William Calleja has finally broken through to win a WSK event in Europe! After several near-misses, the Victorian triumphed with a commanding performance in the 60cc Mini final at the concluding round of the WSK Super Masters Series at Cremona.
“P1!!! An amazing feeling to be on the WSK podium finally” Calleja posted. “I showed some great pace this weekend with heat wins and fastest lap in the final. Huge thanks to everyone at Babyrace. Thanks to the Aussies in Italy who always support me Shane, James, Robbie and Ian.”
Calleja’s effort overshadowed some other great results from the Australians. In Mini Under 10, Sebastian Eskandari just missed the podium in 4th (having earlier won his pre-final) while Xavier Avramides placed 8th (and took a heat win) in OK.
Lewis Francis was on the verge of qualifying for the OK Junior final, but dropped a chain in his pre-final.
The Aussie Wrap is below. Scroll down for the official WSK Sunday report and photos.
Event highlights video:
- Sunday’s full live steam is broken over several videos, which can be viewed on WSK YouTube HERE
- Full results are HERE.
Aussie Wrap
Mini (46 drivers)
- William Calleja (Babyrace, Parolin/TM)
Q: 5th. Ranking after heats: 2 (2 x heat wins). Pre-final B: 2. Final: 1st.
Mini Under 10 (49 drivers)
- Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (Tony Kart Racing Team, OTK/Vortex)
Q: 10th. Ranking after heats: 6. Pre-final B: 1st. Final: 4th.
OK Junior (81 drivers)
- Lewis Francis (KR Motorsport, KR/IAME)
Q: 19th. Ranking after heats: 36. Pre-Final B: 32 (DNF). Final: DNQ
OK (54 drivers)
- Xavier Avramides (KR Motorsport, KR/IAME)
Q: 7th. Ranking after heats: 11. Pre-Final A: 7. Final: 8th - Dante Vinci (Ricky Flynn Motorsport, LN Kart/Vortex)
Q: 13th. Ranking after heats: 35. Pre-Final A: 18. Final: 26th.
Champions of the WSK Super Master Series
The fourth and final round of the WSK Super Master Series at Cremona Circuit crowned its champions in the MINI, OKJ, OK and KZ2 categories, in an event that featured all the major manufacturers and top international teams, with 260 drivers from 54 nations.
It was undoubtedly a high-level, competitive weekend, with all championship standings still open to any result. In fact, there were some surprising outcomes, favored by some championship leaders who had negative situations during the qualifying stages.
After the morning Prefinals, the Finals, which were more thrilling than ever, finally determined the champions, who were Cristian Bertuca (KZ2), Luis James Egozi (OK), Stepan Antonov (OKJ), Iskender Zulfikari (MINI Gr.3) and Oleksandr Legenkyi (MINI Gr.3 Under 10).
The winners of the Prefinals.
The winners of the Prefinals held on Sunday morning were:
- OKJ
Prefinal-A: Filippo Sala (ITA) (#334 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart-Vega);
Prefinal-B: Stepan Antonov (#310 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega). - MINI Gr.3 Under 10
Prefinal-A: Albert Tamm (CHE) (#525 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega);
Prefinal-B: Sebastian Eskandari Marandi (AUS) (#551 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega). - MINI Gr.3
Prefinal-A: Bosco Arias Chavarri (ESP) (#505 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega);
Prefinal-B: Iskender Zulfikari (TUR) (#521 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega). - KZ2
Prefinal: Emilien Denner (FRA) (#121 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart-Vega). - OK
Prefinal-A: Thomas Strauven (BEL) (#226 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont);
Prefinal-B: Luviwe Sambudla (ZAF) (#264 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont).
The Finals
KZ2 – Viganò wins the Final, Bertuca the championship
In the championship duel between the leader, the Italian Cristian Bertuca (#101 Birel ART Racing/Birel ART-TM Kart-Vega), and the Frenchman Emilien Denner (#121 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart), the championship victory went to Bertuca with a third-place finish in the final behind Denner.
The victory in the Final, on the other hand, was claimed by an excellent Matteo Viganò, racing with the Leclerc by Lennox Racing team on a Birel ART-TM Kart. The other top positions in the final race went to Frenchman Tom Leuillet (#110 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) after a comeback, while the Dutchman Senna Van Walstjin (#122 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) finished fifth after being the best in the heats.
KZ2 Final Result:
1. Matteo Viganò (ITA)
2. Emilien Denner (FRA)
3. Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
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KZ2 Championship:
1. Bertuca (ITA) points 309
2. Denner (FRA) points 278
3. Viganò (ITA) points 234
OK – Strauven is the dominator, but Egozi wins the championship
The American Luis James Egozi (#204 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont), who was already leading the championship, managed to win it thanks to an excellent fourth place in the final after a comeback weekend. The star of the show in the final race was instead the Belgian Thomas Strauven (#226 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont), the main protagonist of this fourth round of the WSK Super Master Series, starting from pole position in the heats and securing the best position after the heats, as well as winning the Prefinal and Final. Also among the best was his teammate, the South African Luviwe Sambudla, who won the other OK Prefinal and secured P2 in the Final. The Italian Sebastiano Pavan was third (#205 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) as he finished ahead of Egozi, with Kirill Kutskov (#215 DPK Racing/KR-Iame) in fifth position.
OK Final Result:
1. Thomas Strauven (BEL)
2. Luviwe Sambudla (ZAF)
3. Sebastiano Pavan (ITA)
OK Championship:
1. Luis James Egozi (USA) points 291
2. Thomas Strauven (BEL) points 201
3. René Lammers (NLD) points 182
OKJ – Ramaekers wins the Final, Antonov the championship
From the third place in the championship, Stepan Antonov (#310 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega) managed to win the OKJ title thanks to an excellent performance this weekend where he secured the top spot in the rankings with his second place finish in the Final.
The final race was won by the Belgian Thibaut Ramaekers (VDK Racing/KA-Iame), while the third step of the podium went to Antonov’s teammate, the Romanian David Cosma Cristofor. The Italian Filippo Sala (#334 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) fought until the last meters for a podium position but had to settle for fourth place, still securing second place in the championship. The fifth place went to the Englishman Lewis Wherrell (#329 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart).
OKJ Final Result:
1. Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL)
2. Stepan Antonov
3. David Cosma Cristofor (ROU)
OKJ Championship:
1. Stepan Antonov points 256
2. Filippo Sala (ITA) points 211
3. Christian Costoya (ESP) points 172
MINI Gr.3 – Zulfikari is the champion, as Calleja wins the closing Final
With a win in the Prefinal and then a second place in the Final, the Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari (#521 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) managed to win the championship, narrowly beating the Dutch driver Dean Hoogendoorn (#536 Kidix/KR-Iame) who finished eighth in the Final.
The race was won by Zulfikari’s teammate, the Australian driver William Calleja. Also on the podium with Calleja and Zulfikari was the Brit Noah Baglin (#515 iKart/KR-Iame), with the Romanian driver Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#502 Team Driver/KR-Iame) in fourth and the Canadian driver Ilie Crisan Tristan (#550 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) in fifth. The Spanish driver Bosco Arias Chavarri (#505 Team Driver/KR-Iame), winner of a Prefinal, was forced to retire immediately due to a technical problem instead.
MINI Gr.3 Final result:
1. William Calleja (AUS)
2. Iskender Zulfikari (TUR)
3. Noah Baglin (GBR)
MINI Gr.3 Championship:
1. Iskender Zulfikari (TUR) points 354
2. Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD) points 290
3. Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU) points 230
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Legenkyi takes the Final and the title
The outcome of the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 was also incredible. The Ukrainian driver Oleksandr Legenkyi (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) claimed the victory in the Final and won the championship with it, surpassing the previous leader, the Belgian Antoine Venant (#543 Kidix/KR-Iame) who finished only 13th in the Final. Daniil Kutskov (#524 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) ended behind Legenkyi, with the Italian Niccolò Perico (#559 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) secured third position in the closing moment ending ahead of Sebastian Eskandari Marandi (#551 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) and Michele Orlando (#563 IPK Official/IPK-TM Kart). Legenkyi preceded Kutskov in the championship, while Venant claimed P3.
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 Final Result:
1. Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR)
2. Daniil Kutskov
3. Niccolò Perico (ITA)
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 Championship:
1. Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR) points 284
2. Daniil Kutskov points 252
3. Antoine Venant (BEL) points 209
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