On Friday 11th October, the KZ categories battled it out on the wet track of the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve for Qualifying Practice. Dutchman Senna Van Walstijn took pole position in the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ, Italian Cristian Bertuca took pole position in the FIA Karting World Cup - KZ2 and Brazilian Andre Nicastro set the fastest time in the FIA Karting International Super Cup - Masters.
Following on from the previous day's Free Practice times, the Portimão track was damp, whether the light rain fell or stopped. The Dunlop KT14 W15 rain tyres fulfilled their role perfectly. With the exception of Van Walstijn, who opened up a significant gap in KZ, the differences between the competitors were small. Three nations - the Netherlands, Italy and Brazil - and three makes of chassis - Sodi, Birel ART and Tony Kart - came out on top in all three categories.
KZ: Van Walstijn already impressing
Senna Van Walstijn (NLD) dominated the KZ Qualifying session, setting the fastest time on his first run and then improving on it until his fourth lap, when he was the only driver to go under 1:10 with a time of 1:09.596. Team-mates Maximilian Paul (DEU) and Adrien Renaudin (FRA) were close behind in second and third places, around 6 tenths off the fastest time. 2020 World Champion Jérémy Iglesias (FRA) took fourth place just a few lengths ahead of Lorenzo Camplese (ITA), while Emilien Denner (FRA) followed in sixth place ahead of Lorenzo Travisanutto (ITA) and Pedro Hiltbrand Aguilar (ESP).
Top five Qualifying positions in the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ
1- Senna Van Walstijn - NLD (Sodi/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:09.596
2- Maximilian Paul - DEU (DR/Modena Engines/Dunlop) 1:10.166 at 0.570
3- Adrien Renaudin - FRA (DR/Modena Engines/Dunlop) 1:10.289 at 0.693
4- Jérémy Iglesias - FRA (CRG/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.419 at 0.823
5- Lorenzo Camplese - ITA (Tony Kart/Vortex/Dunlop) 1:10.460 at 0.864
KZ2: Bertuca pulls off a coup
Cristian Bertuca (ITA) waited until the final lap of the fourth session to take pole position, having prepared his attempt well. With a time of 1:10.162, he was followed by Viktor Larsson (SWE) at 0.041 while Emma Felbermayr (AUT) was four tenths off the pace. In Session 1, Benjamin Fuglesang (NOR) clocked an excellent time of 1:10.207, 0.172 ahead of Gianni Andrisani (DEU) and 0.292 behind Ricardo Borges (PRT), three newcomers to this level. One of the favourites, Daniel Vasile (ROU), narrowly edged out Dion Van Werven (NLD) in the third session with a third lap time of 1:10.232, while Artem Severiukhin finished third, 5 hundredths behind. Finally, Genis Civico Espona (ESP) had distanced his rivals in the second session by more than four tenths with a fourth and final lap of 1:10.380. Alessio Piccini (ITA) and Ken Algre (EST) remained very close in second and third places.
Top eight Qualifying positions in the FIA Karting World Cup - KZ2
1- Cristian Bertuca - ITA (Birel ART/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.162
2- Benjamin Fuglesang - NOR (Sodi/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.207 at 0.045
3- Daniel Vasile - ROU (Birel ART/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.232 at 0.070
4- Genis Civico Espona - ESP (Tony Kart/Vortex/Dunlop) 1:10.380 at 0.218
5- Viktor Larsson - SWE (Sodi/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.203 at 0.041
6- Gianni Andrisani - DEU (KR/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.379 at 0.217
7- Dion Van Werven - NLD (Sodi/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.247 at 0.085
8- Alessio Piccini - ITA (Parolin/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.809 at 0.647
KZ2 Masters: Nicastro in the spotlight
Andre Nicastro (BRA) shone in the first KZ2 Masters Qualifying session, the category open to drivers aged 35 and over. He set a third lap time of 1:10.664, 0.388 behind Alessandro Manetti (ITA), with Andre Ferreira Serafim (PRT) less than a tenth behind. In the second session, Anthony Abbasse (FRA) waited until the last lap to set the fastest time of 1:10.747, which relegated Daniel Bray (NZL) by three tenths and Rasmus Haugard (NOR) to more than four tenths. Davide Foré (ITA) had to make do with fifth place, synonymous with 10th overall.
Top six Qualifying positions in the FIA Karting Masters International Super Cup
1- Andre Nicastro - BRA (Tony Kart/Vortex/Dunlop) 1:10.664
2- Anthony Abbasse FRA - (Sodi/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:10.747 at 0.083
3- Alessandro Manetti - ITA (KR/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:11.052 at 0.388
4- Daniel Bray - NZL (Parolin/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:11.058 at 0.394
5- Andre Ferreira Serafim - PRT (Birel ART/TM Kart/Dunlop) 1:11.104 at 0.440
6- Rasmus Haugard - DNK (KR/IAME/Dunlop) 1:11.181 at 0.517
Provisional schedule for the Portimão race
Saturday 12th October
09:00 - 10:13: Warm-up
10:20 - 16:50: Qualifying Heats
Sunday 13 October
08:30 - 09:40: Warm-up
10:05 - 12:05: Super Heats
13:05 - 16:00: Finals