Multiple Australian Cadet Champion Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi has become the first ever winner of the WSK Super Cup Mini at La Conca, Italy, over the weekend.
Driving with the factory Tony Kart team, the Australian won his pre-final to top the rankings and start the Mini Under 10 final from pole. The Queenslander went on to finish on the tail of Leonardo Gorski, however Gorski had picked up a 3-second penalty during the race, so was never in the hunt for the win.
All four Australians competing at the event qualified for the finals. William Calleja once again performed strongly in Mini, taking several wins in the preliminary races before crossing the line 5th in the final. Koda Singh left his best to last, moving up to 16th in the final.
- full results on the WSK site HERE
- on-demand video from the live stream is HERE
- scroll down for the official WSK finals day race reports
Aussie Wrap
MINI – 37 Drivers
- William Calleja (Babyrace Driver Academy, Parolin/TM)
Q: 3. Heats: 1, 11, 1. Pre-final B: 1st. Ranking: 2. Final: 5th - Oscar Singh (Babyrace Driver Academy, Parolin/TM)
Q: 36. Heats: 20, 19, 23. Pre-final B: 14. Ranking: 35. Final: 30th.
MINI U10 – 38 Drivers
- Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (Tony Kart Racing Team, Tony Kart/Vortex)
Q: 5. Heats: 8, 5, 4. Pre-final A: 1st. Ranking: 1. Final: 1st - Koda Singh (Babyrace Driver Academy, Parolin/TM)
Q: 32. Heats: 17, 21, 16. Pre-final A: 14th. Ranking: 27. Final: 16th
Zulfikari and Eskandari-Marandi win the WSK Super Cup by MINI and the National Trophy MINI Gr.3 ACI Karting
The second edition of the WSK Super Cup by MINI, race organized by WSK Promotion, has now become a ‘classic’ of youth karting for children aged 8 to 12. At the La Conca International Circuit, the most qualified young drivers of the category competed in an event also endorsed this year by the Italian federation ACI Sport with the title of ACI Karting National Trophy MINI Gr.3. The young drivers came from 29 countries, for a highly prestigious event.
In the qualifying sessions of the WSK Super Cup by MINI, in the MINI Gr.3 category for 10 to 12-year-olds, the Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari (#501 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG) stood out, securing the pole position and the best position after the Friday heats.
In the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 category, for 8 to 10-year-olds, the Swedish driver Maximus Unt (#552 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-MG) claimed the pole position in qualifying, while the Australian driver Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (#549 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) emerged as the leader in the heats.
The results of the Prefinals held on Saturday.
In MINI Gr.3 Under 10, Prefinal-A was dominated by the Australian Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (#549 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex-MG), who led the French Antoine Venant (#523 Kidix/KR-Iame) and the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#526 Team Driver/KR-Iame). In Prefinal-B the Pole Leonardo Gorski (#505 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) had the upper hand leading the Italian Edoardo Colucci (#580 CMT/Parolin-Iame) and Daniil Kutskov (#513 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
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In MINI G.3, Prefinal-A was won fair and square by the Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari (#501 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG), while the Canadian Ilie Crisan Tristan (#550 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) won the sprint to the line for P2 from the Spanish driver Manuel Miguez Gayoso (#537 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart). In Prefinal-B the Australian William Calleja (#507 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) led the Chinese Zeyu Shen (#554 AVRacing/Parolin-Iame) and Vladimir Ivannikov (#536 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart), that completed a good comeback.
FINAL – MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – All good for the Australian Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi.
The Australian Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (#549 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex-MG) won the Final after winning also the Prefinal. He led the Swede Maximus Unt (#552 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart), who put in a nice fight. The first to cross the finish line was the Polish driver Leonardo Gorski (#505 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), but he was classified in third place due to a 3s time penalty.
The French driver Antoine Venant (#523 Kidix/KR-Iame) secured the fourth position, just 0.003s behind. The Belgian driver Henri Kumpen (#510 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) finished in fifth place. Edoardo Colucci (#580 CMT/Parolin-Iame) was the highest-ranking Italian, finishing in sixth place.
1. Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (AUS)
2. Maximus Unt (SWE) +1.794s
3. Leonardo Gorski (POL) +2.884s
4. Antoine Venant (FRA) +2887s
5. Henri Kumpen (BEL) +3.088s
FINAL – MINI Gr.3 – The Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari is the ruler.
After the initial laps of the Final, the Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari (#501 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG) quickly gained a significant advantage and maintained the first position with authority until the finish line. Behind him, his BabyRace teammate, the American driver Keelan Harvick, secured the second place, while the Spanish driver Bosco Arias Chavarri (#533 Team Driver/KR-Iame) held onto the third position, narrowly edging out the Italian driver Valerio Viapiana from Team Driver, who made an impressive comeback.
The Australian driver William Calleja, another BabyRace driver, finished in fifth place, followed by the English Noah Baglin (#515 IKart/KR-Iame) in sixth place. With this victory, Iskender Zulfikari secures his third WSK win in the MINI category this season, having previously won the WSK Champions Cup and the WSK Super Master Series.Â
1. Iskender Zulfikari (TUR)
2. Keelan Harvick (USA) +0.897s
3. Bosco Arias Chavarri (ESP) +3.878s
4. Valerio Viapiana (ITA) +4.258s
5. William Calleja (AUS) +5.423s
The next round by WSK: the fourth round of the WSK Open Series, open to categories MINI, OK-N, OK-N Junior and KZ2 will take place next June 21-25 in Sarno.
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