The winners of the heats on Saturday are Van Walstijn (KZ2), Costoya (OKJ), Baglin (MINI Gr.3), Legenkyi (Gr.3 U10), and Strauven (OK). The TV and Live Streaming on Sunday from 10:30 am.
Saturday at the Cremona Circuit was dedicated to completing the qualifying heats for the final race of the WSK Super Master Series, where the champions of the MINI, OKJ, OK, and KZ2 categories will be crowned on Sunday, April 30th.
This weekend features high-profile racing on the 1,224-meter track located in Lombardy, with 260 drivers from 54 countries vying for prestigious results in this international karting event. Many drivers still aspire to win their category's title, as 153 points are at stake for the winners of the qualifying rounds (13 points), Prefinal (60 points), and Final (80 points) in this last race. The final phase, featuring all the prefinals and finals of the fourth and last race of the WSK Super Master Series at the Cremona Circuit, will be broadcast live on Sunday starting from 10:30 am.
A total of 48 qualifying heats were held on Friday and Saturday, which were made challenging by rain on Saturday morning, fortunately lasting only briefly, until the return of sunny weather that brought the track to optimal grip.
KZ2 – Van Walstijn on top in the heats with two wins.
The English driver Freddie Slater (#127 Birel ART Racing/Birel ART-TM Kart-Vega) saw his advantage obtained from the pole position during qualifying erased due to two retirements in the qualifying heats. The Dutch driver Senna Van Walstijn (#122 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) prevailed in the heats with two victories, while Yevan David from Sri Lanka (CPB Sport/Sodi-TM Kart) showed his worth in the third heat, rising to third place in the provisional standings after the qualifying stages. The French driver Emilien Denner (#121 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) took an excellent second place with two second-place finishes. The current championship leader, Italian driver Cristian Bertuca (#101 Birel ART Racing/Birel ART-TM Kart), maintained his lead in the championship with a good fourth place finish in the heats.
Penalties after the heats: 1. Van Walstijn pen. 10; 2. Denner 21; 3. David 23; 4. Bertuca 24; 5. Leuillet 24; 6. Viganò 29; 7. Palomba 34; 8. Piccini 37.
OK-Junior – Costoya in the lead from Ramaekers to David Cosma Cristofor.
After the promising start by the Romanian driver David Cosma Cristofor (#314 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega) with his pole position in qualifying, the Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#350 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) and the Belgian Thibaut Ramaekers (#410 VDK Racing/KR-Iame) joined the battle at the top. In the end, Christian Costoya prevailed in the qualifying heats with three victories, while Thibaut Ramaekers stopped at two victories. David Cosma Cristofor also achieved three victories, but a poor result in one of the heats penalized him in the overall standings. The championship leader, the Colombian driver Salim Hanna Hernandez (#328 Ricky Flynn/LN Kart-Vortex), struggled a bit in the qualifying heats.
Penalties after the heats: 1. Costoya pen. 16; 2. Ramaekers 20; 3. Cosma Cristofor 27; 4. Drummond 36; 5. Lindblom 37; 6. Wherrell 39; 7. Schaufler 47; 8. Wolfe 47.
MINI Gr.3 – Baglin has the upper hand.
In MINI Gr.3, the English driver Noah Baglin (#515 iKart/KR-Iame-Vega) took the lead with an impressive four victories in the qualifying heats, meaning a perfect score. The Spanish driver Bosco Arias Chavarri (#505 Team Driver/KR-Iame) also performed well, securing second place with three victories in the heats. The Australian driver William Calleja (#547 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) took third place with two victories. The championship leader, the Dutch driver Dean Hoogendoorn (#536 Kidix/KR-Iame), was in fourth place with one victory, ahead of Romanian driver Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#502 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who claimed the pole position in qualifying.
Penalties after the heats: 1. Baglin pen. 0; 2. Aria Chavarri 5; 3. Calleja 10; 4. Hoogendoorn 23; 5. Bogdan Cosma Cristofor 27; 6. Zulfikari 30; 7. Ivannikov 36; 8. Gryc 42.
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Legenkyi on top among many rivals.
The Ukrainian driver Oleksandr Legenkyi (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) secured the top position in the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 heats with two victories, in a very uncertain situation with many winners, as many as 9 different drivers. Legenkyi, the only driver with two wins, is ahead of the Polish driver Leonardo Gorski (#526 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) and Michele Orlando (#563 IPK Official/IPK-TM Kart), winner in the last heat of the day. The championship leader, the Belgian Antoine Venant (#543 Kidix/KR-Iame), also secured a win and finished fifth in the heats, behind Daniil Kutskov (#524 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
Penalties after the heats: 1. Legenkyi pen. 13; 2. Gorski 18; 3. Orlando 24; 4. Kutskov 27; 5. Venant 28; 6. Eskandari Marandi 30; 7. Botte 32; 8. Molota 34.
OK – Strauven dominates the rivals.
The Belgian driver Thomas Strauven (#226 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont) confirmed himself as an absolute protagonist in the OK category with an excellent en-plein of 4 victories and pole position in qualifying. However, the Belgian driver is quite far back in the championship, and mathematically, he has no chance of success, but at the Cremona Circuit, he can still aspire to the top step of the podium. Among the best in the heats were also his teammate, the South African Luviwe Sambudla (#264 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), Frenchman Louis Iglesias (#272 CRG Racing Team/CRG-Iame), Englishman Nathan Tye (#218 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) and Kirill Kutskov (#215 DPK Racing/KR-Iame). With four placements, the American Luis James Egozi (#204 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex), who is the championship leader, is a little behind.
Penalties after the heats: 1. Strauven pen. 0; 2. Sambudla 16; 3. Kutskov 20; 4. Iglesias 23; 5. Tye 29; 6. Pavan 34; 7. Gladysz 36; 8. Bogunovic 41.
The program of the WSK Super Master Series, Round 4, Cremona:
Sunday, April 30: warm-up from 8:30 am; Live on TV and Live Streaming from 10:30 for Prefinals and 1:50 pm for Finals (1:50 pm OKJ, 2:20 pm MINI Gr.3 U10, 2:50 pm MINI Gr.3, 3:20 pm KZ2 and 3:50 pm OK).
Info, Results, Live Timing, Live Streaming: www.wskarting.it/index.asp