Due to the unpredictable weather in Belgium, the second round of the FIA Karting European Championship was the most difficult of the season so far. Small showers often caused unpredictable variations in the grip of the Genk circuit. Delayed for this reason in Qualifying, Gabriele Mini’ admirably recovered from 43rd to 6th place finish with the fastest lap, therefore preserving all his chances in the OK rankings. Another reason for satisfaction was that Hugo Sasse and Mike Van Vugt had very convincing performances as soon as they joined the Parolin Racing Kart Team.
“The weather was really difficult to manage this weekend,” said Marco Parolin. “The conditions could change between the parc fermé and the dummy grid. It sometimes looked like a poker game! The good thing is that we reacted and Gabriele Minì was able to come back to the forefront with commendable determination. We have also strengthened our driver training. We are counting on newcomers to grow faster in both categories and increase our chances of success.“
Complicated choices in Qualifying
Gabriele Minì demonstrated the efficiency of the TM Racing-powered Parolin chassis in Free Practice in good weather, while the German Hugo Sasse gradually took the measure of his new equipment. The changeable weather for Timed Practice posed acute strategic problems that did not favor the team. Sasse was unfortunate with his 24th position, while Mini’ was far off the mark in 43rd place.
Minì gains 37 places in OK
Regaining an average of ten positions in each heat with two fastest laps in the race on Saturday, Gabriele gained 30 places before continuing his effort in a magnificent Final. Just before a storm, he was able to finish in 6th place (+7 pl) and was again the fastest. The constant work of the team and the efforts of the driver allowed him to maintain his 3rd position in the provisional classification of the European Championship. Hugo Sasse concluded with an interesting 18th place finish, while Ricardo Gracia Filho missed his qualification for the Final after two retirements in his heats.
Strong potential for Van Vugt in Junior
Despite his 32nd in Qualifying, Mike Van Vugt had good performances in the OK-Junior heats, scoring among the fastest, with notably a 3rd and a 4th place. His comeback in the Final ended prematurely after contact while he was 15th. With three positive results in the heats, Brando Badoer unfortunately gave up in the other two and could not reach the Final.
Parolin Racing Kart can confidently approach the next meeting of the European Championship in less than two weeks in Sweden, at the Kristianstad circuit.
On their first expedition out of Italy this season, the 60 Mini drivers discovered the French circuit of Angerville at the second round of the WSK Euro Series. Again well represented in the 8-12 age group, the Parolin chassis again demonstrated outstanding performance as the weather complicated the grip of the track. Al Dhaheri was on the podium in 2nd and Al Azhari finished 4th. Gabriele Mini’ did not have an easy weekend in OK, but he managed to maintain his position in the WSK Euro Series standings.
Intense battles in Junior and OK
The month-long series of races at Angerville, from the FFSA meeting to the WSK Euro Series via the FIA Karting European Championship, caused some dissatisfaction in OK and OK-Junior. In the Junior category, the Brazilian Vinicius Tessaro was the only one to defend the colours of the Parolin Racing team. After some very complicated Qualifying Heats – two retirements and a penalty – he climbed 10 places to finish 21st in the Final. Gabriele Mini’ was fighting at the forefront in the OK category as always with his 4th place at the end of the heats, but the Finals were less successful and he was 8th in the Final while maintaining his provisional ranking in the WSK Euro Series.
More remarkable performances in 60 Mini
Giovanni Trentin set an excellent time at 4 hundredths off the pole of his group and took 4th place overall in 60 Mini Qualifying. After setting the 10th fastest time, Keanu Al Azhari was three times fastest in his heats and climbed to 3rd position before the Finals. Maxime Verbrugge came back from Qualifying with good heats and reached 4th position in his Prefinal. He confirmed his form by crossing the finishing line of the Final in 10th place before being demoted to 18th by a spoiler penalty. With another fastest lap in Prefinal A, he lost his 4th position because of a penalty.
Meanwhile, Rashid Al Zhaheri won Prefinal B and long fought in the top three of the Final before taking 2nd place in a last-ditch effort. This excellent result allowed him to move up 10 places in the ranking where he is now in 3rd position.
Peter Bouzinelous again qualified for the Final and gained 12 places to finish 22nd. Qualified thanks to 10th position in the Prefinal, Valerio Rinicella made a good start to the Final in the top 15, but then gave up ground before the finish. Finally, Shimo Zhang reached the Finals for the first time after some complex heats to handle for the young Japanese driver.
“The WSK Euro Series had very different conditions compared to the two previous meetings at Angerville and the competition proved difficult,” explained Marco Parolin. “Gabriele Mini’ did not regain his usual level of performance, but he managed to maintain his position in the Championship. We were very much present in 60 Mini with half of the grid equipped with our chassis. Several fastest laps in the race and four drivers in the top five proved the quality of our products once again. I’m glad that Al Dhaheri was able to finish 2nd and get closer to the top of the standings. Al Azhari was very fast while Verbrugge was finally able to express his talent. The other drivers of the team continued their progress despite changing grip conditions. Zhang gave us great satisfaction in qualifying for the Final in his second meeting in Europe. “
The next meeting of the FIA Karting European Championship will take the Parolin drivers to Belgium, to the Genk circuit, from 16th to 19th May.
Gabriele Minì and the Parolin Racing team learned their lessons from the Angerville French Championship meeting to prepare for the first round of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK, which was held on the same circuit two weeks later. Thanks to his extremely effective equipment, the Sicilian driver was able to avoid the pitfalls of this difficult race to wisely finish in 3rd place in the Final and the provisional classification.
“It’s comforting to be able to count on the composure of a driver like Gabriele,” commented Marco Parolin. “He was very calm while the event was fraught with risks, he showed that he perfectly understood the strategy for a Championship with four events. Very fast, he set several fastest laps in the race including the Final, which allowed him to reach the podium. Thanks to him, we have scored significant points for the rest of the European confrontation. As for the Juniors, I want to highlight the performance of Kucharczyk of Team Baby Race who demonstrated the quality of the Parolin chassis with two wins in the heats and 7th in the Final, which earned him 4th place in the Championship”.
It was not just a question of pure performance at Angerville. The event was fraught with risk, as was shown by frequent incidents and the high number of penalties. In addition, the differences were small between the fastest drivers and the French track was not conducive to overtaking. However, it was easy to lose everything during a collision.
Very convincing performance in OK
Being able to count on top equipment, Gabriele Mini’ excelled in these particular conditions. After setting the fastest time of his group, he was 5th out of the 66 participants in this European Championship. He had three fastest laps in his five Qualifying Heats and returned to 3rd on the starting grid. The positions froze quickly and despite all his efforts he could not attack his rivals, even though he finished less than three tenths of a second behind with another fastest lap in the race.
A positive event for the Championship
With the 24 points scored in France, Mini has made sure Parolin is not outdistanced and can continue the European competition with the highest hopes while many favourites have already fallen behind. The second round of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK will take place at Genk, in Belgium in less than a month.
Difficult weekend in Junior
Undaunted by the specifics of the Angerville circuit, Brando Badoer and Martinius Stenshorne experienced a complicated European opening round after a disappointing Qualifying. Their efforts to come back in the Qualifying Heats came up against various incidents and penalties that did not allow them to qualify for the Final.
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Despite all their talent and constantly competitive equipment, the Parolin Racing team drivers have not been able to achieve results that matched up to their expectations during the first event of the WSK Euro Series at Sarno. The intensity of the races that took place at the foot of Vesuvius this weekend was accompanied by various setbacks that sometimes weighed heavily in the results. However, there were good performances to the credit of the Parolin drivers.
Constant presence at the front in 60 Mini
Always very well represented among the youngest drivers, the Parolin chassis chosen by many teams once again showed extremely convincing results. Five of them were in the top 10 in the Qualifying sessions before winning five victories with eight fastest laps in the Qualifying Heats. In the Prefinals as well as in the Final, the win and the fastest lap were achieved at the wheel of a Parolin chassis. The Italian brand ultimately placed six drivers in the top 10 of the provisional ranking of the WSK Euro Series, including the leader.
Return to the top five for Al Dhaheri
Keanu Al Azhari was the only official Parolin driver to score well in Qualifying, as he was 2nd by 5 thousandths from pole position. He continued with very good runs in the top three with two wins and took control on Saturday night. It became more complicated for Keanu in the final stages and he had to settle for 14th place, but still took 7th place in the overall standings. Rashid Al Dhaheri did not achieve the expected performance in Qualifying. From 21st, he made up part of his deficit in the heats. Penalised in the Prefinal, Rashid gave the maximum to make up no less than 18 places in a magnificent Final where he finished in 6th position.
The other Parolin Racing drivers had different setbacks, penalties or incidents on the track, which slowed down their progress. Valerio Rinicella lost all the benefit of his successful heats during a collision on the first lap of his Prefinal. Giovanni Trentin met with many hazards and penalties, which denied him access to the Final. Not always spared after his 33rd place in Qualifying, Maxens Verbrugge reached the Final and regained 10 places to finish 18th, his best result to date. Among the two new drivers of the team, the Australian Peter Bouzinelous made a remarkable debut. He made a superb comeback in the heats despite a penalty and was able to improve by taking another seven places in 6th position in his Prefinal. Penalised again for an unhooked spoiler in the Final, he unfortunately dropped to 29th. Finally, the Japanese driver Shimo Zhang took the measure of the category for his international debut in 60 Mini.
Increasing performance among the Juniors
Penalties and skirmishes also afflicted the three Parolin drivers in OK-Junior. They did however complete a very positive event in terms of performance. Martinius Stenshorne started with some very convincing heats as he was 13th on Saturday night. Sent back to 23rd in the Prefinal after a crash on the first lap, he managed to qualify 11th, achieving a magnificent rise of 12 places. His Final was interrupted after five laps by a collision.
Vinicius Tessaro was the best performer of the weekend despite somewhat disappointing heats. He recovered and reached the Final thanks to a remarkable nine-place rise to 11th in his Prefinal. The young Brazilian continued his momentum by finishing 18th with a gain of four positions, his best result of the season.
After an incredible dark series during the four heats in which he only crossed the finish line once, Jesse Carrasquero missed his qualification by less than 2 tenths of a second after a superb progression of 11 places which showed good potential for the upcoming events.
Nice effort from Mini’ to return to 6th in the OK Final.
Gabriele Mini’s meeting was marked by a concentration of bad luck. After setting the 7th fastest time in Qualifying, he gave up after a contact on the last lap of the first heat. He could have more easily compensated for this handicap if the small size of the category had not changed the rules. In this case, the order of starts for the following heats used the finishing order of the previous heat. Gabriele had to start from the back of the grid to take 12 places in the second heat. Things were not so good in the last heat as he was 26th after a penalty. The Sicilian regained control in the Prefinal, 17th with a gain of nine places, then in the Final where he finished in an unexpected 6th place after a further progression of 11 positions.
The next important event in OK and OK-Junior will take place in France, at the Angerville circuit for the first meeting of the FIA Karting European Championship from 19th to 21st April.
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The first international championship of the year, the WSK Super Master Series, ended at Sarno with a superb victory for Rashid Al Dhaheri in 60 Mini, which also enabled Parolin to win the general classification. Although not a surprise considering the performance level of the Parolin chassis, this result is a pleasant reward for the Italian factory.
“We are extremely pleased with our 60 Mini win, confirming our tradition of success that has lasted for three consecutive years,” commented Marco Parolin. “We won this title in 2017 with Gabriele Minì, last year with Martinius Stenshorne and this season with Rashid Al Dhaheri. This is something we are proud of, especially because the level of competition in the Mini category continues to increase. We confirm our high standard as a team, and of course as a chassis manufacturer. In the other two categories, we worked hard this weekend to improve in the difficult conditions at Sarno, preparing for the next challenge, the WSK Euro Series.”
Parolin once again represented a large proportion of the 60 Mini field. The results included nine victories in the heats, 10 drivers in the top 13 of the Final and eight Parolins in the top 10 of the Championship. The numbers are always impressive.
Because of the importance of slipstreaming on the long Neapolitan circuit, Qualifying Practices were not always easy to manage for the very young drivers in 60 Mini. Keanu Al Azhari and Giovanni Trentin, however, managed to achieve the 2nd and 3rd fastest times among the 87 participants, while Rashid Al Dhaheri was 15th. The latter however completed exemplary runs and returned to the front of the competition on Saturday night. Starting from 6th in the Final, Al Dhaheri took the lead from the second lap and brilliantly controlled his opponents until the finish. He took the lead in the standings of the series and earned a well-deserved crown. Also very fast, Giovanni Trentin achieved his best result by entering the top 10 in the Final. Victim of a racing incident at the start of his Prefinal, Al Azhari unfortunately could not defend his chances in the Final.
It was also a Prefinal accident that delayed Gabriele Mini’s progress in OK. However, he managed to qualify 30th in the Final and a festival of overtaking allowed him to return to 8th position at the finish line. This remarkable effort allowed him to save his place in the top five overall of the WSK Super Master Series.
Although he had to overcome his 30th place in the OK-Junior Timed Practice, Brando Badoer did a great job moving up to 7th in the Final before finishing 11th. Martinius Stenshorne fell to the back of the pack during a clash on the second lap of the Final, which prevented him from enjoying his potential as much as he deserved.
After an exceptional start to the season, Parolin is preparing to start the WSK Euro Series next weekend which will take place on the same circuit of Sarno. The goal is clear: to work even harder with the young drivers of the team to improve the results they are able to achieve with the high-performance equipment from Parolin.
The third event of the WSK Super Master Series took place at La Conca in very strong grip conditions. Parolin chassis demonstrated their exceptional versatility by enabling their drivers to achieve top results at all levels. The success of Parolin was magnificently highlighted by the remarkable victory by Gabriele Mini in the prestigious OK category.
The third event of the WSK Super Master Series took place at La Conca in very strong grip conditions. Parolin chassis demonstrated their exceptional versatility by enabling their drivers to achieve top results at all levels. The success of Parolin was magnificently highlighted by the remarkable victory by Gabriele Mini in the prestigious OK category.
The Parolin Racing Team’s Junior drivers had to face the harshness of racing. Martinius Stenshorne and Brando Badoer both finished in 3rd place in their Prefinals, after much effort in the heats. The last race was not the easiest to negotiate. Only Badoer managed to confirm in 8th position while Stenshorne was delayed in a collision at the start. To finish 18th in these conditions remains an impressive feat. Not spared by problems, Alessandro Cenedese ended on a positive note by gaining 12 positions in this Final.
The race was no easier in 60 Mini. Rashid Al Dhaheri was initially held up by two competitors with problems ahead of him in Qualifying. Expecting to take pole position, he had to settle for 20th. Rashid then retired in two heats but still managed to move up to 12th in the Final and take 2nd in the WSK Super Master standings. Keanu Al Azhari was no better off with his 28th time, but he had a series of very good races with three fastest laps. He finished well in 8th place, again with the fastest lap. The incredible recovery by Giovanni Trentin, from 59th to 11th, completed a very positive picture for Parolin.
The Italian brand could indeed congratulate itself on seeing in 60 Mini its products to take pole position, seven places among the top 10 of the heats, victory in the two Prefinals and seven places in the top eight of the Final, including the three fastest laps of the race. At La Conca, the Parolin Racing Team took its fifth podium of the season.
Still well represented, the Parolin brand has just achieved more success at the second round of the WSK Super Master Series at Lonato. More than half of the 60 Mini finalists at South Garda Karting actually raced on Parolin chassis, five of which finished in the top ten. With pole position, 12 wins out of 15, two wins in the Prefinals, and the Final victory, the score is once again eloquent for the company from Bassano del Grappa.
“After the form shown in the rain at Adria, the second round of the WSK Super Master Series demonstrated our potential in the dry,” commented Marco Parolin. “In the sun at Lonato, our chassis have been very effective. In 60 Mini, our driver Rashid Al Dhaheri dominated from start to finish with a high level of skill. It was more complicated for the other Parolin Racing Team drivers as well as in OK-Junior, a category in full swing for us in which the performances unfortunately did not lead to the expected results, partly because of lively battles on the track. In OK, Gabriele Mini’ was undoubtedly the most powerful driver in the Qualifying Phases, before being delayed in the battle of the Prefinal. In any case, our level of competitiveness has been reinforced again.”
Gabriele Mini’ clearly dominated the OK category after his 2nd fastest time by brilliantly winning his four Qualifying Heats. He managed a remarkable recovery of 14 places in the Final and finished in 9th position, again one of the fastest on the track.
Already a winner at Adria, Rashid Al Dhaheri repeated his feat at Lonato. 3rd fastest in Qualifying, he took the lead in the heats with three wins and two fastest laps of the race. As the battle became even more intense, Rashid won the Prefinal and triumphed in an epic fight up to the final metres of the Final. He therefore reinforced his lead in the provisional classification of the WSK Super Master Series. Keanu Al Azhari and Valerio Rinicella were in the top five in the Prefinals before losing their chances in the Final battles. Giovanni Trentin made a good debut with the team with three top threes in the heats and a gain of 12 places in the Final before a spoiler penalty.
The OK-Junior drivers of the team were not celebrating as a result of disappointing Qualifying Practices and fierce clashes in the pack. Brando Badoer was forced to retire in the Prefinal, while Martinuis Stenshorne took a 9th position in the Prefinal and was in the top 10 of the Final with the second fastest time when he had to retire with a broken chain.
In the first event of the WSK Super Master Series, the Adria track remained wet and slippery until the Prefinals. In these winter conditions, the Parolin chassis once again demonstrated their versatility on all terrain, allowing many drivers to express their talent. The superb victory for Rashid Al Dhaheri in Mini, and the performances of Brando Badoer in Junior and Gabriele Mini’ in OK, brought great satisfaction to the Parolin Racing Team.
“While most of the season’s competitors were there for the opening of the WSK Super Master Series, the Parolin brand has remained the best represented on the grid, not only in Mini, but also in Junior, and our project is also progressing in the top category,” said Marco Parolin. “Our successes in Mini confirm this as much as our breakthrough in OK-Junior and our level of performance in OK. However the weekend at Adria was very wet with consequent numerous incidents and penalties. The victory for Rashid Al Dhaheri in Mini is all the more beautiful as he started from a long way back. The 100% Parolin 60 Mini podium obviously gives us great satisfaction“.
Al Dhaheri on a cloud
It was the young Maxens Verbrugge who set the fastest time of the official Parolin team in 60 Mini, but incidents and a penalty in the Prefinal caused him to miss his qualification. Meanwhile, Rashid Al Dhaheri was back in 5th position with three wins, a feat after starting from 33rd place in Qualifying. Strong and determined, he fought in the leading group for the Final victory and managed to win after a crazy race, thus taking the lead in the championship. With great determination, Douwe Dedecker managed to recover from 60th place in Qualifying and reached the top 20 of the Final. The other drivers of the team suffered in the pack as a result of poor performance in Qualifying in the rain. They all made good progress in the heats, for example Keanu Al Azhari regained 31 places in five heats, but their starting handicap was too great to allow them to reach the Final.
ABadoer long in the top five
4th in Qualifying, Brando Badoer represented the best chances of the Parolin Racing Team in OK-Junior. Winner for the first time of a heat in his new category, he was delayed by a retirement, but remained in the game by finishing in the top five of Prefinal B. The Final did not go as well as expected in the dry, and Brando first lost ground before taking back positions at the end of the race to finish 19th. Alessandro Cenedese, Martinius Stenshorme and Vinicius Tessaro also had to give up in the fight of one of their heats. Cenedese was penalised in the Prefinal before finishing 26th in a complicated Final. Tessaro made up for a very good Final B where he finished in 2nd position while Jesse Carrasquero continued his progress in the pack.
Mini in the frame in the rain
Although rain is not his favourite conditions, Gabriele Mini’ did not leave the front of the OK category. 5th in Qualifying, he won one of his heats before taking 3rd place in his Prefinal while posting the fastest lap in the race. Gabriele fought for a long time between 3rd and 5th position in the Final and planned to ensure a good result at the finish, but a broken chain decided otherwise two laps from the goal.
The next meeting for the Parolin Racing Team will be at the end of February at Lonato for the second round of the WSK Super Master Series.
Parolin Racing Kart has already made an impression at the very beginning of the 2019 season. Excellent results have been achieved in the USA as part of the Florida Winter Series, with four victories at Homestead Miami, as well as in Indonesia for the opening of the IAME Asia Series. In Europe, they competed in the WSK Champions Cup at Adria and Parolin has already taken two podiums in all three categories, a positive sign for the brand’s ambitions to progress its drivers from Mini to OK.
Very well established in 60 Mini, as shown by the results and participation figures at this first event, the Italian brand has also extended its area of expertise in OK-Junior with growing representation, and finished strongly in OK, the advanced category where Gabriele Mini shone. Moreover, with a factory renovated and revamped during the winter, Parolin starts the new year better placed than ever to extend its influence on kart racing in many countries.
A good start in OK
With a very convincing performance in the OK category, Gabriele Mini was able to mount the second step of the WSK Champions Cup podium, even though a technical problem forced him to start from last position in the heats. The World Junior Vice-Champion made a great comeback, reaching the front in the Qualifying Heats, then the top five in the Prefinal. He continued his climb to 2nd place in the Final, an extremely encouraging result for the rest of the season.
Top three and numerical dominance in Mini
The spearhead of the strategy for Parolin for two years, 60 Mini is undeniably influenced by the brand from Romano D’Ezzelino. A good half of the field of the WSK Champions Cup were indeed using the Parolin chassis. They took pole position and the four fastest laps, then nine wins in the 15 races, as well as two wins in the Prefinals and the fastest lap in the Final. Five Parolin chassis were ranked in the top eight in the Final.
The official Parolin team relied on six young drivers, including five newcomers, to defend the colours of the factory. As soon as he arrived in his new team, Rashid Al Dhaheri fulfilled his mission perfectly as he was often in 2nd place during practice and in the heats. Penalised for his spoiler in the Prefinal, despite this he managed to get on the Final podium. Keanu Al Azhari, also from the UAE, was the lap record holder of the event, with several fastest laps in the race. Fast in Qualifying, the Belgian Douwe Dedecker was in the top 10 of the heats but had to retire in the Prefinal. The Italian Valerio Rinicella was more and more successful during the races. 7th in his Prefinal, he was delayed in the Final. The Frenchman Maxens Verbrugge reached the Final of his first race in 60 Mini and ranked 31st out of 82 despite a penalty. Chinese driver Chi Newman Zhen Rui took part in his first European competition.
Expanded presence in Junior
The results obtained last year by Gabriele Mini have had a strong impact on the competition. At Adria, the Parolin team was strong with five drivers, mostly young talents coming directly from the Mini categories. At this high level, the Italian Brando Badoer made a convincing run into the top 10 in the Final while his new teammates, the Norwegian Martinius Stenshorne and the Brazilian Vinicius Tessaro were already performing well. Like Tessaro, Alessandro Cenedese missed his qualification in the Final because of a spoiler penalty, but they caught up by finishing 1st and 3rd in Final B. The Mexican Jesse Alenjandro Carrasquero Parada for his part took his first steps in European competition.
“We are now extending our strategy to other categories and other continents,” explained Marco Parolin. “Our recent Mini and Junior performances have strengthened our development potential and we are building on these achievements in a number of areas. The basis of our work is the production of very competitive chassis, which are easy to use. We continue our efforts in this direction based on our leading results.”
After Gabriele Mini’s performance in Las Vegas, the 2018 season ended in Adria with the third and final event of the WSK Final Cup in the rain. While Mini’ concluded with another victory and the 2nd place in the Championship, the rise of the Parolin chassis continued in 60 Mini. Always at the forefront of the category, Brando Badoer unfortunately dropped out in the Final and had to settle for 4th place in the standings of the Italian series.
“The season ends with a very positive overall score,” said Marco Parolin. “What better than to finish on the top step of the last race after a year full of top-notch performances? Gabriele Mini’s 2nd place in X30 Junior in Las Vegas at the Supernationals XXII had already made an impression, while Alessio Lorandi of Team Baby Race won in KZ2 at the wheel of a Parolin. This weekend, another Baby Race driver has also won in OK, demonstrating that private teams can win with Parolin. I think everyone is now convinced of the quality of our products. In 60 Mini, 20 of the 34 Adria finalists raced on a Parolin chassis and 10 finished in the top 14 in addition to a 1-2 in 1st and 2nd places. By winning the Junior Final in the rain, Gabriele demonstrated the versatility of our equipment capable of performing in all conditions.”
Brando Badoer had once again shown great potential in 60 Mini with four wins and two fastest laps in the Qualifying Heats after a retirement in view of the finish in the first heat. 2nd in his Prefinal, he unfortunately dropped to 16th on the last lap of the Final and could not improve his 4th place in the Championship. The American Mateo Rubio Luego was very successful in his first race with Parolin, 4th in the heats after his 5th fastest Qualifying, but he had to give up in the Final. Russia’s Maksimilian Popov was 4th in Prefinal B but lost many positions in the Final. His compatriot Kosntantin Krapin qualified narrowly in a beautiful Prefinal B. Finally the Emirates driver Keanu Al Azhari progressed well from 20th to 14th place in the Final. Note that all Parolin Racing Team drivers qualified for the Final.
Starting from the 10th place in the OK-Junior Heats, Gabriele Mini’ had three wins in his four races, including two fastest laps. Winner of his Prefinal, again the fastest, he led from start to finish in the Final and won masterfully with a lead of over 8”. Vice-Champion of Europe, Vice-World Champion, 2nd in Las Vegas, Gabriele once again finished 2nd in the WSK Final Cup.
After setting the 52nd time in Qualifying, Alessandro Cenedese had a good recovery in the heats up to 21st, but had to give up at the start of the Prefinal. The young Norwegian driver Martinius Stenshorne, just up from 60 Mini, started badly with his 70th position on the clock. He returned to 41st at the end of the heats despite some penalties and qualified in an incredible 9th place in Prefinal B. He continued his climb to 14th position, a gain of more than 50 places during the meeting. Finally, Lithuanian Kajus Siksnelis made his debut with the team. A penalty of 10” for having exceeded the limits of the track in the last heat definitively affected his progress.
“We are now going to celebrate this great season,” concluded Marco Parolin. “And we will immediately get back to work to build on our commitment to racing in order to prepare our strategy for 2019. After 2018 we have a good trajectory to continue along“.