[Translated with Google Translate]

The track activity continues for the second round of the FIA Karting European Championship OK and OKJ at the Essay circuit. After the first day of Friday, in which qualifying took place, on Saturday the heats for both categories present in the race were held: OK and OKJ. Tomorrow the last heats will be completed and then it will end with the finals.

OK: Andrea Kimi Antonelli in great shape

• Perfect day for Andrea Kimi Antonelli (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) in Essay. The Italian driver is clearly the fastest on the French track and dominates the three qualifying heats today, including the one involving pole-man Rafael Camara (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) and despite the unfavorable start from the outside line. Rounding out the performance there are also the respective three fastest laps.


• Camara does not find the right rhythm in the same heat as Antonelli and finishes in 6th place. This result slightly penalizes the Brazilian driver who, despite two victories, drops to third place in the general classification.


• Between the leader Antonelli and Camara we find Artem Severiukhin (Ward Racing - Tony Kart - Vortex). The Russian driver gets two wins and a second place that allow him to move up one position in the ranking.


• Excellent performance for Yannick De Brabander (Praga Racing Team - Prague - IAME) who, with two second places and a third, climbs 4 positions to fourth place. Ugo Ugochukwu (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) wins one heat and recovers nine positions compared to qualifying: the American licensed driver enters the top 5.


• Luigi Coluccio climbs the ranking (Kosmic Racing Department - Kosmic - Vortex) who collects two podiums and a fourth place, useful for scoring a +11 that momentarily launches him in sixth place.


• Evan Giltaire (VDK Racing - KR - IAME) loses three positions and drops to seventh place, while Martinius Stenshorne (Leclerc by Lennox Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing) scores a -1 in the standings and is eighth.


• To close the top 10 we find two excellent climbers: Nikolas Pirttilahti (Forza Racing - Exprit - TM Racing) slips a comeback of 10 positions up to ninth place, even Tuukka Taponen (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex) signs +16 positions that allows him to finish the day in tenth place.


• Only among the drivers up there to have completed four heats is Arvid Lindblad (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME), 11th and running out of victories, but to keep an eye on in tomorrow's final: the British licensed driver, not surprisingly, it has three fast laps on the roadmap.


• Brando Badoer (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME), 12th with +10 positions, and Joseph Turney (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), 13th with +8 positions, also rise in the standings.


• Everything was going well for Nikola Tsolov (DPK Racing - KR - IAME) this Saturday: after winning two second places, the Bulgarian driver is the protagonist of an accident in the third heat (the AC), so much so that he is declared " not suitable ”to resume the race.

OKJ: Freddie Slater's dominance continues

• Nobody can stop Freddie Slater (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - Kosmic - Vortex). The current championship leader in a perfect series in Essay weekend: first in the two free practice sessions, pole position, first in the warm-up on Saturday morning and four wins in the four qualifying heats. With only one heat to run, the British driver is very close to pole position for tomorrow's final.


• Concrete and fast Tomass Stolcermanis (Energy Corse - Energy Corse - TM Racing) after yesterday's second place. The Latvian driver confirmed his position also at the end of Saturday with a victory, two second places and a third.


• Kirill Kutskov (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) moves up five places and settles in third place. The Russian driver gets three wins and one fastest lap. Matheus Ferreira (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) gains eight positions in qualifying to reach the momentary fifth place.


• A 12th place in the second heat penalizes William Macintyre (Birel Art Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), who dropped from third to sixth place. The British driver still recorded a win and a second place in the qualifying heats.


• Luka Sammalisto (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) leaps from tenth to seventh place in the lap of four heats and puts behind him Maxim Rehm (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - Kosmic - Vortex), eighth, Maciej Gladysz (Sauber Orlen Karting Team - KR - IAME), ninth, and Arthur Poulain (Kosmic Racing Department - Kosmic - Vortex), tenth.


• Behind the top ten we find three matadors in the comeback field: we are talking about Maksimilian Popov (Ward Racing - Tony Kart - Vortex), 11th with +10 positions compared to qualifying, Kai Sorensen (Forza Racing - Exprit - TM Racing ), 12th with +30 positions, and Alexander Gubenko (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), 14th with +30 positions. Rashid Al Dhaheri (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing) loses two positions and is 13th.


• Currently third in the championship, Ean Eyckmans (Kosmic Racing Department - Kosmic - Vortex) gains 27 positions and climbs to 19th place. Behind the Belgian, in 20th place we find Hideg Adam (Revesz TRT KFT. - KR - IAME) who moved up 62 places.

©Photo: Sportinphoto