Tony Kart opens the WSK Final Cup with a success
The Tony Kart Racer 401 RR is unbeatable in the final reserved for the OKJ category, thanks to the excellent performance of Sebastian Lehtimäki, at his debut with the Racing Team. Second step of the podium also in OK class with Sebastiano Pavan.
Winning start for the Tony Kart Racing Team in the WSK Final Cup. On the occasion of the first out of the two rounds of the series, held at the South Garda Karting in Lonato del Garda (Italy), their Tony Kart Racer 401 RR hits the success in the OKJ category, powered by the Vortex VTJ engine. Their chassis is also on the podium in OK, powered by the VTS engine of the OTK Kart Group's "engine division", and gets good results in KZ2 with the VTZ unit. Positive performances also for their Tony Kart Rookie in the MINI categories, powered by the branded Vortex VTM engine.
In OKJ, at his absolute debut with their official colours, Sebastian Lehtimäki is the protagonist throughout the weekend. The Finnish driver sets the third-best time in Qualifying Group 3 and is able to lead the following qualifying heats with four wins out of five races, to which he also adds the success in the B prefinal which earns him the pole position for the final. In the Sunday afternoon's race, Lehtimäki leads the early thrilling stages before settling in second position for a few laps. The Finnish launched the winning attack in the middle of the race and went on to victory.
Always fast is Thomas Quince, author of the fastest lap in his own warm-up group on Saturday morning as well as four Top 10s in the qualifying heats. Thanks to a shrewd and error-free performance, the French driver makes a comeback of 10 positions in the final.
Scott Marsh also takes part in the last race of the weekend, after having achieved four top-ten finishes in the eliminatory heats. Third in Friday's free practices and on the edge of the Top 10 in the pre-final, Davide Bottaro in the final is unfortunately forced to retire.
Bad luck, on the other hand, strikes Scott Kin Lindblom significantly. The Swedish driver finishes third twice and sets three fast laps in the qualifying heats, but a "DNF" in Sunday morning's prefinal does not allow him to enter the final. Also attending the race in Lonato del Garda is Maria Gemano Neto who, despite proving to be as fast as ever, does not experience one of her best weekends.
In OK, Sebastiano Pavan and Luigi Coluccio fight from the start for the lead in the category. Sebastiano takes the lead in the second group of chrono practices and obtains two-second places in the qualifying heats, while Luigi wins an eliminatory heat and takes the lead in the intermediate ranking. Subsequently, both of them take the Top 3 in the prefinal A on Sunday morning and confirm their position at the top of the ranking. The final sees Pavan immediately taking the lead in the early stages and fighting until the very end for victory. Pavan is second under the chequered flag, while Coluccio has to face some obstacles in the early laps, but still finishes in the top ten.
After the podium obtained in round 2 of the WSK Euro Series at Sarno, David Walther shows off some interesting performances throughout the Lonato del Garda event and, thanks to a comeback of 8 positions, finishes the final in the Top 15. Tiziano Monza makes his debut with their sports division and immediately shows the right feeling with their material, entering the final race.
In KZ2, Tom Leuillet shows all his speed in the shifter class with a first place in Group 2 of the qualifying heats. The French driver achieves a second place in the qualifying heat, finishes fourth in the B prefinal (also getting the best lap) and, recovering 8 positions in the final, is able to finish the weekend among the top ten. Excellent comeback of 16 positions for Norton Andreasson in the final, while Samuele Leopardi completes his debut with their team with good chron results.
In the MINI Gr.3, their best driver is Ilie Tristan Crisan. The Canadian gains a third place as best result in the qualifying heats and hits the fifth position in the final, moving up 6 positions from the start. Ludovico Mazzola also achieves a third place in the qualifying heats and gains 6 positions in the final race of the weekend: the Italian crosses the finish line in Top 10, not far from his teammate Tristan Crisan.
Leonardo Gorski achieves two Top 5s in the qualifying heats and shows off in the final, however, several collisions do not allow him to place at the top of the ranking. Oliver Sini collects a Top 10 in the heats, while Sebastian Eskandari Marandi continues his apprenticeship in the new category. Achille Rea and Tiberius Müller also goes on the track in the Mini Gr.3 U10.
The WSK Final Cup continues with the second and last round, scheduled already this week (23rd-26th November) at the Franciacorta Karting Track in Castrezzato (Italy).