The FIA Karting World Championship – OK and OK-Junior took place this year in Italy, at the Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Sarno. The weather conditions alternated between a dry and wet track at the beginning of the meeting before concluding in sunny conditions. The competition proved to be very demanding for the machines and for the drivers, especially with regard to the new track surface.
Maksim Orlov was the author of a very solid run at the front of the OK category. He finally climbed to 4th place after a ten-place improvement. Enzo Deligny made up 11 positions by crossing the line in 7th, but was placed 17th because of his badly positioned front fairing. Rashid Al Dhaheri had qualified 11th for the Final, but was one of five drivers who could not complete the first lap.
Anatoly Khavalkin was 3rd with two laps to go in the OK-Junior feature and had a difficult finish before crossing the line in 6th place. Unfortunately, a penalty for an incorrectly positioned front fairing sent him back to 11th place. Meanwhile, Rene Lammers made a historic 25-place climb to 5th in the world rankings.
“What a weekend it was for us in Sarno”, said Marco Parolin. “The Parolin Motorsport team worked very hard to achieve the best possible performance in all conditions of the World Championship. This was probably the busiest meeting of the year. We have had our ups and downs, but we can be proud of what we have achieved. Many of our drivers were able to excel thanks to the constant motivation of everyone. To finish at the foot of the podium in OK is a very good performance for Maksim Orlov. In OK-Junior, all our drivers qualified for the Final. Rene Lammers achieved a great feat by reaching the top five from his 58th place in Qualifying. His Final was remarkable. Anatoly Khavalkin was excellent, securing the top three throughout the event. Leader at the end of the Super Heats, the Final battle did not go in his favour and he finished 6th on the line before being penalised. We’ll take a short break before coming back on track very soon!”
OK World Championship
Maksim Orlov
5th in Qualifying, 16th after the heats, 14th after the Super Heats, 4th in the Final with an improvement of 10 places.
Enzo Deligny
31st in Qualifying, 21st in the heats, 18th after the Super Heats, 7th (+11 places) at the finish of the Final, ranked 17th because of a spoiler that fell off in the battle.
Rashid Al Dhaheri
8th in Qualifying, 13th in the heats, 11th after the Super Heats, retired on the first lap of the Final (collision).
OK-Junior World Championship
Rene Lammers
58th in Qualifying, 28th in the heats (+30 places), 30th after the Super Heats, 5th in the Final (+25 places).
Anatoly Khavalkin
3rd in Qualifying, 2nd in the heats with three victories, winner of his Super Heat, 6th in the Final, ranked 11th because of a dropped spoiler like 14 other drivers.
Iwo Beszterda
27th in Qualifying, 12th in the heats (+15 places), 12th after the Super Heats, 17th in the Final, ranked 20th because of a dropped spoiler.
Zac Drummond
61st in Qualifying, 20th in the heats (+41 places), 26th after the Super Heats, 26th in the Final, ranked 27th due to a dropped spoiler.
At the same time as the FIA Karting World Championship in Le Mans, the first WSK Super Cup by MINI, a unique event for the international Mini category, took place in Southern Italy. From August 31st to September 3rd the circuit of La Conca welcomed 54 drivers from 22 countries.
Parolin Racing Kart chassis once again shone in quantity and quality in the hands of the young drivers, making up almost half of the field and half of the Final top 10. A Parolin chassis was also on the top step of the podium, as Iacopo Martinese won in the colours of the Babyrace Driver Academy.
High level of satisfaction in the Parolin Motosport team
After having won three heats, Christian Costoya proved his competitiveness by taking the 3rd position in the Final race thanks to great driving. Jack Illife made a fantastic comeback of more than 40 places, reaching the Final top 10 with the fastest lap in the race. Bruno Gryc scored his best result of the year in 11th position after a very consistent race which confirmed his progress. William Caleja regained seven positions to finish 18th in the Final race ahead of Angelo Bruno Blanco, the fifth Parolin Motorsport driver in the top 20, who gained 15 places. Dutchman Billi van Staveren and Hungarian Gender Tamas brought the number of Parolin Motorsport drivers who qualified for the Final to seven.
Lorenzo Travisanutto, winner of the 2021 KZ2 International Super Cup, has completed his first season in the world’s elite KZ category in fine style. At the wheel of a very competitive Parolin-TM Racing package, he reached 8th position in the Final of the World Championship held in France at Le Mans. In the brand new KZ2 Masters class Riccardo Nalon put in a rewarding performance to make remarkable progress to 4th place. The podium was very close for the Parolin Motorsport team!
For its return to Le Mans, in this high temple of motor sport, the World Championship kept all its promises. The event was followed by a large number of enthusiasts on the streaming platforms, including Eurosport, and by a huge number of spectators massed around the circuit. The drivers were not spared by rain and the teams worked hard on Friday and Saturday, but the Parolin Motorsport team always reacted professionally to these changing situations.
“It has been several years since the KZ class has raced at Le Mans and I am pleased to see that our team has been able to work in the right direction to allow our drivers to express themselves fully on this circuit. Lorenzo Travisanutto and Francesco Celenta, both entered in KZ, kept a particularly strong pace. But it was never easy. On Friday morning, the only Free Practice session before Qualifying was run on rain tyres, but we managed to find the right set-up in the dry to allow Lorenzo to be in the leading group. He then confirmed his strength in the class in the races and his very high level of performance. Francesco was also very competitive. He was the second fastest rider on track in his Super Heat, in which he climbed from 8th to 3rd place. He had a chance to get into the top 10, but lost valuable positions on the first lap”.
“I would like to congratulate all the other drivers of the team in KZ2 and KZ2 Masters for their hard work and determination during five very demanding days for all the protagonists of this great international meeting. Riccardo Nalon’s 4th Final position in the new FIA Karting competition open to drivers aged 35 and over is particularly close to my heart. We were able to confirm the competitiveness of our chassis with a minimum weight of 180 kg”.
KZ World Championship
Lorenzo Travisanutto
The Italian driver achieved a perfect record in Le Mans: P9 in Timed Qualifying, P9, P4 and P5 in the heats, P8 in the Super Heat and P8 in the Final. Well done!
Francesco Celenta
A better time in Timed Practice could have allowed Francesco to fight for the front. But he never gave up and finished 14th in the Final.
Mario Schettino
In Le Mans, Mario was in contact with the best KZ drivers. He was only missing a few points to participate in the Final.
KZ2 World Cup
Marco Tormen
Five times out of seven in the top 10 during the Qualifying Heats, he brilliantly won his place for the Final, where he climbed from 26th to 17th place.
Angelo Lombardo
A retirement and a disqualification did not allow Angelo to reach the Super Heat despite an excellent performance in both dry and wet conditions.
Nathan Crang
A retirement in the last heat cost Nathan dearly! The New Zealander also had three good runs in the top 15.
Fotis Sotiropoulos
The Greek driver was extremely combative and consistent during the Qualifying Heats, which allowed him to gain no less than 45 places between the Qualifying and the ranking at the end of the Super Heats!
International Super Cup KZ2 Masters
Riccardo Nalon
17th in Timed Practice, the Italian had to fight hard to move up in the hierarchy. He came back 8th on the starting grid of the Final after an excellent Super Heat finished in 3rd position. He then brilliantly achieved 4th place in the Final.
David Malcom
David’s time was a little off, but he had some good heats and Super Heats afterwards.
After winning the Final and taking 2nd in the OK Championship with Deligny, 2nd in Mini with Costoya and 5th in OK-Junior with Khavalkin, Parolin Motorsport has again recorded significant progress during the closing of the WSK Euro Series on the Sarno circuit. The consistency of the Italian brand’s performance in the three categories in which it was entered is absolutely remarkable.
The heat was back on at the foot of Vesuvius during the last weekend of July as the OK and OK-Junior teams anticipated the upcoming FIA Karting World Championship. Furthermore, Parolin Racing Kart was the best represented chassis brand in Mini with over 40% of the field. Pole position, top two in the Final and the Championship were achieved with the Parolin chassis.
“In a more competitive context, the performance of the team and our Parolin / TM Racing in Sarno was even more convincing than in Lonato two weeks before,” analysed Marco Parolin. “The races were tough on the fast Neapolitan circuit. Enzo Deligny, who had won almost everything so far in OK, didn’t start very well in the Final. 4th after three laps, he managed to catch up with the leader 1,8” ahead of him and to overtake him to take a big victory.
“In OK-Junior, Anatholy Khavalkin’s retirement in one heat prevented him from fighting for the Final victory, but not for the top five of the race and of the Championship where he made a spectacular progression. After a run at the top of the Mini class, Christian Costoya conceded the Final victory by only one hundredth of a second and finished 2nd in the Championship. Our progress on the circuit that will host the FIA Karting World Championship – OK and OK-Junior in mid-September was significant. We will continue to work to improve the competitiveness of the equipment in order to approach the big world event with the best chances. At the beginning of September, the WSK Super Cup for Mini will also be an important stage for the youngest drivers at La Conca.”
Mini
Christian Costoya
10th in Qualifying, 2nd in the heats with four wins, winner of Prefinal B with the fastest lap, 2nd in the Final and 5th in the Championship with a gain of 31 places.
Dries van Langendonck
14th in Qualifying, 8th in the heats (one win and two top threes), disqualified from the Prefinal due to an electrical problem, 7th in the Final (+15 pl) and 10th in the Championship.
William Calleja
49th in Qualifying, 19th in the heats (+30 pl), 17th in the Final (+4 pl).
OK-Junior
Anatholy Khavalkin
Poleman in Qualifying, 8th in the heats with four wins and one retirement, 2nd in the Prefinal (+2 pl), 5th in the Final (+1 pl) and 5th in the Championship (+31 pl).
René Lammers
28th in Qualifying, 18th in heats (+10 pl) with three top three finishes, retirement in Prefinal, 18th in Final (+10 pl), 9th in Championship.
Zac Drummond
15th in Qualifying, 12th after the heats (+3 pl), retirement in the Prefinal, 24th in the Final (unhooked front fairing penalty) and 15th in the Championship.
OK
Enzo Deligny
4th in Qualifying, 1st after the heats with two wins, 1st in prefinal, 1st in Final and 2nd in Championship (+3 pl).
Maksim Orlov
14th in Qualifying, 9th in heats (+5 pl), 9th in Prefinal, 7th in Final (+4 pl) and 14th in Championship with one race.
Parolin Motorsport’s 11 drivers performed very well in three of the four categories at the opening round of the WSK Euro Series in Lonato. Rene Lammers finished on the second step of the OK-Junior podium while Enzo Deligny finished in the OK top five after a fantastic 19-place climb. The Mini Final was tough despite Dries van Langendonck’s 7th place and Christian Costoya’s 8th place.
It was hot, very hot even, on the South Garda Karting circuit during this WSK Euro Series event. The thermometer often exceeded 30° under an azure sky and relentless sunshine.
Parolin Racing Kart was the best represented chassis brand in Mini with 35% of the field, as well as in all categories with 20% of all participants, totalling over 50 chassis. The progress of the Bassano del Grappa brand in OK and OK-Junior, with the recent European Championship, did not go unnoticed.
“It was a very satisfying weekend in terms of performance, a little less in terms of results,” Marco Parolin confided. “Enzo Deligny was dominating OK until his mechanical problem in the Prefinal. His superb 19-place recovery in the Final showed the competitiveness of the driver and his machine by obtaining an unexpected top five. The bad luck for Anatholy Khavalkin, our OK-Junior European Champion, was compensated by the admirable performance of Rene Lammers who led him to 2nd position. Zac Drummond achieved a real feat from his 54th place in Qualifying to 8th place in the Final. In the Mini class we started well with William Calleja in 5th place in Qualifying, Dries van Langendonck in 4th place and Christian Costoya in 6th place in the heats. Dries and Christian fought it out in the Final to finish 7th and 8th, but William dropped out on his way to the top 10. Our equipment confirmed its performance with Jack Illife in 15th place (+0 pl) and Alessandro Truchot in 17th place (+12 pl). Our progress included fastest laps in the three categories. We will learn from this meeting to prepare for the second round in Sarno in a fortnight, on the circuit that will host the FIA Karting World Championship – OK and OK-Junior in mid-September.”
Mini
Dries van Langendonck
9th in Qualifying, 4th after the heats (+5), 7th in the Final and the Championship
Christian Costoya
11th in Qualifying, 6th after the heats (+5 pl) with two wins, 8th in Final and Championship
William Calleja
5th in Qualifying, 20th after the heats with two fastest laps in the race, retired in the Final
OK-Junior
René Lammers
20th in Qualifying, 2nd after the heats with three wins, two fastest laps in the race and a gain of 18 places, 2nd in Final, 3rd in Championship
Zac Drummond
54th in Qualifying, 21st after heats (+33 pl), 3rd in Prefinal (+8 pl), 8th in Final (+9pl) and Championship
Anatholy Khavalkin
2nd in Qualifying, 11th after the heats with one win and one fastest lap in the race, retirement in the Prefinal and Final
OK
Enzo Deligny
2nd in Qualifying, 1st after the heats with two wins and two fastest laps in the race, retirement in Prefinal, 19 places gained and 5th position in Final and Championship.
The fourth and final round of the FIA Karting European OK and OK-Junior Championship in Franciacorta saw a succession of top performances for Parolin Motorsport. Anatholy Khavlkin managed to win the OK-Junior title while Zac Drummond finished 2nd in the Final. Enzo Deligny took the OK pole position and won all the heats to secure his 4th position in the Championship while Maksim Orlov secured 8th place in the Final and the Championship.
The battles were fierce throughout the weekend in the heat of Franciacorta. Well supported by their ultra-competitive equipment and the responsiveness of the technical team, the Parolin Motorsport drivers managed to avoid most of the difficulties of this intense meeting. Khavalkin withstood the pressure of an explosive OK-Junior Final to win the European title brilliantly.
“My first reaction is to congratulate Anatholy. The end of the OK-Junior European Championship was tough. The risk of losing everything was there and he had to show great composure to stay the course until the end. To bring home the European title in these conditions is a superb achievement. He built up his success with four heat wins before confirming in the Super Heat. Starting on pole in the Final was an asset, but the crazy intensity of the race itself was difficult to predict. 6th on the first lap, he came back to the lead after eight laps before falling back to 5th. He then managed the last laps perfectly to finish 3rd and win the title. There were many reasons to be satisfied in Franciacorta. Zac Drummond did better than confirm his progress over the last few races. Amongst his achievements of the weekend, we will remember his four top five finishes, his eight-place improvement in the Super Heat and his 10-place climb to 2nd in the Final.”
“In OK, we could hardly have hoped for better than Enzo Deligny’s 4th place in the Championship. However, the Frenchman undoubtedly deserved a better result in the Final after his pole position and his five heat wins. He set the fastest lap in Super Heat B, but was penalised for a race incident and lost his win. He managed to refocus for the Final and waited for 4th place in this difficult race. On the other hand, Maksim Orlov had a very good race with very few mistakes and an 8th place to conclude.”
“Parolin Motorsport can be proud of the competitiveness of its equipment and the level reached by several of its drivers. Our team is capable of aiming for high results in the important events at the end of the season, and this is the goal we have set ourselves.”
OK-Junior
Anatholy Khavalkin
7th in Qualifying, four heat wins, 2nd in Super Heat B, 3rd in Final, European Champion
Zac Drummond
11th in Qualifying, four heats between 2nd and 5th place, winner of the Super Heat B (+8 pl), 2nd in Final with a gain of 10 places, 7th in the European Championship (+6 pl)
René Lammers
26th in Qualifying, 24th after the heats, gain of eight places and 4th in Super Heat B, retirement after three laps in the Final, 8th in the Championship
OK
Enzo Deligny
Poleman in Qualifying, five wins out of five heats, 1st on the finish line of Super Heat A with the fastest lap, 10” penalty, ranked 13th. 3rd at the start of the Final, 5th at the finish, 4th in the European Championship
Maksim Orlov
8th in Qualifying, 4th in the heats, 10th in Super Heat B, 5th at the start of the Final, 8th at the finish, 8th in the European Championship
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.
Parolin Motorsport is proud to announce that factory team’s young driver Christian Costoya is joining All Road Management, while continuing his 2022 karting programme with the Italian squad.
Guided by founder Nicolas Todt, All Road Management scouts and develops talents since 2003 with the ultimate goal of reaching the pinnacle of motorsports. Parolin Motorsport’s 11-year-old factory driver Christian Costoya has been selected by Todt’s group and will now be supported by the French manager’s extremely professional team. After having displayed his stunning skills last year, being crowned WSK Euro Series champion and Italian vice-champion, Christian has started the 2022 season on the right foot by winning the WSK Champions Cup and clinching silver medal at the WSK Super Master Series as well as at the Andrea Margutti Trophy. Furthermore, Costoya has claimed victory in Race 2 at the first round of the Italian ACI Karting Championship. As he begins a promising new adventure with All Road Management, the Spanish driver will keep competing with his Parolin MINI chassis at national and international level.
Parolin Motorsport is delighted to have contributed to such an important step in Christian’s career. Born in 2010, the young talent is the third Parolin driver who joins All Road Management, following in the footsteps of Gabriele Mini and James Wharton.