Two weeks before the big FIA Karting event at the end of the season, the Champions of the Future Shifters provided a great opportunity last weekend to prepare equipment and drivers in KZ, KZ2 and KZ2 Masters at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. After some rain, the Finals took place on a dry track.
New Zealander Daniel Bray put in an exceptional performance with the Modena Racing Kart team in KZ2 Masters. 4th in Qualifying, he contested his heats in the top three before taking 2nd position in the Super Heat. He concluded the Final with a superb 3rd place, marking his return to the forefront of international competition.
Lorenzo Travisanutto, who qualified 10th in the KZ class, encountered a few difficulties during the heats. He began to make up lost ground by regaining three places in the Super Heat, but it was during the Final that he gave his best performance, making up six places to reach 7th place.
The Modena Racing Kart team performed brilliantly in KZ2. Maksim Orlov made great progress during the five Qualifying Heats, where he made some superb comebacks, including two in 4th position with a best lap in the race. He secured 2nd position in his Super Heat before being penalised 7th because of his start and made up another seven places in the Final by finishing 8th. Fotios Sotiropoulos continued to make progress throughout the meeting, finishing the Final six places up in 16th place. Erik Holm scored two top three finishes in the heats and finished 4th in his Super Heat before losing ground in the Final. Alessio Piccini missed out in Qualifying but made up 27 places during the heats. He made up 12 places to finish 2nd in his Super Heat, but lost ground in the Final. Anatoly Khavalkin and Miguel Costa retired in the Super Heat and failed to qualify.
“The Portuguese track baffled several of our drivers,” said Marco Parolin. “The work of our teams, Parolin Motorsport and Modena Racing Kart, provided a number of solutions and we made a lot of progress. We’re going to make the most of the short time before the FIA Karting event to use the data and fine-tune the equipment in order to be more competitive next week”.
The KZ World Championship, the KZ2 World Cup and the KZ2 Masters International Super Cup will take place at Portimao from 10th to 13th October 2024.
This weekend saw the second and final round of the WSK Euro Series at Sarno. Parolin represented more than 40% of the Mini field and placed six chassis in the top 10. Christian Costoya finished 2nd in his first OK race and Billy van Staveren became OK-N Junior Champion.