The finals of the first of the three events of the WSK Final Cup were won by Godschalk (MINI U10), Gorun (MINI Gr.3), Marchesi (OK-N), Palacio (OK-NJ), Baglin (OKJ), Pesl (OK) and Bertuca (KZ2).
The crowded first round of the WSK Final Cup at the Franciacorta Karting Track presented a great sporting and technical competition among the 385 drivers entered in this spectacular event. It featured representation from 61 nations and saw the participation of all the major manufacturers and most prestigious world-class teams across the 7 categories that took to the track.
A lot of novelties and great participation of young drivers.
This first round has brought forth an endless series of end-of-season developments, including innovations among the teams and changes in the driver lineups aimed at their competitive growth. The presence recorded in the junior categories was prominent, such as the over 110 verified drivers in MINI, 70 of whom are very young Under 10s, representing the lifeblood for the future of national and international karting.
The young Wolff, Berger, Farfus, Pizzonia, Kumpen and Hakkinen also on track.
The presence of several well-known motorsport figures, busy following their children participating in the race was remarkable at this WSK Final Cup event in Franciacorta. Toto Wolff, Executive Director of Mercedes in Formula 1, was present with his son Jack, who is gaining his first karting experience in the MINI U10 category. Gerhard Berger was among the former F1 drivers, present with his son Johan, also competing in the MINI U10. Competing in the OK-N Junior class is Victoria Farfus, daughter of Brazilian driver Augusto Farfus. In OKJ, the presence of Antonio Pizzonia, son of another former Brazilian F1 driver Neto Pizzonia, is now constant, as is the Belgian Henri Kumpen, nephew of Max Verstappen. Ella Hakkinen, daughter of two-time F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen, is also consolidating her career in the OK category.
The winners of the first round.
The demanding schedule that started as early as Tuesday for the selection of the finalists, followed a long comparison across 36 qualifying heats necessary to gain access to the conclusive phase of Sunday's Prefinals and Finals, which elected the winners of each category. The final winners of this first round were Godschalk (MINI U10), Gorun (MINI Gr.3), Marchesi (OK-N), Palacio (OK-NJ), Baglin (OKJ), Pesl (OK), and Bertuca (KZ2).
In addition to the sought-after trophies, all winners of this first round of the WSK Final Cup were also awarded a Vulcain watch from the prestigious Swiss watchmaker. The Vulcain watch will also be at stake in the two subsequent rounds on November 9th in Cremona and November 23rd in Lonato.
The final stages.
The long weekend in Franciacorta ended on Sunday, October 26th, with the highly spectacular final stages, including Prefinals and Finals of each category.
The winners of the Prefinals:
MINI U10 Prefinal-A: Godschalk Wynn (USA) (Kidix-KR/Iame/Vega).
MINI U10 Prefinal-B: Burgess Zayne (USA) (Parolin Motorsport-Parolin/TM Kart/Vega).
MINI Gr.3 Prefinal-A: Gorun Victor Thomas (USA) (Tony Kart Racing T.-Tony Kart/Vortex/Vega).
MINI Gr.3 Prefinal-B: Gessesse Bwana (KEN) (BabyRace-Parolin/Iame/Vega).
OK-N Prefinal: Marchesi Nicolas (ITA) (Team Driver-KR/Iame/Vega).
OK-NJ Prefinal-A: Stasionis Nojus (LTU) (Modena Kart-Parolin/TM Kart/Vega).
OK-NJ Prefinal-B: Ociepa Antoni (POL) (Novalux-Lenzokart/LKE/Vega).
OKJ Prefinal-A: Crisan Ilie Tristan (CAN) (Tony Kart Racing Team-Tony Kart/Vortex/Vega).
OKJ Prefinal-B: McGaughy Michael (USA) (Koski Motorsport-KR/Iame/Vega).
OK Prefinal-A: Krutogolov Lev (UKR) (Energy Corse-Energy Corse/Iame/LeCont).
OK Prefinal-B: Scognamiglio Manuel (ITA) (Tellone Motorsport-KR/Iame/LeCont).
KZ2 Prefinal: Vasile Daniel (ROU) (CL Racing Team-Birelart/TM Kart/LeCont).
The Finals of the WSK Final Cup in Franciacorta, Rd1:
MINI U10 – Godschalk al termine di una finale spettacolare.
This was one of the most spectacular finals for the MINI U10, with the winner decided only in the final stages. The victory went to the American Wynn Godschalk (Kidix-KR/Iame/Vega), who had already won Prefinal-A and then crossed the finish line first in a sprint finish in the Final, ahead of the recovering Ukrainian driver Platon Kovtunenko (Borsch Racing-KR/Iame) and his American teammate Josh Bergman. The American Colton Schniegenberg (Ward Racing-Tony Kart/TM Kart), winner of Prefinal-B, was also in the battle for the win until the final corners but ultimately finished sixth, preceded by the other American, Zayne Burgess (Parolin Motorsport-Parolin/TM Kart).
MINI U10 Final Result:
1st Godschalk Wynn (USA) 9 laps
2nd Kovtunenko Platon (UKR) +0.063
3rd Bergman Josh (USA) +0.179
4th Burgess Zayne (USA) +0.254
5th Schniegenberg Colton (USA) +0.260
MINI Gr.3 – Gorun takes the win in the closing meters.
In the MINI Gr.3 category, there were also surprises right up to the final meters of the Final, where the American Victor Thomas Gorun (Tony Kart Racing Team-Tony Kart/Vortex/Vega), who had also won Prefinal-B, took the victory. Among the notable retirements in the final stages, the Frenchman Stan Ratajski (BabyRace-Parolin/Iame), who had moved into the lead toward the last few laps. The Italian Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (Kidix-KR/Iame) finished second, with the other Italian Giuseppe Noviello (Team Driver-KR/Iame) taking third after a penalty was imposed on the Kenyan Gessesse Bwana (BabyRace-Parolin/Iame), who had won Prefinal-A. Niccolò Perico (Team Driver-KR/Iame), who led mid-race, ultimately finished sixth, preceded by the Chinese driver Lingham Li (Tony Kart Racing Team-Tony Kart/Vortex) and the German Titz Devin (CRG Holland-T-Group/TM Kart).
MINI Gr.3 Final Result:
1st Gorun Victor Thomas (USA) 9 laps
2nd Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (ITA) +1.018
3rd Giuseppe Noviello (ITA) +1.311
4th Li Lingham (CHN) +1.345
5th Titz Devin (GER) +1.474
OK-N – Marchesi surprises in the final stages.
In the final laps, the Italian Nicolas Marchesi (Team Driver-KR/Iame/Vega), who had already won the Prefinal, managed to close out the Final race in his favor after Federico Rossi (AKM Motorsport-Parolin/TM Kart), who was first after the heats, dropped out of the lead and lost positions. Then, in the final duel, Marchesi also overtook the other Italian Cristian Tonalini (Tona Racing Kart-Sodikart/TM Kart), who nevertheless tasted the joy of the podium with second place after two years. Peter Stiller (King Racing Team-KA/Iame) finished with a fine third place, ahead of Lamberto Ferrari (FK Motorsport-IPK/Modena Engines) and the Pole Bartosz Grzywacz (Zanchi Motorsport-KR/TM Kart). Among the protagonists of the weekend, Filippo Donanzan (Tellone Motorsport-KR/Iame) finished twelfth, also due to a penalty.
OK-N Final Result:
1st Marchesi Nicolas (ITA) 17 laps
2nd Tonalini Cristian (ITA) +0.169
3rd Stiller Peter (ITA) +0.250
4th Ferrari Lamberto (ITA) +1.488
5th Grzywacz Bartosz (POL) +2.352
OK-NJ – Great victory for Palacio.
The American Lucas Palacio (KR Motorsport-KR/Iame/Vega), already the winner of the recent WSK Super Master Series, managed to secure a fine victory by quickly moving into the lead and then winning in a sprint finish ahead of the Pole Antoni Ociepa (Novalux-Lenzokart/LKE), the winner of Prefinal-B, and the Lithuanian Nojus Stasionis (Modena Kart-Parolin/TM Kart), who was the best after the heats and the winner of Prefinal-A. Good performances were also delivered by the Czech Jakub Bednar (Team Driver-KR/Iame) and the Dane Matteis Stigsen (CRG Racing Team-CRG/TM Kart).
OK-NJ Final Result:
1st Palacio Lucas (USA) 13 laps
2nd Ociepa Antoni (POL) +0.041
3rd Nojus Stasionis (LTU) +0.125
4th Bednar Jakub (CZE) +0.250
5th Stigsen Matteis (DEN) +1.035
OKJ – Baglin takes a great victory in the Final
A fantastic fight for success in the Final saw the British driver Noah Baglin (Prema Racing-KR/Iame/Vega), who was the best performer in the heats, claim the race victory after an initial dominance by his teammate, the Dutchman Dean Hoogendoorn, and a subsequent battle with Bosco Arias (Ricky Flynn-LN Kart/TM Kart). Second position went to the American Michael McGaughy (Koski Motorsport-KR/Iame), the winner of Prefinal-B, following a penalty handed to Hoogendoorn. The Monegasque Andrea Manni, Baglin's teammate, finished in third place after a comeback drive. The Indonesian Olivieri Sini Rito (Tony Kart Racing Team-Tony Kart/Vortex) finished fourth, and the Spaniard Daniel Miron Lorente (DPK Racing-KR/Iame) was fifth.
OKJ Final Result:
1st Baglin Noah (GBR) 13 laps
2nd McGaughy Michael (USA) +2.045
3rd Manni Andrea (MON) +2.102
4th Sini Rito Olivieri (INA) +2.392
5th Miron Lorente Daniel (NED) +3.885
OK – Pesl dominates the Final.
The Czech driver Jindrich Pesl (Tony Kart Racing Team-Tony Kart/Vortex/LeCont), who was already the best performer in the heats, managed to secure the victory at the end of a great Final, overcoming the competitiveness of the Italian Manuel Scognamiglio (Tellone Motorsport-KR/Iame), who was particularly competitive in his OK debut after winning the recent WSK Euro Series in OK-N. The duel between the two main protagonists lasted throughout the final, with Pesl always in the lead and followed closely by Scognamiglio, the winner of Prefinal-B. The Ukrainian Lev Krutogolov (Energy Corse-Energy Corse/Iame), the winner of Prefinal-A, finished third. Prefinal-B had gone to Scognamiglio. The Frenchman Luka Scelles (Victorylane-KR/Iame) finished fourth, and the Dane Oliver Rasmussen (Tony Kart Racing Team-Tony Kart/Vortex) was fifth.
OK Final Result:
1st Pesl Jindrich (CZE) 17 laps
2nd Scognamiglio Manuel (ITA) +1.754
3rd Krutogolov Lev (UKR) +1.898
4th Scelles Luka (FRA) +2.866
5th Rasmussen Oliver (DEN) +3.389
KZ2 – Bertuca the “cannibal”.
The performance of the Italian Cristian Bertuca (Birelart Racing-Birelart/TM Kart/LeCont) was impressive. He managed to prevail in the Final after a strong performance also in the Prefinal, thus overturning the predictions that seemed to favor the Frenchman Emilien Denner (Formula K SRP-IPK/TM Kart). The Final was exciting, with a duel that initially also involved the Romanian Daniel Vasile (CL Racing Team-Birelart/TM Kart), who finished sixth in the Final. After being in the lead almost consistently, Bertuca's victory was consolidated in the final stages, winning in a sprint finish over Denner. The Estonian Markus Kajak, Denner's teammate, finished third. The Dutchman Dion Van Werven (CPB Sport-Sodikart/TM Kart) finished fourth, and the German David Trefilov (Formula K SRP-IPK/TM Kart) was fifth. Massimiliano Pezzucchi (Krypton Motorsport-Birelart/TM Kart), the qualifying pole-sitter, was also among the best but finished ninth in the Final due to a penalty.
KZ2 Final Result:
1st Bertuca Cristian (ITA) 17 laps
2nd Denner Emilian (FRA) +0.064
3rd Kajak Markus (EST) +0.575
4th Van Werven Dion (NED) +0.917
5th Trefilov David (GER) +1.091
The next round will be on November 9th at the Cremona Circuit.