Tony Kart Vice World Champion KZ 2022
On the occasion of the FIA Karting World Championship reserved for KZ category, the Tony Kart Racing Team comes close to the success on the Le Mans Karting International circuit. Noah Milell, already 2021 World Champion, once again climbs onto the podium, this time in second place.
At the FIA Karting World Championship in Le Mans, the Tony Kart Racing Team cherishes the dream of a second consecutive title in the KZ class. On the French track, the Tony Kart Racer 401 RR allows its drivers to play their best chance of victory in the final, thanks to the boost of the Vortex RTZ/RSZ engines of OTK Kart Group's "engine division". Speed and competitiveness were also on show in the FIA World Cup reserved to KZ2, as well as in the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup aimed at the KZ2 Masters, both faced always with the "Racer 401 RR" combined with RTZ/RSZ engines made by Vortex.
In KZ class, the weekend starts with a hat-trick in the qualifyings signed by their drivers. The reigning world champion Noah Milell is the fastest overall and takes the pole position, ahead of Simo Puhakka (the fastest of the other qualifying group) and the reigning vice world champion, Lorenzo Camplese. In the qualifying heats, it is Puhakka who lays down the law, with a haul of two victories and a second place, confirming him at the top of the intermediate ranking. The Finnish driver secures his position with a further success in the superheat and the relative best lap time in the race: enough to confirm him in pole position in the decisive final. Milell, on the other hand, drops a few places in the ranking due to the changeable weather conditions between Friday and Saturday, but, despite everything, he constantly runs in the Top 5.
In Sunday's final, Puhakka performs a perfect start as the lights go off, only to give up the lead and remain in the wake of the leaders. In the first laps it is then Milell who emerges, good at disentangling himself from the numerous fights in the top positions and hoisting himself up to third position. The Sweden driver runs wild in the second part of the race: first, he moves into the second position, then challenges the leader of the race to the last metre. After 22 laps, Milell finishes just 178 thousandths behind the winner and becomes vice world champion, with the best overall time of the entire weekend in his pocket. Puhakka, on the other hand, comes close to the podium and finishes the world championship in fourth position.
Despite being the youngest driver on the grid, Tuukka Taponen shows to have the speed to fight with the strongest and most experienced protagonists of the master class of the shifter karts. Indeed, the reigning OK world champion records two fastest laps and a podium in the qualifying heats and remains firmly in the top ten throughout the weekend. In a hard-fought final, the Finnish driver positively ends his first KZ world championship in ninth position. In the Top 10 we find a solid Adrien Renaudin, their fourth best driver of the day, demonstrating a choral performance by the whole team, also confirmed by Juho Valtanen, able to set the best time in Saturday morning's warm-up. Unfortunately, however, the Finnish driver gets a five-second post-race penalty for the front spoiler in the wrong position in the final, which sets him back in the standings. An accident in Sunday morning's super heat ruins Camplese's score, until then among the top ten: the Italian, in the final, raises the white flag before the end of the race.
Also in the World Cup reserved for KZ2, with a record number of 123 drivers competing, the Tony Kart Racing Team fights to the last for the title. Samuel Luyet opens his weekend with the second fastest time in group 2 of the qualifying heat and, with a series of excellent results (one win, four second places and two fourth places out of seven qualifying heats), he gains the second position in the intermediate ranking. With another podium in the superheat, Luyet obtains a place on the front row for the final, a race in which, however, he is unlucky, finishing at the bottom of the Top 10. His team-mate Norton Andreasson plays on consistency in the heats, avoiding any kind of mistake, and in the most crucial moment of the French trip - i.e. in the final - he gives his best and reaches the sixth position. Remarkable comeback by Jean Luyet, who climbs a total of 11 positions in the standings and also in the top ten.
Absolute debut for the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup, the new category (the KZ2 Master) created for drivers over 35 years of age. Their sports division goes on track with five drivers: Victor Jimenez who stages a 14-place recovery during the final, as well as Eduardo Martins, who climbs several places. Unluckier is Roberto Profico, who shows off in Saturday morning's warm-up with the best time and in the final qualifying heat with a substantial fourth place. Finally, Cliff Kujala and Andre Martins do not get a pass for the final, but show themselves off with good cues and results in the heats.
After the trip to Le Mans, the Tony Kart Racing Team is now ready for a second world challenge. Indeed, from September 15th to 18th, the FIA Karting World Championship reserved for OK and OKJ classes will be run on the Italian circuit of Sarno.