[Translated with Google]

Almost two months after the end of the European championship, the categories with the gearbox, KZ and KZ2, are back on track at Le Mans for the most important appointment of the season: the FIA Karting World Championship and the FIA Karting World Cup. the top class of karting, 39 contenders for the world title, while 123 drivers are ready to compete in KZ2. They are also joined by the 47 youngsters of the Academy Trophy, who meet for the third and final round of the championship, and the 64 "older" ones of the International Masters' Super Cup, at their first ever outing.

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

KZ: Noah Milell ready to defend his crown

• Last year, within the friendly walls of Kristianstad, Noah Milell (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex) surprised everyone by winning his first world title. One year later and with greater maturity behind him, the Swedish champion comes to France with all the eyes of the paddock on and he does not deny expectations: with a capital test, he conquers the pole position thanks to a time of 49.170 scored in the group 1.


• Impressive hat-trick by the Tony Kart Racing Team because, in addition to pole author Milell, he places two other drivers at the top: Simo Puhakka (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex) is the fastest in group 2 (49.389) and is second in the combined standings, while the reigning world runner-up Lorenzo Camplese (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex) finishes second in group 1 and, consequently, is third in the overall.


• The first driver unrelated to the Tony Kart colors is Riccardo Longhi (Birel ART Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), fourth classified thanks to the second best time in group 2. The home idol Emilien Denner (Sodikart - Sodi - TM Racing) concludes in fifth position their qualifications, just a few hundredths away from Milell and Camplese in group 1.


• Seventh position for the reigning OK world champion Tuukka Taponen (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), at ease also in the premier class of shifter karts. The Finn is seventh, followed by Viktor Gustafsson (CRG Racing Team - CRG - TM Racing) and the reigning International Super Cup KZ2 champion Lorenzo Travisanutto (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing).


• Among the top ten we also find the 2019 world champion Marijn Kremers (Birel ART Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), tenth precisely, with Senna Van Walstijn (Sodikart - Sodi - TM Racing) and Alex Irlando (CRG Racing Team - CRG - TM Racing) behind him respectively in 11th and 12th position.


• The ranking continues with Adrien Renaudin (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), 13th, Luis Laurin Speck (TBKart Racing Team - TB Kart - TM Racing), 14th, 2020 world champion Jeremy Iglesias (CRG Racing Team - CRG - TM Racing), 15th, Jorrit Pex (SP Motorsport - KR - TM Racing), 16th, Juho Valtanen (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), 17th, Francesco Celenta (Birel ART Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), 18th, and Anthony Abbasse (Sodikart - Sodi - TM Racing), 19th.


• The weekend of Paolo Ippolito (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME), reigning European champion, starts from 21st position. The Italian does not seem to have found the right place today.


• Not in the best of his form due to an injury remedied in a bicycle training in August, Matteo Viganò (Leclerc by Lennox Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing) is stopped in 27th position. A technical problem - presumably with the engine - prevents former Formula 1 driver Jaime Alguersuari (CRG Racing Team - CRG - TM Racing) from taking part in qualifying.

KZ2: David Trefilov's title hunt restarts from pole position

• In 2021 he had come very close to winning the title, starting from the front row in the final and finishing third at the end of the race. Also this year, David Trefilov (Maranello SRP Racing Team - Maranello - TM Racing) is in excellent shape and conquers the pole position in the fourth and last qualifying group, with a time of 49.412 made possible also by the improvement of the conditions of track compared to the morning, when the asphalt was wet.


• Danilo Albanese (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) also proves his strength in the third group, with a best time of 49.468. The Italian driver, who we remember having won the second round of the WSK Euro Series in Sarno this year, gets the second position in the combined standings.


• Also surprising the young Michael Paparo (IPK Official Racing Team - IPK - TM Racing) in qualifying. In his first full year with shifter karts, the Italian recorded the fastest lap of group 2 (49,552) and finished third. Complete the Top 4 Felix Arnold (Maranello SRP Racing Team - Maranello - TM Racing), fourth overall and first in group 1 (49,660).


• At the top of the ranking we also find two "regulars" of the OK category, this year also active in KZ2: Cristian Bertuca (Birel ART Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing) snatches the fifth position, while Arvid Lindblad (SP Motorsport - KR - TM Racing) is ranked eighth.


• In the middle between Bertuca and Lindblad are Arthur Carbonnel (CRG Racing Team - CRG - TM Racing) and Samuel Luyet (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), sixth and seventh respectively. Finally, the Top 10 sees Valentino Fritsch (Birel ART Racing KSW - Birel Art - TM Racing), ninth, and the reigning European KZ2 champion Tom Leuillet (Leclerc by Lennox Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), tenth.


• Good performance also for Norton Andreasson (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), 11th, followed by Arthur Lehouck (CPB Sport - Sodi - TM Racing), 12th, Jorge Pescador (CRG Racing Team - CRG - TM Racing) , 13th, Matteo Spirgel (CPB Sport - Sodi - TM Racing), 14th, and Robert Kindervater (Birel ART Racing KSW - Birel Art - TM Racing), 15th.


• Uphill weekend for the reigning champion of the KZ2 category of the WSK Euro Series Giuseppe Palomba (Birel ART Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing): the Italian does not go beyond the 44th position. A little ahead of him is Alessio Piccini (Birel ART Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), third in Cremona in the second round of the European Championship and first in the free practice of group 4 on Friday morning: in the general he is 37th.

KZ2 Masters: Jeroen Bos records his first absolute pole

• It is Jeroen Bos (Solgat Motorsport - Birel Art - TM Racing) who conquered the first ever pole position in the new KZ2 Masters category, established this year by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for drivers over the age of 35. The Dutchman records the best time of 1: 07.445 in qualifying group 2.


• The hosts Eric Ramon (CPB Sport - Sodikart - TM Racing), the fastest in group 1 (1: 07.941), and Charles Fiault (Herve Leret - Sodi - TM Racing), second in group 2, are placed behind by Jeroen, second and third respectively.


• Davide Foré (Renda Motorsport - Birel Art - TM Racing), four times world champion, welcomes this new international challenge with open arms and settles in fourth position in qualifying.


• Sebastiano De Matteo is fifth, followed by Johan Renaux (Johan Renaux - Redspeed - TM Racing), sixth, Thierry Delré (Thierry Delré - Mach 1 - Modena Engines), seventh, Nick De Brujin (Falcon Racing Team - Falcon - IAME), eighth, Jordon Musser (Solgat Motorsport - Birel Art - TM Racing), ninth, and Thomas Letailleur (Thomas Letailleur - Sodi - TM Racing), tenth.

Academy: Arthur Dorison emerges in the rain

• The rain appears suddenly (and copiously) during qualifying for the FIA ​​Karting Academy Trophy, so much so that the drivers in the first round have to race on a wet track with dry tires. This benefits group 2, from which Arthur Dorison emerges in pole position with a best time of 1: 09.382.


• Nikolas Roos, on the other hand, is the most able to extricate himself from the many difficulties in wet conditions in group 2 and obtains the second position in the combined classification. Iwo Beszterda closes 225 thousandths of a second from Dorison and is third, while fourth is Aleksandar Bogunovic.


• The ranking continues with Nando Weixelbaumer, fifth, William Go, sixth, Riccardo Leone Cirelli, seventh, Mees Houben, eighth, Tiziano Kuzhnini, ninth, and Mark Dubnitski, tenth.


• Championship leader Guillaume Bouzar closes his qualifications 14th, avoiding taking unnecessary risks in group 1. Even 41st Matias Orjuela, momentarily second in the points classification.

©Photo: Sportinphoto