The Tony Kart Racer 401 T won the OK-N final and took third place in the MINI Gr.3 class at the fourth round of the ACI Italian Karting Championship. The Tony Kart Racing Team also took to the track for the fourth round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series in Sweden, with drivers competing in the OK and OKJ classes.
It has been a busy weekend for the Tony Kart Racing Team. Their racing division took part in the fourth round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, held at the Åsum Ring in Kristianstad (Sweden), with the Tony Kart Racer 401 T chassis, powered by VTS and VTJ engines from Vortex Engines, in the OK and OKJ categories.
Over the same weekend, the team also took to the track for the fourth round of the ACI Italian Karting Championship, held at the Kartodromo Val Vibrata (Italy), which concluded with a victory in the OK-N class for the Tony Kart Racer 401 T powered by a Vortex VST-N engine and a podium finish in the MINI Gr.3 for the Tony Kart Rookie fitted with the VTM unit from the OTK Kart Group’s ‘engine division’.
In Sweden, in the OK category, it was Jindřich Pešl and Ilie Tristan Crisan who achieved notable results for the Tony Kart Racing Team during the Swedish round. The Czech driver secured second place as his best result in the qualifying heats, whilst the Canadian – fresh from securing pole position in the third round of the championship – made up 17 places between qualifying and the super heat. Both Their drivers lined up for the final, with Crisan coming close to finishing in the top 10.
Thomas Pradier, returning from the injury he sustained in May during Round 1 of the FIA Karting European Championship KZ2, is back on track with Their racing division alongside Valerio Viapiana, Gilles Herman, Endo Arata and Gabin Adam, who are working closely with the technical staff ahead of the upcoming events on the calendar.
In OKJ, following his third-place finish in the previous round after a remarkable comeback from 27 places down, Julian Frasnelli began the weekend with a tricky qualifying session. The Italian then made his mark in the qualifying heats, climbing 22 places in the provisional standings. However, in Saturday afternoon’s final, he was forced to retire after just four laps, thus seeing his chance to capitalise on his performances from the previous days slip away.
Antonio Ianni also contested Saturday afternoon’s final race, buoyed by a strong performance in the last heat. Yubo Wen showed good pace between Thursday and Saturday, but a series of unfortunate incidents prevented him from reaching the final. Emerson MacAndrew-Uren, Oiva Vettenranta, Stepan Mazepin, Augustin Feligioni and Jean Poujol focused on gathering useful data ahead of the final round of the FIA Karting European Championship, which is due to take place on this very Swedish circuit in a week’s time.
In Italy, in the OK-N class, Andrea Giudice won the final, having spent the entire event consistently at the top of the standings. The Italian finished second in Group 1 of qualifying, before securing four second-place finishes in the qualifying heats and a third place in Pre-final A – results that secured him third place on the starting grid for the final. Thanks to a brilliant start in the tricky mixed dry-and-wet conditions, Giudice immediately took the lead and, after a long battle for the top spot, pulled clear of the rest of the field in the final laps, crossing the finish line unchallenged.
Jenson Eric Burns, who was in the same group as his team-mate Giudice, secured two third-place finishes in the qualifying heats, but a retirement in the third heat hampered his progress. In the final, the Australian was forced to retire with four laps to go. The Brazilian Lucca Croce gained further experience to help him tackle the next round of the Italian championship in the best possible way.
In OKJ-N, Victor Thomas Gorun made his mark in the qualifying heats, securing two wins from the three scheduled races and finishing third in the provisional standings on Saturday evening. The wet track, which gradually improved during the final, hampered the Romanian driver, who nevertheless finished the race within the top ten. Giuseppe Noviello also lined up on the grid for the final race, following a consistent and error-free weekend.
In MINI Gr.3, Alfie Richard Mair confirmed his status as one of the class’s leading contenders. The British driver set the third-fastest time in Group 2 of qualifying and continued his run with two second-place finishes in the qualifying heats and a second place in Pre-final A; however, a retirement in the second heat set him back, forcing him to start from the middle of the field in the final. Despite his starting position, Mair quickly caught up with the leading group within a few laps and managed to claim third place on the podium. With one round remaining in the championship, Mair is second in the overall standings with 180 points, four points behind the leader.
Another standout performer over the weekend was Alvaro Medeiros, who secured two second-place finishes and a third in the qualifying heats, as well as third place in Pre-final A. The Brazilian got off to a good start in the final, holding second place in the opening laps and finishing the race in the top 10.
Zane Pace made up 14 places between qualifying and the pre-finals, finishing second in Pre-final A, and ended up behind Medeiros. Next came David Johannes Aagten, who finished second in Group 2 of the timed practice sessions, third in the qualifying heats and fourth in Pre-final A, and Nahil Padovani Amador, who improved as the weekend progressed. Finally, it was also a positive outing for Farel Beretta Dugat.
In the MINI Gr.3 U10 class, Romeo Ferrante finished third in his qualifying group and also came third in the first heat, but was forced to retire in the second. This incident relegated him to the middle of the field in the final, which he was forced to retire from early. Aiden Moreira, on the other hand, fought his way back ten places in Sunday’s final race, managing to finish in the top 10.
The Tony Kart Racing Team continues its season with the fourth and final round of the FIA Karting European Championship OK-OKJ, which will be held at the Kristianstad circuit in Sweden (30 July – 2 August).