Maglie (ITA), 5.02.2024: After the first round in Lonato, it is now the turn of the Cremona Circuit to host the second event of the WSK Super Master Series from February 7th to 11th. This championship consists of 4 rounds organized by WSK Promotion and will continue with the last two stages at Franciacorta on February 18th and will conclude in Sarno on Saturday, March 2nd.
The racing categories include KZ2, OK, OKJ, OKNJ and MINI. A total of 318 drivers from 50 different nations engaged in intense battles at the South Garda Karting track in Lonato, setting the stage for the first protagonists of the series, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year.
KZ2 – Bertuca is the leader.
The premier category, KZ2, has already provided a series of exciting duels. In the opening round, last year's champion from Italy Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega), confirmed his leadership, securing a flawless victory in Lonato ahead of his teammate, the Romanian Daniel Vasile, and the Italian Andrea Dalè (#24 Dalè/CRG-TM Kart). However, many drivers, including champions like the Frenchman Emilien Denner and his new teammate at Sodikart, Giuseppe Palomba, as well as the revelation of the recent WSK Champions Cup, the Estonian Markus Kajak (#14 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart), are eager for a quick comeback.
The championship standings of KZ2 after round 1:
1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA) (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega) points 90
2nd Andrea Dalè (ITA) (#24 Dalè/CRG-TM Kart) points 44
3rd Alex Maragliano (ITA) (#32 Renda Motorsport/Sodi-TM Kart) points 39
4th Daniel Vasile (ROU) (#4 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) points 36
5th Pedro Hiltbrand (ESP) (#16 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) points 35.
OK - Bondarev already has a good margin.
The OK category witnessed the clear triumph of Oleksandr Bondarev (#201 Prema Racing/KR-IameLeCont), who prevailed in all stages of the Lonato event, culminating in the victory of the final.
A strong and mature performance by the Ukrainian driver positions him as a leading contender for the title after his previous win at the WSK Champions Cup. Nevertheless, there are formidable rivals, such as the Italian Sebastiano Pavan (#218 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex), who secured the second step of the podium in Lonato, ahead of the Belgian Ean Eyckmans (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart), who had already showcased his talent in the previous WSK Champions Cup. The Colombian Salim Hanna (#208 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) is also among the top performers.
GLOBAL RACING SYSTEM
The championship standings of OK after round 1:
1st Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) (#201 Prema Racing/KR-Iame-LeCont) point 90
2nd Sebastiano Pavan (ITA) (#218 Tony Kart Racing Team/OTK-Vortex) points 69
3rd Salim Hanna (COL) (#208 Prema Racing/KR-Iame) points 41
4th Ean Eyckmans (BEL) (#209 BirelART Racing/TM Kart) points 37
5th David Cosma Cristofor (ROU) (#205 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame).
OKJ – An endless battle between Schaufler and Van Langendonck.
The Austrian Niklas Schaufler (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame-Vega) had a truly superb start to the season as he claimed victory in the first round of the WSK Super Master Series after also securing the WSK Champions Cup earlier in the season. In both opening events of the year, his main rival proved to be the Belgian Dries Van Langendonck (#328 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart), who finished second in both events but is determined to prevail, as he did in the 2023 WSK Final Cup, securing victory ahead of Schaufler.
The championship standings of OKJ after round 1:
1st Niklas Schaufler (AUT) (#301 DPK Racing/KR-Iame-Vega) points 90
2nd Dries Van Langendonck (BEL) (#328 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) points 54
3rd Henry Domain (GBR) (#356 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) points 39
4th Sebastian Lehtimaki (FIN) (#368 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) points 36
5th Iacopo Martinese (ITA) (#309 KR Motorsport/KTR-Iame) points 32.
OKNJ – A name above all: Bogdan Cosma Cristofor.
In the new federal category OK-N Junior, one name stands out above all in the first round of the WSK Super Master Series, Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-Vega). The
Romanian driver achieved a perfect score in qualifying, heats, prefinal and final in an event characterized by strong competition. The young Japanese girl Sara Matsui (#708 KR Motorsport/KRIame) also left her mark winning the duel in the final against those chasing the leader Cosma Cristofor. The Italian Valerio Viapiana (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame) also stood out, securing third place on the Lonato podium, along with the Englishman Archie Lovatt (#712 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart).
The championship standings of OKNJ after round 1:
1st Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU) (#711 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-Vega) points 90
2nd Sara Matsui (JPN) (#708 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) points 43
3rd Archie Lovatt (GBR) (#712 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart) points 35
4th Kacper Rajpold (POL) (#722 MG Racing Team/Tony Kart-TM Kart) points 33
5th Valerio Viapiana (ITA) (#702 Team Driver/KR-Iame) points 30.
MINI GR.3 - Blandino on top, but with a narrow margin.
Cristian Blandino (#550 Kalì-Kart/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega) secured another victory in the first round of the WSK Super Master Series, following his success in the WSK Champions Cup. However, this time it was a comeback, and he faced a bit more challenge, resulting in a relatively narrow lead over his rivals. Just 6 points behind him is the Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente (#501 Team Driver/KRIame), confirming himself as one of the major protagonists in his debut year from MINI U10, alongside the Australian William Calleja (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who also made it to the podium in the WSK Champions Cup. The championship has just begun, and the competitiveness in the category, featuring a growing number of official teams, is so intense that there will likely be other significant contenders at the top.
GLOBAL RACING SYSTEM
The championship standings of MINI Gr.3 after round 1:
1st Cristian Blandino (ITA) (#550 Kalì-Kart/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega) points 76
2nd Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP) (#501 Team Driver/KR-Iame) points 70
3rd William Calleja (AUS) (#516 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) points 50
4th Daniil Kutskov (#508 Team Driver/KR-Iame) points 34
5th Nikita Ljubomov (EST) (#552 Kalì Kart/TGroup-TM Kart) points 27.
MINI GR.3 U10 – A new leader from Sweden: Nellegard.
In the small Under 10 category, for 8 to 10 year-olds, a new name has quickly emerged as a major
protagonist: that of the Swedish driver Carl Nellegard (#553 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-Vega).
He won the final after securing victory in qualifying, heats, and the prefinal. Nellegard's final triumph came after an intense duel with the Italian Niccolò Perico (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), who currently appears to be his strongest competitor. Among the most competitive is also another Italian, Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#511 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who finished third on the Lonato podium. Excellent potential has also been seen in BabyRace's other driver, the Pole Blazej Kostrzewa and the American Lucas Palacio (#575 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame).
The championship standings of MINI Gr.3 Under 10 after round 1:
1st Carl Nellegard (SWE) (#553 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-Vega) points 90
2nd Niccolò Perico (ITA) (#526 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart) points 69
3rd Blazej Kostrzewa (POL) (#521 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) points 36
4th Lucas Palacio (USA) (#575 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) points 34
5th Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#511 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) points 32.
The final stages on Sunday, February 11th on TV and Live Streaming.
On Sunday, January 11th, the prefinals and finals will be broadcast live on TV streaming on the WSK Promotion Facebook page, WSK websites, Motorsport.com, YouTube, and the Vimeo platform:
www.wskarting.it/index.asp, https://motorsport.com/, https://www.youtube.com/@WSKPROMOTION
The program of the WSK Super Master Series, Rd2 Cremona Circuit:
Wednesday, February 7th and Thursday 8th: free practice.
Friday, February 9th: free practice; qualifying practice; qualifying heats.
Saturday, February 10th: warm up; qualifying heats.
Sunday, February 11th: warm up; Live on TV and Live Streaming Prefinals and Finals.
About WSK Karting
WSK Promotion established the international karting series back in 2006. Since then, the WSK karting championships have achieved ever-increasing participation levels, becoming the most prestigious showcase of international karting, which in recent years has exceeded 30,000 overall driver participants.
A goal achieved through the intense work of the whole WSK team, carried out with commitment, dedication and passion over these past 16 years.
And above all through the trust placed in them by the staff, federations, manufacturers, teams and the many drivers who choose the WSK races and championships to begin their career in karting and international motorsport.
Today the karting carried out in the WSK series proudly represents the starting point of current motorsport champions; in recent years almost the entire Formula 1 starting grid has been made up of drivers that grew up in WSK events.
Karting promoted by WSK goes beyond the track and behind the scenes. Through its videos, WSK Promotion takes fans backstage at each race and lets them in on the activity in the paddock, to fully relive all the excitement of every racing weekend.
Since its inception WSK Promotion has been committed to giving maximum visibility to its series for the fans and enthusiasts who, especially in this period, follow the races from home. Precisely for this reason it has all the technical infrastructure needed to be able to autonomously and remotely manage every live event.
The team of experts at WSK is made up of real communication professionals: directors, camera operators, sound recordists and many others who use all the latest-generation technological equipment to broadcast the most spectacular racing action from the track. Always accompanied by English commentary.
In an era where communications travel quickly and at an incessant pace, WSK Promotion is quick not only on track but also on the internet. At wskarting.it visitors can stay up-to-date on all the latest news of each series. This is a real content hub containing all the available information.
