The 2024 edition of the WSK Super Master Series concluded with great success, featuring extraordinary participation in all events with drivers from over 50 nations competing in the four-round championship. After races in Lonato, Cremona, Franciacorta, and the final event in Sarno, the champions in the MINI, OKJ, OK, OKNJ, and KZ2 categories were celebrated.
It was a world-class spectacle, with all the official karting manufacturers and the most qualified international teams. At the end of the intense final weekend in Sarno, with all results still open to any outcome, the Prefinals and Finals on Saturday, March 2, with 140 points still at stake, finally crowned the champions of 2024: Schaufler (OKJ), Eyckmans (OK), Cosma Cristofor (OKNJ), Perico (MINI U10), Calleja (MINI Gr.3), Bertuca (KZ2).
The Prefinals.
The tarmac was dry due to the rain, light at the beginning and later on more intense. This made things trickier for Prefinals on Saturday morning and produced some surprises.
The winners of the Prefinals:
OK Junior - Prefinal: Lev Krutogolov (UKR) (#380 Borsch Racing/Tony Kart-Iame-Vega).
OK - Prefinal: Ean Eyckmans (BEL) (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart-LeCont).
OKNJ - Prefinal: Alex Molota (SVK) (#717 Firefly/Gillard-TM Kart-Vega).
MINI Gr.3 U10 - Prefinal A: Niccolò Perico (ITA) (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega).
MINI Gr.3 U10 - Prefinal B: Achille Rea (ITA) (#515 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega).
MINI Gr.3 - Prefinal: Daniel Miron Lorente (NLD) (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega).
KZ2 - Prefinal A: Cristian Bertuca (ITA) (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega)
KZ2 - Prefinal B: Marijn Kremers (NLD) (#35 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex-Vega).
The Finals: the winners of the 4th round in Sarno and the Champions of the WSK Super Master Series 2024.
OKJ – Schaufler dominates the race and the championship.
The Austrian driver Niklas Schaufler (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame-Vega) took command of the final and concluded with a victory that allowed him to secure the championship. Only in the Prefinal, on wet asphalt, the Austrian driver had to settle for a fourth-place finish. However, this did not prevent him from starting from pole position in the final and racing towards victory. Behind Schaufler, the Ukrainian Lev Krutogolov (#380 Borsch Racing/Tony Kart-Iame) secured a surprising win in the Prefinal, while third place went to the Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#328 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) after a penalty for the incorrect position of the front spoiler was applied to the Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#337 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart).
OKJ Final
1st Niklas Schaufler (AUT)
2nd Lev Krutogolov (UKR) +1.100
3rd Dries Van Langendonck (BEL) +8.006
OKJ Championship Standings
1st Niklas Schaufler (AUT) points 344
2nd Dries Van Langendonck (BEL) points 259
3rd Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD) points 223
OK – Eyckmans, already champion, celebrates with the Final victory.
Already certain of winning the championship after earning points with his victory in the Prefinal, the Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart-LeCont) did not hesitate to achieve the satisfaction of winning the final as well. He secured victory in the concluding race ahead of the Danish driver David Walther (#257 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) and the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) after an intense battle. The Italian Sebastiano Pavan (#218 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) finished in fourth place due to a penalty imposed on the Colombian driver Salim Hanna (#208 Prema Racing/KR-Iame), who subsequently closed in fifth position.
OK Final
1st Ean Eyckmans (BEL)
2nd David Walther (DNK) +0.510
3rd Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) +1.110
OK Championship Standings
1st Ean Eyckmans (BEL) points 373
2nd Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) points 251
3rd Sebastiano Pavan (ITA) points 232
OKNJ – The title goes to Cosma Cristofor, the Final to Molota.
The Slovakian driver Alex Molota (#717 Firefly/Gillard-TM Kart-Vega) did everything to make up ground against the championship leader, the Romanian Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart), but the latter's second-place finish in the Prefinal was enough to secure the title in OK-N Junior with a total of 361 points. On his part, Alex Molota, after winning the Prefinal, also claimed victory in the Final, but he finished second in the championship with 291 points. In the Final, the Italian Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame) finished a good second, securing third place in the championship. Another Italian, Nico Carfagna (#750 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart), claimed the third step of the Final podium. Cosma Cristofor finished sixth but secured the title.
OKNJ Final
1st Alex Molota (SVK)
2nd Valerio Viapiana (ITA) +4.097
3rd Nico Carfagna (ITA) +7.085
OKNJ Championship Standings
1st Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU) points 361
2nd Alex Molota (SVK) points 291
3rd Valerio Viapiana (ITA) points 251
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 - Palacio wins the Final, but the title goes to Perico by 6 points.
Incredible conclusion in the Final of the MINI Gr.3 Under 10, where championship leader, the Italian Niccolò Perico (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega), after winning the Prefinal, managed to maintain a final advantage of 6 points, those of the 15th place where he finished in the Final. The American Lucas Palacio (#575 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega) attempted a significant comeback in the championship, finishing second in the Prefinal and first in the Final, but in the end, he had to settle for the runner-up title. Second in the Final was the Frenchman Jean Poujol (#BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), third after a great comeback was the Italian Gabriele Iacomelli (#557 DR/DR-TM Kart). In the championship, Sweden's Carl Nellegard (#553 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart) finished in third place as he was forced to retire in the Final.
MINI Gr.3 U10 Final
1st Lucas Palacio (USA)
2nd Jean Poujol (FRA) +9.940
3rd Gabriele Iacomelli (ITA) +11.602
MINI Gr.3 U10 Championship Standings
1st Niccolò Perico (ITA) points 274
2nd Lucas Palacio (USA) points 268
3rd Carl Nellegard (SWE) points 236
MINI GR.3 - Calleja is the champion, while Gorski wins the Final.
The Australian William Calleja (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) and Spaniard Daniel Miron Lorente (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame) exited the Prefinal practically neck-and-neck, with only a one-point advantage for Calleja. The conclusion of the long duel came in the Final, where both missed the podium, but with a fourth-place finish, Calleja secured 40 crucial points that handed him the title. Miron finished ninth, earning only 15 points. The Final was won by the Polish driver Leonardo Gorski (#514 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex), narrowly beating the American Alessandro Truchot (#510 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) and another BabyRace driver, the Italian Julian Frasnelli. Another Italian, Cristian Blandino (#550 Kalì-Kart Racing/TGroup-TM Kart), finished third in the championship with a sixth-place finish in the Final.
MINI Gr.3 Final
1st Leonardo Gorski (POL)
2nd Alessandro Truchot (USA) +0.234
3rd Julian Frasnelli (ITA) +1.582
MINI Gr.3 Championship Standings
1st William Calleja (AUS) points 344
2nd Daniel Miron Lorente (NLD) points 318
3rd Cristian Blandino (ITA) points 262
KZ2 - Bertuca already champion and Kajak wins the Final.
The Italian Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega) won Prefinal-A and the points needed to secure the 2024 title in advance. The battle for victory in the Final, however, rewarded the Estonian Markus Kajak (#14 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart), who dominated the race with a comfortable margin. In the fight for the other podium positions, the Frenchman Tom Leuillet (#33 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) secured the second place ahead of Maksim Orlov (#44 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart). Bertuca finished in a close fourth place but with the title already secured. The Italian Giuseppe Palomba (#12 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) ended fifth after a comeback, and the Dutchman Marijn Kremers (#35 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex), winner of Prefinal-A, closed his effort in sixth place.
KZ2 Final
1st Markus Kajak (EST)
2nd Tom Leuillet (FRA) +4.426
3rd Maksim Orlov +4.605
KZ2 Championship Standings
1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA) points 336
2nd Tom Leuillet (FRA) points 195
3rd Markus Kajak (EST) points 181
The next round will be in Franciacorta on April 7th for the opener of the WSK Open Series.
WSK Open Series
1st Rd 07/04/2024 Franciacorta / MINI – OKNJ – OKN – KZ2 – KZ2 Masters
2nd Rd 11/05/2024 La Conca / MINI – OKNJ – OKN – KZ2 - KZ2 Masters (Final Day Saturday)