[Translated with Google]

Three weeks after the last round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, the protagonists of the OK and OKJ categories return to the track in Franciacorta (Italy) for the FIA Karting World Championship. There are 111 drivers registered in the "Senior" category, while 123 compete in the "Junior". They are also joined by the participants in the first edition of the Road to the OK-N World Cup, reserved for the new OK-N (with 33 drivers) and OKN-J (36) classes.

The usual qualifications took place on Friday, before continuing with the first qualifying heats, which will end on Saturday afternoon.

OK: first fabulous pole position for Mark Dubnitski

• This season, between Champions of the Future Euro Series and FIA Karting European Championship, he has not yet managed to finish a final on the podium, but Mark Dubnitski (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME) is ready to relaunch his 2023. In fact, the Estonian outclasses everyone in group 5, with a time of 47.294 seconds, and obtains the pole position of the "Senior".


• Watch out, however, for René Lammers (Parolin Motorsport – Parolin – TM). The new reigning European champion placed second, finishing at the top of group 2 with a time of 47.300 seconds. Gabriel Gomez (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME) is no exception either, third overall and first in group 4 (47.324 seconds).


• Good performance by Fionn MacLaughlin (VDK Racing – KR – IAME), the fastest in group 3 (47.380 seconds) and fourth at the end of qualifying. Despite his lack of international experience, Louis Iglesias (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME) took fifth place, first in group 1 (47.454 seconds).


• Olin Galli (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME), sixth, is the fourth CRG driver in the top six positions in the standings. Behind the Brazilian we find the host Nicolò Cuman (Forza Racing – Exprit – TM), seventh, and Kean Nakamura Berta (Prema Racing – KR – IAME).


• Also positioned at the top are: the winner of Round 1 of the WSK Euro Series, Tomass Stolcermanis (Energy Corse – Energy Corse – TM), in ninth place; the 2022 OKJ world champion, Enzo Tarnvanichkul (Prema Racing – KR – IAME), in tenth; finally, the new champion of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, Alex Powell (Prema Racing – KR – IAME), in 11th.


• The ranking continues with Arthur Poulain (AKM Motorsport – KR – IAME), 12th, Simone Bianco (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME), 13th, David Walther (Tony Kart Racing Team – Tony Kart – Vortex), 14th, and Emanuele Olivieri (Birel Art Racing – Birel Art – TM), 15th.


• Joseph Turney (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) stops in 25th place. Danilo Albanese (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), the new reigning European KZ champion, is also taking part in the event: he is currently 48th. Matheus Morgatto (Birel Art Racing – Birel Art – TM) is in difficulty, 69th and certainly in an awkward position to defend his 2022 title.

OKJ: Christian Costoya launches his attack to the world title

• Since his debut in the “Junior” category, Christian Costoya (Parolin Motorsport – Parolin – TM) has yet to achieve a victory in an international race. The right opportunity seems to be the FIA Karting World Championship: the Spaniard, in fact, recorded the best time of 48.616 seconds in group 5 and thus achieved pole position.


• Second place in the combined qualifying ranking goes to the outsider Joel Pohjola (Kohtala Sports – Gillard – TM), capable of putting all the riders in the second group behind him with a time reference of 48.658 seconds.


• Having climbed onto the intermediate step of the podium during the WSK Euro Series, Taym Saleh (Sauber Academy – KR – IAME) confirmed himself among the fastest in Franciacorta: first in group 3 (48.781 seconds) and third overall.


• Among the top five we also find Noah Monteiro (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), at the top of group 4 (48.868 seconds) and fourth overall, and Jacob Micallef (Ward Racing – Tony Kart – Vortex), fifth thanks to the first position in the group 1 (49.096 seconds).


• Well done to Lewis Francis (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) to place himself in sixth position, ahead of the new European category vice-champion Thibaut Ramaekers (VDK Racing – KR – IAME), seventh. The recent WSK Super Master Series champion Stepan Antonov (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) also finds a place at the top of the rankings, eighth.


• The Top 10 also includes Henry Domain (Energy Corse – Energy Corse – TM) and Dries Van Langendonck (Forza Racing – Exprit – TM), ninth and tenth respectively. Followed by David Cosma-Cristofor (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), 11th, Filippo Sala (Ricky Flynn Motorsport – LN – TM), 12th, Sebastien Minns (VDK Racing – KR – IAME), 13th, Scott Marsh (Tony Kart Racing Team – Tony Kart – Vortex), 14th, and Mike Parhiala (Kohtala Sports – Gillard – TM), 15th.


• Scott Kin Lindblom (Tony Kart Racing Team – Tony Kart – Vortex), winner of the Franciacorta round of the WSK Euro Series, was more distant: 18th. 21st place for Lewis Wherrell (Forza Racing – Exprit – TM), triumphant at the Champions of the Future Euro Series three weeks ago. Just ahead of the Brit is Augustus Toniolo (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME), on the podium at the COTF held here on the Castrezzato circuit. Finally, Iacopo Martinese (KR Motorsport – KR – IAME) is 22nd.


• Sensational 67th place in the standings for Oleksandr Bondarev (Prema Racing – KR – IAME). The new European "Junior" champion thus begins his pursuit of the World title. Last place, however, went to Niklas Schaufler (DPK Racing – KR – IAME).

OK-N: Francesco Marenghi does the honors of the house

• Franciacorta has the honor of hosting the first edition of the Road to the OK-N World, organized in collaboration between FIA Karting and ACI Sport, and the qualifying ranking sees five Italian drivers in the top five positions. Francesco Marenghi (Modena Kart – Parolin – TM) signed the pole position in 49.64 seconds, beating his compatriot Nicholas Tomasella (MLG Racing), second, by 55 thousandths of a second.


• Antonio Apicella (Team Driver Racing Kart – KR – IAME) achieved third place, followed by Lamberto Ferrari (FK Motorsport – IPK – Modena Engines), fourth, and Federico Rossi (PRK – Tony Kart – TM), fifth.


• Alex Machado (TB Kart Racing Team – TB Kart – TM) is the first of the “non-Italian” patrol, sixth. Also in the Top 10 are Robin Sarg (Novalux – Lenzokart – LKE), seventh, Maxime Geley (Geley Christophe – Sodikart – TM), eighth, Filippo Parmeggiani (Parmeggiani Patrick – Tony Kart – IAME), ninth, and Eric Cristian Enache ( DR – DR – Modena Engines), tenth.

OKN-J: Dean Hoogendoorn and Jesse Phillips are the fastest

• Not just OK-N: the "Junior" version of the new category introduced by the Federation is also the protagonist in Franciacorta. Dean Hoogendoorn (AKM Motorsport – KR – IAME) was the fastest in 49.458, 17 thousandths of a second better than Jesse Phillips (Kidix Driver Performance – KR – IAME), second.


• Kais Aziza (Gamoto – Tony Kart – TM) is third, ahead of Iskender Zulfikari (Team Driver Racing Kart – KR – IAME), fourth, and Asher Ochstein (CRG Racing Team – CRG – IAME).


• Sixth Alex Molota (Firefly Racing Team – Exprit – TM), followed by Andrea Marsella (MLG Racing – Parolin – TM), seventh, Gino Rocchio (DR – DR – Modena Engines), eighth, Felipe Reijs (AKM Motorsport – KR – IAME ), ninth, and Bruno Gryc (MLG Racing – Parolin – TM), tenth.

©Photo: Sportinphoto