Four of the six Australians contesting the opening round of the WSK Final Cup on the weekend made it through to the finals, William Calleja the best placed grabbing seventh in the Mini final, having earlier won his prefinal.

Calleja dropped to 7th at the start, but charged his way up the order to second in the opening laps, he and eventual winner Cristian Blandino with a gap on the field. However a full course yellow compressed the field. Heading into the last lap a move by a Babyrace teammate dropped Calleja down the order.

Xavier Avramides finished 20th in OK (classified to 22nd after a nose cone penalty), Dante Vinci 34th (DNF – crash) and Jay Kostecki 29th in Mini Under 10.

Dante Vinci was having one of his best meetings of the year until a crash in the OK final lead to retirement (pic – DV/Inst)

Vinci’s 34th was not representative of his pace, ranked just outside the top ten after the heat races. “Unfortunate way to end this weekend as it was a real step forward overall” he wrote on social media.

“A crash in the final out of my control forced me to retire a few laps later. However, head up and looking forward to the next race in a few days.”

full results HERE

Aussie Wrap

OK (54 entries)

Dante Vinci (KR Motorsport, KR/IAME) – Q13. Heat:11, 17. Ranking: 12. Prefinal B: 24. Final: 34th (DNF).
Xavier Avramides (KR Motorsport, KR/IAME) – Q23. Heats: 40, 15. Ranking: 32. Prefinal B: 18. Final: 22nd (penalty).
Brodie Norris (Yendle) (Energy Corse SRL, Energy/TM) – Q no time. Heats: 25, 39. Ranking: 45. Prefinal A: 24. Final: DNQ.

Mini Under 10 (64 entries)

Jay Kostecki (AVRacing, Parolin/IAME) – Q39. Heats: 18, 32, 16. Ranking: 32. Prefinal B: 17. Final: 29th.

Mini (54 entries)

William Calleja (Babyrace Driver Academy, Parolin/IAME) – Q18. Heats: 10, 5, 15. Prefinal A: 1st. Final: 7th.
Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (Tony Kart Racing Team, Tony Kart/Vortex) – Q26. Heats: 33, 28, 34. Ranking: 54. Prefinal B: DNS. Final: DNQ.

Live Steam of the Finals, below:

official WSK Finals Day report

Great Spectacle in Lonato

The first round of the WSK Final Cup 2023 at the South Garda Karting in Lonato concluded with a resounding success, thanks to a strong turnout of 340 drivers representing 52 nations. This made the event one of the most participated in global karting. The second and final round of the WSK Final Cup will follow suit next weekend at the Franciacorta Karting Track, with all the protagonists from Lonato vying for category titles.

After the initial two days, featuring 39 qualifying heats showcasing the top contenders, the concluding day in Lonato unfolded in a spectacular final phase. This included the Prefinals and Finals of all categories, where there were some surprises, with additional stand-out performers taking the spotlight.

The winners of the Prefinals

X30 Junior – Prefinal: Fred Saareks (SWE) (#724 AD Motorsport/Energy-Iame-MG)
X30 Senior – Prefinal: Federico Rossi (ITA) (#807 PRK/Tony Kart-Iame-MG)
OKJ – Prefinal A: Christian Costoya (ESP) (#376 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega)
OKJ – Prefinal B: Sebastian Lehtimaki (FIN) (#311 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega)
OK – Prefinal A: Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) (#200 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont)
OK – Prefinal B: Dmitry Matveev (/) (#204 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont)
MINI U10 – Prefinal A: Niccolò Perico (ITA) (#557 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega)
MINI U10 – Prefinal B: Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP) (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega)
MINI Gr.3 – Prefinal A: William Calleja (AUS) (#513 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega)
MINI Gr.3 – Prefinal B: Devin Walz (USA) (#514 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega)
KZ2 – Prefinal A: Cristian Bertuca (ITA) (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-LeCont)
KZ2 – Prefinal B: David Trefilov (DEU) (#40 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart-LeCont)

The Finals of the first round of the WSK Euro Series

KZ2 – What a duel! Zanchi takes the win

The final of the KZ2 category was undoubtedly one of the most exciting races, where the battle for victory was only decided in the last moments. Matteo Zanchi (#52 Zanchi Motorsport/CRG-TM Kart-LeCont) emerged victorious after a fierce battle with Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart), who had been the top contender for victory throughout the weekend. The two Italian drivers crossed the finish line ahead of the German David Trefilov (#40 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart), who won Prefinal-B. However, Trefilov was penalized one position after the race, and the third place went to another Italian, Alex Maragliano (#12 Renda Motorsport/Sodikart-TM Kart).

Matteo Zanchi wins KZ2 (pic – WSK/Sportinphoto)

In fifth place, there was a close finish between the German Paul Maximilian (#36 DR/DR-Modena Engines) and Maksim Orlov (#27 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart). The Frenchman Tom Leuillet (#10 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) made a comeback to finish seventh, and the eighth position went to the Finn Paavo Tonteri (#32 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart).

1st Matteo Zanchi (ITA)
2nd Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
3rd Alex Maragliano (ITA)

OK – Matveev wins the Final from Pavan and Wisniewski

The victory of OK went to Dmitry Matveev (#204 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont), who had already won Prefinal-B. The other contender in the category, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#200 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont), who won Prefinal-A and started from the second row, was unfortunately forced to retire early. Meanwhile, the Italian Luigi Coluccio (#216 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK Vortex), who had been a protagonist in the heats and Prefinal, lost ground to finish in ninth place. His teammate Sebastiano Pavan closed second, and the third spot on the podium went to the Polish driver Gustaw Wisniewski (#230 Koski Motorsport/Tony Kart-Iame).

Dmitry Matveev, 1st in OK (pic – WSK/Sportinphoto)

The Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#223 Leclerc by Lennox/BirelART-TM Kart) also had an excellent final race, competing for a podium finish. The Colombian Salim Hanna (#208 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) secured the fifth position.

1st Dmitry Matveev
2nd Sebastiano Pavan (ITA)
3rd Gustaw Wisniewski (POL)

OK-Junior – Lehtimaki wins the sprint against Schaufler

The final race was won by the Finnish driver Sebastian Lehtimaki (#311 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega), who had already won Prefinal-B. In the early laps, he managed to take the lead from the Italian driver Iacopo Martinese (#301 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame). Lehtimaki secured the victory in a close finish against the Austrian Niklas Schaufler (#345 DPK Racing/KR-Iame), while the Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#376 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega), the winner of Prefinal-A, claimed the third spot on the podium.

Martinese finished fourth, followed by the Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#329 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) and Italian Filippo Sala (#324 Ricky Flynn Motorsport/LN Kart-TM Kart), who managed to position himself well.

1st Sebastian Lehtimaki (FIN)
2nd Niklas Schaufler (AUT)
3rd Christian Costoya (ESP)

OK Junior podium (pic – WSK/Sportinphoto)

MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Perico wins also the Final

Niccolò Perico (#557 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-Vega) secured a impressive victory after winning Prefinal-A. Perico crossed the finish line ahead of the Greek driver Jason Kosmopoulos (#583 Cosmorally/Energy-TM Kart) and another Italian, Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#526 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who made a remarkable comeback.

Niccolò Perico wins Mini Under 10 (pic – WSK/Sportinphoto)

The Estonian driver Mark Loomets (#558 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) claimed the fourth position, while the Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega), winner of Prefinal-B, settled for fifth place.

1st Niccolò Perico (ITA)
2nd Jason Kosmopoulos (GRC)
3rd Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (ITA)

Mini Under 10 podium (pic – WSK/Sportinphoto)

MINI Gr.3 – Blandino has the upper hand on the strong rivals

In MINI Gr.3, the Italian Cristian Blandino (#622 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart) emerged as the absolute protagonist, winning the final race against the two American teammates, Devin Walz and Mark Pilipenko, both with the BabyRace team on Parolin-Iame karts. Another strong performance came from their teammate, the Peruvian driver Mariano Lopez, who finished fourth, ahead of the Canadian Ilie Crisan Tristan (#539 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) in a comeback of six positions. The Swiss driver Riven Esteves (#509 Team Driver Racing Team/KR-Iame-Vega) finished in tenth place after leading in the qualifiers and heats.

Cristian Blandino takes a narrow in in Mini (pic – WSK/Sportinphoto)

1st Cristian Blandino (ITA)
2nd Devin Walz (USA)
3rd Mark Pilipenko (USA)

X30 Junior – Bogdan Cosma Cristofor victorious at the debut

The Romanian driver Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#712 Team Driver/KR-Iame-MG) had a winning debut in the X30 Junior category, as he has been transitioning successfully from victories in MINI and proved to be comfortable in the higher category. He secured victory in the final after a good duel with the Swedish driver Fred Saareks (#724 AD Motorsport/Energy-Iame). The Serbian driver Luka Malbasa (#714 Team Driver/Tony Kart-Iame) was third on the podium and was followed by the Bulgarian Lyuboslav Ruykov (#711 Team Driver/Tony Kart-Iame) and the Swedish driver Jonathan Landstrom (#722 AD Motorsport/Energy-Iame).

1st Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU)
2nd Fred Saareks (SWE)
3rd Luka Malbasa (SRB)

X30 Senior – Albanese wins the duel with Rossi

An exciting duel unfolded in the X30 Senior category between the two Italian drivers Federico Albanese (#815 Italcorse Racing Team/Italcorse-Iame-MG) and Federico Rossi (#807 PRK/Tony Kart-Iame), ultimately resolved in favor of Albanese in the closing moments. Coming in third, with a bit of a gap, was Giulio Olivieri (#816 Zanchi Motorsport/Tony Kart-Iame). The Swedish driver Leon Hedfors (#809 DR/DR-Iame) closed his effort in fourth place, while the fifth place went to the Ecuadorian driver Francisco Paredes (#810 MLG Racing/Parolin-Iame).

1st Federico Albanese (ITA)
2nd Federico Rossi (ITA)
3rd Giulio Olivieri (ITA)