A great starting of the season for the Tony Kart Racing Team, protagonist in the first round of the WSK Super Master Series. The Tony Kart Racer 401 RR, on the South Garda Karting track, signs the victories in OK and OKJ categories.
In OK, James Egozi conquers his first career success in the master class of single-gear karts thanks to a majestic performance on Sunday. The American driver, already very fast in the Friday's qualifyings with the best timing in the second group, gains the victory and the fastest lap in the A pre-final. In the final, after starting in second position, he slips to fifth, but recovers to triumph under the chequered flag. A pity for Luigi Coluccio, one of the main contenders for victory. The Italian driver takes the pole position in the Friday's qualifyings and files a win and a third place in the first two qualifying heats, but in the third he has to stop due to a collision with another rival. In the pre-final he undergoes the same fate, but in the final he is unstoppable and climbs up from 22nd place to 5th, even though in the post-race he gets a 5-second penalty for his front spoiler in the wrong position. Despite everything, Coluccio finishes the weekend with a positive Top 10. A proof of strength also comes from Sebastiano Pavan, able to gain 13 more positions than at the start, finishing the final in 6th position. The Italian, in his first full season with the Racing Team, also collects a second place and a fastest lap during the qualifying heats. Arthur Poulain, at his debut with their official colours, also performs well. The French driver takes his measures during the weekend, to the point of achieving a Top 10 in the pre-final and coming close to the Top 15 in the final, after performing a comeback of 15 positions.
An unlucky end of the weekend for Jan Przyrowski. In the eliminatory heats, the Polish driver achieves three Top 5 places (including a third place), allowing him to secure a Top 10 position in the intermediate ranking. The second-best timing in Sunday morning's warm-up seems to give good chances for the final, however Przyrowski is unfortunately forced to stop.
Instead, by a very small matter, Zoe Florescu Potolea does not gain the access to the final. For her also this is the first appearance with their team, with whom she has worked closely throughout the weekend.
In OKJ, we do mention the fantastic performance of Alp Hasan Aksoy. Already in the qualifying heats, the Turkish driver shows his potential with two Top 3 and a success, then in the Sunday's final - starting from ninth position - he achieves one overtaking after another, winning his first race among the Juniors; a result that also came thanks to the excellent growth shown during the 2022 season.
Good placings over the weekend also for Scott Kin Lindblom. The Swedish driver, at his first event as their official driver, achieves three podiums and a fifth place in the eliminatory heats and continues with a fourth place in Sunday morning's pre-final. In the final he fights for a place in the Top 10, but fails by a handful of seconds.
At the starting grid of the final race there are Kirill Dzitiev and Davide Bottaro, too. The former also records a third place and a fast lap in the qualifying heats, while the latter gains the third place in his qualifying group and a fourth place as best result in the qualifying heats.
In KZ2 class, also due to a few incidents, Tom Leuillet and Noah Milell cannot reach results within reach of their performances. The French driver comes close to a good placing among the top ten in the final, but receives a 5-second penalty for his front spoiler in the wrong position; the Swedish driver (author of the best lap in the C-D heat) gets involved in the initial bagarre and, from the back, attempts an impossible comeback. Bad luck also for Jean Luyet and Norton Andreasson, both of whom stop in the final, while Samuel Luyet and Alexander Gubenko stop in the pre-finals.
In MINI Gr.3, Ilie Tristan Crisan opens the Sunday with a sixth place in the pre-final and finishes inside the Top 15 in the final. A stop in the eliminatory heats forces Ludovico Mazzola to make a difficult recovery, but the Italian is able to recover 11 places in the final and comes close to the Top 20. A pity, especially in light of the performance shown in the qualifyings, with the Italian gaining the third best time in the second group.
In the Mini Gr.3 U10, on the other hand, Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi takes the top positions throughout the weekend, but in the decisive final he ends up in a spin due to a collision: do to this, a possible top five finish vanishes.
The WSK Super Master Series is now scheduled in fifteen days (February 16th – 19th) to the Circuit of Franciacorta for the second Championship appointment, which the Tony Kart Racing Team will attend in all five categories: KZ2, OK, OKJ, MINI Gr.3 and MINI Gr.3 U10.