P2 in the OK Junior final has moved William Calleja into the lead of the Champions Of the Future series. The third of five rounds was raced at the Leopard circuit, Vitebo, Italy on the weekend, and all four Australians contesting the round made it into the finals.
Calleja (Forza Racing, Exprit/TM) qualified third and started the final P2 after a couple of heat wins. He held that position in the final, not able to run with eventual winner Dan Allemann. Points earned across the round moved him into the lead of the championship with two rounds to go. “Solid weekend in Viterbo” he posted. “The kart was strong all weekend.”
The round saw a return to form for Sebastian Ekandari-Marandi. After a “family decision” to switch back to the Ward Racing team for the rest of the season, Seb (Tony Kart/TM) qualified 13th in OK Junior and was ranked P5 after taking second in the opening Super heat. He finished the final sixth after “the tyres overheated half way in the race and then it was about managing the situation.” The round has rocketed the Queenslander from nowhere into P13 in the championship standings.
In the OK class, James Anagnostiadis finished 8th and Lewis Francis 26th (both on KR/IAME). James had earlier qualified 16th and Francis 34th.
- results can be found HERE
- video of the Finals, below
- video of the heats on COTF YouTube channel HERE
Newcomers, surprises and confirmations at Viterbo
The event saw superb fields of 173 drivers (92 in OK-Junior and 81 in OK) and ideal weather conditions. In OK-Junior, Swiss driver Dan Allemann’s victory boosted him in the series standings, which are now led by Australian William Calleja. In OK, Spaniard Christian Costoya regained the overall lead after his second win of the season.
OK-Junior: Dan Allemann confirms his great form
Iskender Zulfikari (Forza Racing) took pole position on Thursday. Despite taking four wins in the Qualifying Heats, the Turkish driver lost the lead on Saturday after retiring from a race. With an identical total of four wins, Switzerland’s Dan Allemann (Ward Racing) brilliantly regained top spot ahead of Australia’s William Calleja (Forza Racing) with three wins and Canada’s Ilie Tristan Crisan (Tony Kart Racing Team) with two wins. Great Britain’s Henry Domain (Forza Racing) moved up to 4th place. Allemann confirmed his position by winning the first Super Heat, the second going to Britain’s Noah Baglin (Prema Racing).
In the Final, the start of the race was marked by the retirement of Slovakian Alex Molota (Hagemann Racing), while Crisan lost contact with the leaders. The best move was made by Zulfikari, who immediately moved up to 3rd behind Allemann and Calleja. The race remained wide open until Allemann set the fastest lap of the race and went on to win ahead of his two main rivals. Calleja, who finished 2nd, was satisfied to take top spot in the Championship ahead of Crisan and Baglin, who scored important points in Viterbo by finishing 5th and 4th respectively in the Final. Dutchman Dean Hoogendoorn (Prema Racing) was also in the spotlight, finishing 7th behind Australian Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi.
OK-Junior series standings after the Viterbo race
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1- William Calleja (AUS) Exprit / TM Kart 221 pts
2- Ilie Tristan Crisan (CAN) Tony Kart / Vortex 193 pts
3- Noah Baglin (GBR) KR / IAME 189 pts
4- Henry Domain (GBR) Exprit / TM Kart 188 pts
5- Dean Hoogendoorn (NED) KR / IAME 118 pts
6- Dan Allemann (SUI) Tony Kart / TM Kart 105 pts
7- Iskender Zulfikari (TUR) Exprit / TM Kart 101 pts
8- Will Green (GBR) KR / IAME 94 pts
9- Luka Scelles (FRA) KR / IAME 88 pts
10- Luuk Taal (NED) KR / IAME 60 pts
OK: Second victory for Christian Costoya
Winner of the opening round of the series in Spain at Campillos, Spaniard Christian Costoya (Parolin Motorsport) lost top spot in the overall standings at Portimao (Portugal) after Italy’s Iacopo Martinese (KR Motorsport) took victory. However, it was Britain’s Scott Marsh (DPK Racing) who dominated the first part of the competition, taking pole position and three wins in the Qualifying Heats. Marsh went on to win the first Super Heat against Italy’s Nicolo Cuman (Forza Racing) and France’s Thomas Pradier (Tony Kart-Vortex).
In the Final, Kenzo Craigie (Prema Racing) was the first to pass Marsh, quickly followed by Costoya, who took the lead on lap 4. The Spaniard went on to set the fastest lap and put himself beyond the reach of his rivals. From then on, it was all about the duels for the other two podium places. Irishman Daniel Kelleher (KR Motorsport) put in a top-class finish after gaining six places to claim 2nd place ahead of Thibaut Ramaekers (VDK Racing). Craigie salvaged the points in 4th place ahead of two drivers on the comeback trail: Great Britain’s Noah Wolfe (VAR by Birel) and Turkey’s Alp Aksoy (Prema Racing), who moved up six and eight places respectively. In 7th place, Italy’s Sebastiano Pavan (Energy Corse) was one of the great movers and shakers of the Italian event.
OK series rankings after the Viterbo event
1- Christian Costoya (ESP) Parolin / TM Kart 228 pts
2- Iacopo Martinese (ITA) KR / IAME 172 pts
3- Kenzo Craigie (GBR) KR / IAME 167 pts
4- Joe Turney (GBR) KR / IAME 162 pts
5- Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL) KR / IAME 145 pts
6- Daniel Kelleher (IRL) KR / IAME 108 pts
7- Lewis Francis (AUS) KR / IAME 99 pts
8- Thomas Pradier (FRA) Tony Kart / Vortex 66 pts
9- Scott Marsh (GBR) KR / IAME 60 pts
10- Dries Van Langendonck (BEL) KR / IAME 57 pts
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