The 2021 international karting season opens at Adria Karting Raceway (Italy) with the WSK Champions Cup. Full entry list in all four categories for the first round organized by WSK Promotion, with a total of 337 drivers: MINI (116), OKJ (101), OK (66) e KZ2 (54).

In the days before the race (16-17 February) the collective pre-season tests were held in Adria. Qualifying practice took place on Friday, immediately followed by the eliminatory heats that continue until the end of Saturday (Sunday for MINI).

KZ2: Adrien Renaudin puts Sodikart back in front

• Adrien Renaudin (Sodikart - Sodikart - TM Racing) takes the first Pole Position of the year. The French driver is the fastest driver in the first group, with the best lap of 47.540; he is far better than the Sodikarts on the track. Senna van Walstijn (CPB Sport - Sodikart - TM Racing), third in the 2020 WSK Open Cup, is fourth in the same group, +0.180 from Renaudin.


• Danilo Albanese (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) is the best of the second group with 47.557, slightly slower than Renaudin. The Italian, second in the 2020 WSK Open Cup, clearly outstrips the reigning European KZ2 champion Viktor Gustaffson (Leclerc by Lennox Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), behind him with a 0.270 delay.


• Further back in the general classification, Stan Pex (KR Motorsport - KR - TM Racing), winner of the WSK Open Cup, is 13th. The Dutchman recorded a best time of 47,860, preceded by his teammate Juho Valtanen (KR Motorsport - KR - TM Racing) in the first qualifying group.


• In the first race with Parolin Motorsport, Francesco Celenta (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing) takes the third overall position with 47.606. Slavik Putiatin (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing) is 25th.


• At the top of the ranking we also find Praga Kart with Tom Leuillet (Praga Racing Team - Prague - TM Racing) in fifth position, followed by Energy Corse with Martijn van Leeuven (Energy Corse - Energy Corse - TM Racing). The Maranello chassis are also in the top ten with Fabian Federer (SRP Racing Team - Maranello - TM Racing).


• Simo Puhakka (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), reigning champion of the WSK Super Master Series, did not shine particularly. The Finn of Tony Kart Racing Team is ninth, ahead of Arthur Carbonnel (CPB Sport - Sodikart - TM Racing) who occupies the tenth place. The other Tony Kart driver, Pedro Hiltbrand (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), qualifies 14th.


• There are three returns from the single-seaters: Giorgio Carrara (Novalux Racing Team - Lenzokart - TM Racing), after a 2019 spent between Italian Formula 4 and FIA Formula 3, is 35th; Pietro Delli Guanti (Pietro Delli Guanti - Birel Art - TM Racing), who will debut in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, is 34th; Josef Knopp (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), with a 2020 season in German Formula 4, is 37th.

OK: amazing debut for Arvin Lindblad, first ahead Andrea Kimi Antonelli

• A positive debut for Arvin Lindblad (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) in the OK category. After winning the WSK Super Master Series’ title in 2020 and the 2nd place in the WSK Open Cup in the OKJ class, the British licensed driver takes the Pole Position, finishing at the top of the first group with 48.102.


• Three Kart Republic’s chassis in the first four positions. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME), European and WSK Euro Series champion (both in the OK category), finishes behind his teammate Lindblad, in his first appearance on the track after the accident at the World Championship in Portimao which had broken his leg. The Italian stands out in the second group, where he achieves 48.237. Rafael Camara (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME), with 48.437, is fourth in the general classification.


• Tuukka Taponen (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex) divides the KR best drivers’ group in two. The Finn, in his second race in OK, grabs an excellent third position and does even better than his more experienced teammate, Joseph Turney (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), who is the second-best driver of Tony Kart Racing Team: eighth.


• Forza Racing takes fifth place in the general classification with Nikolas Pirttilahti (Forza Racing - Exprit - TM Racing). Brando Badoer (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) is seventh on his debut, after a 3rd place in the WSK Super Master Series and a 2nd place in the WSK Euro Series last year, both in the OKJ category. The Italian was preceded in sixth position by Tymoteusz Kucharczyk (Birel Art Racing - RK - TM Racing).


• Ugo Ugochukwu (Sauber Orlen Karting Team - KR - IAME), also a rookie from OKJ, is 9th, followed by James Wharton (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing), 10th. Good start for Nicola Lacorte (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME), after making the transition from OKJ.


• Callum Bradshaw (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex), the reigning world champion, who finished 32nd in the general classification, is called to a comeback.

OKJ: Ricky Flynn Motorsport resumes the journey with Maxim Rehm’s pole

• The season starts again in the name of Ricky Flynn Motorsport. After the win with Freddie Slater (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - Kosmic - Vortex) in the WSK Open Cup last November, the British team takes the Pole Position with Maxim Rehm (Ricky Flynn Motorsport - Kosmic - Vortex), that sets a time of 49.979 in the third group. Slater qualifies 19th.


• No one else besides Rehm did not break the 50-second barrier, except Berta Kean Nakamura (Forza Racing - Exprit - TM Racing), in the same group as the German. The Japanese is beaten by only 0.004, but in the general classification, which crosses the results of the various groups, is "only" fourth.


• Tigran Bunatyan (Team Komarov - Tony Kart - TM Racing) and Dmitry Matveev (KR Motorsport - KR - IAME) finish respectively at the top of second and first group. Bunatyan sets 50.020, consequently preceding his compatriot who, instead, gets 50.137.


• Antonio Apicella (Team Driver Racing Kart - KR - IAME) and Lucas Fluxa (KidiX - KR - IAME) occupy the sixth “virtual” row. Maksim Orlov (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing) qualifies 7th and is the best of the Parolin drivers; behind him, 8th, Harley Keeble (Tony Kart Racing Team - Tony Kart - Vortex) is the first name in the general of Tony Kart official drivers.


• Miguel Costa (Sauber Orlen Karting Team - KR - IAME) and Rashid Al Dhaheri (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing) hit the top ten. Maciej Gladysz (Sauber Orlen Karting Team - KR - IAME), winner of the WSK Open Cup in the MINI category and rookie of the OKJ, is 14th.

MINI: Emanuele Olivieri takes first pole position

• The first round of the year reaches the incredible number of 116 entries in the MINI category.


• With the best lap in 54.758, Emanuele Olivieri (Formula K Serafini – IPK – TM Racing) stands out in front in the general classification. The Italian driver, first in the fourth group, is just 0.052 ahead of Dries van Langendonk (Birel Art Racing - Birel Art - TM Racing), the fastest in the second group.


• In addition to Olivieri and van Langendonk, only two other drivers break the 55-second barrier: Kilian Josseron (Team Driver Racing Kart - KR - IAME), third in the general classification, and René Lammers (Babyrace Driver Academy - Parolin - IAME), fifth; the Dutchman finished third in the WSK Open Cup and is the reigning champion of the WSK Euro Series. In the middle, in fourth position, we find Griffin Peebles (Team Driver Racing Kart - KR - Iame) who precedes everyone in the first group, but with 55.159.


• Continuing with the general classification: Jindrich Pesl (Babyrace Driver Academy - Parolin - IAME), 6th; Andy Charles Victor Consani (Team Driver Racing Kart - KR IAME), 7th, Alfie Slater (Energy Corse - Energy Corse - TM Racing), 8th, Hugo Martiniello (Energy Corse - Energy Corse - TM Racing), 9th, Jan Przyrowsky (AV Racing - Parolin - TM Racing), 10th. Tiziano Monza (Sauber Orlen Karting Team - KR - IAME) is 30th, after a good performance in the 2020 WSK Open Cup.


• A qualifying to forget for Christian Costoya (Parolin Motorsport - Parolin - TM Racing), that will start from the back of the grid due to the chain breaking during the first lap.

©Photo: Sportinphoto