The new Danish circuit, the Rødby Karting Ring, provided a high-quality setting for its first appearance on the FIA Karting calendar. Rene Lammers (NLD) in OK, Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) in OK-Junior and Vasileios Apostolidis (GRC) in Academy won the Finals.
The intensity of the sporting confrontations reached new heights at Rødby thanks to the extremely technical layout. The number of passes was record-breaking, as were the frequent changes of leaders. The winding and wide circuit provided quite a spectacle for the third round of the FIA Karting European Championship - OK & Junior and the second round of the FIA Karting Academy Trophy.
Apostolidis wins, Walton leads the Academy Trophy
The identical Exprit/Vortex karts supplied by the OTK group and their Vega tyres produced a show of rare intensity in the hands of the young talents of the FIA Karting Academy Trophy. Greek driver Vasileios Apostolidis was particularly impressive at Rødby. 9th in Qualifying, he won a heat and took two 2nd places. In the Final, he started from the front and finished 7th, while several drivers took the lead in turn: Marius Barry-Berg (NOR), Hugo Marti (ESP), Rocco Coronel (NLD), Max Walton (AUS) and Markas Silkunas (LTU). Apostolidis didn't lose concentration and was able to take the lead for good on the 17th of the 21 laps. He won by a margin of 0.360" ahead of Walton, while Santino Panetta (ARG) took 3rd place by more than six seconds after repeated efforts. Ryutaro Sakai (JPN) and Sebastian Garzon (COL) completed the top five. Barry-Berg was demoted to 16th after causing an incident.
Walton also took top spot in the FIA International Karting Ranking (IKR) in the Academy Trophy category, while Apostolidis moved up 15 places to 6th.
Provisional 2023 FIA Karting Academy Trophy standings after Round 2:
1- Max Walton (AUS) - 90 points
2- Hugo Marti (ESP) - 75 points
3- Marius Barry-Berg (NOR) - 74 points
4- Ryutaro Sakai (JPN) - 57 points
5- Vasileios Apostolidis (GRC) - 55 points
OK-Junior: Bondarev winner and comfortable Championship leader
Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR-KR/IAME/Vega) repeated his performance from Trinec by winning the Final of the third round of the FIA Karting European Junior Championship at Rødby. Iacopo Martinese (ITA-KR/IAME/Vega) made an excellent start to the race. Bondarev had to wait until the seventh of the 21 laps before he could attack Martinese and take the lead. Stepan Antonov (KR/IAME/Vega) made a strong comeback and overtook Martinese on the penultimate lap to finish in 2nd position, having gained 11 places. Martinese took 3rd place on the podium, Costoya finished 4th ahead of Tiziano Monza (SGP-Parolin/TM Kart/Vega).
Wherrell remained leader of the FIA International Karting Ranking (IKR) in all categories, followed by Bondarev and Antonov. Bondarev moved up to 2nd in OK-Junior behind Wherrell.
Provisional 2023 FIA Karting European Championship - Junior standings after Round 3:
1- Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) - 206 points
2- Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL) - 164 points
3- Lewis Wherrell (GBR) - 139 points
4- Zac Drummond (GBR) - 122 points
5- Iacopo Martinese (ITA) - 117 points
OK-Junior team standings after Rødby
1- KR Motorsport (ITA) - 286 points
2- Sauber Academy (SWE) - 198 points
3- Forza Racing (GBR) - 169 points
4- Parolin Motorsport (ITA) - 142 points
5- VDK Racing (BEL) - 126 points
Fine victory for Rene Lammers in OK
After four laps under slow procedure at the start of the race, Rene Lammers (NLD-Parolin/TM Kart/MG) was able to take advantage of his great speed to challenge the domination of Alex Powell (JAM-KR/IAME/MG) and take the lead at the halfway stage. He crossed the finish line with a lead of 1.5". Gabriel Gomez (ITA-CRG/IAME/MG) was in 2nd place from lap 12, but was unable to close the gap on the leader. Powell took 3rd place ahead of team-mate Kean Nakamura-Berta (GBR-KR/IAME/MG), while Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA-Energy/TM Kart/MG) completed the top five. Joe Turney (GBR-KR/IAME/MG) finished in his starting position, 8th, ahead of his compatriot Nathaniel Tye (GBR- Sodi/TM Kart/MG).
Gomez moved up to 6th in the FIA International Karting Ranking (IKR) for all categories combined, a rise of nine places. Powell moved up seven places to 7th and Lammers up nine places to 8th. Gomez remained at the top of the OK category ahead of Lammers, while Turney moved up two places to 3rd.
Provisional 2023 FIA Karting European Championship - OK standings after Round 3:
1- Rene Lammers (NLD) - 208 points
2- Gabriel Gomez (ITA) - 202 points
3- Alex Powell (JAM) - 165 points
4- Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA) - 138 points
5- Nathaniel Tye (GBR) - 89 points
OK team rankings after Rødby
1- Prema Racing (ITA) - 235 points
2- Tony Kart Racing Team (ITA) - 189 points
3- CRG (ITA) - 186 points
4- Parolin Motorsport (ITA) - 170 points
5- VDK Racing (BEL) - 157 points