[Translated with Google]

More than a month after Round 3 in Rødby, the protagonists of the OK and OKJ categories take to the track in Cremona (Italy) for the last round of the FIA Karting European Championship. There are 65 drivers who will take part in the championship in the premier class of single-speed karts, while 81 compete in the "Junior". They are also joined by 40 youngsters taking part in the third stage (of three) of the FIA Karting Academy Trophy.

The usual qualifications took place on Friday, and then continued with the first qualifying heats, which will continue throughout the day on Saturday.

OK: Louis Iglesias amazes everyone

• It is his first year in the category and he has not taken part in any round of the championship: as a real outsider, Louis Iglesias (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME) puts everyone in line in qualifying and takes pole position. The Frenchman, first in group 1, recorded a time of 47.481 seconds.


• Winner of Round 3 at Rødby, championship leader and considered (obviously) among the favorites for the title, René Lammers (Parolin Motorsport – Parolin – TM) did not disappoint and finished second, leading group 3 (47.724 seconds). Triumphant right here in Cremona just two weeks ago in the Champions of the Future Euro Series, Enzo Tarnvanichkul (Prema Racing – KR – IAME) is third in the combined standings, third in group 2 (47.760 seconds).


• Nicolò Cuman (Forza Racing – Exprit – TM) is the best placed of the Italian “hosts”, fourth. Author of the pole position at the COFT, Luigi Coluccio (Tony Kart Racing Team – Tony Kart – Vortex) always occupies a place at the top of the rankings, exactly the fifth position.


• Leaving Ward Racing, Ean Eyckmans (Leclerc by Lennox Racing – Birel Art – TM) seems to be at ease with the new team and concludes timed qualifying in sixth position. Returning after an injury that kept him away from racing for several months, Dmitry Matveev (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) is seventh.


• The reigning European champion Kean Nakamura Berta (Prema Racing – KR – IAME) is eighth, followed by Mattia Colnaghi (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME), ninth, Martin Molnar (Energy Corse – Energy Corse – TM), tenth, and Fionn McLaughlin (VDK Racing – KR – IAME), 11th.


• Tereza Babícková (Forza Racing – Exprit – TM), 12th, precedes Maciej Gladysz (Ricky Flynn Motorsport – LN – TM), 13th and in pole position at Rødby. Immediately behind we find Emanuele Olivieri (IPK Official Racing Team), 14th, Roland Kuklane (Ward Racing – Tony Kart – Vortex), 15th, and Andrea Dupe (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), 16th.


• An uncomfortable position for Gabriel Gomez (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME), Lammers' direct rival for the title: the Brazilian qualified 18th. David Walther (Koski Motorsport – Tony Kart – Vortex) is 20th, while Alex Powell (Prema Racing – KR – IAME) is 28th.

OKJ: Thibaut Ramaekers immediately on the attack

• Already starting from qualifying, Thibaut Ramaekers (VDK Racing – KR – IAME) is playing everything and everything to get the European title. The Belgian is the first pursuer of Oleksandr Bondarev (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) in the championship, but he has 164 points against the 206 points of the Ukrainian. The VDK Racing driver can still take advantage of the possibility of discarding the worst results, however he has to push right away: the pole position of 48.605 seconds proves it.


• Fresh from his victory at the Champions of the Future Euro Series two weeks ago, Dries Van Langendonck (Forza Racing – Exprit – TM) is once again among the protagonists of the category with the best time in group 1, but with a delay of one tenth of second from Ramaekers.


• Nice performance by Lewis Francis (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), the fastest of group 3 (49.082) and third classified. Despite the slower lap compared to the other groups, the Australian precedes Christian Costoya (Parolin Motorsport – Parolin – TM), fourth, and Iacopo Martinese (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), fifth, in the combined standings.


• In his first year in OKJ, Arjen Kräling (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) snatches sixth position. Seventh position for Jack Iliffe (Parolin Motorsport – Parolin – TM), followed by Lewis Wherrell (Forza Racing – Exprit – TM) in eighth, by Vivek Kanthan (Parolin Motorsport – Parolin – TM) in ninth and Stepan Antonov (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) in tenth.


• On the edge of the top ten we find: Matias Orjuela (Leclerc by Lennox Racing – Birel Art – TM), 11th; Sebastian Lehtimäki (Parolin Motorsport – Parolin – TM), 12th; Noah Monteiro (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), 13th; Alfie Slater (Ricky Flynn Motorsport – LN – TM), 14th; Niklas Schaufler (DPK Racing – KR – IAME), 15th; Salim Hanna (Ricky Flynn Motorsport – LN – TM); Scott Kin Lindblom (Tony Kart Racing Team – Tony Kart – Vortex), 17th.


• The performance of Chiara Bättig (DPK Racing – KR – IAME) should be underlined: the Swiss girl occupies the 18th position. Much further behind Filippo Sala (Sodikart – Sodikart – TM) and Tiziano Monza (Shamick Europe – Parolin – TM), respectively 26th and 31st.


• Bondarev also lingered in the standings, unable to go beyond the 29th position. It's not a perfect start to the weekend for him, also considering the pole position of title rival Ramaekers.

Academy: Wojciech Woda  on the hunt for redemption

• After missing out on points in the two finals in Třinec and Rødby, Wojciech Woda (Poland) is ready to take his revenge again in Cremona. The Polish driver is, in fact, the fastest ever in qualifying, setting a time of 49.720 seconds during the first session.


• Second in the championship, Martí Hugo (Spain) confirms the same position also in timed qualifying, topping out in group 2. Arthur Broughan (New Zealand) settles third in the combined standings, while Lisa Billard (France) proves herself with an excellent fourth position.


• Rocco Coronel (Netherlands) is fifth, followed by Benett Gaspar (Hungary), sixth, Romeo Haargh (Denmark), seventh, and Markas Silkunas (Lithuania), eighth. Simon Meyer (Austria), ninth, and Harry Bartle (UK), tenth, complete the top ten.


• On the edge of the Top 10 are Cristian Tonalini (Italy), 11th, Lorenzo Campos (Angola), 12th, Vasileios Apostolidis (Greece), 13th, and Santino Panetta (Argentina), 14th. Max Walton (Australia), on the other hand, is 17th, still ahead of his title rival Marius Barry-Berg (Norway), 22nd.

©Photo: Sportinphoto