The International Circuit Napoli in Sarno has finally crowned the champions of the WSK Euro Series at the end of an intense weekend that saw drivers from 42 different nationalities competing to put their names into the prestigious history of this series, which has been graced by past champions like Max Verstappen (a three-time winner) and other renowned drivers such as Nyck De Vries, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, among others.
The weekend proved challenging due to variable weather conditions, with occasional rain leading up to the prefinals. Shortly before the start of the finals, a thunderstorm arrived, resulting in a temporary suspension. Racing resumed as soon as conditions permitted, with all the finals taking place on wet tires.
After countless battles in the heats, prefinals, and finals, the 2023 category champions were determined: Kirill Kutskov in OK, Iacopo Martinese in OKJ, Bogdan Cosma Cristofor in MINI Gr.3, Daniel Miron Lorente in MINI Gr.3 Under 10, and in the two new federal categories, Bati Ege Yildirim claimed the OK-N title, while Dean Hoogendoorn secured the OK-N Junior championship.
The winners of the Prefinals.
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Prefinal A: Antoine Venant (BEL) (#540 Kidix/KR-Iame-Vega)
Prefinal B: Alessandro Nanni (ITA) (#604 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart-Vega)
MINI Gr.3 – Prefinal: Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU) (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega)
OK-N – Prefinal: Bati Ege Yildirim (TUR) (#802 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega)
OK-N Junior – Prefinal: Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD) (AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega).
OKJ – Prefinal A: Niklas Schaufler (AUT) (#354 DPK Racing/KR-Iame-Vega)
Prefinal B: Iacopo Martinese (ITA) (#302 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega)
OK – Prefinal: Kirill Kutskov (#256 DPK Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont)
The Finals and the Champions of the WSK Euro Series 2023.
OK – Khavalkin wins the Final, Kutskov the title.
Anatoly Khavalkin (#203 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart-LeCont) came as a surprise, quickly taking the lead in the final race and clinching victory ahead of the prefinal winner Kirill Kutskov (#256 DPK Racing/KR-Iame). The Danish driver David Walther (#270 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) managed to secure the third spot after an impressive comeback. The other top positions were claimed by Dmitry Matveev (#205 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), the Polish racer Gustaw Wisniewski (#238 Koski Motorsport/Tony Kart-Iame) and the Colombian driver Salim Hanna (#288 Prema Racing/KR-Iame). The Italian Luigi Coluccio (#215 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) finished in seventh place, despite having initially occupied top positions at the beginning of the race. Kirill Kutskov, with his second-place finish in the final, secured the championship title in this category.
OK – Final Result
Anatoly Khavalkin
Kirill Kutskov
David Walther (DNK)
OK – Championship Standings
Kirill Kutskov points 197
Anatoly Khavalkin points 121
Dmitry Matveev points 93
OK-Junior – Martinese wins his first Final and the title.
The Italian driver Iacopo Martinese (#302 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega), after winning the Prefinal-B, took the satisfaction of winning his first final race in the OKJ category. As a result, he secured the category title by an extremely narrow margin over the German driver Taym Saleh (#314 Sauber Academy/KR-Iame), who finished fifth in the final race. In a head-to-head battle with the Austrian driver Niklas Schaufler (#354 DPK Racing/KR-Iame), who performed well in the earlier rounds, the Italian Filippo Sala (#324 Ricky Flynn Motorsport/LN-TM Kart) also made a strong showing, finishing third on the track but second in the final ranking due to a 5-second penalty imposed on Schaufler. The British driver Roman Kamyab (#326 Ricky Flynn Motorsport/LN Kart-TM Kart) took the fourth position, and the Romanian driver David Cosma Cristofor (#303 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) finished sixth.
OK-Junior – Final Result
Iacopo Martinese (ITA)
Filippo Sala (ITA)
Niklas Schaufler (AUT)
OK-Junior – Championship Standings
Iacopo Martinese (ITA) points 159
Taym Saleh (DEU) points 157
Niklas Schaufler (AUT) points 144
MINI Gr.3 – Cosma Cristofor claims the title and the Final win.
In addition to winning the Prefinal, the Romanian driver Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) also secured victory in the final race ahead of American racer Devin Walz (#520 BabyRace/KR-Iame). The third-place in the final moments of the race went to his teammate, the young Polish driver Kacper Rajpold, who made a remarkable comeback. The Canadian racer Ilie Crisan Tristan (#553 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) finished fourth, followed by the Belgian driver Bruno Priam (#567 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) and Australian driver William Calleja (#522 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who had previously earned the pole position in qualifying. With wins in both the Prefinal and the Final, Bogdan Cosma Cristofor solidified his position as the category leader and became the champion.
MINI Gr.3 – Final Result
Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU)
Devin Walz (USA)
Kacper Rajpold (POL)
MINI Gr.3 – Championship Standings
Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU) points 219
William Calleja (AUS) points 129
Devin Walz (USA) points 114
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Legenkyi wins the Final, Miron the title.
In the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 category, the Ukrainian driver Oleksandr Legenkyi (#502 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) managed to secure a victory after a good comeback, beating his teammate, the Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente. The Belgian Antoine Venant (#540 Kidix/KR-Iame-Vega), who had won one of the two Prefinals, quickly lost his lead on the still very wet track and finished in sixth place. The Portuguese driver Xavier Lazaro (#560 DR/DR-TM Kart) came in third, ahead of Niccolò Perico (#575 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) and Italian driver Achille Rea (#548 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex), who made a strong comeback. In the championship standings, Daniel Miron Lorente claimed the top spot, with Oleksandr Legenkyi in second and Antoine Venant in third.
MINI Gr.3 U10 – Final Result
Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR)
Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP)
Xavier Lazaro (PRT)
MINI Gr.3 U10 – Championship Standings
Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP) points 208
Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR) points 152
Antoine Venant (BEL) points 138
OKN and OKNJ. The Final OK-N to Apicella, the title to Yildirim. Hoogendoorn wins the Final and title in OK-NJ.
In the OKN category, the Italian driver Antonio Apicella (#808 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) concluded the weekend at his home track with a victory, with Federico Lenzo (#811 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE) coming in second and the Turkish driver Bati Ege Yildirim (#802 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) in third, who had won the Prefinal. However, Yildirim’s third-place finish was sufficient for him to win the title, thanks to the points he had earned in the first race in Franciacorta.
In the OK-N Junior category, the Dutch driver Dean Hoogendoorn (#701 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega) maintained his winning form by winning the final race. He was followed by the English driver Jesse Phillips (#719 Kidix/KR-Iame) in second place and Polish driver Bruno Gryc (#715 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart) in third. The Spanish driver Bosco Arias Chavarri (#729 Team Driver/KR-Iame) secured the fourth position, with the Italian Valerio Viapiana and Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari, both from the same team, close behind. Giacomo Giusto (#712 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) finished in seventh place. In the championship, Dean Hoogendoorn claimed the title ahead of Jesse Phillips and Bruno Gryc.
OK-N – Final Result
Antonio Apicella (ITA)
Federico Lenzo (ITA)
Bati Ege Yildirim (TUR)
OK-N – Championship Standings
Bati Ege Yildirim (TUR) points 202
Antonio Apicella (ITA) points 143
Federico Lenzo (ITA) points 91
OK-N Junior – Final Result
Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD)
Jesse Phillips (GBR)
Bruno Gryc (POL)
OK-N Junior – Championship Standings
Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD) points 196
Jesse Phillips (GBR) points 164
Bruno Gryc (POL) points 126
The next WSK rounds.
WSK FINAL CUP
1st Rd 19/11/2023 LONATO / MINI – OKJ – OK – KZ2 – X30J – X30S
2nd Rd 26/11/2023 FRANCIACORTA / MINI – OKJ – OK – KZ2 – OKN – OKNJ
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