17 Different winners in the Qualifying Heats at Viterbo

A total of 32 Qualifying Heats created an intense spectacle on the Leopard circuit, which proved well suited to this high-level FIA Karting competition. The battles were non-stop in all three categories, while the thermometer topped 30 degrees in the Lazio sun. In the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship, the final day promises to be wide open in OK-Junior, with a number of clear podium contenders. In OK, Spaniard Christian Costoya confirmed his pole position from Friday with five wins out of five! Harrison Whitticombe remained unbeaten in the FIA Karting Academy Trophy - Senior, but nothing was easy for the Briton.

OK: A clean sweep for Christian Costoya

At Viterbo, no driver managed to keep Christian Costoya at bay. The Spaniard made five starts from pole position and won five times, sometimes by a large margin, sometimes by a small one. With three wins, James Anagnostiadis (AUS) remains a serious contender for the rest of the competition. In fact, he won the first competition of the season in Spain, before Costoya won in Portugal. The face-off between the two drivers is already highly anticipated. Daniel Kelleher (IRL) has two wins to his name, while five drivers shared the other victories: Lewis Francis (AUS), Jacob Micallef (MLT), Filippo Sala (ITA), Borys Lyzen (POL) and Lev Krutoholov (UKR).

Vladimir Ivannikov and Noah Wolfe (GBR) retained their places in the top 10, after extremely consistent runs at the front. Alexandre Chartier (CAN), ranked 9th in the intermediate ranking behind Aston Sharp (GBR), was one of the surprises of the Qualifying Heats.

Qualifying Heats standings – OK
1 Costoya, Christian (ESP - Parolin / TM Kart / Maxxis)
2 Kelleher, Daniel (IRL - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
3 Anagnostiadis, James (AUS - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
4 Ivannikov, Vladimir (Birelart / TM Kart / Maxxis)
5 Micallef, Jacob (MLT - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
6 Francis, Lewis (AUS - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
7 Wolfe, Noah (GBR - Birelart / TM Kart / Maxxis)
8 Sharp, Aston (GBR - Birelart / TM Kart / Maxxis)
9 Chartier, Alexandre (CAN - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
10 Sala, Filippo (ITA - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)

OK-Junior: Turner Brown is the new leader

With his three victories, Turner Brown (USA) took the lead of the intermediate classification before the Super Heats on Sunday morning which will decide the starting grid for the Final. This is a very fine performance for the driver, who was 11th after Qualifying. No fewer than five drivers managed to win twice: Iskender Zulfikari (TUR), Bosco Arias (ESP), William Calleja (AUS), Ilie Crisan (CAN) and poleman Noah Baglin (GBR). All these drivers look like potential winners, as do two other heat leaders: Dean Hoogendoorn (NED) and Oliveri Sini (INA).

Other young drivers have been consistent and are extremely well placed in the overall rankings. These include Samuel Hugon (FRA), one of the revelations of the competition, Henry Domain (GBR) and Gianmatteo Rousseau (PAN), who has moved up 10 places since Qualifying.

Qualifying Heats standings - OK-Junior
1 Brown Turner (USA - LN / TM Kart / Maxxis)
2 Crisan, Ilie (CAN - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis)
3 Arias, Bosco (ESP - LN / TM Kart / Maxxis)
4 Hoogendoorn, Dean (NED - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
5 Baglin, Noah (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
6 Zulfikari, Iskender (TUR - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
7 Hugon, Samuel (FRA - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
8 Domain, Henry (GBR - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
9 Rousseau, Gianmatteo (PAN - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
10 Sini Oliveri (INA - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis)

Academy Trophy - Senior: Whitticombe under pressure

Pole-sitter Harrison Whitticombe (GBR) scored maximum points by winning both Qualifying Heats on Saturday. Although he led from start to finish in the first, he was outpaced on the track in the second by an excellent Jules Avril (FRA), who set the fastest lap. But the Frenchman was demoted to 6th position because of a five-second penalty for failing to respect the starting procedure. Australian Annabel Kennedy also made a strong impression, with a 3rd place and a fastest lap, followed by a 2nd place.

Gianna Pascoal (RSA) and Ates Birinci (TUR) confirmed their brilliant performances in Qualifying by remaining in the chasing pack in both heats. Mio Olert (SWE) and Agustín Sepúlveda (CHI) both lost valuable points after being penalised. On home soil, Italy's Riccardo Ferrari made some fine comebacks, gaining 12 and then seven places. The third and final Qualifying Heat will be contested on Sunday morning, adding to the two already run to decide the starting grid for the Final.

Continuation of the provisional programme for the Viterbo event

Sunday 8th June
08.30 - 09.40: Warm-up
09.50 - 10.05: End of Academy - Senior Qualifying Heats
10.10 - 11.55: OK and OK-Junior Super Heats
13.05 - 16.30: Finals and podiums
 

You can follow the Viterbo event with live timing and streaming on www.fiakarting.com