Parolin Motorsport has been working hard since the Champions of the Future Euro Series. The opening meeting of the FIA Karting European Championship at Portimão showed the significant increase in performance of the Bassano del Grappa-based team’s Parolin / TM Racing karts. Khavalkin and Lammers finished on the OK-Junior podium, while Deligny finished in the OK top six.
“Our ability to progress in less than two weeks confirms the strong potential of our equipment,” commented Marco Parolin. “The results of Champions of the Future were already very interesting and we fine-tuned our adaptation to the Portuguese track to start the European Championship in good conditions. Thanks to this, our drivers were more confident and they were able to give their best. I would like to congratulate in particular Anatholy Khavalkin and René Lammers for their very consistent performance in the OK-Junior class, which earned them a place on the Final podium and 2nd and 3rd place in the provisional standings. Zac Drummond’s rise to prominence should also be highlighted, as he finished in 15th position in his first season at this level. Enzo Deligny was also very competitive in OK as he was able to climb to 6th place in the Final.”
As selective as ever, the Portimão track benefited from good weather conditions throughout the weekend. The races were very sporting, despite the intensity of the battles, thanks to the vigilance of the FIA Karting officials. However, the competition was very tough with an extremely high standard.
René Lammers was very fast in the Qualifying sessions with a good 6th position among the 69 participants. Very consistent at the front of the heats, he took a victory and two 2nd places while achieving two fastest laps in the race. He was 4th at the end of the Super Heats. 8th in Qualifying, Anatholy Khavalkin won three heats and won Super Heat A which allowed him to join the top five. He quickly escaped along with the leader of the Final, whom he chased down relentlessly. He tried to take the advantage, especially in view of the finish, but in vain. In the meantime, Lammers moved up to 3rd place at mid-race, but the gap was too big for him to participate in the fight for the victory.
Zac Drummond put in his best performance by regaining nine positions during the heats. The young Scot was again very combative in the Final and achieved a very encouraging 15th place despite a penalty for a badly positioned front fairing at the finish.
In OK, Enzo Deligny was again very effective in the top five of the heats and confirmed his position in 3rd place of Super Heat B. He attacked from the start of the Final, passed successfully and finished 6th in his first European Final in a category where he is making his debut this year.
Champions of the Future will head to Zuera next weekend in preparation for the second round of the European Championship, which will take place there two weeks later.