Qualifying heats on Saturday named the finalists of the opening round of the WSK Euro Series. The TV Live Streaming will be on Sunday, September 3rd starting with Prefinals at 9:50 and Finals at 12:30, MINI U10. MINI Gr.3 will be at 14:00, OKJ at 14:30, OK at 15:00, and OKN-OKNJ at 15:30.
Saturday at the Franciacorta Karting Track has been an intense day dedicated entirely to the qualifying heats of this first round of the WSK Euro Series, in order to determine the finalists for the grand finale on Sunday, September 3rd. This exceptional international event featured over 300 drivers competing in the MINI, OK, OKJ, OK-N, and OK-N Junior categories.
At the end of the lengthy qualifying phase, which featured particularly tight races across a total of 45 qualifying heats, the results have rewarded Nakamura (OK), Saleh (OKJ), Yildirim (OK-N), Ivannikov (OK-N Junior), Cosma Cristofor (MINI Gr.3) and Miron Lorente (MINI Gr.3 Under 10).
TV - Live Streaming.
The final phase on Sunday, September 3rd, will be broadcast live on TV and live streaming. The Prefinals start at 9:50, followed by the Finals at 12:30, in the following order: 12:30 MINI U10, 14:00 MINI GR.3, 14:30 OKJ, 15:00 OK and 15:30 OKN-OKNJ.
OK – Nakamura and Lammers lead the pack.
The Japanese driver Kean Nakamura-Berta (#228 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-MG), after securing pole position in qualifying practice, continued his winning streak with four heat victories, settling for second place in the final heat behind the Irish driver Fionn Macmaughlin (#262 VDK Racing/KR-Iame). In pursuit are the Dutch driver René Lammers (#201 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) with four wins and the Brazilian driver Gabriel Gomez (#241 CRG Racing Team/CRG-Iame) with three wins, the other heat-winner is the Thai driver Enzo Tarnvanichkul (#226 Prema Racing/KR-Iame), Dmitry Matveev (#205 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) and the Latvian driver Tomass Stolcermanis (#229 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart).
OKJ – Saleh is chased by Bondarev and Lindblom.
In OK-Junior, the Swedish driver Scott Kin Lindblom (#315 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex), secured pole position and then faced strong competition from several contenders. The German driver Taym Saleh (#314 Sauber Academy/KR-Iame) claimed four victories, while the Ukrainian driver Oleksandr Bondarev (#311 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) achieved three wins. Lindblom remained in the top three positions in the standings with two victories. The Spanish driver Cristian Costoya (#348 Parolin-TM Kart) also secured three wins, but he fell behind in the rankings due to a retirement in his first heat. The Swede Elliot Kaczynski (#359 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex) and Singaporean driver Tiziano Monza (#374 Shamick Europe/Parolin-TM Kart) also secured wins and are in top positions.
Yildirim in pole in OK-N, Ivannikov in OK-N Junior.
The two new federal categories have shown interesting competitiveness in this WSK event, which is also valid as qualifier to the international event "Road to the OKN World Cup" on October 8th, organized by ACI Sport in collaboration with the Franciacorta Karting Track. The best-ranked participants in this WSK Euro Series event will qualify: the top 6 in OKN-Junior and the top 5 in OK-N.
In the OK-N category, Gianmarco Cortopassi (#805 Maranello-TM Kart-Vega) secured pole position, but then he was excluded from the first heat due to non-compliance with weight regulations, and the victory went to the Turkish driver Bati Ege Yildirim (#802 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart), who repeated his success in the second heat. In the third heat, Cortopassi emerged victorious in a duel between the two. Yildirim holds the best position after the heats.
In OKN-Junior, with Vladimir Ivannikov (#708 Gamoto/OTK-TM Kart-Vega) securing pole position, the first two heats saw Ivannikov and the Dutch driver Dean Hoogendoorn (#701 AKM Motorsport/KA-Iame) taking turns at winning. Hoogendoorn then won the third heat. Ivannikov is currently ahead of Hoogendoorn in the standings, with the Polish driver Bruno Gryc (#715 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart) in third place.
MINI Gr.3 – Cosma Cristofor puts his name forward for the win.
There was a great battle in MINI Gr.3 where the Italian poleman Pietro Bagutti with Team Gamoto (#532 EKS-TM Kart-Vega) could not capitalize on his strong performance in the first heat. Taking advantage of this were mainly the Romanian driver Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#501 Team Driver/Iame) with two wins and his teammate, the Spanish driver Bosco Arias Chavarri (#505 Team Driver/KR-Iame), with one win. The Australian driver William Calleja (#522 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) also performed well, along with the English driver Noah Baglin (#521 iKart/KR-Iame), who secured one win. The last heat of the day was won by the Peruvian Mariano Lopez (#513 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Miron Lorente among a lot of rivals.
The Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente (#507 Team Driver/KR-Iame) stood out among the top performers, showing speed in qualifying and securing a heat win along with good placements that put him at the top of the standings. Other notable contenders include Niccolò Perico (#575 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), the Belgian driver Henri Kumpen (#525 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), the Italian David Moscardi (#551 AMC/BirelART-TM Kart) and the Australian Sebastian Eskandari Marandi (#555 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex). The Portuguese driver Xavier Lazaro (#560 DR/DR-TM Kart) also claimed a victory, while the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#502 Team Driver/KR-Iame) secured two wins but fell behind due to a poor result in his third heat, along with the Polish driver Leonardo Gorski (#523 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
The program of the WSK Euro Series, Round 1, Franciacorta:
Sunday, September 3rd: warm-up at 8:30; Live TV and Streaming from 9:50 of Prefinals and Finals from 12:30 (12:30 MINI U10, 14:00 MINI GR.3, 14:30 OKJ, 15:00 OK; 15:30 OKN-OKNJ).
WSK Euro Series 2023:
1st Rd – 03/09/2023 FRANCIACORTA / MINI – OKJ – OK - OKN – OKNJ
2nd Rd – 05/11/2023 SARNO / MINI – OKJ – OK – KZ2 - OKN - OKNJ