Vortex hits the podium in the first race of 2024
In the first round of the WSK Super Master Series in Lonato del Garda, the VTS engine of the “engine division” of OTK Kart Group delivers a podium position with Sebastiano Pavan.
OK Class – In the first qualifying of the season, the VTS engine is competing for the pole position in the Senior category with Sebastiano Pavan (Tony Kart Racing Team), third in the combined qualifying ranking. Vortex then saw three victories between the qualifying heats and the prefinal with the Italian driver, which resulted in second on the starting grid of the final. At the starting line, Pavan started from the outer line and, retaining second position, he chased the leader of the race reaching him right at the end of the race. The Tony Kart Racing Team driver delivered a podium place at the end of the 21-lap race. In the top 10, we also find Kai Rillaerts (Tony Kart Racing Team), in the initial phases of the race competing for a podium place, and Tiziano Monza (Tony Kart Racing Team), driver of a 10 place comeback. Xavier Avramides (Tony Kart Racing Team) positions himself right behind, while Thomas Quince (Tony Kart Racing Team) is the fifth driver in the ranking with the Vortex engine.
KZ2 Class – In the category of the karts with a gearbox, the VTZ engine registers a podium in qualifying heats with Tom Leuillet (Tony Kart Racing Team), while in the two warm-up sessions on Sunday morning, the fastest was Marijn Kremers (Tony Kart Racing Team), subsequently the driver of a third place in the prefinal B, and Francesco Celenta (Tony Kart Racing Team). In the final Leuillet tries to get the lowest step on the podium till the last moment: Francesco, at the end of the race, resulted to be among the first five drivers of the weekend in Lonato del Garda. Kremers crosses the finish line in eighth place, but in the post-race, he gets a 5-second penalty for the front spoiler in the wrong position. Celenta is also unlucky and forced to retire during the final laps.
OKJ Class – the VTJ engine gets close to the pole position in the qualifying practices on Friday with Scott Kin Lindblom (Tony Kart Racing Team), who was the fastest in group 3 and second in the combined ranking of all sessions. During the qualifying heat, the Vortex branded engines get two victories, five podiums, and a fastest lap, including a second place in prefinal B. In the final on Sunday afternoon, Sebastian Lehtimaki (Tony Kart Racing Team) started from the first row, but the outer line penalised the Finnish driver significantly in the early stages of the race. The colour bearer Tony Kart Racing Team closes the race in the Top 10, while right behind we saw Endo Arada (Ward Racing) with 9 positions gained from the start, Joel Pohjola (Tony Kart Racing Team), and Lindblom. In the final also participate Ilie Tristan Crisan (Tony Kart Racing Team), Bruno Gryc (Ward Racing), and Scott Marsh (Tony Kart Racing Team).
MINI Class – the VTM unit saw two Top 3's in the qualifying heats of the MINI Gr.3 with Leonardo Gorski (Tony Kart Racing Team) and Lucas Bonhomme (Claire Tabarin), classified in the Top 15 at the end of the weekend. In addition to them, Oliver Sini (Tony Kart Racing Team) also competed in the final on Sunday afternoon. In the U10 category, we find in the final Achille Rea (Tony Kart Racing Team), Henri Kumpen (Tony Kart Racing Team), and Victor Gorun (Real Racing).