixth driver at the start of the final running with their colours, after a more than positive path during the weekend. Despite a fast lap in the first eliminatory heat, Liu Ruiqi cannot reach the final, as well as Oscar Wurz and Kuba Rajski.
The Tony Kart Racing Team is competitive also in OKJ class, which sees the final victory of the Tony Kart-Vortex pairing with Dmitry Matveev (Koski Motorsport). Jan Przyrowski jumps strongly with the best time in his qualifying group, gaining the second place in the combined ranking of all the sessions. The Polish driver never misses the Top 5 in the five qualifying heats and candidates as one of the likely protagonists of the Sunday race in Portimão, however, he cannot gather any result both in the super heat and in the final, despite the fastest lap in the last race of the weekend. Enzo Tarnvanichkul also attends the final, together with his Polish teammate. Jimmy Helias, Alp Hasan Aksoy, Giacomo Pedrini and Maria Germano Neto work closely with the Tony Kart Racing Team throughout the weekend and are ready to face the next scheduled appointments.
No break in the weekend of April 14th – 17th for the Tony Kart Racing Team, which remains on the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, at the Circuito Internacional de Zuera, in Spain, the second round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, reserved for OK and OKJ category, will take place.