The KR chassis and IAME engines dominated the third round of the FIA Karting European Championship in OK in the sunny conditions of the Slovak Karting Center. Thibaut Ramaekers triumphed in the colours of the VDK Racing team ahead of two KR Motorsport drivers, Noah Monteiro and Dmitry Matveev. The other five drivers behind them were also equipped with KR chassis, including Joe Turney who remains a solid leader in the provisional standings. In OK-Junior, Niklas Schaufler (DPK Racing) and Iacopo Martinese (Cetilar Racing) were among the meeting's leading lights. Martinese moves up to 2nd place in the Championship.
OK: KR leads the drivers' and teams' rankings
The Slovakian event kicked off with three KR-IAME teams in the lead in the three Qualifying groups: Noah Monteiro (pole position), as well as Leo Nilsson and Thibaut Ramaekers. During the heats, other KR-IAME-equipped drivers were at the front, including Jimmy Helias (Victory Lane), Dmitry Matveev, David Cosma Cristofor, Peter Stiller (one of the revelations of the meeting), Scott Kin Lindblom (Fusion Motorsport), Salim Hanna (Prema Racing), Fionn McLaughlin (VDK Racing) and Oleksandr Bondarev (Prema Racing).
The victories for Ramaekers and Turney in the Super Heats confirmed the domination of the Kart Republic factory chassis in OK, and it would be the same in the Final. Ramaekers held on to the lead from the first to the last lap, followed like a shadow by Monteiro. Matveev claimed his first podium in an FIA Karting OK event with Helias on his bumper. Caught up in the jostling at the start, Turney had to be content with 7th place behind Lindblom and Nilsson, but retained his lead in the Championship with one race to go. McLaughlin, up seven places, rounded off this sensational top eight full of KR-IAME packages.
OK-Junior: Martinese remains title contender
The competition is tough in OK-Junior, but Niklas Schaufler and his DPK Racing KR managed to top the Qualifying Heats with three wins. Iacopo Martinese (Cetilar Racing) was also on top, as were Arjen Kraeling (KR Motorsport), Rocco Coronel (Victory Lane) and Bosco Arias (DPK Racing). Both in the dry and in the rain that fell early on Saturday, the Italian chassis proved its worth.
Schaufler and Martinese unfortunately found themselves on the outside of the first two rows of the Final. With three successive left-hand turns, both the Austrian and the Italian lost precious places. Only 16th at the end of the first lap, Martinese then made a remarkable comeback to 4th position. His difficult start left him with nothing but regrets. Now 2nd in the European Championship, Iacopo has moved up one place in the provisional rankings and hasn't given up his chances of becoming European Champion. In the top 12, there were five other KR-IAME drivers: Kraeling, Arias and Schaufler in 7th, 8th and 9th places, as well as Coronel and Noah Baglin (Prema Racing) in P11 and P12. In the team standings, KR Motorsport is in 2nd place.
Comments from Dino Chiesa, Head of KR Global Motorsport Company
"Our equipment was really competitive throughout the week, both in Free Practice and in the racing. Our chassis likes it when the temperature rises and grip conditions increase. We found the perfect compromise for the Maxxis tyres and for this difficult track. The work carried out by the KR Motorsport team and the other teams using KR tyres enabled us to bring home an almost unprecedented result from Slovakia, with eight KR chassis in the top eight places, in addition to victory and the entire podium. It's proof that the equipment is competitive for all the drivers.
"I was obviously hoping for a better result in OK-Junior. Rocco Coronel crashed out in the first heat despite starting in 1st position. Niklas Schaufler and Iacopo Martinese had a complicated start from the outside in the Final. It's a shame, because our equipment had the performance to get at least a podium or even victory. This time, success was more on our side in OK than in OK-Junior. It all comes down to Sweden at the start of August. We'll be fighting for the title with Martinese. Finally, I'd like to pay tribute to the work of Maxxis, the quality of their tyres and the service they offer on the circuits. At the start of the season, everything was new for them as it was for us and finally, the European Championship is taking place in excellent conditions."