Tony Kart wins at the European Champ in Cremona
The fourth (and final) round of the FIA Karting European Championship 2023 finished with a clear success for their Tony Kart Racer 401 RR in OK, thanks to the performance of their official driver, Luigi Coluccio.
The journey of the Tony Kart Racing Team in the FIA Karting European Championship, reserved to OK and OKJ categories, ends with an important victory. On the circuit of Cremona (Italy), the Tony Kart Racer 401 RR comes ahead of everybody on the finishing line of the final of the "Senior" category, powered as usual by the VTS engine by Vortex. Their chassis is also the protagonist in the "Junior" category, equipped with the VTJ unit of the OTK Kart Group's "engine division".
In OK, Luigi Coluccio confirms once again to be one of the main runners for the final victory, after the pole position and podium obtained two weeks earlier on the occasion of the Champions of the Future Euro Series. The Italian driver is soon among the fastest in the qualifyings recording the second-best time in the second group, while in the qualifying heats he conquers two victories and two podiums, results that allow him to secure a place in the Top 5 of the intermediate ranking. In the decisive final, Coluccio shows off all his potential: at the start he immediately jumps to second position, just before the race is stopped due to an accident at the back of the group. As soon as the green flag is still waved indicating the restart, he takes the lead of the operations making a vacuum behind him. Thanks to a masterful running of the race, featured by continuous fast laps, he can rejoice in victory under the chequered flag.
After a difficult qualifying session, Jan Przyrowski sets a good rhythm in the eliminatory heats and, with a comeback of not less than 10 positions, finishes among the top ten in A Super Heat. But it is in the final that their young driver performs at best: despite starting from the back of the grid, the Polish driver overtakes one driver after the other, for a total of 21 positions gained compared to his grid position. A performance, like this one, that further demonstrates the high competitiveness level of the Racing Team. Just back from the fourth position at the "COFT" competition in Cremona, Sebastiano Pavan achieves a second-best result in the qualifying heat and finishes eighth in the A Super Heat. The Italian driver has all the potential to obtain a good result in the final, but an accident in the first few corners forces him to retire; Aleksandar Bogunovic is also involved in the same accident, with a rollover but, luckily, with no consequences for their driver. Zoe Florescu Potolea archives her first experience in OK category in the European championship with a steady growth in her performance throughout the weekend.
In OKJ class, Scott Kin Lindblom leads the patrol of their officials with a series of outstanding results in the qualifying heats, including a third place in the first heat, however, an unfortunate stop in the B Super Heat ruins the Swedish driver's plans. Nevertheless, in the final, Lindblom stages a remarkable 12-place comeback and finishes the Italian event in the Top 10, thus confirming the value of the technical package. Maria Germano Neto climbs the intermediate rankings by 13 places, also achieving a third place during the eliminatory heats, but a collision with a rival forces her to raise the white flag in the B Super Heat. Despite of this, the Portuguese driver makes it to the final, as does her teammate Davide Bottaro.
An uphill weekend for Alp Hasan Aksoy, able to make several comebacks in the qualifying heats, while a "DNF" in the A Super Heat prevents Kirill Dzitiev from taking part in the last race of the weekend, after having collected positive performances in the previous days.
A little time off for the Tony Kart Racing Team, ready to recharge its batteries in view of the fourth round of the Italian ACI Karting Championship in Sarno (August 25th – 27th), with the MINI drivers, and with the opening round of the WSK Euro Series in Franciacorta (August 31st – September 3rd), with the OK, OKJ and MINI categories.