Two Australians finished inside the top ten at the second round of the WSK Super Master Series at Franciacorta, Italy, on the weekend.
William Calleja (Mini) and Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (Mini Under 10) both finished ninth. In a fantastic show of speed, Eskandari-Marandi had earlier qualified fastest, but penalties in a heat race and the pre-final dropped the former Australian champion down the order.
Lewis Francis (OKJ) and Dante Vinci (OK) also made it through to the finals, Francis taking 25th after an off-track excursion dropped him to the rear at the start.
- full results are HERE
Aussie Wrap
William Calleja (Mini – Parolin Motorsport, Parolin/TM) – Q: 18 (of 73). Heats: 11, 18, 15, 5. Pre-Final B: 4. Ranking: 10. Final: 9th.
Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (Mini Under 10 – Tony Kart Racing Team, Tony Kart/Vortex) – Q: 1 (of 48). Heats: 5, 8, 24 (penalty). Pre-Final B: 13 (pen). Ranking: 16. Final: 9th.
Lewis Francis (OKJ – KR Motorsport, KR/IAME) – Q: 25 (of 104). Heats: 13, 11, 10, 43, 9. Pre-Final B: 10. Ranking: 22. Final: 25th.
Jenson Burns (OKJ – Shamick Europe, Parolin/TM) – Q: 61 (of 104). Heats: 24, 41, 19, 22, 25. Pre-Final A: 32 (pen). Ranking: 66. Final: DNQ.
Jaxson Burns (OKJ – Shamick Europe, Parolin/TM) – Q: 66 (of 104). Heats: 24, 38, 18, 18, 32. Pre-Final A: 33 (pen). Ranking: 67. Final: DNQ.
Dante Vince (OK – Ricky Flynn Motorsport, LN Kart/Vortex) – Q: 14 (of 71). Heats: 23, 11, 17. Pre-Final B: 7. Ranking: 17. Final: 18th.
Xavier Avramides (Leclerc by Lennox Racing, BirelART/TM) – Q: 51 (of 71). Heats: 20, 35, 31. Pre-Final B: 20. Ranking: 46. Final: DNQ.
Fantastic event highlights video, below:
official WSK report
Spectacular Finals in Franciacorta
The second round of the WSK Super Master Series, held at the Franciacorta Karting Track, was also a great event, with an extraordinary lineup of 361 drivers from 53 countries, racing with the major international teams. Even in this second event, they offered exceptionally competitive performances.
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All 58 races in the MINI, OKJ, OK, and KZ2 categories were exciting, from qualifications to Prefinals and Finals. Several emerging young talents stood out, making the championship classifications even more dynamic after this second race.
The winners of the Prefinals
These are the winners of the Prefinals run on Sunday morning:
OK-Junior
– Prefinal-A: Iacopo Martinese (ITA) (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega);
– Prefinal-B: Filippo Sala (ITA) (Sodikart-Sodi-TM-Vega).
MINI Gr.3 Under 10
– Prefinal-A: Antoine Venant (BEL) (Kidix/KR-Iame-Vega);
– Prefinal-B: Michele Orlando (ITA) (IPK Official Racing Team/IPK-TM-Vega).
MINI Gr.3
– Prefinal-A: Noah Baglin (GBR) (iKart/KR-Iame-Vega);
– Prefinal-B: Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD) (Kidix/KR-Iame-Vega).
KZ2
– Prefinal-A: Tom Leuillet (FRA) (Tony Kart Racing Team/ Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega);
– Prefinal-B: Cristian Bertuca (ITA) (BirelArt Racing/BirelArt-TM-Vega).
OK
– Prefinal-A: Emanuele Olivieri (ITA) (IPK Official Team/IPK-TM-LeCont);
– Prefinal-B: René Lammers (NLD) (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM-LeCont).
The Finals
OKJ – Schaufler is penalyzed, while Antonov wins and takes the lead
The last lap of the race decided the finishing order of the OK-Junior’s Final, where the Austrian Niklas Schaufler (DPK Racing/KR-Iame-Vega) took the victory, with an excellent comeback by Stepan Antonov (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) who finished second. Lewis Wherrell (Forza Racing/Exprit-TM), who was in the lead from the start, finished third in the final sprint to the line. After the race, Schaufler received a 5s penalty for a previous maneuver that was not considered correct, and as a result, the rankings changed with Antonov winning over Wherrell.
The Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (Energy Corse/Energy-TM) finished in third place after a great comeback. The fourth place went to the winner of the Prefinal-B, the Italian Filippo Sala (Sodikart-Sodi-TM-Vega), who closed his effort ahead of the Colombian Salim Hanna Hernandez (Richy Flynn/LN Kart-Vortex). Schaufler ended 14th instead. Stepan Antonov took the lead of the standings.
- Stepan Antonov
- Lewis Wherrell (GBR)
- Dries Van Langendonck (BEL)
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Victory to Rea in the sprint to the line, but Venant leads the standings
The last corner decided the finishing order of the MINI Gr.3 Under 10’s Final. The Italian Achille Rea (CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM-Vega) took the lead in the last meters of the race, overtaking the Belgian Antoine Venant (Kidix/KR-Iame) who had won the Prefinal-A and had led the race from the start. The winner of the Prefinal-B, the Italian Michele Orlando (IPK Official Racing Team/IPK-TM-Vega), finished in third place. The fourth place went to the Frenchman Stan Fagot (Spirit-Racing/Parolin-TM) and the fifth place to the Swede Maximus Unt (Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM). Danil Kutskov (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) made an excellent comeback, gaining 15 positions. In the championship standings, Antoine Venant remains in the lead.
- Achille Rea (ITA)
- Antoine Venat (BEL)
- Michele Orlando (ITA).
MINI GR.3 – Arias Chavarri is surprising, but Hoogendoorn is the new leader
Exciting conclusion also for the MINI Gr.3, where the duel for victory involved the Spanish driver Bosco Arias Chavarri (Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) and the Turkish Iskender Zulfikari (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame). The young Spaniard prevailed in the last lap, while Zulfikari was forced to retire after leading for almost the entire race. The second place went to the Dutchman Dean Hoogendoorn (Kidix/KR-Iame), with the Chinese Zeyu Shen (AV Racing/Parolin-TM) ending in third position after an uneventful race. Vladimir Ivannikov (Gamoto/EKS-TM) finished in fourth place with a good comeback, ending ahead of the other AV Racing driver, the Italian Pietro Bagutti. Dean Hoogendoorn is now in the lead of the championship standings.
- Bosco Arias Chavarri (ESP)
- Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD)
- Zeyu Shen
KZ2 – Leuillet dominates, while Bertuca keeps the lead
The Frenchman Tom Leuillet (Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) dominated the final after also winning Prefinal-A. The race was influenced by some contacts, such as the one between two protagonists of the weekend, Giuseppe Palomba (BirelArt Racing/BirelArt-TM) and the Frenchman Emilien Denner (Sodikart/Sodi-TM), who was forced to retire. In the final stages, a race contact also involved the Dutchman Senna Van Walstijn (Sodikart/Sodi-TM) and the championship leader, the Italian Cristian Bertuca (BirelArt Racing/BirelArt-TM). At the end of the race, Van Walstijn, who had crossed the finish line in second place, was handed a one position penalty, so Bertuca moved up to second and Van Walstijn finished third. Among the top finishers, the Italian Francesco Celenta (Parolin Mortorsport/Parolin-TM) ended in fourth place after a comeback, and the Englishman Freddie Slater (BirelArt Racing/BirelArt-TM) in fifth. Bertuca remains on top of the championship standings.
- Tom Leuillet (FRA)
- Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
- Senna Van Walstijn (NLD)
OK – Walther takes the win and Egozi retains the lead
The Danish driver David Walther (Koski Motorsport/Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont) claimed the victory in a Final that he dominated from start to finish. The second position went to the French driver Jimmy Helias (Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex), who earned his second consecutive podium after that claimed in Lonato, while third place was secured by Thai driver Enzo Tarnvanichkul (Prema Racing/KR-Iame). The British driver Joe Turney (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) made a great comeback to finish in fourth place, ahead of René Lammers (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM), who was handed a one-position penalty. The Italian driver Emanuele Olivieri (IPK Official Team/IPK-TM), winner of the Prefinal-A, was also among the top performers. The American driver Luis James Egozi (Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) finished seventh in the Final. He kept the lead of the championship standings.
- David Walther (DNK)
- Jimmy Helias (FRA)
- Enzo Tarnvanichkul (THA)
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