Bell On Podium As Australians Prep For ROK Cup
Tweet| 8 October 2012 |
The Australian Tony Kart contingent converged on the South Garda Circuit in preparation for the International ROK Final which will be run at the venue this weekend, October 10 to 13.
Team competed in the “Trofeo d’Autunno” Final that was held on the weekend.
"This event was the final round of a Northern Italian regional championship which included several other non-ROK classes such as KF1 and KF2" Dennis Sandrone informed KartSportNews.
Above: The Australian drivers in Italy (L to R) Kurt Kostecki, Travis Millar, Jack Bell, Chris Sandrone, Cody Gillis and Andrew Kahl
Arriving on Thursday, the team took delivery of the equipment for final preparation from Tony Kart, then spent the next couple of days becoming accustomed to the new engines and tyre combinations.
"The most striking difference to Australia was the amount of rubber laid down on the track even before the race meeting started."
Super ROK
Travis Millar (Vic) contested the Super ROK class and quickly became accustomed to the front hand-brakes. Travis qualified 14th , finished 10th in the pre final with a solid ever-improving performance, showing good race pace.
Unfortunately in the final, Travis fell victim to a first corner incident to be relegated to the rear of the field. He then drove to a very credible 12th place matching the leader’s times.
Junior Rok
The class had four Australian entries - Andrew Kahl (NSW), Cody Gillis (NSW), Chris Sandrone (NSW) and Kurt Kosteki (WA) - ans was split over two groups due to oversubscribed numbers.
All four found themselves in the same qualifying group with Kahl qualifying 5th in the group following by Sandrone 10th, Kosteki 14th and Gillies 15th.
The pressure was on all the boys to make the cut for the final. Cody Gillis was the only Australian in the Group 1 pre final and secured a 14th finish to book at ticket to the finals. The other team members were in Group 2 finishing with Andrew Kahl 6th, Chris Sandrone 10th and Kurt Kosteki 13th after a spin avoiding a competitor's kart. All four boys secured a spot in the final.
Above: Chris Sandrone on the grid prior to the final
In the final Kahl started 10th and finished a creditable 8th after a strong consistent run clocking times equal with the leaders. Sandrone started 20th and showed excellent early pace working his way up to 12th in just 2 laps, however his race ended soon after with steering damage after contact with a kart he was passing. Gillis and Kosteki finished 17th and 18th after starting 28th (Kusrt) and 29th (Cody). Both showed good speed.
Mini Rok
Young Jack Bell (Vic) was the stand out performer for the weekend. Jack quickly become comfortable with Mini Rok “out of the box” engine to qualify fourth, then finishing the prefinal in 6th. He saved his best until the final, working his way onto the podium for a convincing third place. The Aussie Team proudly stayed for the presentation to cheer young Jack.
Above: Jack Bell on the podium in Italy
