Tony Kart pole and win in OKJ class at the opening round of the WSK Euro Series
The Tony Kart Racing Team shines on the occasion of the first round of the WSK Promotion championship, at the Franciacorta Karting Track in Castrezzato (Italy), winning the Junior final with Scott Kin Lindblom.
The 2023 edition of the WSK Euro Series starts in the best way for the Tony Kart Racing Team. In the first round at Franciacorta (Italy), the Tony Kart Racer 401 RR - paired with the Vortex VTJ engine - takes the pole position in the qualifying heats of OKJ category and wins the final on Sunday. The Racer 401 goes on track in the OK class, too, with the VTS engine, while in the MINI category, as always, the team's technical package is made up of the Tony Kart Rookie combined with the VTM of the OTK Kart Group's "engine division".
In OKJ, the weekend soon starts with the first place of Scott Kin Lindblom in the chrono practices, the fastest on track out of 102 drivers, thanks to a time of 48.589 recorded in the second group. The Swedish driver confirms, during the qualifying heats, to be one of the main runners for victory with a series of two wins, three podiums, and two fastest laps out of five races, in addition to the best time on Saturday morning's warm-up. The final on Sunday afternoon sees their driver starting from the front row and, despite starting from the outside line, he is involved in the battle for first position from the very first laps. Already on the third lap, Lindblom takes the lead and, thanks to a perfect race management, does not give up it until the chequered flag waved.
After a good start on Friday and Saturday, Alp Hasan Aksoy has his debut on Sunday with a valuable third place in the B pre-final, after climbing 10 places. The Turkish driver does even better in the following final: having started from the middle of the group, he starts a comeback of 12 positions and hits the Top 5. Just as fast is Kirill Dzitiev, among the top ten in the Friday's qualifyings, is unfortunately held back by an unfortunate stop in the Saturday's final heat. Their driver does not give up despite the bad luck, and finishes the B pre-final in second position, getting close to the Top 10 in the final.
Positive debut for Scott Marsch with their Racing Team. The Briton recovers 12 positions in the B pre-final which earns him the Top 10, and finishes the final behind his teammate Dzitiev, gaining a total of 23 positions, but is subsequently penalised by 5 seconds by the sporting marshals. Convincing performance for Maria Germano Neto, who finishes third in the qualifying heat and eighth in the intermediate ranking on Saturday night. Only a collision on the second lap of the final, forces their girl to start from the back, preventing her from closing the weekend on a high note.
Bad luck also for Davide Bottaro, involved in an accident during the final while running in the top positions. The Italian had been, up to that point, the leader of a tough run, made up of two podiums and a fastest lap in the eliminatory heats as well as a Top 6 and a best lap in the A Prefinal. Thomas Quince continues his apprenticeship with their sports division, narrowly missing the access to the final.
In OK class, Sebastiano Pavan is their best representative in the category throughout the weekend. The Italian driver scores three podiums in the qualifying heats and comes close to the Top 5 in the B prefinal, before staging a brilliant comeback of 7 positions in Sunday's final which allows him to finish in 6th position. Kai Rillaerts makes his debut with their official colours at Franciacorta and, after two Top 10 placings in the eliminatory heats, is among the top twenty of the final.
A fine 14-place comeback in the B prefinal is not enough for Jan Przyrowski to grab a pass for the final, also missed by his teammate Aleksandr Bogunovic. Luigi Coluccio and Zoe Florescu Potolea focus on their work with their staff in view of the FIA Karting World Championship, staged next month at the Franciacorta track. Finally, Suleiman and Sofia Zanfari dispute their first appointment as their official drivers.
In the MINI Gr.3, Ilie Tristan Crisan is among the fastest and most competitive drivers in the category as early as Friday: the Canadian driver signs three fastest laps in the three eliminatory heats, as well as a third place, as his best performance. With these results, together with another Top 3 obtained in the B prefinal, Tristan Crisan candidate for a leading role in the final, and thanks to a series of overtakings in the last laps, he is able to conquer the lowest step of the podium. However, at the end of the prize-giving ceremony, the race director gives him a 5-second penalty, who nevertheless ranks in the Top 10. Good performance for Oliver Sini, able to recover 8 positions from the start and to close the last race of the weekend among the top 15. A collision in the early stages of the final does not allow Ludovico Mazzola to achieve a result worthing his performance in previous days, starting from seventh place overall in the qualifyings. Bruno Blanco continues with his familiarization within their team.
In the MINI Gr.3 U10, all their drivers take part in the Sunday afternoon's final. Starting with Sebastian Eskandari Marandi, author of the second best time in Group 1 during the qualifying heats and subsequently able to set three fastest laps in the heats. The Australian driver also achieves a third place in the A prefinal, while in the final he is involved in a collision on the last lap that irreparably ruins his race. First positive appearance for Tiberius Müller with their Racing Team, with a fifth place in the qualifying heats to add to his weekend scoreboard. Achille Rea shows a continuous growth throughout the Franciacorta event and is ready to put his efforts to good use in the next scheduled races.
Tony Kart Racing Team's racing calendar goes on relentlessly, heading to Germany to face the FIA Karting KZ World Championship, the FIA Karting KZ2 World Cup, and the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup in Wackersdorf (September 7th – 10th).