The initial heats named the new protagonists in Lonato. Qualifying heats will continue on Saturday, while the final stages will get underway on Sunday, January 21st with Live Streaming coverage.
After the qualifying sessions of the WSK Champions Cup, which officially kicked off the international karting season with the MINI, OKNJ, OKJ, OK, and KZ2 categories, the first qualifying heats at the South Garda Karting track added some excitement and entertainment to this January weekend, currently characterized by intense cold.
KZ2 – The first heat winners are Bertuca and Palomba, as the poleman Denner retires.
In the most powerful category, KZ2, the first heat witnessed the immediate surprise of the French driver Emilien Denner (#11 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart-Vega) retiring due to an accident, despite securing the pole position in qualifying. The first heat victory went to the Italian Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART/BirelART-TM Kart), the winner of last year's WSK Champions Cup. In the second heat, another Italian, Giuseppe Palomba (#12 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart), managed to secure the win, proving successful in his debut with the new Sodikart team.
MINI Gr.3 - Blandino keeps his momentum after the pole position.
After securing the pole position in qualifying, the Italian driver Cristian Blandino (#550 Kalì-Kart/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega) also clinched victory in the first heat, with a comfortable lead over Mark Pilipenko (#522 BabyRace/Perolin-Iame) and another BabyRace driver, the Australian William Calleja. The Danish driver Matteis Stigsen (#556 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart) and the Monegasque Andrea Manni (#515 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) were also in top positions.
OK - Eyckmans and Bondarev win the first two heats.
In the OK category, another sensational surprise unfolded with the withdrawal of the pole position holder, the Czech driver Jindrich Pesl (#237 Intrepid Driver Program/Intrepid-TM Kart-LeCont), and the other notable qualifier, the Scott Zac Drummond (#220 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart). The victory of the two heats went to the Belgian Ean Eyckamns (#209 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) and the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame), respectively.
OKNJ – Ruykov wins the first heat.
The Bulgarian Lyuboslav Ruykov (#720 Zanchi Motorsport/Tony Kart-TM Kart-Vega) secured the victory in the first heat finishing ahead of the Italian Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who had set the fastest time in qualifying. The Slovakian Alex Molota (#717 Firefly Racing Team/OTK-TM Kart) took P3. The Italian Pietro Bagutti (#701 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart), who posted the third-best time in qualifying, was forced to retire.
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – the provisional leaders are Bissa, Perico, and Moscardi.
In the heats of the MINI Gr.3 Under 10, the young Italian drivers have performed well: Niccolò Perico (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega) secured victory twice, followed by pole position holder Patrick Bissa (#588 Bissa/EKS-TM Kart) and David Moscardi (#560 BirelART/BirelART-TM Kart) after a comeback. The three drivers found themselves at the top with equal penalties, creating a highly uncertain situation, especially with the potential inclusion of other young contenders like Antonio Ianni (#537 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart) and Lorenzo Leopardi (#589 LGK Racing Kart/BirelART-TM Kart).
OKJ – Victory to Costoya, Sala, and Schaufler as Lyzen retires.
The OKJ category also witnessed a surprising retirement, as the pole position holder in qualifying, Borys Lyzen (#346 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart-Vega), had to stop early. The winners of the first heats were the Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#337 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart), the Italian Filippo Sala (#327 Ricky Flynn/LN-TM Kart), who posted the fastest time in qualifying in Session-1, and the Austrian Niklas Schaufler (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame), who completed a great comeback. Costoya secured another victory in the fourth heat of this opening day of races, confirming his status among the top contenders.
The program of the WSK Champions Cup, Lonato:
Saturday, January 20th
warm-up at 8:00
qualifying heats from 10:00.
Sunday, January 21st
warm-up from 8:00, live on TV and Live Streaming from 9:20 Prefinals and Finals from 12:30 (12:30 MINI GR3, 13:00 MINI U10, 14:00 OKJ, 14:30 KZ2; 15:00 OK; 15:30 OKNJ).