Preview: KF & KFJ World Championship Final
| press release | 18 November 2013 |
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The CIK-FIA karting goes to Bahrain next week to crown the KF and KFJ World Champions in Sakhir. There will be live streaming on www.cikfia.tv and www.cikfiachampionship.com.
The World CIK-FIA KF and KFJ Championship closes in Bahrain
The world of karting is about to award its World Champions for the KF and KFJ categories in Bahrain. The World CIK-FIA KF and KFJ Championship will be hosted by the 1,414 metres of the Viva Karting Track of Sakhir: it is the first time that the CIK-FIA KF and KFJ Championship takes place on the archipelago in the Arabian Gulf. This round comes after the first event on the English circuit of Brandon, at the beginning of September, for the KF category, and - a month ago - on the Italian circuit of Sarno for the KF Junior.
So, the two categories are going to meet on the same circuit, from 19th to 23rd November, for the last round of their Championships. The Viva Karting Track is next to the F1 circuit which hosts the Bahrain. This year, in the racing facility 30 kms away from the capital Manama, there is the novelty of the night races, until the Finals day, on Saturday 23rd.
Verstappen chases the KF title
So far, the results say that the Dutch driver Max Verstappen (CRG-TM-Vega) is the driver to beat in KF. He arrives in Sakhir as the leader of the current standings, after dominating the first round in Brandon (UK). But, before the appointment in Bahrain, Verstappen managed also to win the World CIK-FIA KZ Championship, raced in Varennes (F) on September. The young driver from Hasselt (he is just 16!) arrives in Sakhir eager to complete his ‘collection’ of World Titles. To accomplish his mission, Verstappen will have to deal with 55 drivers. His most dangerous rival is going to be the Danish Nicklas Nielsen (Kosmic-Vortex-Vega), the runner-up of the first round in England. Also the British Ben Hanley (Art GP-TM-Vega) seems to be very competitive: he stepped onto the third step of the podium after beating the Russian Egor Stupenkov (Energy-TM-Vega) in a wheel-to-wheel duel in the Final. Always in Brandon, also the Polish Karol Basz (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) made a good impression, even though he did not manage to repeat the good performance of the Prefinal – where he placed second – in the Final. Good chance also for the Canadian Lance Stroll (Zanardi-TM-Vega), immediately behind the top drivers in the Final.
- Entry Lists below are as published by the CIK-FIA, but there is some doubt as to whether all entrants will actually run...
| No. | Driver | Entrant | Equipment |
| 1 | Verstappen, Max | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / Vega |
| 2 | Moineault, Valentin | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / Vega |
| 3 | Sorensen, Christian | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 4 | Basz, Karol | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 5 | Nielsen, Nicklas | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 7 | Tiene, Felice | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / Vega |
| 8 | Convers, Armand | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 9 | Nylund, Niclas | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / Vega |
| 10 | Palou Montalbo, Alex | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / Vega |
| 12 | Russell, George | Millennium Motorsport | Kosmic / TM / Vega |
| 14 | Chang Wing Chung, Andy | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 15 | Ilott, Callum | Team Oakes | Zanardi / TM / Vega |
| 16 | Snell, Sam | Energy Corse | Energy / TM / Vega |
| 17 | Romanov, Vasiliy | Energy Corse | Energy / TM / Vega |
| 18 | Barnicoat, Benjamin | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / Vega |
| 19 | Russo, Andrea | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 20 | Stupenkov, Egor | Energy Corse | Energy / TM / Vega |
| 21 | Lennox-Lamb, Jordon | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / Vega |
| 22 | Norris, Oliver | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 23 | Horn, Moritz | Energy Corse | Energy / TM / Vega |
| 24 | Tujula, Tuomas | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / Vega |
| 25 | Okada, Takuya | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / Vega |
| 26 | Gomez, Sidney | Baby Race Srl | Tony Kart / TM / Vega |
| 27 | Fong Wei Jie, Julien | Kartronix | Kosmic / TM / Vega |
| 28 | Kuusiniemi, Jussi | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 29 | Boccolacci, Dorian | Energy Corse | Energy / TM / Vega |
| 30 | Walilko, Igor | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 31 | Litchfield, Mark | PF International Karting | Kosmic / TM / Vega |
| 32 | Kodric, Martin | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 33 | Dabski, Karol | Praga Kart Racing | Praga / Parilla / Vega |
| 34 | Hanley, Ben | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / Vega |
| 35 | Shiraishi, Yuta | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / Vega |
| 36 | Ruud Kjaer, Magnus | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 37 | Hiltbrand, Pedro | LH Racing Team | LH / TM / Vega |
| 38 | Rossel, Kevin | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 39 | Laaksonen, Simo | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / Vega |
| 40 | Mäntylä, Ville | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 41 | Moilanen, Aatu | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 42 | Valtanen, Juho | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 43 | Stroll, Lance | Chiesa Corse | Zanardi / TM / Vega |
| 44 | Joyner, Tom | Chiesa Corse | Zanardi / TM / Vega |
| 45 | Mawson, Joseph | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 46 | Welin, Ville | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 47 | Kasai, Takashi | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 48 | Heinonen, Johannes | LH Racing Team | LH / TM / Vega |
| 49 | Besancenez, Paolo | Kartronix | Tony Kart / TM / Vega |
| 50 | Al Rawahi, Abdullah | Msport Karting | Tony Kart / Parilla / Vega |
| 51 | Al Rawahi, Sanad Suleiman | Msport Karting | Tony Kart / Parilla / Vega |
| 52 | Al-Thawadi, Abdulla | Saudi Falcons Team | Parolin / TM / Vega |
| 53 | Corberi, Luca | Corberi, Marco | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega |
| 54 | Fukuzumi, Nirei | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 55 | Hansen, Andreas Sebastian | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega |
| 56 | Parkings, Nathan | Zanardi | Zanardi / Parilla / Vega |
| 57 | Van Der Watt, Julian | Zanardi | Zanardi / Parilla / Vega |
| 58 | Borrelli, Diego | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / Vega |
Good start for Pulcini in KF Junior
It is the first time that CIK-FIA awards a world title to the International category reserved to junior drivers, and KFJ drivers do not want to lose the opportunity. Maybe this is the reason why there are more than 80 entrants. Among these drivers, eyes on those who made themselves conspicuous in the first round of Sarno (I) on 6th October. The winner of the race on the Italian racetrack was the Italian Leonardo Pulcini (Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont), who finished ahead of another Italian, Alessio Lorandi (Tony Kart-Parilla-LeCont), eager to take his revenge in Sakhir: the World Title might be a matter between these two drivers. However, there are good expectations also from other drivers in Bahrain: the Russian Robert Shwartzman (Tony Kart-TM-LeCont), for example, or the English Daniel Ticktum (FA Kart-Vortex-LeCont), both immediately behind the first two drivers in Sarno. Do not forget other possible protagonists such as the Brazilian Giuliano Raucci (Energy-TM-LeCont) and the Indian Jehan Daruvala (FA Kart-Vortex-LeCont), who put in excellent performances in the Prefinal of Sarno, even though they were rather unlucky in the Final.
| No. | Driver | Entrant | Equipment |
| 101 | Norris, Lando | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 102 | Daruvala, Jehan | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 103 | Betsch, Mick | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 104 | Van Leeuwen, Martijn | Keijzer Racing | Zanardi / TM / LeCont |
| 105 | Raspatelli, Matteo | Raspatelli, Bruno | Kosmic / Parilla / LeCont |
| 106 | Lorandi, Alessio | Baby Race Srl | Tony Kart / Parilla / LeCont |
| 107 | Fewtrell, Max | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 108 | Pull, James | Team Oakes | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 109 | Garcia Lopez, Marta | Garcia, Francisco | Zanardi / Parilla / LeCont |
| 110 | Pulcini, Leonardo | Morsicani Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 111 | Ticktum, Daniel | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 112 | Sitnikov, Nikita | Team Komarov | Tony Kart / BMB / LeCont |
| 113 | Tillett, Archie | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / LeCont |
| 114 | Raucci, Giuliano | Gandolfi Ennio Racing | Energy / TM / LeCont |
| 115 | Sette Camara, Sergio | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / LeCont |
| 116 | Moreira Laliberté, Kami | KML Racing | Zanardi / TM / LeCont |
| 117 | Xia, Yifan | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / LeCont |
| 118 | Elpitiya, Bryan | Energy Corse | Energy / TM / LeCont |
| 119 | Defrancesco, Devlin | Team Oakes | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 120 | Aubry, Gabriel | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 121 | Ahmed, Enaam | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 122 | Shwartzman, Robert | Forza Racing | Tony Kart / TM / LeCont |
| 123 | Defourny, Max | Defourny, Didier | Kosmic / TM / LeCont |
| 124 | Sargeant, Logan | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 125 | Lorandi, Leonardo | Baby Race Srl | Tony Kart / Parilla / LeCont |
| 126 | Chaimongkol, Sasakorn | Millennium Motorsport | Kosmic / TM / LeCont |
| 127 | Bollier, Jules | Bollier, Romain | Kosmic / Parilla / LeCont |
| 128 | Kari, Niko | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 129 | Beckmann, David | Zanardi | Zanardi / Parilla / LeCont |
| 130 | Lessennes, Benjamin | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 131 | Vartanyan, Alexander | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 132 | Bale, Thomas Michael | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 133 | Travisanutto, Lorenzo | Travisanutto, Fabrizio | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 134 | Korpivaara, Ilmari | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 135 | Florescu, Petru Gabriel | Morsicani Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 136 | Haapalainen, Tuomas | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / LeCont |
| 137 | Mazepin, Nikita | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 138 | Baiz, Mauricio | Baiz Guedez, Mauricio | Exprit / Vortex / LeCont |
| 139 | Peltola, Olli | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / LeCont |
| 140 | Drugovich Roncato, Felipe | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / LeCont |
| 141 | Tolvanen, Timi | ART Grand Prix Srl | ART GP / TM / LeCont |
| 142 | Alesi, Giuliano | Baby Race Srl | Tony Kart / Parilla / LeCont |
| 143 | Maini, Kush | Baby Race Srl | Tony Kart / Parilla / LeCont |
| 144 | Marcu, Dionisios | CRG SpA | CRG / TM / LeCont |
| 145 | Romano, Bruno | CRG SpA | CRG / BMB / LeCont |
| 146 | Johansson, Antti | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 147 | Puhakka, Juuso | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 148 | Saarelainen, Sami | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 149 | Sario, Robin | Kohtala Sports | Haase-Corsa / Vortex / LeCont |
| 150 | Varis, Joona | Kohtala Sports | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 151 | Pasma, Patrik | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 152 | Squaranti, Federico | Kosmic Racing Dept | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 153 | Pankiewicz, Julia | Pankiewicz, Pawel | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 154 | Pankiewicz, Wiktoria | Pankiewicz, Pawel | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 155 | Gordeev, Alexander | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 156 | Hall, Philip | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 157 | Johnsen, Sindre | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 158 | Kostecki, Jake | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 159 | Kostecki, Kurt | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 160 | Tarasov, Mikhail | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 161 | Troickiy, Nikita | Ward Racing | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 162 | Signorelli, Matias Ezequiel | Millennium Motorsport | Tony Kart / TM / LeCont |
| 163 | Talachanov, Georgy | Team Komarov | Tony Kart / BMB / LeCont |
| 164 | Aron, Ralf | Tony Kart Racing Team | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 165 | Roosens, Kenny | Roosens, Eddy | Zanardi / TM / LeCont |
| 166 | Marino, Sato | Praga Kart Racing | Praga / Parilla / LeCont |
| 167 | Potty, Maxime | Potty, Samuel | Kosmic / Parilla / LeCont |
| 168 | Alex, - | Osella Engineering Srl | DR / TM / LeCont |
| 169 | Petrov, Artem | Neva-Kart | Tony Kart / BMB / LeCont |
| 170 | Quevedo, Kevin Aron | Morcia, Giuseppe | Tony Kart / LKE / LeCont |
| 171 | Shlom, Yan Leon | Mirage | Tony Kart / Parilla / LeCont |
| 172 | Milell, Noah | JP Racing | Exprit / Vortex / LeCont |
| 173 | Fernandez, Sebastian | Giorgio, Gianni | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 174 | Gheno, Jacopo | Gheno, Stefano | Tony Kart / TM / LeCont |
| 175 | Lloveras Brunet, Xavier | Genikart | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont |
| 176 | Garofano, Remigio | Garofano, Angelo | Tony Kart / LKE / LeCont |
| 177 | Festante, Aldo | Festante, Vincenzo | Tony Kart / LKE / LeCont |
| 178 | Yueyang, Sun | Chiesa Corse | Zanardi / TM / LeCont |
| 179 | Bonduel, Amaury | Bonduel Racing | ART GP / TM / LeCont |
| 180 | Sereia, Gabriel | Birel Motorsport | Birel / Parilla / LeCont |
| 181 | Mosca, Tommaso | Energy Corse | Energy / TM / LeCont |
| 182 | Albanese, Danilo | Albanese, Giovanni | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont |
| 183 | Al-Khalifa, Issa Bin Abdulla | Bahrain One Racing | Tony Kart / TM / LeCont |
| 184 | Mzaiti, Abdessalam | Baby Race Srl | Tony Kart / Parilla / LeCont |
