WSK Super Master Series Round 1 at La Conca marked the opening race of the new season and delivered an immediate statement of intent from Parolin, with victories for Antonio Pizzonia, Nahyl El Gahoudi and Zayne Burgess winning across multiple categories, alongside strong performances from both factory and partner teams. A key story of the weekend was the debut of Ward Racing on Parolin equipment, with the front-running squad switching chassis over the winter and securing victory with Pizzionia at the very first event.
Parolin’s success continued in the Mini categories. In Mini Gr.3, Nahyl El Gahoudi claimed victory for Babyrace Driver Academy, while in Mini U10, Zayne Burgess, supported by the Andretti Global driver development programme, delivered a prestigious win for Parolin Motorsport, securing an ideal start to the season for the factory team.
The weekend also marked an important milestone for Parolin Motorsport, with the OK-category debut of two new drivers within the team: Dean Hoogendoorn, supported by the Williams Academy, and William Calleja. Both stepping up from OK-Junior and joining from other teams during the off-season, they immediately demonstrated strong potential despite a highly competitive field and changing conditions. Their early pace underlined the strength and promise of Parolin Motorsport’s new driver line-up.
The event unfolded in demanding circumstances, with wet and drying conditions in Friday’s Qualifying, mostly dry Heats interrupted by a heavy shower, and dry but extremely windy conditions for Sunday’s Finals - a tough early-season test in which Parolin equipment proved competitive across all classes.
In the Mini categories, Parolin success was evident from the outset. In Mini Gr.3, Babyrace Driver Academy drivers showed strong pace in Qualifying and backed it up through the Heats and Prefinals, before converting that form into victory in Sunday’s Final with Nahyl El Gahoudi leading a dominant performance for the Parolin chassis.
In Mini U10, Parolin Motorsport’s Zayne Burgess was competitive throughout the weekend, remaining firmly in the leading group in mixed Qualifying conditions and delivering strong performances in both the Heats and Prefinal. In a closely fought Final on a windy track, Burgess judged the closing laps perfectly to secure victory and give the factory team a winning start to the season.
Parolin equipment continued to shine in OK Junior, where Antonio Pizzonia set the tone early by securing pole position in Qualifying for Ward Racing. He carried that momentum through the Heats and Prefinal before delivering a controlled and authoritative drive in the Final to claim victory, marking an immediate success for Ward Racing following its switch to Parolin equipment. Parolin Motorsport also featured strongly in the category, with Oskari Walle showing consistent speed throughout the weekend and finishing inside the leading group.
The OK category marked an important milestone for Parolin Motorsport, with new signings Dean Hoogendoorn and William Calleja making their first WSK appearance for the team after stepping up from OK Junior following off-season moves from other teams. Both drivers showed encouraging pace from the opening sessions despite the mixed conditions in Qualifying. That form carried through the Heats and Prefinals and into Sunday’s Final, where Hoogendoorn ran among the frontrunners and set some of the fastest laps of the race, finishing 2nd but missing out on the podium after an early incident led to a bumper penalty.
Calleja completed a composed debut weekend at this level, reinforcing the promise of the new line-up. Also on his OK debut, Bruno Blanco impressed with a mature and composed performance, quickly adapting to the step up in competition and consistently building pace through the weekend.
In OK-N Junior, Parolin equipment was again a constant presence at the front of the field with Leo Laitinen of LA Motorsport and Elton Hedfors of Modena Kart. Strong Qualifying performances and consistent results through the Heats and Prefinals translated into a competitive Final with Laitinen 2nd and Hedfors 4th, further confirming the depth of performance available to Parolin customer teams.
The gearbox KZ2 category also produced solid results, with LA Motorsport drivers remaining competitive across all sessions, led by heat winner Kimi Tani in 6th - underlining the versatility of the Parolin package.
Reflecting on the opening round, Marco Parolin said: “A very nice start to the year. It was a strong demonstration of the competitiveness of the product across all classes with different teams, and this is what makes me very happy: the material is competitive even outside the factory team. This is one of our main goals - to make sure that all our customer and partner teams can rely on competitive equipment.
We’re particularly pleased to see Ward Racing winning in OK Junior at their very first appearance with the Parolin kart. This is really something nice to see. It’s also great to see Babyrace taking P1 and P2 in the Mini categories, where they were super competitive as well. Winning the first race of the season with Zayne Burgess is very special.
I’m generally very pleased with our team performance in OK Junior too - they were very fast, but a difficult Qualifying session with mixed conditions meant they started a bit mid-pack, which prevented a better result. I’m also very happy with the performances of Dean Hoogendoorn and William Calleja, the two rookies in OK. I think today they proved they are among the best rookies. It’s a pity for Dean not to be on the podium because of a small contact on the first lap that resulted in a bumper penalty, but the season looks very promising. We will try to keep it as it is.”
With victories, podiums and consistent front-running performances delivered in demanding early-season conditions, Parolin leaves La Conca with strong momentum as the championship moves on. The WSK Super Master Series continues at Sarno on 6th-8th February, where the fast and technical circuit is expected to provide another demanding benchmark as the new season begins to take shape.