For Parolin Racing Kart, the record of the first event of the 2017 European Championship which has just ended at Sarno is not entirely satisfactory. However, Camplese’s formidable place rise in the KZ Final confirms the potential of the Italian brand.
Lorenzo Camplese had to face several setbacks after his 12th in Timed Qualifying. He was delayed twice in the heats, first by a spoiler penalty, then by a retirement while he was 9th before finishing the last heat without a hitch. Without these troubles, he could have hoped to start the Final in the top 10, instead, he was starting from the 22nd position.
This difficult situation, however, allowed him the achievement of reaching 7th place after the 20 laps of the Final, an incredible progression of 15 positions among the top factory drivers. This gives Parolin Racing Kart a real hope for the next meeting in less than three weeks at the Genk circuit in Belgium.
The meeting was also not easy for Shihab Al Habsi in OK-Junior. He started by qualifying in the slowest session, the first after the KZ warm-up on Bridgestone tyres. Credited with a distant 57th time, Shihab was determined to move up in the heats. This is what he did despite the intensity of the brawl among the 70 Juniors in the competition. Gaining up to nine places per race, with an excellent time in his last race, Shihab was still short of qualifying for the Final.
“We are legitimately disappointed with our results for the first round of the European Championship at Sarno,” Albino Parolin commented. “We have the potential to do much better in the next event and we will be working to give ourselves more chances for the Genk meeting for KZ.”
On the Sarno circuit, the final meeting of the WSK Super Master Series confirmed the excellent standard of performance of the Parolin Racing Kart chassis. Problems in the races left Lorenzo Camplese and Shihab Al Habsi without of good places in KZ2 and OK-Junior, but Gabriele Mini managed to regain the lead of the 60 Mini category to win a well deserved title.
Gabriele Mini has undoubtedly been the top performer of the entire 2017 WSK Super Master Series. With three pole positions out of four, leading the Qualifying Heats at each event, he has gradually moved up the rankings to win the title at the Sarno round. This weekend, at the foot of Vesuvius, Gabriele won his four races and his Prefinal before finishing 3rd in the Final in an epic battle where he made intelligent decisions to secure the title. Always very fast, he is holder of the record lap time of the event. This magnificent result allowed him to surpass all his opponents in the final standings of the series and to crown the crown with a good lead.
“We are very happy with Gabriele’s success. Albino Parolin declared. “He is a very good driver and we are proud to have provided him with the equipment to win while the competition was extremely tight. The whole team congratulates him. We also have the satisfaction of seeing our other two drivers line up with top performance. Racing incidents and mechanical problems did not allow them to shine until the end of the meeting, but everything is in place to start the European Championships in very good condition.”
The meeting had started badly for Shihab Al Habsi in OK-Junior, who only clocked 60th in the time trial. The young Omani driver was able to get back into the Qualifying Heats before making an extraordinary comeback of 18 places in his Prefinal to reach the top 10. While he had a great card to play starting 20th in the Final, a 40-place win since Qualifying, Shihab unfortunately had to retire early in the race. His good progress since the beginning of the season nevertheless shows a very interesting potential for the European Championship.
Lorenzo Camplese was very much in the frame at Sarno. Having already set the 7th fastest time in Qualifying, he returned to the top five during the heats, in particular posting the best lap of the first race, whereas the overall standard of competition was higher than ever. Confirming his speed in Prefinal, he expected to do even better during the 17 laps of the Final. Unfortunately, a mechanical problem forced him to retire early.
In less than two weeks Al Habsi in OK-Junior and Camplese in KZ2 return to the Sarno circuit for the first event of the CIK-FIA European Championships with the ambition to carry the colours of Parolin Racing Kart to the highest level.
As spring approaches, international kart racing is seeing a weather situation more in line with the standards of the discipline. The Parolin Racing Kart team was able to perform very well during the third round of the WSK Super Master Series. To the excellent performance of Camplese among the best in KZ2, was added the well deserved victory for Gabriele Mini in the youngest category.
“Until now, we have not had the opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of our knowledge this year,” Albino Parolin pointed out. “We were confident in the quality of our equipment and the strong potential of the team, but that had not yet been reflected in our results. At La Conca, we have taken an important step towards our objectives. The development continues and we have other strong cards to play in the near future.”
The circuit of La Conca is unique. In addition to the temperature of around 20°C in the region, the surface of the track can baffle competitors with the very strong grip it generates. The Parolin Racing Kart team was not at all destabilised by these unusual conditions, and the chassis of the Bassano brand was reacting perfectly to the different settings. Shihab Al Habsi’s OK-Junior progress was unfortunately affected by several clashes that tarnished the record of the weekend, despite the interesting performances that the young Omani has achieved when he didn’t suffer any setbacks.
Unnerved until then by the wet circuits of the 2017 WSK Super Master, Lorenzo Camplese found his smile in the grip of La Conca. Early season efforts were rewarded with flattering results, although a mechanical problem prevented him from completing the demonstration in the Final. With 3rd in KZ2 Qualifying, a best lap in the race, heat finishes between 2nd and 4th place and a top five in the Prefinal, Lorenzo was well on his way to a great Final because he had already taken five positions when his engine broke down. Thanks to the level of performance displayed throughout the weekend, satisfaction has prevailed nevertheless.
A contender in 60 Mini since the first races of the season, Gabriele Mini finally got the victory that he deserved. Once again on pole position and the undisputed leader of the qualifying heats, the young factory Parolin Racing Kart driver fought until the end of the final stages to reach the first step of the podium that he coveted so much, and shared the joys with the whole team. He moved back to 2nd place in the championship, very close to the leader.
More motivated than ever, the Parolin Racing Kart team is set to arrive at the Sarno track with solid assets for the finale of the 2017 WSK Super Master Series.
On the track at 7 Laghi di Castelletto, the second weekend of the WSK Super Master Series again thwarted the Parolin Racing Kart team’s objectives. However, there have been good performances already to the credit of the Italian team whose ambitions remain very high for the 2017 season.
“The results of this WSK Super Master round are not really in line with our ambitions, but the level of performance of our chassis is already very encouraging,” Albino Parolin commented. “We saw that Camplese could be very fast in KZ2, while Mini went well in 60 Mini. Al Habsi is making good progress in OK-Junior and he put in some good performances this weekend. We all look forward to getting out of these winter conditions to see more representative races. The team has not yet reached its cruising speed, and arrival of new drivers will allow us to develop our already competitive equipment.”
Not yet very comfortable in the rain with the new Bridgestone tyres, Lorenzo Camplese (KZ2) showed excellent speed as soon as the track dried. Even though the level of grip was never exceptional, he already gained 12 positions in the last qualifying heat on Saturday while achieving the fastest lap of the race. On Sunday, he assured his qualification in the Prefinal before exploiting the full potential of his Parolin / TM in the Final. Thanks to his performances that were very close to those of the leaders, he managed to regain no less than 14 places to finish 13th in the race, making him the driver to achieve the most number of passes in the Finals while maintaining an extremely fast pace throughout the race. He set his fastest time on the last lap, demonstrating the effectiveness of his equipment over the long term.
The young driver from Oman, Shihab Al Habsi, has courageously faced weather conditions that are a very long way from those of his country. Only 47th on a very slippery track, he progressed despite the intensity of the fighting in the qualifying heats and his Parolin / Parilla was in the top 10 several times. With combativeness, Shihab managed to qualify and ranked 28th in the Final despite a motor problem that prevented him from getting a better result.
In the very competitive category of 60 Mini, Gabriele Mini again sparkled at the wheel of his Parolin / TM. He took pole position in the timed practice among the 79 participants, then dominated the qualifying heats with three wins and two fastest laps. 3rd in his Prefinal, he climbed up two places in the Final to finish 4th. Gabriele is therefore close to the leaders in 4th position of the Championship.
Parolin Racing Kart is looking forward to the next round of the WSK Super Master Series at La Conca on March 18th and 19th, to better reveal its potential.
Lorenzo Camplese’s performance in the major KZ international events last year confirmed the quality of the Parolin Racing Kart chassis and prompted the Italian factory to reinforce the competitive presence of its Racing Team in 2017. The exceptionally difficult conditions of the first round of the WSK Super Master Series at Adria did not achieve the expected results, but the level of competitiveness of Parolin / TM suggests considerably better results at their next racing appearance.
To start the 2017 season, the Parolin Racing Team is relying on a more extensive programme consisting of four drivers. Lorenzo Camplese and Michelangelo Amendola defend the colours of the Venetian brand in KZ / KZ2, Gabriele Mini is the spearhead in the category 60 Mini, while the Omani driver Shihab Al Habsi is in OK-Junior. According to the categories available, the competition programme for Parolin Racing Kart includes the events of the WSK Super Master Series, then those of the CIK-FIA European Championship and the World Championship, a few races of the DKM and the Supernationals of Las Vegas at the end of the year.
The arrival of an additional driver in KZ / KZ2 will allow the intensification of the development work on the chassis of the queen category. The deplorable weather conditions of the first event of the WSK Super Master Series made it very difficult to find good results. Constantly wet throughout the weekend, the track often changed grip and complicated the objectives of the technicians and drivers. The frequent clashes and the numerous penalties for dropped spoilers clearly disrupted the course of the competition.
In spite of this unfavourable context, the team nevertheless managed to collect a lot of data needed to follow its plan of equipment development, and the balance of the meeting of Adria is far from negative. For his first race at the wheel of a Parolin with an IAME engine, the young Omani Shihab Al Habsi posted very promising performances. He returned to the top 10 of his second heat after setting the 20th time of qualifying practice. A penalty of 10” for an unhooked spoiler unfortunately cost him his place in the Final.
It was in 60 Mini that the very beginning of the season was the most convincing for Parolin Racing Kart. The Italian hopeful Gabriele Mini was able to use his new chassis straight away. At the WSK Champions Cup, he finished 2nd, on the podium with more than 100 participants, and for a long time held the first place in the WSK Super Master Series the following week. In the Final, four laps under the yellow flag and one incident after the restart prevented him from fighting as he knows how to do for victory, and he finished in 7th place.
All the resources of the Parolin Racing Kart team have been mobilised to approach the next race with the best chances of success, at the beginning of March on the 7 Laghi circuit at Castelletto di Branduzzo.
The final result of the 2016 World KZ Championship does not reflect the overall performance of the Parolin Racing Team during the competition at Kristianstad. Lorenzo Camplese was equal to the top names in the premier class of karting throughout the Swedish weekend, with remarkable consistency for his first participation at this level. Parolin Racing has completed the CIK-FIA international season on an extremely positive note, further motivating the Italian brand to increase its efforts in racing.
“We are very pleased with our first season at the highest level in KZ,” said Marco Parolin after the Kristianstad evening. “We have demonstrated throughout the year that our chassis was capable of competing with the best, even though the team was making its debut in KZ against very experienced competition. Our driver Lorenzo Camplese was able to fight at the front during a very tough World Championship in Sweden. It means a lot to us and to all those who trust us. What is certain is that we will not stop there!”
Camplese never left the top five until the Prefinal. From Qualifying onwards, he set the 3rd fastest time, beating the already increased number of champions on the entry list. The qualifying heats confirmed the speed of the Parolin chassis, as he was in the top three on Saturday night with successive extremely fast laps. After his beautiful 5th place in the Prefinal, Camplese made an excellent start in the first few laps of the Final and took 2nd position. He then lost a few places as the intensity of the struggle for the victory reached its height.
“The Kristianstad competition will remain engraved in my memory,” explained Lorenzo. “I have never had the opportunity until now to use competitive equipment. It was like a dream. The team has done a great job. While we’re all a little disappointed to have been only classified 13th due to a penalty, but that’s racing and it’s fine. We have progressed throughout the season and we are all very motivated to go even further. Parolin Racing has demonstrated that it fits right in among the best!”
Before planning 2017 with and a more developed ambitions and structure, Parolin Racing will compete in the famous Las Vegas Supernationals in November, an extraordinary event where the qualities of Parolin chassis will again have the opportunity to shine.
The CIK-FIA European Championship has just ended at Genk. With drivers entered in both KZ and KZ2, the Parolin Racing Kart Team can be proud of its return to competition among the best teams. With good performance, Lorenzo Camplese was too often delayed by on-track incidents to get results that show his potential. The new recruit in KZ2, Michelangelo Amendola also completed a fantastic journey into the top 10 in the Final.
“We are generally satisfied with our level of performance in KZ,” said Marco Parolin. “Luck was not on Lorenzo’s side throughout this European campaign, but he still managed to cross the Final finish line at Genk in 7th position, after many sporting hazards. The speed is there, the time sheets prove it, but we lack a bit of success to achieve in terms of results. It’s a good thing to be able to compete with the most experienced teams in our first international season.”
During the round of the DSKM German Championship run at Genk two weeks before the European round Lorenzo Camplese had already demonstrated high speed, in particular gaining nine places during Race 1. At the European Championship, he was first the victim of a collision in the last heat and was subsequently last from the first corner of the Prefinal. Only in the Final was he able to show the real standard of complete Parolin / TM by moving up 11 places to 7th position. A penalty of 5 ” for a jumped start unfortunately downgraded him to 11th.
A newcomer to the Parolin Racing Kart Team, Michelangelo Amendola did not miss his debut on the international stage in KZ2. Starting 38th after Qualifying, he first reached 19th place after the heats. He then regained two positions in the Prefinal, but in the Final he got his best result by finishing in the top 10, with a gain of six places in front of many leaders in the category who have the advantage of much more experience.
“Michelangelo is a young Belgian driver of 15 years who has started this year in KZ2,” explained Marco Parolin. “He raced in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy in 2014 and 2015 and continued his training in our Championkart academy. We wanted to give him a chance in international racing and we do not regret it!”
It was not obvious that Parolin Kart would return to competition in the most competitive category, KZ, where the most experienced and highest standard of teams and drivers can be found. The initial Parolin Racing Kart Team performance has confirmed the wisdom of its choice. This sporting approach has also enabled new business achievements. The title of Asia-Pacific Championship for Camplese last year in Macao is a good example.
“We cannot reveal our comprehensive strategy for the future, but it is certain that we will get further involved in racing. Our first results are already conclusive. We need to develop our structure, both in terms of the drivers and logistics, to better prepare us to compete. We will now focus on the Kristianstad world event in Sweden in early September with greater ambitions.”
Despite the highly variable and difficult to grasp weather conditions at Ampfing, Lorenzo Camplese demonstrated the effectiveness of his Parolin-TM at the second round of the German Championship (DKM). The Italian has consistently been faster when the track was dry. This was confirmed by a stunning rise from 14th to 5th place in Race 2. Promising for the rest of the season …
Able to meet the greatest challenges with the quality of its equipment and the expertise of its technical staff, the Parolin Racing Kart team returned excited from its trip to Germany. Immediately, Lorenzo Camplese posted excellent times during free practice, frequently among the five fastest in the KZ2 category.
“Due to a busy schedule, we did not participate in the first round of the DKM in Wackersdorf,” the Italian team confessed. “But that didn’t stop us from quickly taking our brands to the top of this championship. On this very technical track, Lorenzo quickly felt comfortable driving his Parolin.”
Fastest Lap
Alas, it rained for the timed session and Lorenzo suffered from a lack of benchmarks in these conditions. He had to settle for 23rd in mid-table (46 entries in total). Fortunately, he managed to gain seats in the two heats with a very encouraging rise to 6th position in one of them. He also set the fastest race lap with a faster time than the drivers ahead of him such as De Conto, Fore and Hajek.
Nine places and a top five to finish
The rain was back for Race 1 and Lorenzo failed to achieve the target he had set. He then gave everything in Race 2, and with superb overtaking eventually reached 5th place. “The performance was truly there in the dry and it’s a shame that the weather played tricks us, because a podium was possible. However, Germany is a very important market for the Parolin brand, so we are pleased to have demonstrated our very high potential. The team is very motivated to finish the European KZ Championship in Belgium in style” This will be at the end of July in Genk …
Eagerly awaited by the Parolin Racing Kart Team to get back into the title race, the second round of the European KZ Championship Lorenzo Camplese was hit by two incidents with heavy consequences on the track. But we knew the Parolin chassis was very effective at the Spanish circuit of Zuera as had been proven by Francesco Celenta last year by winning the KZ2 Prefinal and crossing the finish line ahead in the Final.
The presence of a strong wind from Saturday morning onwards did not make the work of the technicians of the Parolin Racing Kart Team easy. While he had the fastest time in the last free practice session on Friday Lorenzo Camplese finished Qualifying in 7th place less than two tenths from pole position. After a great start in the second heat, he surprised his opponents and found himself sandwiched between Marco Ardigo and Jérémy Iglesias. He could do nothing to avoid crashing and gave up after a few metres.
Ready to turn the corner in the Prefinal, Camplese made an excellent start but experienced a new nightmare on the first lap because of an incident in front of him. Far behind the pack, he was unable to regain ground despite very good speed (4th fastest lap). Though marked by these two incidents, Lorenzo trusted his Parolin / TM and the work of his team to catch up in the Final. He had already gained five places on lap 1, this time completed without incident. He battled firmly subsequently against his slower rivals before continuing his advance to the finish. He was in 9th place, with nine places gained when he crossed the finish line.
“It was a really difficult weekend!” commented Lorenzo Camplese. “The team has done a good job, I did not make a mistake and yet we have had to deal with two blows of fate. It’s a shame as the Final went reasonably well and I was able to show that the equipment was on form. Other famous drivers faced recurrent of technical problems and it would have been interesting to be in a better position because everything was going well for us in this regard. Unfortunately, it is no longer really possible to do well in the Championship. However, we will do everything we can to get a good result at the last European round in Genk, I think Parolin deserves it!”
The first round of the 2016 European KZ Championship was held this weekend in France at Aunay les Bois / Essay. After the good performances produced early in the season, Team Parolin Racing Kart harboured legitimate ambitions for its driver Lorenzo Camplese. The Parolin chassis has demonstrated excellent competitiveness, but several factors upset the smooth running for everyone, the first of which was the accelerated wear of the Vega tyres on the abrasive asphalt at Essay which was difficult to overcome in these conditions, and the complex weather.
To begin with, early testing was very convincing at the front of the KZ category, whether dry or rainy. Unfortunately, the track was changing between wet and dry when timed practice was held on Saturday morning. Lorenzo was fully prepared in the rain during the previous warm-up, but the team could not find the set-up best suited for Qualifying. In this complicated mix, Lorenzo set the 18th time.
The rapid degradation of the tyres since the beginning of the meeting then made it possible to conceive an alternative strategy. Instead of trying to regain some places in the two qualifying heats, it was tempting to sacrifice intermediate classification to save a set of tyres by not taking the start of the heats. This was a bold gamble in the face of the exceptionally complicated situation that met all participants.
There was a lot riding on this to succeed. Lorenzo was obviously very fast in the Prefinal, as he set the fastest time of the race while overtaking many rivals, an achievement at this track. He regained no fewer than 11 places and crossed the finish line in 10th position. However, a penalty of 10” for a dislodged spoiler relegated him to 21st place, canceling out his efforts. Starting at the back of the grid for the Final, Lorenzo managed to take six places, but his 15th place finish was far from the original target.
After that first difficult meeting, Team Parolin Racing Kart is already looking towards the Zuera track in Spain where the Parolin chassis performed very well last season in KZ2 in the hands of Francesco Celenta. Lorenzo Camplese intends to take his revenge in this second European event as long as the tyres keep pace.
“I’m still very confident in the competitiveness of the equipment that Parolin has put at my disposal,” said Lorenzo after the race at Essay. “The circumstances were not favourable for the start of the European KZ Championship, but the Parolin chassis was never unworthy. That’s racing and we’ll do everything we can to respond at the next race in Spain.”