The opening of the third round of the WSK Super Master Series at the Franciacorta Karting Track is currently led by: Krutogolov (OKJ), Gustavsson (KZ2), Robertson (MINI Gr.3 U10), Venant (MINI Gr.3), Viapiana (OKNJ) and Bottaro (OK).
The WSK Super Master Series kicked off at the Franciacorta Karting Track with all the expectations of an exceptional competitive spectacle in this third and penultimate round of the series. The event was characterized by a strong turnout of drivers from all over the world, with 406 drivers entered in the MINI, OKNJ, OKJ, OK and KZ2 categories, with approximately 250 in the junior categories contributing to the excellent international talent pool in the WSK Promotion karting movement.
After the free practices, the Franciacorta weekend officially began with the qualifying sessions, where numerous drivers representing official teams and top-level international squads showcased their skills, along with several promising young talents.
OKJ - Krutogolov leads them all.
In the OK-Junior category, the day brought an immediate surprise with the impressive performance of the Ukrainian Lev Krutogolov (#380 Borsch Racing/Tony Kart-Iame-Vega) in Session-3, setting the absolute best time by a narrow margin over the other two contenders in the category: he was two-thousandths of a second ahead of the Spaniard Christian Costoya (#337 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) and 27 thousandths of a second ahead of another Spaniard, Bosco Arias (#303 DPK Racing/KR-Iame).
In Session-1, the fastest was the Englishman Roman Kamyab (#325 Ricky Flynn/LN-TM Kart) with a time of 48.167s, 0.076s ahead of the championship leader, the Austrian Niklas Schaufler (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame), and 0.091s ahead of the Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari (#307 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame).
Session-2 saw the American Jack Dennis Iliffe (#330 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) emerge as the best with a time of 48.147s, which was 0.097s ahead of the Dutchman Dean Hoogendoorn (#319 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame) and 0.125s ahead of the Canadian Ilie Crisan Tristan (#361 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex).
OKJ Qualifying practice:
Session-3 - 1st Lev Krutogolov (UKR) 48.074
Session-2 - 1st Jack Dennis Iliffe (USA) 48.147
Session-1 - 1st Roman Kamyab (GBR) 48.167.
KZ2 – Gustavsson is on top.
In KZ2, an incredible duel is ahead with a total of 85 drivers, among the strongest in the world. The reigning champion, the Swedish driver Viktor Gustavsson (#90 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart-Vega), took the lead with the absolute best time recorded in Session-1 at 45.977, ahead of Maksim Orlov (#44 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) by 0.190s and Kasper Schormans (#6 CPB Sport/Sodi-TM Kart) by 0.218s.
The Italian driver Danilo Albanese (#82 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) was also extremely fast, setting the best time in Session-3 at 46.048, with a 0.162s advantage over championship leader Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) and 0.193s ahead of the German driver Simon Rechenmacher (#37 TB Racing Team/KR-TM kart). The winner of the previous round, the Frenchman Emilien Denner (#11 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart), secured the fifth time at 0.212s.
In Session-2, the fastest was the French driver Tom Leuillet (#33 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) at 46.104s. The Estonian Markus Kajak (#14 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart) followed closely at 0.061s, while the Romanian Daniel Vasile (#4 BirelART/BirelART-TM Kart) was at 78 thousandths. They were pursued by two more top drivers: the Dutchman Senna Van Walstijn (#95 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) at 0.103s and Giuseppe Palomba (#12 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) at 0.111s.
KZ2 Qualifying practice:
Session-1: 1st Viktor Gustavsson (SWE) 45.977
Session-3: 1st Danilo Albanese (ITA) 46.048
Session-2: 1st Tom Leuillet (FRA) 46.104
MINI GR.3 U10 – Robertson is the fastest.
In the smallest category, the Scottish driver Mason Robertson (#513 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) stood out with the best overall time achieved in Session-1 at 54.353s. He ended his effort ahead of the Italian Achille Rea (#515 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) 0.082s.
In Session-2, after his victory in the first round in Lonato, the Swedish driver Carl Nellegard (#553 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart) returned to the spotlight as the championship leader, setting the best time at 54.851s. He was followed by the Brazilian Pedro Campos (#554 Kalì-Kart Racing/TGroup-TM Kart) at 0.186s.
MINI Gr.3 U10 Qualifying practice:
Session-1: 1st Mason Robertson (SCO) 54.353
Session-2: 1st Carl Nellegard (SWE) 54.851
MINI GR.3 - Venant sets the overall fastest time in Session-2.
In the Mini Gr.3 category, the Belgian driver Antoine Venant (#571 Kidix/KR-Iame-Vega) achieved the best overall performance in Session-2 at 54.221s, ahead of the English driver Maxim Bobreshov (#531 Fusion Motorsport/KR-Iame).
In Session-1, the fastest was the English driver Maxim Bobreshow (#531 Fusion Motorsport/KR-Iame) in 54.402s, which was 0.097s ahead of the Swiss driver Albert Tamm (#518 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame). The championship leader from Australia William Calleja (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) secured the sixth time at 0.232s.
MINI Gr.3 Qualifying practice:
Session-2: 1st Antoine Venant (BEL) 54.221
Session-1: 1st Maxim Bobreshov (GBR) 54.402
OKNJ - Viapiana takes the pole position.
The Italian driver Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Veka) once again stood out among the top contenders, setting the fastest overall time in Session-1 at 48.838s, ahead of the Monegasque driver Andrea Manni (#739 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) by 0.334s, and another Italian, Giacomo Giusto (#729 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart), by 0.354s. The winner of the previous race in Cremona, the English driver Archie Lovatt (#712 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart), secured the sixth time at 0.460s.
In Session-2, the Polish driver Kacper Rajpold (#722 MG Racing Team/Tony Kart-TM Kart) claimed the top spot with a time of 48.913s, ahead of the Dutch driver Billy Van Staveren (#727 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) by 0.387s, while the championship leader, the Romanian Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart), was in third place, 0.406s behind.
OKNJ Qualifying practice:
Session-1: 1st Valerio Viapiana (ITA) 48.838
Session-2: 1st Kacper Rajpold (POL) 48.913
OK – A surprising Bottaro.
In Session-2, a surprising Davide Bottaro (#278 CRG Racing Team/CRG-Iame-LeCont) set the fastest overall time at 47.094s, with the Estonian Roland Kuklane (#215 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart) and Dmitry Matveev (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) both 0.066s behind. The championship leader and winner of the previous race in Cremona, the Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart), secured the fifth time at 0.127s.
In Session-1, the Italian Sebastiano Pavan (#218 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) asserted himself with the fastest time at 47.144s, ahead of the Belgian Thibaut Ramaekers (#275 CDK Racing/KR-Iame) by 0.031s and the Danish David Walther (#257 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) by 0.103s.
OK Qualifying practice:
Session-2: 1st Davide Bottaro (ITA) 47.094
Session-1: 1st Sebastiano Pavan (ITA) 47.144
The program of the WSK Super Master Series, Rd3 Franciacorta Karting Track:
Saturday, February 17th: warm-up from 8:00; qualifying heats from 9:30.
Sunday, February 18th: warm-up from 8:00; Live on TV and Live Streaming from 9:20 for Prefinals and from 13:00 for the Finals (13:00 MINI GR.3, 13:30 MINI U10, 14:05 OKJ, 14:35 KZ2, 15:05 OK, 15:35 OKNJ).