The 51st Trofeo delle Industrie at the South Garda Karting track in Lonato has concluded with another fantastic success. This event continues a historic tradition as the world’s oldest karting race organized by Parma Motorsport . It was made even more special this year by the significant participation of 244 drivers from 42 nations, including many renowned names in all categories.
After the first two days of the event, which included qualification practice and heats, the morning prefinals revealed the main contenders. However, it was the afternoon finals that determined the category winners in this fiercely competitive 51st Trofeo delle Industrie, with no shortage of surprises in all the categories!
The Prefinals.
KZ2. In the KZ2 pre-final, Cristian Bertuca (#139 Bertuca/BirelART-Tm) secured another victory after a penalty for a spoiler violation was imposed on the Romanian Daniel Vasile (#150 KCS/BirelART-Tm-Vega), who had crossed the finish line first.
OKJ. A surprising comeback by Englishman Lewis Wherrell (#317 Forza Racing/Exprit/Tm) characterized OK Junior, as the Brit won against Ludovico Busso (#308 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex). The World Champion from Belgium Dries Van Langendonck (#316 Forza Racing/Exprit-Tm), who had dominated the qualifying stages, could only manage an 11th place.
MINI Gr.3 U10. The Mini Gr.3 Under 10 category saw a close victory by the young Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#616 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega), with a margin of just 9 thousandths of a second over Achille Rea (#641 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex).
MINI Gr.3. Another tightly contested race took place in the Mini Gr.3 category, with the American Devin Walz (#506 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) emerging as the winner ahead of his teammate, the Australian William Calleja, who had the upper hand in the heats.
X30 Junior. In the X30 Junior pre-final, Roberto Castellozzi (#229 TBKart Racing Team/TBKart-Iame-Komet), who had already performed well in the heats, clinched the victory in a close battle with Mattia D’Erme (#202 MD/Tony Kart-Iame).
X30 Senior. In the X30 Senior category, Cristian Comanducci (#408 PRK/Tony Kart-Iame-Komet) completed his comeback with a victory, finishing ahead of Riccardo Ferrari (#412 M2 Racing/Gillard-Iame).
The Finals.
KZ2 – Longhi takes the third win, as Bertuca is penalized.
In KZ2, the surprise came right at the start of the final, with a 5s time penalty imposed on Cristian Bertuca (#139 Bertuca/BirelART-Tm) for jumping the start. The race still unfolded with Bertuca in the lead, pursued by Riccardo Longhi (#148 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM), and with Daniel Vasile (#150 KCS/BirelART-Tm) mounting a great comeback to get close to the leading duo. The finishing order declared Riccardo Longhi as the winner of the Trofeo delle Industrie for the third time in his career, with Daniel Vasile in second place, and Cristian Bertuca in third due to the 5-second penalty. Alessio Piccini (#149 Tribe One/BirelART-Tm) claimed the fourth position after a strong performance in the pre-final and final. The fifth place went to the German driver Tim Troger (#105 Maranello SRP/Maranello-Tm). The top ten also included Andrea Dalè (#115 Dalè/CRG-Tm), Slavik Putiatin (#141 CPB Sport/Sodi-Tm), Michael Barbaro Paparo (#112 Monster K/Intrepid-Tm), Davide Forè (#137 Renda Motorsport/Sodi-Tm) and Nikolas Roos (#103 CRG Holland/CRG-Tm).
Final KZ2
1. Riccardo Longhi (ITA)
2. Daniel Vasile (ROU)
3. Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
OKJ – A great performance by Wherrell.
In OK-Junior, the winning performance of the English driver Lewis Wherrell (#317 Forza Racing/Exprit/Tm-Vega) continued as he led the entire race after a strong comeback in the prefinal had allowed him to start from pole position in the final. A fierce battle unfolded for the other two positions on the podium, with the Turkish driver Alp Aksoy (#341 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) securing the second position and the Italian driver Filippo Sala (#343 Ricky Flynn/LN-Tm) finishing third after a solid performance. On the other hand, Ludovico Busso (#308 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex) lost positions, slipping down to 11th place. Making impressive comebacks, Sebastian Lehtimaki (#345 Shamick Europe/Parolin-Tm) claimed the fourth position, and the Indonesian driver Qarrar Firhand (#336 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) secured the fifth place.
Final OKJ
1. Lewis Wherrell (GBR)
2. Alp Aksoy (TUR)
3. Filippo Sala (ITA)
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – A spectacular sprint to the line crowns Perico.
The MINI Gr.3 category provided a lot of suspense right up to the last meter of the final race. Position changes occurred lap after lap, and in the final duel at the finish line, it was Niccolò Perico (#601 Energy Corse/Energy-Tm-Vega) who came out on top, showing increasing performance in recent months. He overtook the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#616 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who lost the lead in the final sprint to the chequered flag. The third place went to the Swiss driver Albert Tamm (#610 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), fourth was Antonio Ianni (#654 Ianni/KR-Iame), who had been in the running for the win until the last moments. The fifth place was secured by Alessandro Nanni (#634 Gamoto/EKS-Tm), while Achille Rea (#641 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) dropped to eighth after a 5-second time penalty.
Final MINI Gr.3 U10
1. Niccolò Perico (ITA)
2. Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR)
3. Albert Tamm (CHE)
MINI Gr.3 – Amazing comeback and victory to Baglin!
A spectacular and victorious comeback was put in by the English driver Noah Baglin (#522 iKart/KR-Iame-Vega). He mounted an impressive recovery of 16 positions, ultimately crossing the finish line with a lead of 0.044s over the American Devin Walz (#506 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) and his teammate, the Australian William Calleja, who had both prevailed in the pre-final. The fourth and fifth place went to the other two teammates of Walz and Calleja, Daniil Kutskov and Kacper Rajpold. In the closing moments of the race, Pietro Bagutti (#523 Gamoto/EKS-Tm) lost a podium position and finished sixth instead.
Final MINI Gr.3
1. Noah Baglin (GBR)
2. Devin Walz (USA)
3. William Calleja (AUS)
X30 Junior – Castellozzi wins the Final and hte Memorial Carlo Fabi Trophy.
After winning the pre-final, Roberto Castellozzi (#229 TBKart Racing Team/TBKart-Iame-Komet) also clinched the victory in the final, dominating the race from start to finish. Castellozzi was also awarded the Carlo Fabi Memorial Trophy for the best overall performance of the weekend. The second place went to the Bulgarian driver Lyuboslav Ruykov (#210 Team Driver/Tony Kart-Iame) after gaining three positions, while Mattia D’Erme (#202 MD/Tony Kart-Iame) settled for third place. A strong performance was also delivered by the Dutch driver Dean Hoogendoorn (#226 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame), who finished fourth, ahead of Matteo Melis (#228 TBKart Racing Team/TB Kart-Iame).
Final X30 Junior
1. Roberto Castellozzi (ITA)
2. Lyuboslav Ruykov (BGR)
3. Mattia D’Erme (ITA)
X30 Senior – A surprising race by Ferrari.
The final of the X30 Senior was also very exciting, with a surprising victory by Riccardo Ferrari (#412 M2 Racing/Gillard-Iame-Komet) after an excellent performance in his first experiences in the Senior category. Federico Albanese (#407 Italcorse Racing Team/Italcorse-Iame) took second place after a comeback from the third row of the grid, while Cristian Comanducci (#408 PRK/Tony Kart-Iame), who had won the pre-final, had to settle for third place. The Swedish driver Bastian Ensgard (#401 AD Motorsport/Energy-Iame) finished fourth and Andrea Barbieri (#424 TBKart Racing Team/TBKart-Iame) secured fifth place.
Final X30 Senior
1. Riccardo Ferrari (ITA)
2. Federico Albanese (ITA)
3. Cristian Comanducci (ITA)
Info Parma Motorsport / Photos © FMP, Sportinphoto, PHM