The second day of races at Cremona Circuit saw the conclusion of most of the qualifying heats among the over 300 drivers present in the second round of the WSK Super Master Series. The event proved to be quite challenging due to light but bothersome rain. The damp and tricky track tested the contenders of this international event, as well as the entire WSK Promotion organization, which successfully managed the intense schedule of this crowded and uncertain second round.
On Sunday, February 11th, the OKJ heats, prefinals, and finals will be broadcast live on TV streaming from 9:20.
KZ2 - Bertuca puts his name forward for another win.
The championship leader, the Italian Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega), secured another victory after winning the previous round in Lonato. Bertuca in Cremona has so far claimed everything, from pole position to winning all three of his heats. Trying to contain Bertuca's dominance was his teammate, the Romanian Daniel Vasile, who secured a heat victory and consistent placements, earning him the second position in the standings. Challenging for the top spot were also the formidable Frenchman Emilien Denner (#11 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart), with one heat victory, and the Swiss driver Jean Laurent Luyet (#29 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) also with a heat win. In pursuit were the Italian Giuseppe Palomba (#12 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) with three solid placements, along with the Spanish driver Pedro Hiltbrand (#16 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) and the Dutchman Marijn Kremers (#35 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex).
OK - Eyckmans takes the lead.
The OK category proved to be highly uncertain and fiercely contested, with different winners in the various heats and penalties that have altered the finishing orders on the first day of Friday. In the first heat A-B, the Brazilian Gabriel Gomez (#263 CRG Racing Team/CRG-Iame-LeCont) surpassed the Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart), penalized by 5 seconds. In the second heat C-D, the Australian Dante Vinci (#203 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) overtook the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame), who was also penalized by 5 seconds.
On the second day of Saturday, Gabriel Gomez remained in the spotlight with a third victory till the stewards gave him a penalty in the last heat for the front fairing not in the correct position. Ean Eyckmans inherited the top position in the standings, Gomez is 2nd.
The Irishman Fionn MacLaughlin (#267 VDK Racing/KR-Iame) also claimed a victory, and the Englishman Noah Wolfe (#247 Var by Birel/BirelART-TM Kart) did the same, placing himself behind Gomez and Eyckmans. The Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame), the dominator of the previous round in Lonato, followed closely with two more solid placements.
OKJ - Sala builds a solid margin.
The Italian Filippo Sala (#327 Ricky Flynn/LN-TM Kart-Vega) established a comfortable lead with a series of three consecutive victories and a second-place finish. Close behind were the Englishman Kit Belofsky (#347 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) with three wins, the Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#328 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) with one victory and consistent placements, the Ukrainian Lev Krutogolov (#380 Borsch Racing/Tony Kart-Iame), the Dutchman Rocco Coronel (#343 Victorylane Karting/KR-Iame), championship leader from Austria Niklas Schaufler (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame), the Finn Joel Anton Pohjola (#367 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Swede Scott Lindblom (#369 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex). The Spanish driver Christian Costoya (#337 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) secured two heat victories and a second-place finish, but a retirement in his last heat cost him dearly as he slipped back in the standings.
OKNJ - Lovatt wins two heats, Molota one.
The Englishman Archie Lovatt (#712 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-Vega) clinched two heats and took the lead in the OKNJ heat standings, where in the previous round at Lonato, Romanian Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) had emerged victorious and is currently fifth in the standings. Among the top contenders, the Slovakian Alex Molota (#717 Firefly/Gillard-TM Kart) won the third heat and is second in the provisional standings. The pole position holder, Italian Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame), is third ahead of Mexican Sebastian Frigolet (#703 Team Driver/KR-Iame).
MINI GR.3 U10 - Moscardi in great shape, but Perico closes in.
The MINI Gr.3 Under 10 category witnessed an intense battle between two very young Italian drivers, David Moscardi (#560 BirelART-TM Kart-Vega), pole position holder and winner of all three heats, and Niccolò Perico (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), winner of two heats and already a protagonist in the category with a victory in the WSK Champions Cup earlier in the season. Also in contention for the win is Greek driver Jason Kosmopoulos (#558 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart), who secured victory in the last heat of the day. The Bulgarian Alexander Lazarus (#506 Team Driver/KR-Iame), the Italian Achille Rea (#515 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex), and his teammate from Germany Tiberius Paul Muller were also among the most competitive.
MINI GR.3 - Blandino keeps his momentum.
The young driver Cristian Blandino (#550 Kalì-Kart Racing/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega) emerged as a protagonist in the heats with two victories, but conceded one win in the second heat to the Belgian Bruno Priam (#576 Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart), who climbed to the second position in the standings. Following closely were the Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame), the Pole Antoni Ociepa (#532 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE), and Priam's teammate, the Italian Gioele Girardello. Ready to join the top positions are the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#503 Team Driver/KR-Iame) and the Polish Leonardo Gorski (#514 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex).
The final program of the WSK Super Master Series, Rd2 Cremona Circuit:
Sunday, February 11th New
08:00 Warm-Up
09:20 Manches OKJ
10:20 Prefinals
13:25 Finals (13:25 KZ2, 13:55 MINI U10, 14:25 MINI GR.3, 14:55 OKJ; 15:25 OK; 15:55 OKNJ).