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.