The World Circuit La Conca in Muro Leccese has hosted the second round of the Italian ACI Karting Championship that had a great participation of 180 drivers in the categories KZ2, KZ3 and Iame X30 at their debut of the season, and the Rotax and Naskart Trophies that are at their second round after Siena.

The heats on Saturday have confirmed the value of the drivers on track on Friday for qualifying practice, but several surprises also arrived today due to some technical problem or racing contacts. In KZ2 Giacomo Pollini (Formula K-Tm) confirmed to be the absolute leader with the best time in qualifying and then two strong wins in as many qualifying heats. The Italian driver, who won last year the closing round of the Italian Championship, is in a strong position to confirm himself as the protagonist of the season. Marco Zanchetta (Maranello-Tm) will try and challenge Pollini, as he is recovering after a troubled qualifying session, as will do the surprising Giuseppe Palomba (Intrepid-Tm), who is now a new reality of this category. Francesco Celenta (Praga-Tm) has been delayed a bit by some setup problems and a contact with Musio, while Davide Forè (BirelArt-Tm), at the comeback to racing, confirmed a great competitiveness.

The top ten after qualifying heats: 1. Pollini, 2. Palomba, 3. Zanchetta, 4. Forè, 5. Calvanese, 6. Dahlberg, 7. Pastacaldi, 8. Simoni, 9. Mazzali, 10. Arrue.

Another full haul has been obtained by Angelo Liuzzi (CRG-Tm) in KZ3 Junior. He claimed the pole position and took two wins in the two heats. A great performance was also put in by Denis De Marco (Parolin-Tm) and Edoardo Tolfo (Formula K-Tm), that are currently second and third after heats. The fourth place is held by Sergio Damiani (Intrepid-Tm) at the moment. Alessandro Cavina (Parolin-Tm) had the upper hand in KZ3 Under and recovered well from the fifth position of qualifying. Cavina ended heat one in fourth place and won the second, which will grant him a pole position start for the first final on Sunday. Behind him, Filippo D’Attanasio (Maranello-Tm), Marco Pagani (CRG-Tm) and Alessio Zanotti (Maranello-Tm). Emanuele Simonetti (Tony Kart-Tm), who posted the quickest time in qualifying, had to retire twice. Roberto Profico (Tony Kart-Tm) bounced back from the sixth place in qualifying of KZ3 Over and will start Race-1 from the pole position thanks to a second place and a victory in the heats. Cristian Griggio (Maranello-Tm) had to settle for P2 after the quickest time on Friday, while Simone Torsellini (KR-Iame) was third and Riccardo Loddo (CRG-Tm) fourth.

A total of 53 drivers entered the Iame X30 Trophy. Francesco Pulito (Top Kart-Iame), at the debut in X30 Junior, posted the quickest time in qualifying and won two heats. Edoardo Ludovico Villa (TB Kart-Iame), who is a protagonist also of the German DKM, is currently second. The third place is held by Leonardo Fornaroli (KR-Iame), while Francesco Miotto (Intrepid-Iame) is fourth. Lorenzo Patrese, son of former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese, will start Race-1 from the fifth place.

Another rookie of X30 Senior claimed the best result so far. Luigi Coluccio, BirelArt-Iame, after the P3 in qualifying, obtained a victory and a second place that allowed him to be on top after heats. The 2017 Champion Aleksander Bardas (Tony Kart-Iame) is second, Francesco Pagano (KR-Iame) third, while Friday’s poleman Leonardo Caglioni (Tony Kart-Iame) is fourth.

Davide Vuano (Praga-Rotax) won all heats in the Rotax Trophy and is leading the pack followed by Massimo Santin (Praga-Rotax) and Andrea Zollino (Tony Kart-Rotax).

The Naskart Trophy, that uses Ridolfi Righetti chassis and Modena engines, run qualifying today. Alessandro Brigatti was fastest and led Christian Castelli by 0.144s and Moreno Di Silvestre by 0.207s. Lapo Nencetti was fourth at 0.455s, Alessio Bacci fifth at 1.201s.

THE PROGRAM. Double final for all categories on Sunday, May 27th from 9:40 (Race-1) and 14:15 (Race-2).

LIVE ON TV AMD STREAMING. Live coverage on AutoMotoTV (Sky 148) on Sunday, May 27th and live streaming on www.acisportitalia.it and Facebook @ACIKarting. Live Timing and Results will be available at www.acisportitalia.it. Specials will be shown within the ACI Sport Magazine on RAI Sport, national channels and about 50 networks covering the whole Italian territory.

ACI Sport S.p.A.
Press Office