The last part of the season opened on September 17th-19th at the Lonato circuit with the first of the two WSK Open Cup events. The official Parolin Motorsport team had changed its look for the occasion and adjusted to accommodate the arrival of young drivers. While Brando Badoer made his debut in KZ2, Enzo Deligny finished in the OK-Junior top five just ahead of Maksim Orlov, Christian Costoya shone in the Mini top five while newcomer Dries Van Langendonck showed great potential.
“Lonato was a satisfying event in terms of performance”, said Marco Parolin. “We showed great competitiveness in Mini and Junior, as well as in KZ2 where our rookie showed very good speed. I am happy to see our customer teams competitive in Mini and an increasing number of drivers trusting the Parolin chassis. In OK-Junior the Final result was impacted by the rain in the Prefinals, where we suffered and lost some positions. But the potential was there with a podium within reach, considering the speed shown in the heats and the Final. To have placed three drivers in the top eight in such a difficult category is a source of pride and a sign of consistency of performance.”
Brando Badoer was making his debut in KZ2 racing. Noticed for his 3rd fastest time in Qualifying, he encountered some understandable difficulties in the racing, but finished nevertheless with a very honourable 18th position in the Final.
Back in competition after a summer break, Enzo Deligny showed excellent competitiveness to reach 2nd in the OK-Junior heats thanks to four wins and a fastest lap in the race. Winner of his Prefinal, he fought hard in the top five of the Final and finished 4th in the Championship. After his 41st time, Maksim Orlov was delayed by two retirements in the heats. During his Prefinal on a wet track he came back to the front, his 16-place improvement taking him to 4th place. He improved again on the dry track in the Final to reach 6th position. Anatoly Khavalkin made up 11 places during the Qualifying Heats thanks to three top three finishes and two fastest laps. He started well in the rain in the Prefinal, but lost ground afterwards. Thanks to his speed in the Final, Anatoly regained 21 places in 17 laps and finished in 8th position.
Guillaume Bouzar qualified thanks to a 15-place gain in the Prefinal, but did not reach the finish of the Final. René Lammers was fast in a category where he still lacks experience and started with a top 10 in Qualifying before obtaining a 2nd place and two top sixes with a fastest lap in the heats. However, several incidents slowed down his race and he had to retire in the Prefinal. For his debut in OK-Junior, Matias Orjuela narrowly missed out on qualification among the 36 finalists.
Christian Costoya was once again one of the contenders in Mini, with 101 participants in Lonato. After 3rd in Qualifying, 2nd in the heats, he won his Prefinal. He took part in the fight for the Final victory and finished 5th to score 4th in the Championship. Dries Van Langendonck soon found his feet with Parolin Motorsport. Twice winner, twice 3rd and with a fastest lap in the heats, he encountered problems at the start of his Prefinal and qualified with a loose spoiler. Very determined, he drove an impressive Final and finished 8th with the fastest time and 18 places gained. Oliver Kinmark lost time in the heats before coming back into the game in the Prefinal, then finishing 17th in the Final. Simas Baciuska qualified for the Final thanks to a good effort in the wet Prefinal and finished in 29th position. Jack Illife showed a clear improvement during the timed sessions and then in two of his heats where he reached the top three and set a fastest lap. The new recruits to the team added to their international experience with more or less success. Among them, Alessandro Truchot made the strongest progress.
After three seasons dedicated purely to the direct drive categories from Mini to OK, Parolin Motorsport has made a successful return to the gearbox karting field in 2021 with its TM Racing engines. At the Kristianstad world meeting Lorenzo Travisanutto dominated the FIA Karting International Super Cup – KZ2 and added a fourth major success to his record. Parolin’s success was complemented by James Wharton’s top five finish and Viktor Öberg’s 7th place.
“Lorenzo’s victory in our colours gives us great pleasure,” commented Marco Parolin. “The two-time OK World Champion approached his first season in KZ2 with a lot of humility. He has gradually discovered the subtleties of driving a gearbox kart. We are proud to have been able to provide him with the very competitive equipment to win in Sweden. The whole team proved to be very competitive as we placed three drivers in the top seven and I thank Gallifa Kart for the quality of the TM Racing engines. James achieved his best international result in his last race in karting, by reaching 5th place after superb progression while Viktor Öberg, who joined us for the occasion, was well placed despite limited racing this season. Angelo Lombardo had also performed well among the 91 participants before having to retire in the Final. The performance of our drivers in the World KZ Championship was less convincing, but the competitiveness of the equipment was there as Francesco Celenta’s 3rd fastest time in the Final attests. Parolin Racing Kart has proven the quality of its entire chassis range at the highest level this season from Mini to KZ, to assert its place among the best current manufacturers.“
Parolin Motorsport has allowed Lorenzo Travisanutto to rediscover the fighting spirit that took him to the top of karting competition in 2018 and 2019 in OK. The Italian Champion gained confidence as the KZ2 races progressed. Already a strong performer at the last European meeting in Adria, he returned to victory in Kristianstad after an ideal run. He started by taking pole position in Qualifying against 90 drivers from all over the world, and then went on to win three heats with the fastest time each time. Leader of the heat classification, he drove a perfect Final. First of all he had to get a good start and resist the impetuousness of his rivals in the first laps. Once this was achieved, Lorenzo was able to break away from the rest of the field and calmly manage the closing laps to secure a historic victory in this de facto world cup.
James Wharton was one of the protagonists of the competition, regaining 13 positions during the heats thanks to four top fives and two fastest laps in the race. Confident in his equipment, the young Australian regained another four places during the Final and concluded with a superb top five at world level with a total progression of 17 places since Qualifying – a nice way to end his karting career. The Swedish Viktor Öberg has found his competitiveness with Parolin Motorsport. Three times in the top five of the heats with a fastest lap, he qualified in 8th place for the Final. After a slow start, Viktor made up eight places to finish in a very good 7th position. Angelo Lombardo was at ease again by coming back to 4th and 3rd in his heats, but he had to retire quite early in the Final.
In KZ, the World Championship was less successful for the Parolin Motorsport drivers. Qualifying was not brilliant and several setbacks in the heats did not help the situation. However, Francesco Celenta managed a good Final with a significant seven-place recovery and the third fastest time to finish 14th, while Mario Schettino did not finish the race.