Thanks to Rene Lammers in OK and Christian Costoya in OK-Junior, Parolin Motorsport showed an excellent level of competitiveness at Franciacorta for the first round of the WSK Euro Series. After top-class performances in the Qualifying stages, Lammers and Costoya rounded off a solid weekend with 7th place in the Finals. In the Senior class, Miguel Costa and Anatoly Khavalkin rounded off a positive weekend with 13th and 15th places.
The Franciacorta circuit will soon be hosting the Champions of the Future Euro Series as a prelude to the OK and Junior World Championships at the beginning of October. Preparations for the world event are already well underway at the Bassano del Grappa factory, with results in both categories already promising.
“We could have hoped for better Final positions given the weekend’s performances, but the race decided otherwise,” explained Marco Parolin. “We’re still very satisfied with our overall performance at Franciacorta. Everything we learnt from this competition will enable us to prepare effectively for the World Championship. Our OK European Champion Rene Lammers is at the top of his class. He set the 2nd fastest time in Qualifying and went on to take four wins in the heats. We’re going to work hard to help him keep up this level of performance right through to the end of the Final. Lammers has Miguel Costa and Anatoly Khavalkin in his wake, who can improve their performances. Christian Costoya had an excellent run in the OK-Junior class, with three heat wins. He finally made up another five places in the Final to finish 7th. Jack Iliffe put in another fine performance ahead of Sebastian Lehtimäki, while Zac Drummond suffered from a distant Qualifying position. Shamick Europe drivers Tiziano Monza and Andy Consani confirmed the good form of the Parolin / TM Kart team in 8th and 12th positions. In Mini Gr.3, Bruno Priam bounced back from a difficult series of heats to finish 12th, gaining 14 places, while Gioele Giradello fell short in the Final.”
For the moment, however, the priority is the World KZ Championship at Wackersdorf, in which Lorenzo Travisanutto and Francesco Celenta will be defending the colours of Parolin Motosport alongside David Beckmann and Mario Schettino. Modena Kart ASD will field Jay Cool (AUS), Nathan Crang (NZL) and Jake Kalrich (AUS) on Parolin / TM Karts in the KZ2 World Cup.
Already the 2022 European OKJ Champion, Parolin Motorsport has just won the 2023 FIA Karting European OK Championship at Cremona with Rene Lammers.
Barely 15 years old, the Dutch driver is a pure product of Parolin Motorsport with whom he has spent his entire karting career, since 2019. Trained in the school of 60 Mini and OK-Junior, Lammers certainly showed off his talent this year in OK against the top specialists.
“It’s a crowning achievement,” enthused Marco Parolin. “We’ve been crowned European Champions for the first time. 3rd in Spain, 2nd in the Czech Republic, Lammers took the lead of the Championship thanks to his victory in Denmark. In Italy, he drove a strategic race at the front of the class before securing the title with 4th place in the Final with the fastest lap of the race.
“His 65-point lead over the runner-up speaks volumes for his dominance. The team can be proud of its work since the start of the season. The Parolin brand is back in the spotlight after our successes in Mini and Junior. Winning in OK was one of the objectives of our commitment and we are very happy to have achieved it in this way. Our ambition has always been to work with a driver over the long term, training him from an early age. Well done Champion!”
Parolin Motorsport showed remarkable competitiveness in both categories at Cremona. Miguel Costa had put in some good performances, finishing 5th in the final heat, until a retirement in the Super Heat ruled him out of the Final. Anatoly Khavalkin made strong progress through the heats before finishing 7th in his Super Heat. He then climbed back up to 17th in the Final. As for Rene Lammers, he started with 2nd place in Qualifying, then went on to win four heats and his Super Heat with the fastest lap. Always the fastest on the track, he took as few risks as possible in the Final and finished 4th with the title.
In OK-Junior, Christian Costoya was best placed to perform from 5th on the grid in the Final. He spent most of the race in the top five before suffering a brutal attack which ruined his hopes. Despite this, he finished 6th in the European Championship. Zac Drummond didn’t have an easy start to the meeting, but he managed to come back from 11th in the Final to take 7th place in the standings. Jack Iliffe got off to a good start but retired in Heat 1 and then again in the Super Heat, but still finished 24th in the Final. Sebastian Lehtimäki put in a very convincing performance in the heats, climbing up to 6th place, but he was pushed around in the first few laps and ended up retiring after a collision in the Final. Vivek Kanthan had started with four solid heats, close to the top 10, but crashed out in the melee on the first lap of the Final.
The performances of the satellite team Shamick Europe were also very positive. Andy Consani made up 20 places during the heats and finished 7th in the Final. Tiziano Monza had also qualified for the Final, where he moved up 19 places to finish 17th.
Parolin Motorsport returned to 2nd place among the OK teams and 3rd among OK-Junior teams, while Shamick Europe moved into the top five.
In view of its current performances, Parolin Motorsport will have a role to play in the FIA Karting OK and Junior World Championship which takes place from October 5th to 8th at Franciacorta.
Parolin Motorsport demonstrated its exemplary competitiveness in Italy, with several of its drivers capable of competing with the best in both categories. In the end, Anatoly Khavalkin finished 7th and Miguel Costa came 11th in OK, while Christian Costoya secured a top 10 finish in OK-Junior.
The high temperatures on the Cremona circuit on Sunday did not affect the effectiveness of the Pa-rolin / TM karts that had been on show since the start of the fourth round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series. Rene Lammers played a leading role in the OK category thanks to his 3rd place in Qualifying. He took three wins in the heats and set the fastest time in the Super Heat. A collision at the start of the Final prevented him from finishing the meeting as he deserved. Anatoly Khavalkin had made up 11 places in the heats and continued his progress through to the Final, fin-ishing 7th (up six places). Miguel Costa achieved his best result in the Final, moving up 10 places to 11th.
In OK-Junior, Christian Costoya showed strong determination with a win and two second places in the heats, followed by another win in the Super Heat. During the ups and downs of the Final, he managed to climb back into the top 10. Vivek Kanthan gained an incredible 32 places in the heats and made up another 13 places in the Final, finishing 16th. A spoiler penalty in the Final limited the scope of Jack Illife’s performance, while Zack Drummond was forced to retire after having climbed back up to 12th place.
“It’s always a bit frustrating when fate is against you in the Final,” said Marco Parolin. “It’s obvious that our drivers deserved to finish the competition in better positions. But that doesn’t take away from the quality of their performances or the efficiency of the team. Once again, everyone has done an excellent job of strengthening our potential, and that’s the most important thing. The dynamic within the team is as positive as ever. The meeting at Cremona has enabled us to make progress with a view to the next conclusion of the European Championship next week at this same track, where we’ll have some great cards in our hand.”
Parolin Motorsport produced some very convincing performances at the second round of the European Championship last weekend at Sarno. In KZ, Francesco Celenta confirmed the very positive progress made after Zuera, finishing in the top three in the qualifying heats and confirming his position in Super Heat. He was sixth in the final but had to retire due to a technical problem. Lorenzo Travisanutto proved to be competitive right from the start of the meeting with his fourth place in qualifying. He stayed the course in the heats and fought valiantly to finish eighth in the final, a result that allowed him to enter the Top-10 in the championship (P9).
This positive development was also reflected in KZ2 within the Modena Kart ASD satellite team, which runs this category in close collaboration with Parolin Motorsport. Genis Civico offered a solid performance, consistently placing among the first four in the qualifying heats and eighth on the starting grid of the final. After a tricky first lap, he progressed with each lap to finish seventh and consolidate ninth place in the championship. Maksim Orlov performed at the highest level after his fourth place in qualifying. He won two heats and took three second places in the heats to win his Super Heat. Optimism was in order on the front row on the starting line of the final. Maksim lost a few positions in the early laps and managed to recover to eighth position. Unfortunately, his result was later cancelled by a disqualification for causing an accident.
“The results should have been much more positive without the setbacks of the finals,” said Marco Parolin. “But the fact remains that we managed to increase the level of competitiveness of our Parolin/TM karts in both KZ and KZ2. Our development programme continues to evolve satisfactorily and the collaboration with Modena Kart ASD is excellent. We will now focus on the forthcoming European OK and Junior Championships before preparing for the next two world events.”
Parolin Motorsport confirmed its ambitions in Denmark at the third round of the European Championship. Rene Lammers took a magnificent victory in OK and moved to the top of the provisional standings. Miguel Costa followed in 7th place, while Anatoly Khavalkin made a very good start to the meeting. Poleman in OK-Junior, Christian Costoya put in a string of good results before finishing in 4th position. Zac Drummond made up five places to finish 6th in the Final, Jack Ilife climbed from 28th in Qualifying to 9th in the Final ahead of Vivek Kanthan in 15th and Sebastian Lehtimaki in 16th.
“The work of the Parolin Motorsport team was rewarded in both categories with top performances from most of our drivers,” said Marco Parolin. “Christian Costoya’s pole position in the Junior class got the competition off to a good start. He maintained a very high pace throughout the competition, as did his team-mates. Zac Drummond managed to stay in the top four of the Championship. Of course, Rene Lammers’ victory in OK was a real thrill, given the highly selective nature of the Rødby circuit. In particular, he set the fastest time in his Super Heat and in the Final. We’re determined to do everything we can to help him win the European title in Cremona at the end of July. We’re delighted to see the overall strength of the team rise, which puts us in a very favourable frame of mind. I would also like to pay tribute to the performance of our satellite team Shamick Europe in the Junior class, with Tiziano Monza 5th and Andy Consani 10th, bringing the number of Parolin chassis in the OK-Junior top 10 to five.”
OK
Rene Lammers: 3rd in Qualifying, three heat wins, 2nd in Super Heat with fastest lap, winner of the Final with fastest lap, Championship leader.
Miguel Costa: 6th in Qualifying, 2nd place and 3rd place in the heats, 3rd in the Super Heat, 7th in the Final and 9th in the Championship (+9 places).
Anatoly Khavalkin: 2nd in Qualifying, twice 2nd in the heats, 6th in the Super Heat, retired in the Final.
OK-Junior
Christian Costoya: 1st in Qualifying, three times winner in the heats, winner in the Super Heat and 4th in the Final. 6th in the provisional Championship standings.
Zac Drummond: 6th in Qualifying, 2nd and 3rd three times in the heats, 6th with a five-place improvement in the Final, 4th in the provisional Championship standings.
Jack Iliffe: 28th in Qualifying, winner, twice 4th and 5th in the heats, up 15 places, 9th in the Final (up five places).
Vivek Kanthan: 7th in Qualifying, 3rd and twice 5th in the heats, 15th in the Final (+7 places)
Sebastian Lehtimaki: 19th in Qualifying, 20th after the heats, 16th in the Final (+3 places)
A second new country is on the international competition programme this year. After the Czech Re-public, it was Denmark’s turn to present a new track with the recently completed Rødby Karting Ring. The third round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series gave Parolin Motorsport a chance to get their bearings and secure two podium finishes in the OK-Junior class.
The revelation of Kanthan
Alongside Zac Drummond, Christian Costoya and Jack Iliffe, the young American Vivek Kanthan had shown great promise since the start of the season. After his superb performance at Rødby, he is now one of the Parolin Motorsport team’s driving forces capable of achieving success in OK-Junior. After finishing 10th in Qualifying, he won two heats and took command of the intermediate standings on Saturday evening. He won again in the Super Heat and climbed onto the second step of the podium after a hard-fought battle. 1stal in Qualifying, Drummond also put in a remarkable performance before fighting his way to 3rd place in the Final. The Scot therefore climbed back up to 2nd place in the Championship. Jack Iliffe rounded off the team’s success by finishing 9th in the Final. Last but not least, Christian Costoya made up for his retirement in Heat 4 by climbing back up to 13th in the Final.
“I’d like to congratulate the whole team on their performances at Rødby,” said Marco Parolin. “Special congratulations to Vivek Kanthan, who was the revelation of the Danish weekend. We had confidence in his potential, but it’s not often you see such a rapid emergence. We’re delighted to be able to count on four drivers to strengthen our presence in OK-Junior. Our OK drivers didn’t have an easy time of it in Denmark. After his absence in the Czech Republic for political reasons, Anatoly Khavalkin gradually found his rhythm, while Miguel Costa put in a good performance. Rene Lammers unfortunately did not get the chance to showcase his great qualities. We’ve got some work to do to put things right before the third European event in less than two weeks’ time.”
Two weeks after the encouraging results of the Champions of the Future Euro Series in the Czech Republic, Parolin Motorsport outdid itself in the second round of the OK & Junior European Championship at the same track in Trinec with five top 10 finishes and two podiums. Rene Lammers took a magnificent 2nd place in OK, while Miguel Costa finished 9th. Zac Drummond finished 3rd in OK-Junior, followed by Jack Iliffe in 6th and Christian Costoya in 7th. Parolin Motorsport also participated in the opening round of the Italian Championship in Cremona with Andrea Manni achieving success in Mini and Alessandro Truchot in Mini U10.
The Steel Ring track was as selective as ever and sensitive to the slightest weather variations. The data recorded by the Parolin Motorsport technicians allowed them to use the best set-up from an already very competitive base. This allowed the drivers to concentrate on the subtleties of driving and to express their talent in their races.
“The double weekend between Trinec and Cremona was a successful campaign for the team,” said Marco Parolin. “I am personally satisfied that we were able to compete simultaneously in both events without failure and to achieve victories and podiums. Besides the results which are remarkable, I am proud of the standard of performance of the whole team. In Trinec, we were able to win the Qualifying Heats and Super Heats in both categories, and place three drivers in the top seven in OK-Junior, and two rookie drivers in the top nine of the OK European Championship. Moreover, the fastest lap of the Final was by Tiziano Monza, from our satellite team Shamick Racing. This was certainly a good demonstration of the competitiveness of our Parolin/TM package. Currently Parolin Motorsport is 2nd in the OK teams championship and 3rd in OK-Junior – this is an encouraging result and we will work to keep our name at the top.”
OK
Rene Lammers – NLD
2nd in Qualifying, four heat wins, 2nd in the intermediate ranking, winner of Super Heat B with the fastest time, 2nd in the Final and 2nd in the Championship. Leader of the FIA International Karting Ranking (IKR) in OK.
Miguel Costa – BRA
11th in Qualifying, 5th and 3rd in heats, 7th in Super Heat A, 9th in the Final (+4 places) and a direct entry in 18th place in the Championship.
OK-Junior
Zac Drummond (GBR)
6th in Qualifying, twice winner in the heats, 5th in the intermediate classification, winner of Super Heat A with the fastest time, 3rd in the Final (+2 places) and 4th in the Championship (+2 places).
Jack Iliffe – USA
9th in Qualifying, four top three finishes in the heats, 7th in the intermediate ranking, 5th in Super Heat A, 6th in the Final (+1 place) with the second fastest lap.
Christian Costoya – ESP
7th in Qualifying, four top three finishes in the heats, 6th in the intermediate ranking, winner of Super Heat B with the second fastest lap, 7th in the Final and 8th in the Championship (+5 places).
In the European Championship team ranking, Parolin Motorsport climbed to 3rd place in OK-Junior and 2nd place in OK.
Satisfaction in the Italian Championship in the Mini categories to
The first round of the Italian Championship took place simultaneously on the Cremona circuit. Parolin Motorsport fielded two Mini drivers despite the bad weather. Their performances were of a very good level in this difficult competition.
The Monegasque Andrea Manni made his mark in Mini Gr3 with an incredible 14-place climb to 2nd place in Race 1. 11th in Race 2, he is now 3rd in the provisional Championship standings.
In Mini U10, the French-American Alessandro Truchot progressed from 11th to 3rd place in Race 1, then won Race 2 with a gain of five places. He is currently the leader of the provisional Championship ranking.
Parolin Motorsport put in a solid performance in the second round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, which was marked by the debut of the Trinec circuit and variable weather conditions. Rene Lammers finished 6th in OK while Zac Drummond finished 7th in OK-Junior and Christian Costoya 9th.
The Trinec track in the Czech Republic offered a twisty, technical and selective layout on which overtaking was not always easy. Teams and drivers had to familiarise themselves with the new circuit in different weather conditions before concluding in the rain during the Finals.
“Our overall performance was very positive on the new circuit,” said Marco Parolin. “Parolin Motorsport adapted quickly to the new conditions in both categories. However, we regretted the absence of our Russian drivers for political reasons. Rene Lammers was a consistent front-runner in OK despite a retirement in his last heat. Fast in the dry as well as in the rain he came close to the top five. I’m delighted with Miguel Costa’s progress to 14th position. In the Junior class, Christian Costoya was very consistent, notably by winning his Super Heat with the fastest lap. He may not have had the ideal set-up for the wet track conditions in the Final, as did Jack Iliffe who followed him in 4th place on the grid. Zac Drummond was able to maintain his speed in the rain to take a good 7th place in the Final. The consistency of our equipment throughout the meeting is a very positive element that we will capitalise on to prepare for the FIA Karting European Championship that will take place in Trinec in less than two weeks”.
Lammers continues his form in OK
Rene Lammers convinced the observers by his determination throughout the weekend. Delayed by a retirement in Heat 5, he nevertheless progressed to 11th position in the intermediate classification. He gave his all in the Super Heat with a P2 and the best lap on slicks before making up three places during an epic Final in the rain and finishing 6th. Lammers moved up 10 places in the FIA International Karting Rankings for all categories and is 3rd in OK.
Miguel Costa made up eight places in the heats and then moved up four places to start from 20th position in the Final. He was at his best at the end of the race to reach 14th place despite a penalty for a dropped spoiler.
A strong trio in Junior
Christian Costoya led the Parolin Motorsport team for a long time in OK-Junior. He was deprived of a second victory in his last heat due to a penalty received during the slow procedure. His superb success in the Super Heat with the fastest lap allowed him to get back into the top three. The Final did not allow him to keep his position and he finished 9th. Jack Iliffe confirmed his place among the protagonists by obtaining remarkable results in Qualifying as well as in the heats. 6th on Saturday evening, his 4th place in the Super Heat brought him back to 4th on the starting grid of the Final. He was unfortunately delayed in the mass incident on the first lap and did not find all his competitiveness afterwards where he finished 17th.
Zac Drummond proved to be the most consistent throughout the competition. 5th in Qualifying, 10th in the heats, he made up ground in 3rd place in his Super Heat. Starting 7th in the Final, he fought his way into the top three and crossed the line in 4th position, but a penalty relegated him to 7th place. In the process he gained 18 places in the FIA International Karting Ranking.
The 2023 WSK Super Master Series has just finished with its fourth and final round at the Cremona circuit. Parolin Motorsport reaped the rewards of its hard work by reaching the championship podi-um twice in the most popular categories, OK and OK-Junior, thanks to Rene Lammers and Chris-tian Costoya. As the team continued to develop, it was the growing consistency of performance that stood out.
“We can be happy with the results obtained in the whole WSK Super Master Series”, analysed Marco Parolin. “Parolin Racing Kart chassis are now a major force in the field with a very strong representation that is confirmed at each race. Almost 50 Parolin karts took part in the Cremona event, all categories included. The popularity of our equipment went far beyond the Mini category, which is an important breakthrough for our products. At the same time, Parolin Motorsport recorded convincing performances from more of its drivers. While the Finals were not generally favourable for us, we showed great potential in most categories. Rene Lammers’ great comeback in the OK Final allowed him to secure 3rd place in the Championship, while Christian Costoya moved up to 3rd place in OK-Junior despite the adversity. I would also like to congratulate the Babyrace Academy team for the victory of William Calleja and the title of Iskender Zulfikari in Mini on Parolin chassis”.
The weekend started well with Christian Costoya in Junior and Bruno Gryc in Mini taking 2nd place in Qualifying. Costoya continued to lead the OK-Junior class with three heat wins and a 2nd place in the Prefinal, which gave him pole position at the start of the Final. The race did not go as well as expected. After 10 laps in the lead, he had to give up some ground at the end of the race and had to settle for 8th place at the finish. Zac Drummond had made an excellent start to the meeting, 4th in the heats and 4th in the Prefinal. He was fighting for the Final top three when an incident forced him to retire with two laps to go. Jack Ilife was able to finish 9th in the Final. Vivek Kanthan came close in the Prefinal where he started 21st in Prefinal B, but came back strongly after an excellent start. He was 7th with five laps to go when he had to retire.
Gryc did well in Mini, 7th after the heats and 13th in the Final. Newcomer to the team Andrea Manni from Monaco put in some interesting performances, finishing 3rd and 5th in his last heats before starting 15th for the Final. Alessandro Truchot obtained a 3rd and a 2nd place in the Mini U10 heats and confirmed his 2nd place in the Prefinal A.
In OK, the Qualifying Practice did not bring the expected results, but the Qualifying Heats showed good progress. Miguel Costa and Anatoly Khavalkin came 3rd and 5th respectively in the Prefinal before finishing 10th and 7th in the Final. Rene Lammers finished 4th and 3rd in the heats and made up eight more positions in the Final to keep his 3rd place in the Championship, while Costa made up 15 places in the standings.
Francesco Celenta was 9th in KZ2 and lost a lot of ground when he retired in the second heat and had a disastrous first lap in the Prefinal. Still very fast, he managed to gain six places to 12th in the Final with the second fastest lap of the race.
The Champions of the Future Euro Series at the new Třinec track in the Czech Republic is the next meeting for the OK and OK-Junior categories, in preparation for the second round of the European Championship.
Parolin Motorsport is back in KZ this year with its two drivers, Francesco Celenta and Lorenzo Travisanutto. The Parolin / TM Kart packages proved to be a match for the increasingly fierce com-petition between the leading manufacturers in the European Championship. Celenta started with the 6th fastest time in Qualifying, while Travisanutto moved up to 10th position in the heats. Celenta set the 2nd fastest time in the Super Heat, while Travisanutto had a problem at the start. He made up for it in the Final with a superb six-place improvement and finished in 9th place. An early retirement for Celenta did not allow him to show his strong potential.
“The intensity of the competition in KZ is so high that the slightest incident has serious consequenc-es,” said Marco Parolin. “Our two drivers have both put in excellent performances, which have not translated into results. Fortunately, Travisanutto was more fortunate in the Final and was able to climb back up to 9th place. We will have to improve the equipment to give them more opportunities to succeed at the next event in Sarno.
This first European meeting gives me the opportunity to salute the work of Modena Kart ASD in KZ2. It is important for us that such a prestigious team has decided to collaborate with our brand. Genis Civico made a great comeback from 37th in Qualifying to 20th in the heats. He then moved up eight places to 2nd in Super Heat B before finishing 9th in the Final. This is a partnership well underway.”