The fourth and final round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series organised by RGMMC at Franciacorta confirmed the excellent performance of Parolin Motorsport in OK and OK-Junior. Maksim Orlov finished 2nd on the OK podium and Rene Lammers finished 2nd in the OK-Junior Final, while Anatholy Khavalkin secured 2nd position in the Championship.
The performance of Parolin Motorsport was actually much more positive than the raw results would suggest. With two weeks to go before the final round of the FIA European Karting Championship, the Bassano del Grappa-based team showed impressive control over the Franciacorta track, both in terms of equipment and drivers.
“Tyre management is a key element for success on this track,” explained Marco Parolin. “I think we were very good in this respect. Our chassis degrade the tyres very little, which allows our drivers to perform with great consistency. Rene Lammers managed to reach 2nd place in the Final despite being 58th in Qualifying. This is a personal achievement for the young Dutchman, but also a convincing success for our material. His rise to 5th place in the Championship is well deserved. Anatholy Khavalkin had the potential to win, but the Final battle was not in his favour. However, he achieved the best possible result in the whole series with a very rewarding 2nd position in the Championship.
Maksim Orlov upped the pace in OK by progressing through the top 5 of the heats before finishing in 2nd place in the Final with a combination of performance and consistency. The weekend was more difficult for Enzo Deligny with a hellish Final. He was pushed around at the start and was sent back to 32nd position on the first lap. He regained 20 places and was 12th at the flag while being the fastest on the track, before being disqualified because of a damaged rear bumper in the incident at the beginning of the race.
In any case, we have a good basis to work on in view of the European Championship which will end in a fortnight in Franciacorta. Khavalkin’s 2nd place in OK-Junior and Deligny’s 4th place in OK in the provisional standings give us some very interesting opportunities that we will do our utmost to take advantage of.”
OK-Junior
René Lammers
58th in Qualifying, 21st after the heats (+37 places), gain of 10 places and victory in Super Heat 2, leader for nine laps and 2nd in the Final (+9 places), 5th in the Championship
Anatholy Khavalkin
6th in Qualifying, three heat wins, winner of Super Heat 1, leader for 13 laps and 4th in the Final, 2nd in the Championship
Zac Drummond
48th in Qualifying, moved up 20 places in the heats, and nine places to 5th in Super Heat 2, came back to 15th in the Final with a gain of nine places, then penalised 21st because of a badly positioned front fairing
Iwo Beszterda
8th in Qualifying, 16th after the heats, 16th in Super Heat 2, 23rd in the Final
OK
Maksim Orlov
12th in Qualifying, 5th in heats, 6th in Super Heat 1, 2nd in Final, 14 places gained in the Championship
Enzo Deligny
18th in Qualifying, seven places regained in the heats, 5th in Super Heat 1, climbed 20 places in the Final with the best time, disqualified for the absence of a part of the rear bumper
The second and final round of the FIA Karting European Championship – KZ & KZ2 saw particularly difficult conditions on the Cremona circuit. At almost 35° in the shade, the texture of the asphalt put the tyres to a severe test. In addition, the rubber on the track made any attempt to deviate from it dangerous. Overtaking became difficult to achieve. Lorenzo Travisanutto nevertheless managed to progress to the KZ top ten, followed by Francesco Celenta at the chequered flag. The two Parolin Motorsport drivers finished the Championship in 8th and 9th place.
“The 2022 European Championship ends with a bitter taste,” explained Marco Parolin. “The competition in Cremona did not allow us to show the potential of our equipment and to battle as we wanted. The tyres suffered a lot from the conditions and it was important to take care of them to reach the finish. The programme had to be reduced by removing the Super Heats so that the quantity of tyres available would be sufficient to reach the Final. Our drivers had to adapt to this unusual situation without attacking as they are used to. Lorenzo was initially delayed by a penalty in the first heat before being able to make up places. He was able to show his talent in the Final, making a good five-place recovery to 10th position. Francesco also put in a solid performance in 11th place. They both deserve to be congratulated for having avoided the pitfalls of this event”.
“Marco Tormen and Fotis Sotiropoulos, who started far away in Qualifying, were not able, despite their efforts, to qualify for the KZ2 Final in the hell of Cremona. We will now prepare intensively for the big world meeting in Le Mans at the beginning of September to aim for results more in line with our potential”.
Parolin Motorsport triumphed in the tough Kristianstad event thanks to the masterful performance by Anatholy Khavalkin who led the team to victory in the third round of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK-Junior. He is now 2nd in the provisional standings before the Franciacorta event in a month’s time. At the same time, Maksim Orlov reached the top five in OK and Enzo Deligny remained well placed in 4th in the Championship.
“The Junior win and a top five in OK are very good results for the team in Sweden,” said Marco Parolin. “Kristianstad is always a particular challenge because of the track layout, and the weather conditions are not always favourable as we saw two weeks ago. However, we went into the race with confidence thanks to the performances of Khavalkin during the Champions of the Future. It should be remembered that Anatholy could not be present at the European competition in Zuera and did not have any joker in hand. He achieved a real master stroke this weekend by remaining very calm and concentrated. He had to negotiate several starts from the outside lane, which is always a handicap. After minimising the time loss at lights out, he attacked as soon as possible to take the lead, knowing that the set-up of his kart would make him faster and faster after the halfway point. René Lammers and Zac Drummond also showed good speed in the pack. We will prepare for the next race in Franciacorta with great ambitions, even though the fight for the title will be difficult. 2nd in the provisional ranking, Khavalkin will not be able to discount any results, unlike his close rivals Tye and Matveev.
In OK, I must admit that we suffered a bit, it wasn’t our best weekend. But I am happy that the drivers were able to do their best according to their starting position and the situation. Maksim Orlov was able to make a very good run in the top ten. It was less positive for Enzo Deligny who managed to make up 10 places in the Final to come close to the top 10. He nevertheless dropped from 2nd to 4th place in the ranking, a few lengths behind the two leaders.”
The weather was good in Sweden during the three days of racing with a dry track and increasingly clear skies. Subtle variations in temperature and humidity kept the technicians busy with both chassis and engine tuning. The balance of power has changed significantly since the start of the season, remembering the specificities of the Swedish track, but Parolin continues to play a leading role.
OK-Junior
Anatholy Khavalkin
2nd in Qualifying, four wins and a 2nd place in a heat, 2nd in the Super Heat A, winner of the Final with a 1” lead, 2nd in the provisional Championship ranking, four points behind the leader.
Zac Drummond
46th in Qualifying, climbed 13 places in the heats and three places in the Super Heat, came back to 21st in the Final with a gain of seven places, then penalised to 25th because of a badly positioned front fairing.
René Lammers
28th in Qualifying, 29th after the heats, gained three places in the Super Heat, retired in the Final, 5th in the provisional Championship ranking.
Iwo Beszterda
53rd in Qualifying, 39th after the heats with 14 places gained, 15th in Super Heat (+4 places), qualified 35th (+4 places), climbed 13 places to 22nd in the Final. Total progress of 31 places.
OK
Maksim Orlov
7th in Qualifying, 4th in heats, 5th in Super Heat B, 5th in Final, 25 places gained in the Championship.
Enzo Deligny
25th in Qualifying, six places gained in the heat, 11th in the Final with a gain of 10 places, 4th in the provisional Championship ranking.