Published on Sunday, January 28, 2024

The winners of the first round of the WSK Super Master Series

The finals in Lonato were won by Bertuca in KZ2, Bondarev in OK, Schaufler in OKJ, Bogdan Cosma Cristofor in OKNJ, Blandino in MINI Gr.3 and Nellegard in MINI Gr.3 U10.

The first round of the WSK Super Master Series at South Garda Karting saw another strong turnout following the excellent season opener of the WSK Champions Cup last week. Further significant entries enriched the first of the four appointments of the Super Master Series, with the presence of all major manufacturers and top teams, featuring 318 drivers from 50 nations.

The conclusive phase on Sunday, January 28th, unfolded in the usual format of Prefinals to determine the finalists who competed for the overall victory in the MINI, OKNJ, OKJ, OK, and KZ2 categories. In the end, the winners of this first event were Cristian Bertuca in KZ2, Oleksandr Bondarev in OK, Niklas Schaufler in OKJ, Bogdan Cosma Cristofor in OKNJ, Cristian Blandino in MINI Gr.3 and Carl Nellegard in MINI Gr.3 U10.

The Prefinals.

The winners of the Prefinals, including some new protagonists to the fore, were the following:

MINI Gr.3 U10 - Prefinal A: Carl Nellegard (SWE) (#553 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-Vega).
MINI Gr.3 U10 - Prefinal B: Niccolò Perico (ITA) (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart).

MINI Gr.3 - Prefinal A: Daniel Miron Lorente (NLD) (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega).
MINI Gr.3 - Prefinal B: William Calleja (AUS) (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega).

OKJ - Prefinal A: Niklas Schaufler (AUT) (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame-Vega).
OKJ - Prefinal B: Henry Domain (GBR) (#356 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega).

KZ2 - Prefinal A: Cristian Bertuca (ITA) (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega).
KZ2 - Prefinal B: Alex Maragliano (ITA) (#32 Renda Motorsport/Sodi-TM Kart-Vega).

OK - Prefinal A: Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont).
OK - Prefinal B: Sebastiano Pavan (ITA) (#218 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex-LeCont).

OKNJ - Prefinal: Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU) (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-Vega).

The Finals and the winners of the WSK Super Master Series, Round 1.

KZ2 – Solid win for Bertuca.

Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega) returned to victory after securing the third position in the WSK Champions Cup last week. For the Italian driver, it was an impeccable victory after three wins in the heats and the win in the Prefinal-A. Behind him, the Romanian Daniel Vasile, also with BirelART, secured second place after an impressive comeback, and Andrea Dalè (#24 Dalè/CRG-TM Kart) claimed an excellent third position after a fierce battle with his competitors. Maksim Orlov (#44 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) made a great comeback to secure the fourth position, while the French driver Tom Leuillet (#33 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) finished fifth ahead of Pedro Hiltbrand (#16 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart). However, the Estonian Markus Kajak (#14 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart) could not repeat last Sunday's winning performance, settling for seventh place, partly due to a retirement in the Prefinal.

KZ2 Final Result
1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
2nd Daniel Vasile (ROU)
3rd Andrea Dalè (ITA)

OK – The triumph of Bondarev.

The Ukrainian driver Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont) left no room for anyone throughout the weekend: he was absolutely unreachable. Bondarev achieved a record-breaking sweep: pole position in qualifying, three wins in the heats, victory in Prefinal-A and then triumph in the Final. A positive Sebastiano Pavan (#218 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) secured second place after winning Prefinal-B, while in the last moments of the race, the Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart) claimed the third spot on the podium, overtaking the Colombian Salim Hanna (#208 Prema Racing/KR-Iame). The fifth place went to the Englishman Lewis Wherrell (#229 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart), followed by the Romanian David Cosma Cristofor (#205 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame). The Scottish driver Zac Drummond (#220 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) staged an impressive comeback, gaining 22 positions to finish a solid seventh.

OK Final Result
1st Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR)
2nd Sebastiano Pavan (ITA)
3rd Ean Eyckmans (BEL)

OKJ - Schaufler takes the win at the end of a “red-hot” duel.

The Austrian driver Niklas Schaufler (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame-Vega) was a strong contender throughout the weekend in OK-Junior, securing first place in the heats and winning Prefinal-A. However, the final was highlighted by an incredible (and very fair) duel with numerous overtakes and counter-overtakes against the Belgian driver Dries Van Langendonck (#328 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart). The race ended with Schaufler taking the victory and Van Langendonck narrowly securing the second position. The Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#337 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) finished third after an impressive comeback, having stood out with the pole position in the qualifying sessions. The Italian Iacopo Martinese (#309 KR Motorsport/KTR-Iame) claimed fourth place after battling at the front and the fifth position went to another Italian, Filippo Sala (#327 Ricky Flynn/LN-TM Kart).

OKJ Final Result
1st Niklas Schaufler (AUT)
2nd Dries Van Langendonck (BEL)
3rd Christian Costoya (ESP)

OKNJ – Undisputed victory for Bogdan Cosma Cristofor.

The Romanian driver Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-Vega) continued his triumphant march in the OKN Junior category, securing an uncontested victory in the final. After claiming pole position in qualifying, winning three heats, and triumphing in the Prefinal, Cristofor dominated the final. However, the standout performer was the young Japanese driver Sara Matsui (#708 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), displaying great determination and engaging in continuous battles to secure the second position in the final after a series of exciting duels. The Italian driver Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame) finished third, benefitting from a penalty imposed on the English driver Archie Lovatt (#712 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart), who had initially crossed the finish line in third place. The fourth place went to the Polish driver Kacper Rajpold (#722 MG Racing Team/Tony Kart-TM Kart), followed by the Italian Pietro Bagutti (#701 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart).

OKNJ Final Result
1st Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU)
2nd Sara Matsui (JPN)
3rd Valerio Viapiana (ITA)

MINI GR.3 - Blandino again on the top step of the podium.

The Italian driver Cristian Blandino (#550 Kalì-Kart/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega) staged an impressive comeback. Despite a challenging qualifying, he managed to recover positions and engaged in a fierce battle for victory in the Final against the Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame). Lorente had secured pole position in qualifying, the best position after the heats, and victory in Prefinal-A. However, Blandino, the winner of the previous WSK Champions Cup, prevailed in a hard-fought final. The Australian driver William Calleja (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who had triumphed in Prefinal-B, secured the third position. Daniil Kutskov (#508 Team Driver/KR-Iame) finished fourth, followed by the Estonian driver Nikita Ljubomov (#552 Kalì Kart/TGroup-TM Kart).

MINI Gr.3 Final Result
1st Cristian Blandino (ITA)
2nd Daniel Miron Lorente (NLD)
3rd William Calleja (AUS)

MINI GR.3 U10 - Nellegard wins the final duel.

The duel that unfolded throughout the weekend in the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 category between the Swedish driver Carl Nellegard (#553 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-Vega) and the Italian Niccolò Perico (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) continued into the final, with Nellegard prevailing by two-tenths of a second over Perico. The Italian driver Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#511 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) made a strong comeback to secure the third position on the podium, while his teammate Blazej Kostrzewa finished fourth ahead of the Estonian driver Mark Loomets (#523 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart).