The qualifying heats of the first round of the WSK Open Series have defined the main protagonists of this international karting event organized and promoted by WSK Promotion, which featured a thrilling competition among 251 verified drivers from 42 nationalities at the Franciacorta Karting Track.
The final phase on Sunday, April 7th, will conclude the intense weekend of the opening round of the WSK Open Series, to be followed via live TV streaming on the WSK Promotion Facebook page, and on the websites WSK, Motorsport.tv, YouTube and on the Vimeo platform.
On the track, the categories range from the smallest MINI to the most powerful KZ2, both with significant participation, along with the two new federal categories OK-N and OK-N Junior, which are experiencing a strong increase in participation, including foreign teams and drivers.
KZ2 – Stellar duels in Franciacorta. Van Walstijn is the current leader.
It took a total of 15 heats to determine the standings in KZ2. This category has been characterized by an incredible series of duels to gain leadership among the 82 drivers competing. There were many winners in the heats, showcasing intense competitiveness at a global level. The Dutch driver Senna Van Walstijn (#11 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart-LeCont) currently leads the provisional standings, but there are many contenders that can aim for success. The Dutch driver has secured four victories, while the Italian Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart), currently in second position, has two wins under his belt. The Estonian Markus Kajak (#42 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart) is third in the standings with one victory, followed by a win each from the Dutch driver Marijn Kremers (#34 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) and the Italian Giuseppe Palomba (#40 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart). The Swedish driver Viktor Gustavsson (#25 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart) and the French Tom Leuillet (#3 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) each have two wins, while the Frenchman Emilien Denner (#39 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) also secured two victories.
KZ2 Masters – Forè dominates the scene.
The debut in a WSK event of the KZ2 Masters, reserved for drivers aged 35 and older, witnessed the undisputed dominance of the multi-champion Davide Forè (#102 GSR Team/BirelART-TM Kart-LeCont). The Italian driver has emerged as the absolute protagonist so far, starting from the qualifying sessions with pole position and then winning all three heats he took part in. Among his rivals, notable performances came from the other Italian Manuel Cozzaglio (#106 VZeta/BirelART-TM Kart) and the Croatian Kristijan Habulin (#112 TBKart Racing Team/TBKart-TM Kart), followed by Alessio La Martina (#103 KR-TM Kart) and Antonio Piccioni (#108 TK Racing Kart/TK-TM Kart).
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Perico puts in a strong comeback.
Niccolò Perico (#501 Energy Corse/Energy-TM kart-Vega), winner of the recent WSK Super Master Series, recovered well from the qualifying heats of the MINI Gr.3 Under 10, as the Italian prevailed in all three of his heats. However, there were several protagonists in this category, the youngest in WSK events. Notable performances came from fellow-countryman Davide Di Filippo (#507 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), winner of the last heat, the Portuguese Xavier Lazaro (#519 SM Racing/OTK-TM Kart), who secured pole position in the qualifying practice, another BabyRace driver Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio, and Achille Rea (#525 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex). However, the Frenchman Jean Poujol (#510 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who performed well in qualifying, lost a few positions.
MINI Gr.3 – A surprising Pilipenko.
As usual, the situation is very uncertain in MINI Gr.3, where the performance of the surprising Mark Pilipenko (#506 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) stood out with two victories, as well as that of category protagonists like Spaniard Daniel Miron Lorente (#552 Team Driver/KR-Iame) who recovered from the qualifiers, and the Indonesian Oliveri Sini (#524 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex). The Swiss Albert Tamm (#513 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) and his teammate and pole position holder, the American Alessandro Truchot, along with the Frenchman Stan Ratajski (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#533 Team Driver/KR-Iame), and the Polish Leonardo Gorski (#521 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) were among the best. A heat victory went also to the Greek driver Jason Kosmopoulos (#529 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart).
OKNJ – Manni dominates.
In the qualifying heats, Pietro Bagutti (#313 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart-Vega) and Ilia Berezkin (#322 Monster K/CRG-TM Kart-Vega) engaged in a duel with a margin of just a thousandth of a second. However, in the three heats of the OK-N Junior, it was the Monegasque driver Andrea Manni (#306 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) who monopolized the first position and jumped into the lead.
Pietro Bagutti, the Italian Valerio Viapiana (#326 Team Driver/KR-Iame) and Ilia Berezkin and followed behind the Monegasque, trailed by the American Drew Walz and Manni’s teammate, and the Bulgarian Lyuboslav Ruykov (#336 Zanchi Motorsport/Tony Kart-TM Kart).
OKN – Full haul for Marchesi.
In OK-N, the Italian Nicolas Marchesi (#204 Team Driver/KR-Iame) successfully fended off the performances of the Swedish Fabian Stureson (#215 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE) and Swiss Christian Canonica (#234 KGT Motorsport/Tony Kart-Vortex), who had secured the top two positions in qualifying. Marchesi achieved a perfect score with three victories in his three heats. Christian Canonica still secured a high position in the standings, while Fabian Stureson lost some positions. The Greek Vasileios Apostolidis (#206 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame), Sturensen’s teammate, the Polish Juliusz Ociepa and the Italian Lamberto Ferrari (FK Motorsport/IPK-Modena Engines) also performed well.
The program of the WSK Open Series, Rd1 Franciacorta:
Sunday, April 7th: Warm up from 8:00; Live coverage on TV and Live Streaming of Prefinals from 9:20 and Finals from 13:05.
Info WSK Promotion / Photo © Sportinphoto