Races in the gearbox categories are always unique in their intensity. In the rewarding setting of MotorLand Aragón, the first round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - KZ, KZ2 & KZ2 Masters confirmed this impression throughout the breathless meeting. On Sunday afternoon, Senna Van Walstijn (NLD) in KZ, Daniel Vasile (ROU) in KZ2 and Anthony Abbasse (FRA) in KZ2 Masters were rewarded for their Final victories.
Apart from a spell of rain late on Saturday, the MotorLand Aragón track provided good grip for the powerful machines competing. The Dunlop tyres performed well in all three categories, whatever the conditions. With its width, the 1,671-metre-long Spanish track enabled plenty of overtaking in all the races, while remaining highly selective. The Spanish organising team showed great skill and much appreciated personal qualities.
With the weather becoming increasingly fine throughout Sunday, and the heat reasonable despite the return of blue skies and sunshine, the overall outcome of the event was very positive.
Van Walstijn finishes top of the KZ class
Dutchman Senna Van Walstijn initially won the KZ Super Heat on Sunday morning, but Sweden's Viktor Gustafsson remained leader of the Final Intermediate Classification and holder of first place on the starting grid for the Final. Van Walstijn was the fastest driver at the end of the previous phase, however, and immediately took first place. Italian Danilo Albanese was soon back in second and closing on the leader. After setting the fastest lap, he was only two tenths behind Van Walstijn shortly after half-distance but the latter upped the pace in the closing laps to win the race outright by 1.5 seconds. Italian Lorenzo Travisanutto made up seven places to third place with three laps to go, finishing 5 tenths ahead of Gustafsson. Dutchman Stan Pex secured fifth place 2.5" further back. Pedro Hiltbrand Aguilar (ESP) had moved up 16 places to sixth. Tom Leuillet (FRA), who had long been one of the favourites, was forced to retire following a technical problem.
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Provisional standings for the 2024 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - KZ after Round 1:
1- Senna Van Walstijn (NLD - Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 91 points
2- Viktor Gustafsson (SWE - CRG / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 81 points
3- Danilo Albanese (ITA - KR / IAME / Dunlop) - 79 points
4- Stan Pex (NLD - KR / IAME / Dunlop) - 56 points
5- Lorenzo Travisanutto (ITA - Parolin / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 51 points
KZ Team standings after MotorLand Aragon
1- Sodikart (FRA) - 342 points
2- KR Motorsport (ITA) - 319 points
3- CRG (ITA) - 205 points
4- Parolin Motorsport (ITA) - 160 points
5- Tony Kart Racing Team (ITA) - 145 points
KZ2: Vasile wins the Final ahead of Spirgel
Matteo Spirgel (FRA) continued his dominance in Super Heat A, while Timo Jüngling (GBR) won Super Heat B. However, the start of the Final proved to be crucial. Daniel Vasile (ROU) took first place as soon as the lights went out. Spirgel tried to fight back on lap 4, but found himself in third place behind Artem Severiukhin. Vasile continued to lead at a strong pace and his experience enabled him to control Spirgel's comeback at the end of the race to take victory by just over a tenth. Maksim Orlov moved up 12 places to third ahead of Matteo Zanchi (ITA), who moved up 13 places. Kasper Schormans (NLD), a fine example of a newcomer at a high level in KZ2, completed the top five.
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Provisional standings of the 2024 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - KZ2 after Round 1:
1- Matteo Spirgel (FRA - Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 94 points
2- Daniel Vasile (ROU - Birel ART / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 88 points
3- Kasper Schormans (NLD - Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 52 points
4- Artem Severiukhin (Birel ART / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 44 points
5- Marek Skrivan (CZE - IPK / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 40 points
KZ2 Team standings after MotorLand Aragon
1- CPB Sport (FRA) - 158 points
2- Birel ART Racing Srl (ITA) - 133 points
3- IPK Factory Team (CZE) - 70 points
4- Modena Kart ASD (ITA) - 39 points
5- Maranello SRP Factory Team (DEU) - 37 points
Duel in KZ2 Masters: Abbasse wins the first round against Fore
Frenchman Anthony Abbasse rediscovered his comfort on the dry track of the Super Heat on Sunday morning, narrowly edging out Italy's Davide Fore. Fore took the lead at the start of the Final and a strong trio was formed including Croatia's Kristijan Habulin. Abbasse managed to overtake Fore to retake first position, while Habulin set his sights on second, but to no avail. Abbasse found the necessary resources to pull away from Fore by 7 tenths at the finish line. Riccardo Nalon (ITA) had caught up with the leading group and passed Habulin on the final lap to take third position, which had eluded Thomas Mich (FRA) due to a penalty. Alessio La Martina (ITA) completed the top five.
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Provisional standings for the 2024 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - KZ2 Masters after Round 1:
1- Anthony Abbasse (FRA - Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 97 points
2- Davide Fore (ITA - Birel ART / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 91 points
3- Kristijan Habulin (HRV - TB Kart / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 73 points
4- Alessio La Martina (ITA - KR / IAME / Dunlop) - 62 points
5- Riccardo Nalon (ITA - Parolin / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 58 points
KZ2 Masters Team standings after MotorLand Aragon
1- Sodikart (FRA) - 97 points
2- Birel ART Racing Srl (ITA) - 91 points
3- Tony Kart Racing Team (ITA) - 76 points
4- TBKart Racing Team srl (ITA) - 73 points
5- KR Motorsport (ITA) - 62 points
The second round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - KZ, KZ2 & KZ2 Masters will take place in Italy, at the Kartodromo Val Vibrata, from 29th August to 1st September 2024.
Follow the development of the International Karting Ranking (IKR) after the Spanish event.