KF & KFJ World Championships
| 2 October 2015 |
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The 2015 KF and KF-Junior World Championships have been run and won. Here's a four-part summary:
- Aussies in La Conca
- Photo Gallery
- CIK-FIA event wrap
- Videos of the Finals
Aussies in La Conca
Three Australian drivers ventured to Italy. It was a very tough campaign. Unfortunately, none made the finals and two had to withdraw due to rib injuries. The comments below come from their respective Facebook pages. KA wrap can be found HERE.
Aaron Cameron - 2015 KF-Junior world championship was over about 7 laps into the pre final thanks to one driver who pushed me off track and very close to a steel fence right where all the mechanics were. We also had some sort of technical problem from the first heat onwards that made us very bad in the mid range! But it was an amazing couple of weeks - can't thank the whole Kartronix International crew enough for getting everything up to scratch for all the races. Hopefully I will be back next year racing in Europe! Also would like to thank my mum and dad for letting me do this event, sorry I couldn't get the result we were looking for in the final but wow it has been awesome meeting so many great drivers over here!
pic - Aaron Cameron Racing / Facebook
Ryan Suhle - Unfortunately, we would like to inform everyone that we won't be competing in the 2015 CIK FIA World Championships. A side on impact has injured the left hand rib area, sufficient enough that we are heading to the hospital. It began to rain on one half of the circuit as we were heading down the straight unaware in FP2, leading to misjudgment of the corner, and the kart aquaplanning straight into the wall at a speed of over 100kph. We would like to thank everyone for their support.
pic - JT Motorsport/Facebook
Josh Tynan - Well that was an experience and three quarters. In a nut shell I ended up pulling out of heat four and the last chance heat because of my ribs. Was hoping a better rib vest would help but the damage was done. Entirely different level over here with budgets, laps, teams etc. I knew it was going to be grippy but what comes with the grip is crazy force through the wheel, unbelievable cornering pace, the toll on the body etc etc that unfortunately in Australia you can't really prepare for. The only thing that worked was my lead helmet training back home 3 weeks before I left because my neck's the only thing that is still alive. I slowly got better and more consistent with each session but I struggled when everyone put new tyres on. When the track was more free was when I would do my best times. The best I got was 6 tenth off Basz. Which in one sense to have 5 new sets of tyres through the race weekend to others 15 or 20 sets plus the previous 1000 sets I can take a little bit of something away. But it's not what I came over for. So to auto racing tours, and the people that donated towards me getting over here to give it a solid crack, I apologise for how it ran and ended. But I do appreciate everybody that supported me to get here. I can honestly say with the 4 days of practice I had that came with the loss of limbs, bruises, bandaged hands and bloody sore ribs etc, I gave it the best crack i could. Would have been nice to race with a fresh body but not the case when you're not used to it. Thanks again everyone.
pic - Josh Tynan Motorsport/Facebook
Photo Gallery
Above: Karol Basz (POL, right) & Logan Sargeant (USA), 2015 CIK-FIA World KF & KF-Junior Champions
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Karol Basz 2015 CIK-FIA World KF Champion
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Jordon Lennox-Lamb (GBR), 2nd in the 2015 CIK-FIA World KF Championship
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Nicklas Nielsen (DNK), 3rd in the 2015 CIK-FIA World KF Championship
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: KF podium (L to R) Jordon Lennox-Lamb (GBR), Karol Basz (POL), Nicklas Nielsen (DNK)
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Tom Joyner (GBR), 3rd in the KF Pre-Final
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Karol Basz (POL), 1st in the Qualifying Heats Overall
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: KF Pre-grid of the Final
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: KF Start of the Pre-Final
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Logan Sargeant (USA), 2015 CIK-FIA World KF-Junior Champion
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Logan Sargeant
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Clément Novalak (FRA), 2nd in the 2015 CIK-FIA World KF-Junior Championship
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Caio Collet (BRA), 3rd in KF Junior
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: KF Junior podium (L to R) Clément Novalak (FRA), Logan Sargeant (USA), Caio Collet (BRA)
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Logan Sargeant (USA), 1st in the Qualifying Heats Overall
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Sebastian Fernandez Wahbeh (VEN), 2nd in the Qualifying Heats Overall, KF Junior
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Konsta Lappalainen (FIN), 1st in the Qualifying Practice Overall, KF Junior
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Presentation of Drivers
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Jarno Trulli (ITA) & Kees Van de Grint (NLD)
pic - CIK/KSP
Above: Mechanics
pic - CIK/KSP
CIK-FIA event wrap
It was not a big surprise to see Karol Basz and Logan Sargeant on the top step of the CIK-FIA World KF and KF-Junior Championship podiums at La Conca. Both Drivers were unquestionably the strongest in the last World Competition open to KF engines. However, the sporting confrontation was particularly intense during the three days of racing on the beautiful Italian track.
The weekend was finally spared the rain. Very well maintained, La Conca is a track that is perfectly adapted to global competition, seven years after the last World Championship held in southern Italy. Many media personnel and spectators brought the lustre required for such an event, taking place in a passionate atmosphere. True to the discipline that is fundamental to motorsport, the 1991 World Formula K Champion Jarno Trulli came back to award the victors their trophies and was highly acclaimed on the podium.
In sporting terms, 163 Drivers participated in the Competition, representing 35 nations and 5 continents, a slightly higher entry than the previous edition. Now well accepted, the regulations regarding the front fairings helped to calm the enthusiasm of the Juniors in the first Qualifying Heats, through the application of numerous 10 second penalties. In addition to the technical layout of the La Conca track, the high grip proved to be very selective, in terms of driving as well as fitness.
It is interesting to note that the two Champions crowned at La Conca have followed a similar path: slightly ahead during Qualifying Practice, they both took the lead during the Qualifying Heats before winning successively the Prefinal and Final. A great success for chassis from the OTK factory and for Vortex engines.
- full results are HERE
First world title for Karol Basz and the Kosmic Kart brand
Finally! This is the first word that comes to mind after the victory for Basz driving a Kosmic. A very experienced Driver in KF, the Pole Karol Basz (Kosmic Kart-Vortex-Vega) had never previously been recognized for his full strength, apart from winning the CIK-FIA International Super Cup in KF at Sarno 2013. Too often suffering setbacks on the road to victory, Basz remained cautious until the last laps of the Final: "Though I was more than three seconds ahead of my opponents, I was far from celebrating in advance," he confided. "I even adjusted by carburettor more than necessary so as not to risk a mechanical problem when I was finally going to reach the goal!" But this time fate did not intervene and he was able to experience the joy of winning the 2015 CIK-FIA World KF Championship. Racing his fisrt season with the Kosmic Racing Department managed by Olivier Maréchal, it was also the Italian brand's first global success
The contenders however were not lacking, starting with Nicklas Nielsen (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega), the lead Driver of the Tony Kart factory team. Leader of Qualifying Practice, the Dane proved very fast in the Qualifying Heats, but could not make the difference during the finals, his set-up appearing to be less effective. It must be said that a formidable trio of British Drivers upped the pace in the meantime. The most surprising of these was undoubtedly Jordon Lennox-Lamb (BirelART-Parilla-Vega), only ninth at the end of the Qualifying Heats, who came back to 2nd place in the Final, while Nielsen finished 3rd. Tom Joyner (Zanardi-TM Racing-Vega) and Ben Hanley (Croc Promotions-TM Racing-Vega), respectively 4th and 5th, were very involved in the fight in the leading group. Ranked 6th, the Dutchman Richard Verschoor (Exprit-Vortex-Vega) was the first representative of the younger generation.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Equipment | Gap | Best Lap |
| 1 | 7 | Basz, Karol | Kosmic Kart / Vortex / Vega | 45.843 | |
| 2 | 20 | Lennox-Lamb, Jordon | Birel Art / Parilla / Vega | 3.192 | 45.913 |
| 3 | 6 | Nielsen, Nicklas | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 4.348 | 45.85 |
| 4 | 2 | Joyner, Tom | Zanardi / TM Racing / Vega | 6.3 | 46.025 |
| 5 | 1 | Hanley, Ben | Croc Promotions / TM Racing / Vega | 6.938 | 45.995 |
| 6 | 3 | Verschoor, Richard | Exprit / Vortex / Vega | 9.295 | 45.904 |
| 7 | 12 | Hiltbrand, Pedro | CRG / Parilla / Vega | 9.522 | 46.091 |
| 8 | 9 | Van Leeuwen, Martijn | CRG / TM Racing / Vega | 12.072 | 45.994 |
| 9 | 51 | Sitnikov, Nikita | Tony Kart / TM Racing / Vega | 12.299 | 46.068 |
| 10 | 16 | Travisanutto, Lorenzo | Tony Kart / TM Racing / Vega | 12.397 | 46.084 |
| 11 | 22 | Valtanen, Juho | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega | 13.515 | 46.212 |
| 12 | 8 | Armstrong, Marcus | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 13.726 | 46.037 |
| 13 | 14 | Marcu, Dionisios | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 14.03 | 46.195 |
| 14 | 15 | Roes Andersen, Casper | FA Kart / Vortex / Vega | 14.123 | 46.189 |
| 15 | 34 | Baciuska, Rokas | Exprit / Vortex / Vega | 14.757 | 46.181 |
| 16 | 4 | Tiene, Felice | CRG / Parilla / Vega | 15.466 | 46.16 |
| 17 | 58 | Albano, Adriano | Tony Kart / TM Racing / Vega | 16.251 | 46.241 |
| 18 | 38 | Tillett, Archie | CRG / Parilla / Vega | 19.27 | 46.331 |
| 19 | 18 | Jochimsen, Andreas | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega | 19.438 | 45.988 |
| 20 | 53 | Lloveras Brunet, Xavier | Zanardi / TM Racing / Vega | 19.561 | 46.331 |
| 21 | 29 | Nerman, Hugo | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 21.816 | 46.391 |
| 22 | 26 | Dahlberg, Alexander | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 22.23 | 46.376 |
| 23 | 30 | Haaga, Anton | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 23.123 | 46.162 |
| 24 | 47 | Miyata, Ritomo | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 23.568 | 46.109 |
| 25 | 52 | Mavlanov, Denis | Tony Kart / TM Racing / Vega | 25.906 | 46.395 |
| 26 | 19 | Haapalainen, Tuomas | Croc Promotions / TM Racing / Vega | 26.952 | 46.256 |
| 27 | 27 | Moilanen, Aatu | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 3 Laps | 46.634 |
| 28 | 5 | Correa, Juan | Energy Corse / TM Racing / Vega | 13 Laps | 46.064 |
| 29 | 57 | Guazzaroni, Alessio | Intrepid / TM Racing / Vega | 13 Laps | 46.201 |
| 30 | 60 | Sorensen, Christian | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 14 Laps | 46.371 |
| 31 | 33 | Vigano, Matteo | Top Kart / Parilla / Vega | 19 Laps | 46.475 |
| 32 | 23 | Tiihonen, Niklas | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega | 24 Laps | 52.528 |
| 33 | 21 | Lorandi, Leonardo | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 25 Laps |
Logan Sargeant, a World Champion made in the USA
It is a long time since a US Driver has shone in a World Karting Championship. None in fact since 1978 and the victory of Lake Speed at Le Mans. The title of CIK-FIA World KF-Junior Champion won this weekend by Sargeant is a warning from across the Atlantic. The member of the team which had already won in 2014, Ricky Flynn Motorsport, Logan Sargeant (FA Kart-Vortex-LeCont) did not leave any hope for his opponents. Leader of the Qualifying Heats, he won both Prefinal 1 and the Final, always well detached ahead of his rivals in the battle to be runner-up. The most threatening was first his Venezuelan teammate Sebastian Fernandez Wahbeh (FA Kart-Vortex-LeCont), the winner of Prefinal 2. The presence of the Brazilians Felipe Drugovich (Kosmic-Vortex-LeCont) and Caio Collet (Kosmic-Vortex-LeCont ) and that of the Argentine Emiliano Giorgio Carrara (Luxor-LKE-LeCont) in the top 10 of the Qualifying Heats also showed the resurgence of South America at the highest level of Karting Competition. The French Driver Clement Novalak (Tony Kart / Vortex) fought for the 2nd place finish with the young and promising Collet. The Spaniard Sami Worship (FA Kart-Vortex-LeCont), another young talent, hoisted himself from 11th to 4th place. Unlike last year, the top three in the Championship, Sargeant, Novalak and Collet confirmed their intention to continue their career in karting next season. A wise choice!
| Rnk | No. | Driver | Equipment | Gap | Best Lap |
| 1 | 127 | Sargeant, Logan | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 46.321 | |
| 2 | 105 | Novalak, Clément | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 1.806 | 46.329 |
| 3 | 106 | Collet, Caio | Kosmic Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 2.229 | 46.326 |
| 4 | 116 | Worship, Sami | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 6.49 | 46.213 |
| 5 | 115 | Fernandez Wahbeh, Sebastian | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 9.967 | 46.426 |
| 6 | 122 | Petrov, Artem | DR / TM Racing / LeCont | 10.343 | 46.35 |
| 7 | 198 | Ponomarenko, Milen | Lenzokart / LKE / LeCont | 10.398 | 46.344 |
| 8 | 108 | Drugovich, Felipe | Kosmic Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 10.515 | 46.473 |
| 9 | 168 | Abrusci, Nicola | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 11.411 | 46.366 |
| 10 | 121 | Watt, Noah | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 12.461 | 45.96 |
| 11 | 102 | Martono, Presley | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 13.424 | 46.294 |
| 12 | 161 | Lombardo, Davide | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 14.435 | 46.349 |
| 13 | 104 | Garcia Lopez, Marta | FA Kart / TM Racing / LeCont | 15.73 | 46.392 |
| 14 | 113 | Yueyang, Sun | FA Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 17.657 | 46.41 |
| 15 | 189 | Aleksandrov, Nikita | DR / TM Racing / LeCont | 19.723 | 46.354 |
| 16 | 101 | Lundgaard, Christian | Energy Corse / TM Racing / LeCont | 20.369 | 46.355 |
| 17 | 120 | Wilson, Teddy | Zanardi / TM Racing / LeCont | 20.924 | 46.454 |
| 18 | 124 | Milesi, Charles | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 21.014 | 46.244 |
| 19 | 111 | Viscaal, Bent | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 21.072 | 46.471 |
| 20 | 132 | Petelet, Milane | Kosmic / Parilla / LeCont | 21.904 | 46.672 |
| 21 | 134 | De Pauw, Ulysse | Birel Art / Parilla / LeCont | 22.29 | 46.255 |
| 22 | 128 | Lappalainen, Konsta | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 23.804 | 46.494 |
| 23 | 167 | Colombo, Lorenzo | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 24.712 | 46.493 |
| 24 | 125 | Muizzuddin Musyaffa, Bin Abdul Jafar | CRG / Vortex / LeCont | 29.544 | 46.499 |
| 25 | 117 | Minang, Perdana Putra | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 35.03 | 46.506 |
| 26 | 139 | Jonusis, Justas | DR / TM Racing / LeCont | 35.936 | 46.751 |
| 27 | 160 | Ohlin, Simon | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 1 Lap | 46.312 |
| 28 | 144 | Alatalo, William | Croc Promotions / TM Racing / LeCont | 6 Laps | 47.019 |
| 29 | 112 | Lindh, Rasmus | Ricciardo Kart / Parilla / LeCont | 11 Laps | 46.16 |
| 30 | 138 | Legeret, Lucas | Birel Art / Parilla / LeCont | 12 Laps | 46.973 |
| 31 | 123 | Serravalle, Antonio | Tony Kart / Vortex / LeCont | 13 Laps | 46.988 |
| 32 | 107 | Quinn, Alex | CRG / Parilla / LeCont | 19 Laps | 48.036 |
| 33 | 178 | Fetisov, Bogdan | Tony Kart / TM Racing / LeCont | 21 Laps | |
| 34 | 181 | Lindfors, Thomas | Kosmic / Vortex / LeCont | 21 Laps |
Videos of the Finals
Coverage includes pre-grid, race and presentations.
Above: KF senior Final
Above: KF Junior Final
