On the occasion of the third round of the WSK Super Master Series, the Tony Kart Rookie finishes first in the MINI Gr.3 final with official driver Zane Pace, who also sets the fastest time in the qualifyings.
One more victory for the Tony Kart Racing Team in Viterbo. After the success achieved in the first round of the WSK Euro Series last week, the Tony Kart Rookie – paired with the Vortex VTM engine – also wins in the third round of the WSK Super Master Series, in the MINI Gr.3 category. The “Rookie” chassis also attends the event in the MINI Gr.3 U10 category, while the Tony Kart Racer 401 T is at the grid of OK, OKJ, and OKJ-N classes, powered by engines of the OTK Kart Group's “engine division.”
In the MINI Gr.3, Zane Pace and Alfie Richard Mair are once again their main drivers during the race weekend. The Maltese driver gains the pole position in Friday's qualifying with a time of 59.483 seconds, winning two races, finishing second and setting the fastest lap in the next qualifying heats, and winning pre-final B. The British driver, on the other hand, scores one win and two best laps during the qualifying heats, finishing the B pre-final in second place. Pace and Mair line up at the starting grid of Sunday afternoon's final in first and third place, respectively. When the lights go out, their two drivers are leaders in the early stages of the race and remain firmly in the leading group. The checkered flag confirms a double win for the Tony Kart Racing Team, but a subsequent 3-second penalty given to Mair sends the Englishman back to sixth place and promotes Pace to the top step of the podium. Mair, however, comforts himself with first place in the championship standings.
Alvaro Medeiros also stands out during the final and, thanks to a comeback of six positions, ends the weekend with a top-5 finish. Nahil Padovani and Farel Beretta Dugat steadily improve their results until the final, a race in which they are able to recover six and eight positions respectively in the standings, compared to the positions on the starting grid. David Aagten completes the presence of all six drivers from their sports division in the final race of Viterbo.
In the MINI Gr.3 U10 class, their sole driver, Blake Hsueh, starts the weekend positively, with the second fastest time in the qualifyings. Thanks to his results in the heats and a third place in the pre-final, he secures a place in the second row of the starting grid for the final. However, a collision halfway through the race prevents the American driver from aiming for the top positions.
In OK category, Jindřich Pešl arrives in Viterbo with the two podium finishes gained in the previous rounds of the championship. Unfortunately, a stop in the third and final qualifying heat ruins the Czech driver's chances, forcing him to recover from a difficult comeback in the final. Endo Arata obtains the third place as his best result in the qualifying heats and finishes the final race of the weekend behind Pešl. Iskender Zulfikari and Thomas Pradier qualify for the final, while rookie Ilie Tristan Crisan gains valuable experience ahead of the final two rounds of the championship.
In OKJ class, Antonio Ianni gained six positions during the final and finished ahead of Henri-Constant Kumpen, able to avoid any collision in the mid group of drivers. Martin Luis Bertolaccini, Oiva Vettenranta, Julian Frasnelli, Yubo Wen, Stepan Mazepin, and Jean Poujol work closely with their technical staff in view of the upcoming events scheduled on the calendar.
In OKJ-N class, there are several positive results from their drivers, including Augustin Feligioni's third place in C-D heat and Victor Thomas Gorun's second fastest time in Sunday morning's warm-up. The Belgian and the Romanian drivers, together with Linghan Li and Valentino Manassero, regularly attend the final.
The Tony Kart Racing Team will be back on track for the fourth round of the WSK Super Master Series in Lonato del Garda (March 4th – 8th).