Historic success for our Tony Kart Racer 401 RR at the FIA Karting World Championship in Sarno, Italy. Enzo Tarnvanichkul wins the 2022 title in the Junior category of single-gear karts, while Tuukka Taponen becomes vice champion in the OK class.

Triumph for our Tony Kart Racing Team at the FIA Karting World Championship 2022, run on a single round and reserved to the OKJ category. The Italian Sarno circuit is tinged with green thanks to the extraordinary performance of our Tony Kart Racer 401 RR, already at its first world title in its debut season, and to the power of the DJT unit of Vortex, the OTK Kart Group's engine department.

Stunning success by Enzo Tarnvanichkul in the OKJ final. The Thai driver is forced to start sixth due to a collision (and subsequent retirement) in Sunday morning's super heat A, after having led the qualifying heats with four victories. Nevertheless, Tarnvanichkul avoids trouble at the start and immediately makes himself a protagonist with a series of overtaking moves and fast laps. At the start of lap 8, our driver overtakes the two rivals in front of him in just a few metres, taking the lead and keeping it until the chequered flag. An impeccable race which demonstrates the great maturity achieved by Tarnvanichkul, world champion for the first time in his career. We cannot forget also the brilliant performance of Jan Przyrowski. The Polish driver, reigning champion of the WSK Euro Series, jumps from the front row thanks to the victory gained in super heat A. However, a collision with another competitor forces him to go wide on the grass and to restart the race from 15th place. The vice-European champion does not give up and, on the contrary, sets an extraordinary comeback to the third position. In his first attendance of the season with our colours, the Brazilian Gabriel Moura easily reaches the final – a best lap obtained in the eliminatory heats is worth mentioning – finishing it.
Less lucky was the weekend of our other drivers. Alp Hasan Aksoy is at the foot of the Top 20 after Saturday, but at the end of Sunday morning's super heats he is out of the top 36. After the best time in Friday's free practices, Jimmy Helias is penalised by two stops in the qualifying heats. Arthur Dorison, the new FIA Karting Academy Trophy champion, Maria Germano Neto, Giacomo Pedrini and Alfredo Ibiapina make several comebacks in the qualifying heats, but this is not enough to get a pass for the final.

Our Racing Team also comes close to success in the OK class. Tuukka Taponen, the world champion in force, is among the main protagonists of the weekend in Sarno with a haul of two victories in the qualifying heats and a success in the super heat B. From the front row, the Finnish driver finds a few obstacles due to the start from the outside line and the classic initial tussle, but thanks to his experience he is able to manage the situation well. This way, the comeback takes Taponen, a few laps from the end, to second place. However, he is too far from the race leader to think of closing the gap, thus gaining the title of vice-champion, after the prestigious success of 2021 in the single round of Campillos (Spain).
A remarkable performance, on the other hand, is James Egozi’s, with the American driver showing to be able to climb the ranking by a good 22 positions and closing the final at the edge of the Top 10. A solid race also by Juho Valtanen, who also defended our colours in the FIA Karting World Championship at Le Mans reserved for the KZ class. A mess between several drivers on the first lap unfortunately involves the reigning vice world champion Luigi Coluccio.
Difficult comeback also for Joseph Turney, deprived of his 11th place in qualifying due to a penalty which forced him to start from the back. The British driver, champion of the WSK Super Master Series and of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, cannot reach the final. Interesting timings and results for Keanu Al Azhari, Kuba Rajski and Oscar Wurz over the weekend, even though they do not have access to Sunday afternoon's race.

Press Release © OTK Kart Group