Three Australians are contesting the fourth and final round of the European Championships for OK and OK-Junior at Franciacorta, Italy, this weekend.
Racing with the Shamick Europe team, Bradley Majman qualified his Parolin in the mid-field of the 76-strong OK Junior class. He then enjoyed several top ten results in the heats, but a couple of penalties have dropped his ranking to the point he’ll need a strong Super Heat to make the final.
Isaac McNeil is also competing in OK-J, ranked 63 after the heat racing. He posted on social media that he made a mistake in qualifying, then encountered an engine problem in the first heat. Dante Vinci is ranked 63rd in the OK class.
Aussie Wrap
Bradley Majman (Schamick Europe, Parolin /TM) – OK Junior
Q: 37 (of 76). Heats: 10, 7, 22(P), 26(P), 7. Ranking: 42.
Isaac McNeil (KR Motorsport, Kart Republic/IAME) – OK Junior
Q: 66 (of 76). Heats: 16, 19(P), 24(DNF), 17, 17. Ranking: 63.
Dante Vinci (Schamick Europe, Parolin /TM) – OK
Q: 62 (of 71). Heats: 23(DNF), 18, 16, 23(DNF), 17. Ranking: 63.
Watch The Finals
Sunday schedule
09:00 – 10:05: Warm-up
10:10 – 11:45: Super heats (6:10pm AEST)
13:15 – 14:40: Finals (9:15pm AEST)
- results and live stream via the FIA Karting website HERE (finals start tonight, 9:15pm AEST)
Scroll down for the FIA Karting reports from Friday & Saturday.
Friday (Qualifying) Report
The fourth and final round of the FIA Karting European Championships – OK and OK-Junior got off to a good start on Friday 8th July in Franciacorta (ITA). Qualifying Practice was particularly intense and provided some surprises. On a track that was already very slippery, two Frenchmen stood out. Jimmy Helias took the OK-Junior pole position while Enzo Deligny set a superb time at the head of the OK class.
The heat was rising rapidly on Friday lunchtime under the Franciacorta sun and the temperature was approaching 30°C at the end of the Qualifying session. The grip was already present on the racing line, and drivers needed to keep to it in order to keep a good speed in the corners. Several competitors complained that they had not been able to get a clear lap to give their best. Most drivers waited until the last moment to set off together for two or three fast laps to get the best out of their tyres, at the risk of being hindered by traffic.
HELIAS FASTEST AHEAD OF TYE
Pole man Jimmy Helias (FRA) was almost a tenth faster than his direct competitor Matias Orjuela (COL) in the second Qualifying session of the FIA European Karting Championship – OK-Junior with a remarkable second lap of 48’770. The first session was much closer with Championship leader Nathan Tye clocking 48’831 and seven drivers within a tenth of each other, including Alfie Slater who was second at 0.007 seconds. In 49”027 Kirill Dzitiev was the fastest in a third session that was generally slower. The performance of the Portuguese driver Maria Germano Neto, second by 5 hundredths, did not go unnoticed, especially as he was clearly ahead of Dmitry Matveev, third in the Championship. Third in Session 2, Anatholy Khavalkin, one of the two favourites for the title, finished in seventh position, slightly disappointed. Matveev was ninth, Rene Lammers (NLD), fifth in the provisional ranking, was 26th and Enzo Tarnvanichkul (THA), fourth in the ranking, was only 32nd against the clock. A slight strategic advantage for Tye in view of the title, but Khavalkin, better placed after the countdown of the worst results, remains in a strong position with Matveev in ambush not far away.
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Top five Qualifying: OK-Junior
1- Jimmy Helias (FRA)
2- Nathan Tye (GBR)
3- Kirill Dzitiev
4- Matias Orjuela (COL)
5- Alfie Slater (GBR)
DELIGNY STARTS STRONGLY
Currently fourth in the provisional standings of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK, Enzo Deligny (FRA) pulled off a great coup by taking pole position in Qualifying with a comfortable lead over his rivals. Thanks to his fastest lap of 46”754 in Session 1, the Frenchman was ahead of the fastest of Session 2, Nicolo Cuman (ITA) by 0,163” and Kean Nakamura-Berta (GBR), leader of Session 3 and second in the Championship, by more than 3 tenths. Alex Powell (JAM), third in the Championship, was on the right pace in Qualifying with his fourth position while Evan Giltaire (FRA) – fifth in the Championship – was 24th and Joe Turney (GBR), the leader of the ranking, only 30th in Qualifying. Another challenge for the Briton who is known for his ability to make up places in the race.
Top five Qualifying: OK
1- Enzo Deligny (FRA)
2- Nicolo Cuma (ITA)
3- Kean Nakamura-Berta (GBR)
4- Alex Powell (JAM)
5- David Walther (DNK)
Saturday (Heats) Report
A lot happened on the Italian circuit of Franciacorta during the thirty Qualifying Heats of the FIA Karting European OK and OK-Junior Championships. Attacks and overtaking were as numerous as the disappointments. Two drivers from the same team took the lead on Saturday evening. The faultless run of poleman Enzo Deligny (FRA) in OK echoed the rise of Anatholy Khavalkin to the top of the OK-Junior class.
The weather has remained fine and warm but not too hot since the Qualifying sessions, while the grip on the track has increased with each lap.
KHAVALKIN IN A GOOD POSITION
Not satisfied with his seventh place in Qualifying, Anatholy Khavalkin turned things around by winning four of his five Qualifying Heats in the FIA Karting European Championship – OK-Junior. He was followed by two drivers making strong progress. Jan Przyrowski from Poland regained 14 positions and reached second position while Enzo Tarnvanichkul from Thailand moved up from 32nd to third position. Thanks to three wins, Kirill Dzitiev (SWE) remained in a good position in fourth place ahead of Kirill Kutskov who took back 10 places. In sixth, the poleman Jimmy Helias (FRA) proved that he was one of the hopefuls to follow. Guillaume Bouzar (LUX) gained 24 places in seventh position.
Khavalkin was well placed in the Championship and his rating increased with the relative underperformance of his direct rival Nathan Tye (GBR), who was placed 14th due to a retirement with serious consequences. The same misfortune had also delayed Dmitry Matveev, third in the Championship, who was 13th on Saturday evening.
Anatholy Khavalkin said:
“Yesterday Qualifying went well (seventh), but I wanted to be first and I was not satisfied. So I pushed incredibly hard to come back. Only one victory out of the five races escaped me because of a small problem with the set-up, but my Parolin Racing Kart team did a great job. For the moment the situation suits me, the pressure doesn’t bother me and I am ready to fight for the title.“
ADVANTAGE DELIGNY IN OK
Fully focused on the race, the French driver Enzo Deligny made a great demonstration of his synergy with his equipment. He brilliantly won his five heats with a confounding ease. The Italian Nicolo Cuman proved to be a formidable rival with his four victories. The hierarchy from Qualifying was maintained in the top three of the heats with third place for the Briton Kean Nakamura-Berta. Maksim Orlov made a good comeback from eighth to fourth position, followed by Caspian Hagman (SWE) in tenth.
Deligny and Nakamura-Berta are in competition for the title since as the leader of the provisional ranking Joe Turney (GBR) did not come back as much as expected and is now 24th. Third in the Championship, Alex Powell (JAM) remains in the mix in terms of performance despite a retirement that caused him to drop down to 12th position. Finally, Evan Giltaire (FRA), fifth in the Championship, climbed 14 places to 10th in the heats.
Enzo Deligny commented: “Thanks to my pole position I managed to get a little bit of a lead at the start of each heat and race at the front. The Parolin chassis and the TM Racing engine were perfect for me to win all five heats. I hope it will continue in the same way on Sunday. I am confident.“
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