Australian karters Lewis Francis and William Calleja both grabbed top ten finishes in the finals of the opening round of the WSK Final Cup at Lonato on Sunday.
Calleja qualified P2 in OK Junior. “Heat results were consistently in top five, however getting spun round in one heat set us back” he posted. The RFM driver made up 10 places in the final to place tenth.
Meanwhile, Francis had to recover from a P19 in qualifying, scoring some consistent placings and sixth in his pre-final to line up P9 for the final.
Pip Casabene also made it through to the final on his WSK debut. Qualifying 35th in the 70+ kart field, he started out of P27, but crashed out on the opening lap.
- full results are HERE
- Sunday’s live stream, below
- scroll down for the official WSK report & pics
Aussie Wrap
- Ava Lawrence (Mini U10) – Kidix SRL, KR/IAME
Q: 25 (of 68). Ranking after prelim races: 39. Final: DNQ. - Casper Anderson (Mini) – Birelart Racing Srl, Birelart/TM
Q: 37 (of 45). Ranking after prelim races: 39. Final: DNQ. - William Calleja (OK Junior) – Ricky Flynn Motorsport, LN/TM
Q: 2 (of 78). Ranking after prelim races: 20. Final: 10th. - Lewis Francis (OK) – KR Motorsport, KR/IAME
Q: 19 (of 71). Ranking after prelim races: 9. Final: 10th. - Pip Casabene (OK) – Fusion Motorsport, KR/IAME
Q: 35 (of 71). Ranking after prelim races: 27. Final: 36th (DNF). - Will Thompson (OK-N) – Birelart Racing Srl, Birelart/TM
Q: 20 (of 36). Ranking after prelim races: 13. Final: 21st.
WSK press release
pics – Sportinphoto
The winners of the opening round of the WSK Final Cup in Lonato
The long weekend of the first round of the WSK Final Cup at Lonato ended with exceptional success, highlighted by the participation of all major manufacturers and the most important international teams. An impressive 389 drivers from 48 nations out of 400 entered competed in this top-level sporting and technical event, featuring many promising young talents.
Following qualifying practice and 43 heats, the Prefinals and especially the Finals—though with a few surprises—revealed the major protagonists of this first round of the WSK Final Cup, which will conclude on November 24th in Cremona with the awarding of the category titles.
THE PREFINALS.
The winners of the Prefinals:
- OKN Prefinal: 1st Antonio Apicella (ITA) (#823 GSR Team/LN-Iame-Vega).
- OKNJ Prefinal-A: 1st Alessandro Truchot (FRA) (#720 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega).
- OKNJ Prefinal-B: 1st Michele Orlando (ITA) (#703 DR/DR-Modena Engines-Vega).
- MINI U10 Prefinal-A: 1st Mark Loomets (EST) (#503 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega).
- MINI U10 Prefinal-B: 1st Niccolò Perico (ITA) (#501 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega).
- MINI Gr.3 Prefinal-A: 1st Achille Rea (ITA) (#538 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega).
- MINI Gr.3 Prefinal-B: 1st Stan Ratajski (FRA) (#520 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega).
- OKJ Prefinal-A: 1st Filippo Sala (ITA) (#334 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-Vega).
- OKJ Prefinal-B: 1st Noah Baglin (GBR) (#314 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-Vega).
- OK Prefinal-A: 1st Sebastiano Pavan (ITA) (#237 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-LeCont).
- OK Prefinal-B: 1st Lewis Wherrell (GBR) (#229 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-LeCont).
- KZ2 Prefinal-A: 1st David Trefilov (DEU) (#118 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart-LeCont).
- KZ2 Prefinal-B: 1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA) (#101 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-LeCont).
THE FINALS.
OKN – Marchesi wins the Final.
A series of overtaking maneouvers at the start of the OK-N Final ignited the race, but in the end, it was Nicolas Marchesi (#816 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) who prevailed. The Italian driver had qualified third in the Prefinal but had shown great potential, which he fully expressed in the final race, taking victory over Pole Juliusz Ociepa (#810 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE) and fellow Italian Antonio Apicella (#823 GSR Team/LN-Iame) who had won the Prefinal.
Cristian Tonalini (#836 Tona Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart) confirmed his place among the top drivers. However, in the final, the Italian driver had to settle for fourth position after starting from pole. The Frenchman Enzo Chaffard (#813 Tam Racing/KR-Iame) finished fifth.
1st Marchesi Nicolas (ITA) 21 laps
2nd Ociepa Juliusz (POL) +2.838
3rd Apicella Antonio (ITA) +3.488
OKNJ – Orlando surprising in the Final.
Michele Orlando (#703 DR/DR-Modena Engines-Vega) delivered a fantastic performance, securing victory in the Final after also winning Prefinal-B. The Italian driver managed to take the lead early in the Final and held it until the checkered flag, pursued by the Belgian Henri Kumpen (#717 Jana Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex) who had impressed in qualifying and the heats. The Frenchman Alessandro Truchot (#720 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega) claimed the third step of the podium in the final laps, overtaking the Ukrainian Vsevolod Osadcyi-Suslovskyi (#708 Monster K Factory/CRG-TM Kart) who was making a strong comeback. The American Nicola Stanley (#711 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart) finished fifth.
1st Orlando Michele (ITA) 17 laps
2nd Kumpen Henri (BEL) +0.329
3rd Truchot Alessandro (FRA) +2.170
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MINI GR.3 U10 – Loomets takes the final win.
The victory in the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 Final went to the very young Estonian driver Mark Loomets (#503 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega), who also won Prefinal-A. His teammate, Niccolò Perico, winner of Prefinal-B, missed out on the podium. The Italian driver was, in fact, penalized in the Final for a jump start and was classified eleventh. In the fight for victory, Italians Antonio Ianni (#536 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart) and Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#512 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) were also in contention, finishing second and third respectively. Among the top drivers were also the Italian Leopoldo Cannizzaro (#541 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart), fourth in the Final, and the American Liam Nachawati (#582 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
1st Loomets Mark (EST) 10 laps
2nd Ianni Antonio (ITA) +0.319
3rd Di Pietrantonio Lorenzo (ITA) +1.933
MINI GR.3 – Frasnelli puts in a winning recovery.
A series of dramatic twists and turns marked the MINI Gr.3 race, where the Italian driver Julian Frasnelli (#521 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) managed to secure victory with a final overtake in the closing meters, ahead of his teammate, the Scotsman Mason Robertson, and Pole Blazej Kostrzewa (#509 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who also made a remarkable comeback. The Pole Antoni Ociepa (#593 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE) lost the podium due to a front fairing penalty. Achille Rea (#538 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart), winner of Prefinal-A, finished fourth, ahead of the Portuguese driver Xavier Lazaro (#556 DR/DR-TM Kart).
1st Frasnelli Julian (ITA) 10 laps
2nd Robertson Mason (SCO) +0.878
3rd Kostrzewa Blazej (POL) +0.960
OKJ – Sala ends on a high.
Filippo Sala (#334 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-Vega) also prevailed in the Final, after winning Prefinal-A and the heats. The Italian driver finished in style, always leading the race but under pressure from several rivals. First among them was the Englishman Noah Baglin (#314 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) who took second place closely behind Sala, as did Sala’s teammate, the Turkish Iskender Zulfikari, who finished third after a head-to-head duel. The Frenchman Luka Scelles (#342 Victorylane Karting/KR-Iame) finished fourth, and Sala’s other teammate, the Englishman Henry Domain, finished fifth.
1st Sala Filippo (ITA) 17 laps
2nd Baglin Noah (GBR) +0.459
3rd Zulfikari Iskender (TUR) +1.115
OK – Pavan takes a strong win.
Sebastiano Pavan (#237 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-LeCont) secured a last-gasp victory in the Final after losing several positions from the front row at the start. The Italian driver managed to recover ground and eventually overtook the Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#228 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) who had led from the start. The Scotsman Zac Drummond (#227 Fusion Motorsport/KR-Iame) finished third after recovering several positions, as did the Dane David Walther (#205 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) in fourth and the Chinese driver You De Lu (#258 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart) in fifth.
1st Pavan Sebastiano (ITA) 21 laps
2nd Van Langendonk Dries (BEL) +0.298
3rd Drummond Zac (SCO) +2.860
KZ2 – Bertuca KO. Trefilov is penalized. Victory to Kajak.
The Estonian driver Markus Kajak (#121 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart-LeCont) secured a dramatic victory after being forced to retire from the Prefinal-A, which was won by his teammate, the German David Trefilov.
The Italian driver Cristian Bertuca (#101 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) was the star of the Final, and winner of Prefinal-B. He led from the start until the final lap, when he was unfortunately hit by his pursuer, David Trefilov, costing him an almost certain victory. Despite this, the Final was exciting, with the two Maranello Kart drivers taking turns in second place behind Bertuca.
With a six-place penalty imposed on Trefilov, the victory went to Markus Kajak, with the Czech driver Marek Skrivan (#133 IPK Factory/IPK-TM kart) finishing second and Alessio Piccini (#127 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) third. Bertuca recovered to finish sixth, ahead of Maksim Orlov (#106 CPB Sport/Sodikart-TM Kart) and Lorenzo Travisanutto (#102 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart).
1st Kajak Markus (EST) 21 laps
2nd Marek Skrivan (CZE) +0.765
3rd Piccini Alessio (ITA) +1.438
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