Parolin Motorsport delivered another highly competitive weekend at La Conca in the FIA Karting European Championship, led by Gioele Girardello’s podium finish in OK-Junior and strong top-10 results in OK from Dean Hoogendoorn and William Calleja.
The factory team placed four drivers in the OK-Junior Final, with Oskari Walle finishing 7th and Giacomo Giusto gaining 12 places to 11th, while Ward Racing added further front-running performances, notably through Martin Bertolaccini in 10th and Benjamin Manach, who had been among the leading contenders in OK before retiring from the Final.
The opening European Championship event at La Conca was held in good conditions after a dry Friday at 16 degrees, warmer weather for the remaining heats on Saturday, and cloudy skies with 21 degrees for Super Heats and Finals on Sunday. Competition remained intense, with 87 entries in OK and 90 in OK-Junior, with only the top 36 drivers in each class reaching the Final.
In OK-Junior, Girardello led the Parolin Motorsport charge throughout the meeting. After qualifying 8th overall and building strongly through the heats, he finished 3rd in his Super Heat after leading and lined up 5th for the Final. He then converted that pace into a deserved podium finish in 3rd, setting the latest lap of the race in the process.
Walle backed up the team’s strength in depth with another excellent performance, moving forward steadily across the meeting before taking 7th in the Final. Giusto also impressed with one of the strongest recoveries of the race, climbing from 23rd on the grid to finish 11th. Garciarce completed a solid run with 18th after gaining nine places, while Albert Tamm fought his way into the Final but retired on the second lap.
In OK, Hoogendoorn again showed the speed to fight at the front. After recovering from 23rd in Qualifying to 4th after the heats, he finished 3rd in his Super Heat to secure 3rd on the grid for the Final. He remained in the leading group throughout Sunday’s decisive race and crossed the line in 4th. Calleja also completed a strong weekend, progressing to 10th after the heats, securing 7th on the Final grid through his Super Heat and finishing 8th in the Final.
Ward Racing also contributed several strong results on the Parolin chassis. In OK-Junior, Bertolaccini continued his front-running form to finish 9th in the Final after qualifying well and remaining competitive throughout the event. Max Felde took 25th, while Antonio Pizzonia produced an excellent recovery in his Super Heat to reach the Final before retiring after 13 laps.
In OK, Manach had been one of the top Parolin runners all weekend, qualifying 5th overall, holding 5th after the heats and securing 5th on the grid for the Final before retiring on lap 12. Zulfikari also showed the outright pace of the package by taking pole position in Qualifying, and his fastest lap remained the quickest of the entire event, before he eventually finished 20th in the Final after a more difficult run through the heats.
Marco Parolin said: “It was another very encouraging weekend for Parolin Motorsport. Gioele did an excellent job of taking the podium in OK-Junior, and overall, we showed strong competitiveness in both categories with Dean and William again in the top positions in OK, and good depth across our Junior line-up as well. Ward Racing also contributed important performances, which confirms once more the quality of the Parolin package at this level.”
Parolin Motorsport will now turn its attention to the next event of its programme, Round 2 of the WSK Euro Series at Lonato next weekend, while the second round of the FIA Karting European Championship will take place at Valencia in Spain from 7th to 10th May.