The last round of the European Championship didn’t go very well for Parolin Racing Kart. Little known by the team, the circuit of Wackersdorf offered very different conditions than the two previous competitions and the circumstances weren’t often favourable for the Parolin drivers. Only Valerio Rinicella was able to maintain his position in the Junior class and to finish in 4th place of the Championship, an exceptional result for a rookie. However, the Racing Team took the opportunity to prepare for the World meeting at Portimao.
Shorter, more twisty and more demanding, the Wackersdorf circuit was the opposite of the first two European races, especially as the weather was much cooler than in Spain and Italy. The only constant in the 2020 European Championship was the impatience and excitement of part of the field, which resulted in many incidents on the track throughout the season.
“We were expecting a difficult competition“, explained Marco Parolin. “But the harshness of the races and frequent crashes didn’t make it any easier for us. James Wharton showed that we had very good performances in OK, as did Valerio Rinicella in OK-Junior. The Qualifying session didn’t turn out to our advantage and we had to regain ground in the heats, which is often a risky exercise. Rinicella was incredible in avoiding all the traps in his races. It’s very satisfying to see him finish 4th in the European Junior Championship in his first season against three much more experienced drivers“.
Rinicella’s performance and foresight in the Junior class
Valerio Rinicella did not make any mistakes in Germany. With excellent concentration, he regularly came back up during the heats and gainef 13 places in a difficult situation. He kept his calm in the Final despite some complicated first laps and fought until the last lap to come back in 12th position at the finish. His very rewarding 4th place in the Championship is a just reward for his efforts and a very encouraging sign for his debut in OK-Junior.
Maxwell Dodds also came back convincingly in the heats and made a great start in the Final, gaining another 12 places in four laps. After he had regained his competitiveness, his climb was unfortunately stopped by an electrical problem that caused him to retire on lap 7. For Giovanni Trentin, the problems multiplied in the heats and he wasn’t able to take part in the Final.
Wharton makes the most of the event in OK
James Wharton qualified for the Final after a retirement and another tough race in the heats. Determined as usual, he regained no less than 13 places in the first eight laps of the Final, but the end of the race was more complicated and a spoiler penalty relegated him to 26th position, far away from his true potential. Hugo Sasse started from very far back after the Qualifying Practice, but he regained ground consistently in the heats although was not able to reach the Final.
“Parolin is delighted to welcome a champion of the dimension of Lorenzo Travisanutto in his official team“, added Marco Parolin. “Lorenzo’s great experience will help to strengthen our project. His arrival was at the last minute, we didn’t have the time to prepare for the Wackersdorf race as we would have liked. His mission was essentially to get his bearings with us and start working towards the World Championship, the flagship event of the season. We are completely confident in his qualities and we will do everything we can to enable him to give the best in our team.”
The double OK World Champion Lorenzo Travisanutto has decided to give a new direction to his career by joining the official Parolin Racing Kart team.
“We are happy to announce the arrival of Lorenzo in the team. A driver of his experience really adds value to our team,” said Marco Parolin. “Lorenzo is highly motivated and his ambitions are in line with ours. We are ready to take on this new challenge at the next European Championship event at Wackersdorf.”
Lorenzo Travisanutto will continue his international season under the Parolin colours at the German round of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK at Wackersdorf. The OK World Championship will be his main objective in November at Portimao.
Lorenzo added: “I am very happy to be part of this team with which I have had an excellent relationship for so long. I am very keen to be back at the forefront in the chase for titles and I have found the same expectation in the Parolin Racing Kart team, which has always been competitive in every category over the years. Thank you very much to Parolin and TM Racing for the opportunity I have been given. I am convinced that I will be able to adapt to this new organisation without delay and be able to quickly bring the team the results it is hoping for.”
With another pole position and a top six for Maxwell Dodds in OK-Junior at Sarno, Parolin Racing Kart was looking like they would achieve the Zuera scenario again. However, the circumstances were very different in the second round of the OK and OK-Junior European Championship. Parolin’s performances and results in this very difficult competition were much more consistent in both categories. Three drivers in the top five of the Timed Qualifying and five victories in the Junior heats were outstanding aspects. In OK, despite numerous hazards, James Wharton in particular highlighted himself with a brilliant comeback of 15 places in the Final.
“It was a very tough weekend on the track“, commented Marco Parolin. “But our overall competitiveness was even better than at Zuera. The drivers and the team did a great job and the balance is very positive. Dodds had an outstanding run at the front of the OK-Junior class and I am convinced that he would have been able to finish in an even more convincing position. Rinicella proved that he is now to be counted on in the top 10. Trentino’s 4th fastest time and his two heat wins are also very encouraging. Al Dhaheri has made a successful debut in the Junior class despite adversity. In OK, Wharton was in great form, undoubtedly able to finish in the top five, but he was a victim, like many others, of numerous crashes that changed the face of this event. Anyway, Parolin showed its strength in both categories and this is very positive for the rest of the season.”
Dodds in the spotlight in OK-Junior
Maxwell Dodds opened the score with a magnificent pole position among the 66 participants of the Sarno race. He confirmed with two race wins and three top three finishes, which allowed him to take 2nd place overall and to start from the front row for the Final. This place sometimes turns out to be a poisoned chalice. This was the case on the Neapolitan circuit because the young Briton was baulked on the first lap and only finished the first lap 10th. He reduced his handicap as the laps went by before being involved in a crazy fight in the very last laps. His 6th position allowed him to join the provisional top 10 of the Championship.
Rinicella confirms
A hero of Zuera two weeks earlier, Valerio Rinicella was again convincing at Sarno. He started in 5th position in Qualifying and held the rhythm in the heats with among others a victory and two 2nd places. 6th at the beginning of the Final, he was attacked several times and was dropped, but he came back up each time and finished 9th with the 5th fastest time of the race. Thanks to his perseverance, he is now 4th in the Championship.
Two other Junior drivers from Parolin Racing Kart also managed to qualify for the Final, which can be a great achievement considering the number of incidents that marked this competition. Giovanni Trentin had started in 4th position in the Qualifying Practice which allowed Parolin to count three drivers in the top five. He then won two heats, but two crashes sent him back to 24th position for the beginning of the Final. He was pushed on the first lap, but he came back up again before another incident forced him to retire. Rashid Al Dhaheri was taking part in his first race since the restart, but also his first race in OK-Junior. Despite some problems in the pack, he drove two interesting laps and finished positively by regaining eight places in the final. Nicolas Ambiado showed a good level of performance with his 29th Qualifying time, but several contacts in the heats deprived him of the Final.
OK: Wharton emerges from the turmoil
James Wharton was on his way to an excellent performance with his 8th fastest time. He achieved two good Heats, including a 2nd place. Unfortunately, two crashes caused him to fall back to 27th place for the Final. Despite the intensity of the race, he made an incredible comeback of 15 places by finishing 12th. Henri Sääskilahti was also delayed by a retirement in one heat. 25th on the Final grid, he had a difficult race and didn’t reach the finish line. For his return to international competition after two years away, the Italian Mario Schettino was confronted with a chaotic situation in which he didn’t manage to qualify.
Parolin Racing Kart caused a sensation in Zuera with the remarkable competitiveness of its official karts. Rinicella’s pole position in OK-Junior was like a thunderbolt in the Aragonese desert, and the rest of the competition confirmed the Italian brand’s leading potential. The many ups and downs of a very eventful competition then turned the tables, but Rinicella finished 6th in the Final, while Morgatto and Sääskilahti deserved to be congratulated for their formidable comeback in the OK heats.
“We have a lot to be happy about at the start of the European Championship,” said Marco Parolin. “It was a tough competition and there was no shortage of disappointments in the on-track clashes. However, Rinicella’s rise to prominence is a sure sign. He confirmed that his pole position was not due to luck by staying in the top three in the Junior heats. Trentino confirmed our excellent competitiveness with a solid run in the category. In OK, our drivers were not able to confirm in Qualifying the performances they were capable of during Free Practice. Despite this unfavourable starting situation, the fact that Morgatto and Sääskilahti were able to gain more than 20 places each and qualify for the Final is a very good thing for the team. Our objective is to learn from this event and to approach the Sarno meeting with greater ambitions.”
The revelation of Rinicella in OK-Junior
The young Italian driver had already made a name for himself in Champions of the Future, but he took another step forward during the first round of the European Junior Championship. Thanks to good management of the Qualifying session, he was able to show the speed of his Parolin-TM Racing kart by taking pole position with a lead of a tenth. He followed up with four good heats, two wins and two 2nd places. He crashed to 15th at the beginning of his last heat, but managed to regain eight places in four laps. The battle was fierce during the 15 laps of the feature race. Rinicella fought first in the top three, led the race for three laps before conceding a little bit of ground afterwards. His 6th position at the finish and in the provisional standings gives him great opportunities for the rest of the season.
Also fast during Qualifying, Giovanni Trentin has also made good progress since Champions of the Future. After consistent heats, he crossed the finish line in 13th place before dropping four places after a penalty for leaving the lane at the start. Maxwell Dodds was well on his way up from his modest 36th Qualifying position, but had to interrupt his run after the fourth heat. Chilean Nicolas Ambiado was discovering the Junior category after a few European races in 60 Mini in previous years and was completing a strong apprenticeship at European level.
Wharton out, Morgatto and Sääskilahti take over
James Wharton’s 17th fastest time in Qualifying gave the Australian hope of a comeback during the heats. Unfortunately, two unfavourable results out of four races prevented him from reaching the Final. Hugo Sasse also narrowly missed out on the Final, which was decided by an unhooked spoiler penalty.
Matheus Morgatto’s chances looked slim with his 42nd position in Qualifying. However, the Brazilian perfectly exploited the potential of his machine to regain 22 places during the extremely competitive heats and reached 21st place in the Final with a great fighting spirit. The Finnish driver Henri Sääskilahti had a similar scenario, as he brilliantly negotiated his heats in the second half of the field and climbed from 56th to 32nd position in this difficult exercise. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire in the Final.
Parolin Racing Kart travelled to Spain with seven drivers to take part in the first round of the new Champions of the Future series at the Zuera circuit. The performance of the official Parolin-TM Racing karts with LeCont tyres in the same conditions as the next FIA Karting European Championship – OK & Junior was convincing, two weeks before the European grand opening.
“This meeting was an important test for us“, explained Marco Parolin. “On a technical level, we showed that we were perfectly in tune. Morgatto took 9th place in OK and we set two fastest laps in the heats. In the Junior class, Rinicella made a great comeback in the Prefinal and also set the fastest time. That said, this competition was not easy for our drivers. The Zuera track is unique and they had to find their feet while the races were full of incidents. It wasn’t easy to get a good result, but I’m sure it was a good experience for all of us.”
The team’s top-ranked driver in OK Qualifying, James Wharton showed his worth in the heats by finishing 4th, 5th and 3rd. Unfortunately, a technical problem on the first lap of his third heat nullified his efforts. He was sent back to the end of the grid at the beginning of the Prefinal and started his comeback in the Final when another incident destroyed his hopes. Matheus Morgatto started from 25th position in the Timed Qualifying session and was able to count on very good speed in the heats to regain ground and kept improving until he finished 9th, a very encouraging 16-place overall gain. Finland’s Henri Sääskilahti was making his comeback after the Winter Cup with some interesting performances in the heats. He regained 21 places up to a rewarding 17th place in the Prefinal, but did not complete a lap in the Final due to an incident in front of him.
Valerio Rinicella was able to congratulate himself on his performance in OK-Junior. Delayed in his heats, he qualified by winning the second chance heat. He competed in a magnificent Prefinal where he regained 13 places while being the fastest on the track. His great performance ended in 15th place in the Final. Maxwell Dodds remained a little bit behind his usual performance in 22nd position in the Final stages. Giovanni Trentin came back from a modest 37th Qualifying position, but two positive heats out of four with a retirement due to a jostling on the second lap of the Repechage didn’t allow him to reach the Final stages.
In the Mini class, Maciej Gladysz was discovering Zuera’s very fast track and MG tyres. Less at ease during the Qualifying heats, he regained his fighting spirit in the Final by finishing 5th.
The second event of this return to competition confirmed Parolin Racing Kart’s excellent level of performance in all three categories at the opening of the WSK Euro Series in Sarno. Morgatto’s new top five in OK and Bouzar’s 4th place in Mini are proof of this, but several racing incidents ending in retirements did not fully reflect Parolin’s form during this heated competition.
“We can’t help but feel a certain amount of frustration after the Sarno meeting,” said Marco Parolin. “Having to face seven retirements in total, four of which were during the Final stages of an event, is always difficult to live with, especially when it comes to racing incidents… We knew we were in a position to achieve some very good results this weekend, but fate decided otherwise. Luckily, we didn’t come away empty-handed as two of our drivers reached the top five, in OK and Mini. We are looking forward to further success next weekend in the Champions of the Future series at Zuera.”
The temperature was once again high, over 30°, on the Circuito Internazionale Napoli from 9th to 12th July 2020 for the first round of the WSK Euro Series. On this fast and demanding track for both equipment and drivers, the competition was fierce, sometimes too fierce, which did not do Parolin Racing Kart any good.
In OK, Brazilian Matheus Morgatto shone once again, climbing another six places in the Final to enter the top five after setting the 14th fastest Qualifying time. The Australian James Wharton’s progress was more complicated and he had to retire at the very beginning of the Final. For his comeback, the German Hugo Sasse followed a sensible strategy that took him up to 13th place in the Final after regaining 10 positions.
Neither Valerio Rinicella nor Maxwell Dodds were able to reach the finish in OK-Junior. The Italian managed to qualify with a good 6th place in the Prefinal before losing all hope at the start of the Final. For his part, the Briton had reduced his Qualifying deficit well during some very combative heats, in which he valiantly climbed back from 10th position in each heat at an impressive pace. He was back in 4th position in Prefinal A when he had to drop back three laps from the goal, which forced him to start from the back of the grid in the Final.
After setting the 2nd fastest time, and very solid in the top three of the Mini heats, Polish driver Maciej Gladysz could not qualify because of a collision that delayed him on the second lap of Prefinal A. Fortunately, Frenchman Guillaume Bouzar was able to take over for Parolin with a convincing weekend that ended with nine places regained and 4th in the Final.
“I would like to pay tribute to the memory of Claudio Flenghi who passed away on Sunday morning”, concluded Marco Parolin. “Everyone knows the attachment of Parolin Racing Kart to TM Racing. With his sportsmanship and fighting spirit, for us Mr. Flenghi embodied the spirit of racing. He is a personality that we miss already and we empathise with the sadness of his family and close friends.”
The Parolin Racing Kart team were delighted to be among the many participants in the 25th Winter Cup which has just taken place on the South Garda Karting circuit in Lonato. James Wharton and Matheus Morgatto displayed the Parolin colours brilliantly in the OK category while new drivers discovered the potential of the brand from Bassano in OK-Junior. In Mini Rok, Rashid Al Dhaheri scored another success at the wheel of a Parolin chassis.
For its 25th anniversary, the famous Winter Cup in Lonato featured particularly favourable weather for the 300 participants from 47 countries. As always during this great race at the beginning of the season, battles proved to be increasingly fierce right up to the Finals on Sunday afternoon. Now a Prema Powerteam driver in F4, Gabriele Mini’ took the opportunity to come and greet the team, with whom he made his mark before moving on to single-seater racing, and was named 2019 FIA Karting Rookie of the Year.
Marco Parolin confided: “It was a great pleasure for us to see Gabriele at the Winter Cup. We have experienced an extraordinary adventure together, from Mini to OK, he has been our benchmark and development driver, a symbol of Parolin’s rise in the international categories. It was a particularly productive collaboration for both parties, it’s good that today’s young drivers realise what a close relationship based on mutual trust can bring.”
The presence of the official Parolin Racing Kart team in Lonato was part of the continuity of the programme established with the aim of preparing the drivers and the equipment at the beginning of the season in the most effective possible way.
“We took advantage of the good weather and the rising temperatures to accentuate our work on the grip in view of the upcoming major events“, explained Marco Parolin. “In OK-Junior, we were able to use the LeCont tyres that will be used in FIA Karting competitions for the first time in competition. Although our junior driver training is not yet complete, in OK Wharton and Morgatto are rising stars capable of pulling the whole team upwards“.
James Wharton fought steadily in the top four of the event until the start of the Final, while Matheus Morgatto performed well in the top three, with 2nd with the fastest lap in Super Heat 2, to make up for two setbacks and reach the Final. Meanwhile, Hugo Sasse and Mikael Saaskilahti were battling it out in the pack after distant Qualifying times. Several new drivers took advantage of the event to familiarise themselves with the team in OK-Junior. Maksim Orlov stood out for his speed and his ability to gain places, even though he was only competing in his second Junior race.
Many Parolin chassis were entered in the Mini Rok category and many of them scored very good results: for example, twelve of them finished in the top 20. Rashid Al Dhaheri took advantage of the opportunity to take another brilliant victory in the Parolin colours.
Held on the dry track of Adria, the first round of the WSK Super Master Series was graced by a very representative line-up. The Parolin chassis were up to the challenge by giving their drivers the opportunity to achieve very strong performances. The intensity of the races did not allow them all to achieve their goals, but Khavalkin’s 2nd place in Mini, Victorsson’s run in OK-Junior and Wharton’s top five in the provisional OK ranking are very encouraging indicators for the season.
“Placing three drivers in the top seven in the Mini Final always gives a certain satisfaction,” analysed Marco Parolin. “A better management of the Final between the team-mates would probably have led to even more positive results for our team. We had the pleasure of seeing interesting performances from young drivers at the wheel of our chassis within other teams and this looks promising for the rest of the season. In OK, average Qualifying times made it difficult for our drivers and only Wharton was able to do well. For the same reason, the competition was difficult in OK-Junior, but Philip Victorsson’s track record suggests more successful weekends in the near future.”
Mini: Khavalkin, Al Dhaheri and Gladysz able to fight for victory
Anatoly Khavalkin was once again very convincing. After his victory the previous week in the Champions Cup, he set the pace in the WSK Super Master with three fastest laps in the race. With the 5th fastest time, he came back to 2nd after the Qualifying Heats and won his Prefinal. Delayed at the start of the Final in the outside lane, he recovered thanks to his speed and snatched a superb 2nd place in the Final as well as in the Championship standings. Maciej Gladysz lost time in one heat due to a loose spoiler, but came back to compete for the leading places in the Final. After a retirement in the first race, Rashid Al Dhaheri made a superb run to climb back up to 4th in his Prefinal. He was leading the Final several times before finishing in the top five. Guillaume Bouzar started very well and won two races before having to retire in his last heat. Penalised for his spoiler in the Prefinal, he unfortunately missed his qualification. As for Dimitri Matrenin, he moved up in each of his heats, without being able to reach the Final stages yet.
Victorsson leads the OK-Junior fight
The new Junior formation of the Parolin Racing Kart team is gradually getting its bearings. Philip Victorsson proved to be the best performer by climbing up to 5th place in his Prefinal. He was 10th in the Final after four laps under the slow procedure when he was eliminated from the race. Handicapped by several spoiler penalties, Giovanni Trentin managed to regain 18 places in the Final stages. Penalties and a retirement prevented Lukas Malek from Qualifying. Matvey Sonkin came back in each race, but he started too far back to reach the Final, while Arnur Shabdar had too many setbacks to succeed this time.
Good performances poorly rewarded in OK
The three OK drivers from Parolin made good progress in the Qualifying Heats. Matheus Morgatto was in the top 10 in Prefinal B when he was forced to retire. Hugo Sasse, who had climbed 23 places since the Timed Qualifying session, also had to give up in the Prefinal. James Wharton continued his progression and won Prefinal A. Unfortunately, he lost ground as he started from the outside lane in the Final and then fought his way to the finishing line to finish close to the top 10. His performance nevertheless earned him 5th place in the provisional ranking.
The next major sporting event will take place in less than two weeks’ time with the 25th edition of the famous Winter Cup, which will be followed, on the same Lonato circuit, by the second round of the WSK Super Master Series.
See more at: https://www.kartcom.com/en/pressrel/top-performances-and-mini-podium-for-khavalkin/
The WSK Champions Cup marked the launch of the 2020 international season in Europe. With a new enlarged team gathering no less than 13 drivers in the three categories, Parolin Racing Kart asserted its ambitions. Anatoly Khavalkin’s victory demonstrated the competitiveness of the new Parolin Opportunity chassis recently homologated for Mini by the CIK-FIA.
The WSK Champions Cup, which took place on the Adria Karting Raceway from 23rd to 26th January 2020 in cool weather and changing grip conditions, brought together 170 international drivers eager to compete. After the winter test sessions, this first race was the opportunity to establish an initial hierarchy for the new season, in which Parolin is one of the major players.
“It’s a great satisfaction to start the season with such good performances,” said Marco Parolin. “We have several reasons to be happy after this first meeting, which was not easy to manage given the track conditions and the intensity of the battles. Our brand is now well established in several young teams with a third of the Mini category and good progress in OK-Junior. The performances of the new Mini chassis were extremely convincing: pole position, event record, eight wins including the Final, six fastest laps in the race and five Parolins in the top seven of the Final, so the results speak for themselves! Despite some incidents during the race, the potential was there in Junior and OK too: Morgatto inspired us by regaining 34 places in the OK Final stages to finish in the top five!”
The ‘Gabriele Mini’ space is open in OK.
Despite numerous hazards on the track, the three 2020 official drivers were very competitive in the OK category. After some complicated Qualifying Practice sessions, James Wharton and Hugo Sasse fought their way back to the front. Wharton was 9th in the heats and Sasse had a superb Prefinal with the fastest time. Alas, neither of them made it to the finish of the Final. A newcomer to the team, the Brazilian Matheus Morgatto faced two retirements in the heats after posting the 11th fastest time. However, he qualified in his Prefinal despite a loose spoiler and achieved a real feat in the Final in the dry with a 21-place climb and a magnificent 5th place finish.
Giovanni Trentin started well with a victory in the first heat, but then, like his OK-Junior team-mates, he encountered a series of setbacks that did not allow any of them to achieve significant results. They are looking forward to the next meeting to resolve the situation.
Shock formation in the Mini class
Anything is possible this season with talented and motivated drivers using top equipment. Maciej Galdysz started from pole position and won three heats with the fastest lap each time. Anatoly Khavlakin confirmed his end-of-season performance by taking over the reins: victory and fastest lap in the Prefinal and a wide Final victory, so he is already at the top. Rashid Al Dhaheri, who started from 24th position, kept coming back up to finish on a magnificent Final podium. Guillaume Bouzar proved to be very combative to enter the top five of the heats. He managed to finish 7th in the Final, but lost places due to a spoiler penalty. With such sharp team-mates, Dmitri Matrenin is receiving a great education for his Mini debut.
The Parolin Racing Kart team will be back in action at Adria next weekend during the first round of the WSK Super Master Series, with strong ambitions.
See more at: https://www.kartcom.com/en/pressrel/victory-at-adria-in-the-european-season-opener
The WSK Final Cup, the last international event of the 2019 season, was marked by wet and cool weather on the Adria circuit, with a constantly slippery surface. The Parolin Racing Kart team were not lacking good performances with Rashid Al Dhaheri’s pole position in 60 Mini and Anatoly Khavalkin’s 2nd place, Tymoteusz Kucharczyk’s 3rd place in OK-Junior and Hugo Sasse’s excellent results in OK.
Still extremely well represented in the 60 Mini category, Parolin chassis made up nearly half of the Adria field in the youngest age groups, with a similar proportion in the top 10. The performances achieved in OK-Junior and OK also confirmed the value of Parolin in the other categories. Over the whole meeting, the official Parolin Racing Kart team took a pole position in Mini thanks to Al Dhaheri, as well as five wins in the heats and three wins in the Prefinals, in addition to the double podium for Khavalkin and Kucharczyk. An indisputable sign of its competitiveness at all levels and the quality of its Mini to OK programme, the Parolin team was the only one to record victories in all three categories.
“We can be proud of the whole season,” said Marco Parolin. “The enthusiasm for our chassis has been evident in every race, whatever the conditions. Whether in the full heat of summer or in the cool, rainy autumn, the Parolins have always enabled their drivers to highlight their talent. This was our initial goal and our success has exceeded our expectations. The other satisfying aspect comes directly from our Racing Team. We have the same philosophy as that which drives the production of our chassis. We support the careers of young drivers by participating in their training to the highest level. The rapid success of Anatoly Khavalkin in 60 Mini and the promising evolution of Tymoteusz Kucharczyk in OK-Junior are good examples of this, alongside the performances of experienced drivers such as James Wharton in Junior and Hugo Sasse in OK.“
Hugo Sasse has indeed achieved very good performances in the premier class. After setting his group’s 2nd fastest time, he was able to make up the delay after his retirement in a heat by winning his Prefinal with the fastest time. Despite a bad start in the Final on the still wet part of the track, Hugo was able to regain 12 places to finish 8th in the WSK Final Cup. Meanwhile, Tadas Bagdonavicius was plunged into the deep end of international competition in unfavourable conditions.
James Wharton, who set his group’s 3rd fastest time in OK-Junior, finished in an excellent 2nd place in his Prefinal. In difficulty at the start of the Final, he managed to come back from 13th to 7th place. Solid in adversity, Tymoteusz Kucharczyk regained 10 positions during the heats, confirmed in the Prefinal and climbed four more places in the Final to reach the 3rd step of the podium to conclude a promising season. Henri Saaskilahti made a good run to 26th place. Delayed by a retirement in a heat, Matheus Ferreira was close to the top 10 of his Prefinal before having to retire early in the Final. Giovanni Trentin narrowly missed his qualification for the Final, Mateo Rubio was struggling in the rain while Keanu Al Azhari made his OK-Junior debut.
Rashid Al Dhaheri started with pole position in 60 Mini and won two heats and his Prefinal with the fastest time. He was fighting in the top three of the Final before losing ground at the end of the race due to changing conditions. Starting with 13th in Qualifying, Anatoly Khavalkin climbed back up in the heats and won his Prefinal with the fastest lap before achieving a superb Final that ended on the 2nd step of the podium for the first time. Ranked 45th at the end of the heats, Shimo Zhang qualified by moving up nine places in his Prefinal before maintaining his place in the Final. Peter Bouzinelos had too many problems in the heats to reach the Final.