For the last two seasons, Parolin Racing Kart has decided to focus on categories open to young drivers. In the footsteps of Gabriele Mini, many drivers from around the world have found the path to success thanks to the remarkable performance of the Parolin chassis. As the year begins its second part, the Italian brand is already very successful in terms of victories in 2018.
“We are very proud of the success of our new focus on youth categories,” said Marco Parolin. “We have managed to develop a chassis that is very easy to use and competitive in all conditions. We did not only want to shine at the highest level, but above all to offer equipment capable of meeting the needs of drivers of all levels, whatever the engines and tyres used, not to mention the specific weather conditions in each country. It gives us great satisfaction to see that our frames are able to shine around the world.”
The adventure really began in 2017. In the Parolin colours, Gabriele Mini’ has been successful on many occasions. He made a name for himself in the highly contested 60 Mini category by winning the WSK Super Master Series and the Italian Championship. With this experience, Parolin Racing Kart developed a particularly successful chassis for the 2018 homologation. The wins were not only in the international arena, but also in various national championships all over the world.
At the international level, the competitiveness of Parolin chassis has been confirmed with new drivers. While 60 Mini was still contested by teams and talented drivers, the Norwegian Martinius Stenshorne won the WSK Open Cup and the WSK Super Master Series, while the Briton Coskun Irfan won the Industrial Trophy.
But it is undoubtedly the victories acquired in different countries and continents that reveal the most value of the Parolin chassis. In the United States, Caleb Gafrarar won the Florida Winter Tour in Micro Rok, while Jace Park became Vice Champion of the SKUSA Pro Tour in Mini Swift. Maxens Verbrugge was recently crowned as French Minime Champion, while Douwe Dedecker won Mini Parilla in the IAME Series Benelux. In the UAE, Keanu Al Azhari won the UAE Rotax Max Challenge in Micro Max and also won X30 Cadet at the UAE X30 O Plate. Idar Gjerkevik became Norwegian Mini Champion, Mathias Jakobsen won the Danish Championship, Konstantin Krapin became Russian Champion and Piotr Protasiewicz won the Rok Cup Poland in Mini Rok. The Parolin chassis have also enjoyed significant success in other countries such as Mexico, Chile and Southeast Asia.
“I want to congratulate all the young drivers who won with Parolin this year,” said Marco Parolin. “I thank them for their trust in our equipment. We will continue our strategy towards young drivers around the world to enable them to showcase their talent and progress under our colours as Gabriele Mini’ did by winning the WSK Super Master Series in OK-Junior and becoming Junior European Vice-Champion.”
Parolin Racing Kart’s first European campaign in OK-Junior was completed in France with victory in the Final for the young driver Gabriele Mini’. The European Junior Vice-Championship also rewarded the performances by the Parolin / Parilla from the Italian team who were one of the most serious protagonists of the international season.
“We could not finish better in the European Championship!” said Marco Parolin. “At Essay, we really did our best, demonstrating once again our competitiveness in a new field. For his first year in OK-Junior, Gabriele Mini’ was the most consistent driver at the top of the rankings, whatever the conditions. It gives Parolin Racing Kart great satisfaction to have been so successful. After winning the WSK Super Master Series, we have finished 2nd in Europe. Our goal was to be among the best in OK-Junior, so we have surpassed it.”
The Parolin driver completed fulfilled his mission at the highly technical track of Essay (FRA). After setting the 7th fastest time, he has managed to get back into the top five in the Qualifying Heats by avoiding the pitfalls of this important phase, while still being among the fastest, as evidenced by his fastest lap in heat 3. He drove the Final with a lot of intelligence, confident in the potential of his Parolin / Parilla to take the lead in mid-race after avoiding the pitfalls of the first very hectic laps. Mini’ then drove to a great victory, more than a second and a half ahead of his rivals.
Gabriele finished his first European Championship in 2nd place, just three points behind the title, making his team proud. The next major event will take place at the end of September in Sweden for the World Junior Championship. Parolin Racing Kart has perfectly reasonable ambitions for this season’s flagship event. However, thanks to the great performances achieved this year, in Junior as well as in 60 Mini, the Italian brand is already preparing its strategy for the coming season using its strongest attributes.