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The single-brand by Vortex comes to its penultimate round, run on the Franciacorta Karting Track circuit. The uncertain weather did not penalize the participation which was as always nourished.

Mini ROK

A real assault platoon made up of 29 Mini ROK drivers in the sixth and penultimate round of the ROK Cup Italia in Franciacorta.

To open the group of "very young" in qualifying is Filippo Pancotti, the fastest with a time of 55,825, 58 thousandths less than Davide Bottaro, his teammate in A.v. Racing. Zeyu Shen and Esteves Riven Redondo occupy the second row, instead the third goes into the hands of Bruno Gryc and Matteo Melis. Fourth row for Alex Desario and Michelangelo Riva, fifth for Lorenzo Coletto and Nicolas Marchesi, sixth for the two Stefano, Ferrari and Zamponi. To follow we find: Giulio Mazzolini, Franciszek Szymon, Ludovico Mazzola, Maximilian Pilch, Anh Tu Ranghetti, Francesco Koci, Mario Zaccaria, Oliver Zwinger, Dario Palazzolo, Marlon Ebner, Shield Shae Scott, Ettore Sanesi, Smuk Mitosz, Kacper Bonder, Nicolas Loffler, Davide Pretosi and Kimi Karakilic.

Race 1 is initially postponed due to rain, pending more favorable weather conditions. Once the clouds disappeared, the Mini ROK “pilots” tackle the wet track with great courage: only Bottaro, unfortunately, is forced not to take off. Pancotti maintains firm leadership on the first lap, with Gryc and Shen in the role of the first rivals. However, Pancotti is good at outpacing his rivals who, instead, begin to form a train. To make their way are Zamponi and Melis, who move up to second and third position, but the victory is for Pancotti. Riva comes fourth, third before the last lap, just behind Zamponi and Melis.

Unlike Race 1, Race 2 is run on a completely dry track. From pole position due to the reversal of the grid, Mitosz is perfect at the start, but after a few corners he does not contain Mazzola. The Pole of St Racing Maranello Polska does not let go and takes the lead again on lap 2, ahead of Pancotti, Shen and Mazzola. Pancotti overtakes Mitosz on lap 3 and offsets his opponent who, in the meantime, is also fighting with Mazzola and Riva. On the last lap, Mazzola got the better of Mitosz. Riva also tries to overtake at the last hairpin, but hits the Pole. Pancotti wins 2 seconds ahead of Redondo, second, and Melis earns third place. Mazzola, on the other hand, is penalized by 5 seconds for the front fairing in the incorrect position.

With one more round available, Riva is first with 304 points, followed by Melis in second position with 280 points and by Desario in third with 231 points.

Junior ROK

Great participation at the Franciacorta weekend in the Junior ROK, powered by the ROK GP Junior by Vortex engine: 29 drivers at the start of the class reserved for young drivers aged between 11 and 15 years.

Samuele Leopardi of Zanchi Motorsport gets the pole position in 49.668 ahead of Riccardo Ianniello, second less than two tenths. In the second row we find Giacomo Maman and Davide Larini, in third Max Habicht and Mattia Vischi, in fourth Francesco Perfetti and Moritz Korbelik, followed by Iwo Beszterda and Roman Bushuev.

Behind them, we find then, in order: Mattia Jentile, Marcus Neugebaurer, Sergio Koch, Luca Perelli, Nicolò Coppotelli, Alessandro Antonelli, Adrian Matteo Martinz, Lorenzo Bedetti, Aleksander Wojcicki, Colin Wurthenberger, Antoni Bal, Alexander Panaev, Tobias Miroslav Rocca, Chiara Bolognini, Alessandro Pacini, Victor Renè Gelindo Mele, Michael Maggi, Alessandro Zucco and Federico Potena.

Race 1, which takes place on a dry track under a bright sun, sees Leopardi keep his first place steady at the start. Ianniello starts badly from the outside line and slips fourth, but quickly recovers up to second place to do battle with the leader of the race, Leopardi. On lap 4, the KGT Motorsport team rider overtakes the Zanchi Motorsport driver, but the latter responds on lap 6 and regains leadership. A spectacular overturning by Bedetti, fortunately without consequences, forced the race direction to display the red flag. The race resumes after two laps of launch under the yellow flag and it is at that moment that Ianniello gets the better of Leopardi who, however, does not give up and places the winning overtaking at the last bend of the last lap, thus winning the race in front of Ianniello and to Maman.

The weather changes in Race 2, with completely wet asphalt for the protagonists of the Junior ROK. Antonelli, in pole position due to the reversal of the first 8 positions on the starting grid, maintains the position chased by Ianniello, Vischi and Beszterda. Ianniello is irrepressible: he scores the fastest lap and takes the lead in front of Antonelli, who is also overtaken by Leopardi who takes second place. The two engage in a new fight made up of overtaking and counter-overtaking. This time, however, it is Ianniello who wins with a nice maneuver at the last bend. Habicht comes in the wake of the first two, but is penalized by 5 seconds and is relegated to fourth place. On the lowest step of the podium Maman then climbs again.

One round from the conclusion, Habicht leads the championship standings with 293 points, ahead of Kiana Naude (absent from Franciacorta) with 226 points and Perelli with 183 points.

Senior ROK

The starting grid of the penultimate round of the ROK Cup Italia is rich for the ROK Senior category, reserved for karts powered by the single-speed ROK GP engine.

Starting from qualifying, the game is played on the edge of thousandths: Leonardo Megna of Zanchi Motorsport signs the pole position in 48,637, but his teammate Andrea Ladina is second just 67 thousandths away. Eliseo Donno, of Kgt Motorsport, is only 1 thousandth from second place while Pietro Ragone di Marra61 is fourth at 92 thousandths from the top. Levin Lovrenovic and Maximilian Tarillion occupy the third row, followed by Gabriele Fiume and Simone Deriù in fourth, Riccardo Monti and Victor Martin Odin in fifth, Daniele Federici and Mattia Chiurato in sixth and Daniele Demartis and Matteo Bellandi in seventh. Alfredo Chiozzone, Gabriele Cucinotta, Michael Alessandro Di Piazza and Riccardo Franciosi complete the starting grid, while Michele Zampieri does not take to the track.

In a Race 1 run on a dry track, Megna maintains the lead from the start, unlike Ladina who drops to fourth position, overtaken first by Donno and then by Lovrenovic. Donno takes advantage and wins first place during the 2nd lap, ahead of Ladina, who has risen to second place, and Megna. Donno does not find the opportunity to run away and the first four form a compact group, but the positions remain unchanged until the finish line. Victory for Donno, with Megna and Ragone occupying the remaining steps of the podium, while Fiume is fourth ahead of the penalized Ladina.

Semi-dry track, on the other hand, for Race 2. Chiurato inherits the pole position due to the inversion of the grid and leads the 1st lap ahead of Donno and Megna. The wall of the Italian driver did not last long: the standard bearers of Zanchi Motorsport and Kgt Motorsport passed in front and began an exciting duel won, this time, by Megna. Donno takes an excellent second place, while Demartis, who started second, climbs to the lowest step of the podium. Too bad for Chiurato, who slipped into the bottom.

With a third and a fifth place, Ragone maintains the first position in the general classification with 353 points, ahead of Ladina, with 301 points, and Demartis, with 267 points.

Expert ROK

The “greats” of the Expert ROK take to the track also in the penultimate round of Franciacorta and enliven the weekend by racing together with the Senior ROK category.

In the morning qualifying, Marco Chiari is clearly the fastest in the category, with a time of 49.815, followed by Gianluca Todeschini and Wojtek Stadnik to battle for second place: at the end of the time trial it is the Italian who precedes the Pole, right for a few thousandths. Finally, Piergiuseppe Di Landro is fourth, not too far from his opponents.

Chiari sprints well in Race 1 and remains steadfast in the lead up to the checkered flag, without taking unnecessary risks from the point of view of the championship. The fight starts in second position, always with the usual Todeschini and Stadnik: the Pole overtakes the Italian immediately at the start and ends with two seconds ahead of his rival, third. Di Landro observes his opponents from afar and reaches the finish line in fourth position.

After the heavy rain that precedes the start, Race 2 of the Expert ROK takes place on slightly wet asphalt, but which dries progressively and in a short time. Di Landro has an excellent sprint and passes to the command of the race, chased by Chiari, Todeschini and Stadnik. Di Landro resisted for three laps in the lead, until he gave way to the faster Chiari. Meanwhile, Stadnik got the better of his eternal rival Todeschini, who was forced to retire at the end of lap 6. Chiari takes off towards the second victory of the weekend, with Stadnik able to overtake Di Landro, an overtaking that earns him the second position.

Chiari continues his excellent journey in the league: the Italian increases his tally in the standings with another 91 points, reaching 383 in total. Tino Donadei and Angelo Ardito, absent in this round, however, remain in second and third position, respectively with 200 and 189 points.

Super ROK

Exciting challenges and twists in the sixth and penultimate round of the Super ROK, the most performing category of single-speed karts thanks to the DVS engine.

Competitiveness is skyrocketing from qualifying, with Domenico Cicognini able to set the best time of 47.741, one-tenth and a half better than the time set by Leonardo Cesaretti of Innovate Competition. Lyon Mathur, the second driver of Innovate Competition, is third, followed by Lynn Neuhaus in fourth position. Alessandro Bruni and Tommaso Nonini form the third row, with Manuel Gritti closing the group. Timeless Matteo Chiari, therefore eighth and alongside Gritti on the starting grid.

The protagonists of the Super ROK ignite Race 1. At the start, Cicognini immediately runs away from the lead, unlike his rival Cesaretti who, on the other hand, is even relegated to sixth position. Unfortunately, the Innovate Competition driver takes off from the pits after two laps and retires, together with Bruni who is forced to park his kart on the track. Cicognini continues to lead the heat, but the Italian is under investigation by the race officials. Neuhaus and Chiari, on the other hand, are the protagonists of an accident with three laps to go. At the end of the race, Cicognini receives a 10-second penalty and relegates to third position. This opens the doors to victory for Mathur, first with about three seconds ahead of Gritti, second. Zugnoni is fourth, behind Cicognini.

Dry, but under cloudy skies, Race 2. This time Cesaretti starts from the front and immediately takes off in first position, with Neuhaus finishing second. Followed by Cesaretti able to insert both Chiari and Neuhaus. The twist comes on lap 5: Cesaretti slows down dramatically and is out of the race. Cicognini then leaps to the lead and never leaves the position until the checkered flag. With a nice maneuver at the last bend, Mathur overtakes Chiari and finishes second, just ahead of the Italian, third. Neuhaus finished fourth, followed by Bruni, Gritti and Nonini.

Taking advantage of the absence of Gaia Cardinali in Franciacorta, Manuel Gritti continues to lead the overall championship standings with 277 points, against 226 for his direct rival. Nonini is third with 173 points.

ROK Shifter

The shifter karts, powered by Shifter ROK, are also speeding along the Franciacorta circuit.

The qualifications immediately show the high level of competition present in the category with eight drivers enclosed in less than a second. Mattia Sergio Limena records the best time: 47.518, 23 thousandths better than Davide Cordera, second. Alessio Foresto is also very close, third at about a tenth from pole position, then in fourth position we find Mattia Rossetti while in fifth is Alessandro Tagliacollo. Cristian Curti is sixth, Piersilvio Barel and Francesco Giuseppe Tovo close in the fourth row.

Race 1 sprints under a sky covered with threatening clouds. At the start, Cordera starts well, unlike poleman Limena and Foresto who let Rossetti and Tagliacollo pass. Foresto recovers the lost positions and moves to second place, complete with a fast lap followed by Limena who climbs to third place. The joke, however, comes on lap 12: suddenly, the rain hits the Franciacorta track and the marshals must, of necessity, wave the red flag and suspend the race. Cordera wins, ahead of Limena and Foresto.

Once the clear skies are back, Race 2 sees a super shot by Curti from third to first, but Foresto also starts well and is second after a few corners. For Curti, however, there is a penalty of 5 seconds for early departure, but this does not prevent the W-k Corse driver from keeping a stomping Foresto at bay. On lap 5, Foresto finds his way through the last hairpin, takes the lead and flies straight to victory. Curti crosses the finish line second, but with the penalty falls fourth. Thus, Limena is promoted to second position, ahead of Tagliacollo, third. Rossetti and Cordera, fifth and sixth respectively, are also penalized with 5 seconds on the final time.

In the general classification, Limena remains in the lead with 312 points, while at 270 points we find Foresto. Cordera follows in third position with 238 points.

Press Release © OTK Kart Group