Double Parolin podium in Mini and OK-Junior with Khavalkin and Kucharczyk
The WSK Final Cup, the last international event of the 2019 season, was marked by wet and cool weather on the Adria circuit, with a constantly slippery surface. The Parolin Racing Kart team were not lacking good performances with Rashid Al Dhaheri's pole position in 60 Mini and Anatoly Khavalkin's 2nd place, Tymoteusz Kucharczyk's 3rd place in OK-Junior and Hugo Sasse's excellent results in OK.
Still extremely well represented in the 60 Mini category, Parolin chassis made up nearly half of the Adria field in the youngest age groups, with a similar proportion in the top 10. The performances achieved in OK-Junior and OK also confirmed the value of Parolin in the other categories. Over the whole meeting, the official Parolin Racing Kart team took a pole position in Mini thanks to Al Dhaheri, as well as five wins in the heats and three wins in the Prefinals, in addition to the double podium for Khavalkin and Kucharczyk. An indisputable sign of its competitiveness at all levels and the quality of its Mini to OK programme, the Parolin team was the only one to record victories in all three categories.
"We can be proud of the whole season," said Marco Parolin. "The enthusiasm for our chassis has been evident in every race, whatever the conditions. Whether in the full heat of summer or in the cool, rainy autumn, the Parolins have always enabled their drivers to highlight their talent. This was our initial goal and our success has exceeded our expectations. The other satisfying aspect comes directly from our Racing Team. We have the same philosophy as that which drives the production of our chassis. We support the careers of young drivers by participating in their training to the highest level. The rapid success of Anatoly Khavalkin in 60 Mini and the promising evolution of Tymoteusz Kucharczyk in OK-Junior are good examples of this, alongside the performances of experienced drivers such as James Wharton in Junior and Hugo Sasse in OK."
Hugo Sasse has indeed achieved very good performances in the premier class. After setting his group's 2nd fastest time, he was able to make up the delay after his retirement in a heat by winning his Prefinal with the fastest time. Despite a bad start in the Final on the still wet part of the track, Hugo was able to regain 12 places to finish 8th in the WSK Final Cup. Meanwhile, Tadas Bagdonavicius was plunged into the deep end of international competition in unfavourable conditions.
James Wharton, who set his group's 3rd fastest time in OK-Junior, finished in an excellent 2nd place in his Prefinal. In difficulty at the start of the Final, he managed to come back from 13th to 7th place. Solid in adversity, Tymoteusz Kucharczyk regained 10 positions during the heats, confirmed in the Prefinal and climbed four more places in the Final to reach the 3rd step of the podium to conclude a promising season. Henri Saaskilahti made a good run to 26th place. Delayed by a retirement in a heat, Matheus Ferreira was close to the top 10 of his Prefinal before having to retire early in the Final. Giovanni Trentin narrowly missed his qualification for the Final, Mateo Rubio was struggling in the rain while Keanu Al Azhari made his OK-Junior debut.
Rashid Al Dhaheri started with pole position in 60 Mini and won two heats and his Prefinal with the fastest time. He was fighting in the top three of the Final before losing ground at the end of the race due to changing conditions. Starting with 13th in Qualifying, Anatoly Khavalkin climbed back up in the heats and won his Prefinal with the fastest lap before achieving a superb Final that ended on the 2nd step of the podium for the first time. Ranked 45th at the end of the heats, Shimo Zhang qualified by moving up nine places in his Prefinal before maintaining his place in the Final. Peter Bouzinelos had too many problems in the heats to reach the Final.