The intense heat has subsided at the International Circuit Napoli in Sarno, but among the protagonists of 34 nationalities competing in the fourth and final round of the WSK Open Series in the MINI, KZ2 OK-N, and OK-N Junior categories, the "temperature" remained high due to the competitiveness shown in Saturday's heats, with the aim of giving their all in the final phase on Sunday, June 25th. The Prefinals will be live-streamed on TV from 11:05, followed by the Finals at 13:30.
Charles Leclerc is in Sarno.
Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc has also arrived in Sarno to enrich the weekend of this decisive round of the WSK Open Series. He will be visiting the karting team for which he endorses the Leclerc by Lennox chassis produced by BirelART. On this occasion, Leclerc not only followed the team's activities but also took the time to greet his young Monegasque cousin, Andrea Manni, who is competing in the MINI category with BabyRace. In the Sarno paddock, Charles Leclerc was naturally welcomed with great affection by the many fans of the Ferrari driver.
KZ2 – Iglesias ends the heats on top, but watch out for the youngsters.
The KZ2 heats turned into a true festival for the category, with over 80 internationally renowned drivers battling for the top positions. There were many different winners, including some positive surprises, such as the competitiveness shown by several young drivers in direct comparison with seasoned champions. Among the young talents, two prominent figures were the Prema Racing drivers on KR-Iame, the Japanese Kean Nakamura-Berta, and the Jamaican Alex Powell, along with Cristian Bertuca from BirelART Racing on BirelART-TM Kart. Among the already established champions, the competition was led by Jeremy Iglesias (#81 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart), who proved to be the best at the end of the heats, along with Paolo Ippolito (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), who secured an impressive four victories and Senna Van Walstijn (#1 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart). On the other hand, the Italian driver Francesco Celenta (#98 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart), who had the fastest lap in qualifying and won two heats, slipped back after retiring in his final heat of the day. Among the top performers was also the Frenchman Adrien Renaudin (#94 DR/DR-Modena Engines). The current leader in the standings, the Dutch Stan Pex (#13 SP Motorsport/KR-TM Kart), consistently held top positions and is certainly prepared for the final assault.
MINI GR.3 – Baglin close to the hat-trick in the heats.
In MINI Gr.3, the main protagonist proved to be Noah Baglin (#521 iKart/KR-Iame-Vega), who secured pole position and went on to win two heats. The English driver missed out on victory only in the third heat, where he lost the lead on the final lap and finished in ninth place. The win in that heat went to the Australian driver William Calleja (#502 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) after a penalty was imposed on his teammate, the Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari, with Vladimir Ivannikov (#522 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart) taking second place. In the heat standings, following Baglin, Calleja secured second place, followed by his Baby Race teammate, the American driver Devin Walz, and the current championship leader from Romania Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#539 Team Driver/KR-Iame). Zulfikari claimed the fifth position. Among the top performers were also Dean Hoogendoorn (Kidix/KR-Iame), who is second in the championship, Vladimir Ivannikov, and the American driver Keelan Harvick (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Championship leader Gorski shines.
In MINI Under 10, the championship leader from Poland Leonardo Gorski (#511 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) made a remarkable recovery from the 21st place in qualifying and secured the best positions in the heats with two victories. The young Belgian Antoine Venant (#572 Kidix/KR-Iame) also stood out with notable placements, as did the Ukrainian driver Oleksandr Legenkyi (#536 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who also staged an impressive comeback. The Italian driver Edoardo Colucci (#563 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who showed good speed in qualifying, performed well too. On the other hand, the Italian Niccolò Perico (#566 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), after winning the first heat, did not achieve notable results in the other two heats. Among the top performers was also the Swedish driver Maximus Unt (#569 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart).
OK-N dominated by Yildirim, OK-N Junior by David Cosma Cristofor.
The Turkish driver Bati Ege Yildirim (#202 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega) dominated both in qualifying and in all three heats in the OK-N class. In the OK-N Junior class, the Romanian driver David Cosma Cristofor (#307 Kidix/KR-Iame) took control, leading both qualifying and all three heats. Following closely in the Junior category, the Polish driver Bruno Gryc (#309 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart) stood out, followed by the Spanish driver Nikita Nikishov (#305 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Racing) and the Italian driver Gino Rocchio (#308 DR/DR-Modena Engines). Other notable performances came from the Italian driver Giuseppe Piccolo (#310 Team Driver/KR-Iame), Swiss driver Georgiy Zasov (#304 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), and Dutch driver Billi Jordan Van Staveren (#306 Kidix/KR-Iame).
The schedule of the WSK Open Series, Round 4, Sarno:
Sunday, June 25: warm-up at 8:30; live TV and Live Streaming coverage from 10:40 (Prefinals) and
Finals from 13:30 (13:30 MINI U10, 14:00 MINI GR.3, 14:30 KZ2, 15:00 OK-N, and OK-N Junior).
Info, Results, Classifications: www.wskarting.it/index.asp