FIA Karting European Championship rd 1, Portimao: OKJ Final – A faultless Matveev takes maiden OKJ victory

[translated with Google]

Tyres: Vega

Dmitry Matveev (Koski Motorsport - Tony Kart - Vortex) completes a masterpiece on the Portimao circuit. After signing the pole position on Friday and confirming himself as leader at the end of the heats, the driver of the Koski Motorsport team is impeccable in the final and gets his first success in OKJ to conclude a weekend to be framed. The young driver sprints strongly from pole position, so much so that he scores his best third split time on the first lap, and always keeps the lead, but has to deal with the incessant pressure of Anatoly Khavalkin (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing ), which remains postmarked from start to finish. Matveev shows a disarming coldness, manages to adapt to the changing conditions of the track and triumphs.

Second at the finish is Khavalkin, who reaffirms his role as absolute protagonist and is the only one able to keep up with the winner's pace. After having imposed himself in Super Heat 1, beating Matveev himself, the Parolin Motorsport team bishop climbs from fifth place to second during the first two laps and joins the Koski Motorsport team's standard bearer, ready to trigger another duel. Khavalkin is more incisive in the fast section, probably aided by a longer relationship than his direct opponent, and seems to have some opportunities to launch the attack, but he is not taking any chances. Slightly slowed down also by an error in the final phase, which saw him pinch a curb and lose some ground, Khavalkin had to settle for the silver medal.

Rene Lammers (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing) takes another Parolin on the podium. The young Dutchman proves his maturity in managing a particularly intense tussle for third position and, thanks to an extremely intelligent race behavior, has the better of his rivals. Starting fourth, the Parolin Motorsport team driver even slips sixth in the first phase of the race, finding himself in the middle of a train that runs to 11th place, but Lammers is able to keep calm.

After competing for the podium, Thomas Strauven (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - LN - Vortex) closes in fourth place. The Ricky Flynn Motorsport team bearer expresses promising speed and is also incisive in the melee.

Nathan Tye (Sodikart - Sodikart - TM Racing) dominates Super Heat 2 and sprints off the front row in the final. The English rider contends for the podium in the first phase of the race and occupies the third position for several laps, but then loses ground due to a challenge at the limit with Oleksandr Bondarev (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - LN - Vortex) and passes under the flag checkered in fifth place. Bondarev slips further back, who sees his dream of winning fade after being second at the start and concludes in tenth place, only to be relegated to 18th by a ten-second penalty due to incorrect maneuvering. The Ukrainian driver's plan was to attack Matveev immediately and push to the maximum in the first laps, aware that he had great potential with the new tire, but something went wrong.

Sixth place is the prerogative of an exceptional Kirill Dzitiev (Ward Racing - Tony Kart - Vortex), who gains 12 positions from the start and confirms his feeling with the Portuguese track after winning the first round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, held two weeks ago right here in Portimao.

Jules Caranta (Energy Corse - Energy Corse - TM Racing), Kirill Kutskov (Birel ART Racing - Birel ART - TM Racing), Martin Molnar (Energy Corse - Energy Corse - TM Racing) and Maciej Gladysz complete the top ten. (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - LN - Vortex), who recovers 15 positions from the start after slipping to the back of the group in Super Heat 1.

Salim Hanna (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - LN - Vortex), 11th, Lucas Fluxa (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME), 12th, and Gerasim Skulanov (Leclerc by Lennox Racing - Birel ART - TM Racing), 14th, are also recovering from the start.

Jan Przyrowski (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex) closes eighth thanks to a comeback of five positions and signs the fastest lap, but is relegated to 13th place by a five-second penalty due to the nose being in the wrong position.

Alfie Slater (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - LN - Vortex) deserves a special mention, who is the author of a weekend as a protagonist and disputes the final with a sore right hand following the contact with Przyrowski in Super Heat 1, then penalized for the maneuver, while the two competed for fourth place.

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