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.
Organised on the 7 Laghi circuit of Castelletto, the second and last WSK Open Cup event was not spared by the weather. The cool weather was accompanied by many showers, although the Finals were held on a virtually dry track. Hugo Sasse in OK and James Wharton in OK-Junior confirmed Parolin’s excellent competitiveness while the successes multiplied in Mini in parallel with the revelation of two young talents in the Parolin Racing Kart team with the Russian Khavalkin and the Chinese Zhang.
The competition was complicated for everyone due to the weather. The Castelletto track experienced every condition, from flood to fog, with an infinite number of variations in grip.
“The Parolin chassis coped successfully the difficult weather at Castelletto,” said Marco Parolin. “In all categories, the performance was there, in the rain, in the dry and in all conditions in between. The races were not always favourable to the factory team, whose momentum was broken by several incidents. We did not obtain the results we could have reasonably expected, but we can be satisfied overall with the performance of our chassis and drivers during this autumn competition. I would like to congratulate in particular our two new drivers, Anatoly Khavalkin and Shimo Zhang, for their superb debuts with us, while Peter Bouzinelos convinced us with his great comeback. We are very sorry that Rashid Al Dhaheri’s troubles prevented him from participating in the fight at the front as he deserves.“
Hugo Sasse started well with the 2nd fastest time in his session in OK Qualifying, but lost ground due to a chain failure in the first heat. He came back from 13th place in the heats to 9th place overall and despite this misadventure was close to being in the top 10 of the WSK Open Cup.
The times of the official OK-Junior team drivers were not outstanding, but they mostly corrected the situation well afterwards. James Wharton climbed to 3rd place in his Prefinal after recovering more than 20 places in the heats. Matheus Ferreira finished 6th in his Prefinal ahead of Timoteusz Kucharczyk, who set the 2nd fastest lap in the race. The Final allowed him to improve further and finally reach 11th place. Wharton had to retire at the beginning of the race due to mechanical problems while he was in 2nd place. Ferreira did not finish the Final either.
The new Chinese rookie Shimo Zhang shone at the top of the second Qualifying session, ranking 2nd among the 66 drivers present. Anatoly Khavalkin moved up in the heats from 8th to 4th place, confirming his promise in the process. Rashid Al Dhaheri regained 10 places in the heats and represented the team’s best prospects in 6th place in his Prefinal after Khavalkin’s retirement. Al Dhaheri had to retire with fuel problems midway through the Final as he climbed back up before being penalised for his spoiler. The young Australian Peter Bouzinelos, 45th in Qualifying, made it to the Final. He climbed to 22nd (+12 places), but his dropped spoiler cost him six positions.
Parolin Racing Kart will be back on track next weekend at the WSK Final Cup in Adria with the ambition of achieving more convincing results that match their potential.
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The WSK Open Cup organised at the South Garda Karting circuit started well for the Italian brand Parolin. Its chassis for the Mini classes remains the current benchmark and a look at the result of the 60 Mini Final is enough to be convinced. Almost 40% of the finalists were equipped with a Parolin, half of them in the top 10. The two members of the Parolin Racing Kart team, Rashid Al Dhaheri and Anatoly Khavalkin, made it to the Final podium.
“Our chassis had already taken very good results during the Superfinal of the Rok Cup in the presence of 130 Mini Rok drivers on the same circuit at the beginning of the month,” Marco Parolin rightly congratulated himself. “It is again satisfying to shine in 60 Mini in Lonato for the opening of the WSK Open Cup. Our chassis attracts many drivers and teams thanks to competitiveness on every track. This is once again a topical issue for the WSK’s autumn resumption with nearly 100 young drivers, many of whom have placed their trust in us. It is rewarding to produce equipment that allows all these young people to start karting in the best conditions and to quickly develop their skills.“
The Parolin factory can draw a particularly positive balance of the first of the two WSK Open Cup events with an exceptional presence in the 60 Mini grid. On the Lonato circuit, the performance level of the Parolin chassis was once again remarkable. The three official Parolin Racing Kart drivers qualified for the Final before Rashid Al Dhaheri and Anatoly Khavalkin scored an excellent double in the top three. The young Russian Khavalkin was on the podium for the first time in his first race with the team, which is corresponds with Parolin’s values perfectly.
As early as the Qualifying sessions, the Parolins were at the front of the competition in 60 Mini. The races confirmed the competitiveness of the chassis from Bassano while Anatoly Khavalkin, who was very comfortable within his new team, took the opportunity to set the lap record for the meeting. The Prefinals validated this already high level of performance.
Double podium for Al Dhaheri and Khavalkin
Rashid Al Dhaheri and Anatoly Khavalkin, highlighted themselves in intense battles in a very tight group at the front of the Final. Determined, the Emirati and Russian were fast and efficient until the chequered flag fell, with Al Dhaheri in 2nd place and Khavalkin in 3rd place, while Shimo Zhang of China made steady progress throughout the race to finally gain five places in the Final and finish 22nd. The Parolin factory takes this opportunity to congratulate all the drivers who have used its chassis successfully.
The WSK Open Cup in Lonato saw strong performances in the other categories. In OK-Junior, the Brazilian Matheus Ferreira, a newcomer to the team, was very quick with his new equipment and could congratulate himself on qualifying among the 34 finalists out of the 84 entered. Timoteusz Kucharczyk asserted his competitiveness with the 9th fastest time and held his place at the end of the heats, while Giovanni Trentin and Jesse Alejandro Carrasquedo Parada took the opportunity to enrich their experience. James Wharton saw several setbacks during a weekend that didn’t highlight his usual performance.
Hugo Sasse was very effective in OK after a difficult Qualifying. He consistently improved his position in the heats by posting a fastest lap, as well as in the Prefinal to finish 12th in the Final with a total progression of 16 places since Qualifying.
Double podium for Al Dhaheri and Khavalkin
Still as happy and motivated as ever after taking up karting again, Alessio Lorandi did not fail to fight for the podium in the KZ2 category. A member of the Baby Race team, the talented Italian performed well: 4th in Qualifying, 2nd then twice 4th in the heats and 3rd in the Prefinal. Long fighting for 3rd place in the Final, he crossed the finish line in 4th place in this particularly challenging race.
Parolin Racing Kart’s efforts extend to every category in Karting. Noted for several seasons by its dominance among the youngest drivers, Parolin also benefits from its success in Junior and OK to increase its presence throughout the market. In Finland, at the FIA Karting World Championship – OK and Junior, the Italian brand was the third largest chassis manufacturer with 16 drivers entered in its colours. Meanwhile, the performance was there with Racing Team drivers Gabriele Minì in OK and James Wharton in Junior.
“It was not the best feeling to come back from Finland without a podium in at least one of the two categories. The potential we have shown in Finland does not reflect what we have achieved in terms of results. Wharton drove a perfect weekend despite an arm injury suffered on Thursday, and after winning the pre-race two weeks ago he was ready to fight for the title. To James’ credit, after just three races with the team he was immediately on the pace and one of the main contenders for the World Championship – only bad luck denied him the opportunity to battle with Ten Brinke and Camara. In OK, after a sensational pole position for Minì, both he and Sasse scored some very good heat results, including several top three finishes, but we suffered slightly in the rain. However, we are pleased with the performances of our OKJ and OK packages and our partnership with TM is leading to improvements at every event. We are just looking forward to the next competition to try to fight for victory again.”
A fast track known for its difficulty and selectivity, the Alahärmä Power Park circuit saw very variable grip situations, going through all possible conditions between completely dry and very wet. Whatever the conditions, the Parolin chassis enabled their drivers to best show off their talent.
Missed opportunity in OK for Minì
The results of his first season in OK made Gabriele Minì one of the great favourites of the 2019 World Championship following his 2nd place in the European Championship. On the very challenging circuit of Alahärmä, he opened the battle by taking pole position among the 88 best drivers in the world. Unfortunately, destiny hit from the start of his first run. He lost control of his kart after being pushed onto a kerb and had to retire. The young Italian hopeful gave his maximum to return to 16th in the heats and regained another eight places in the Final to finish in 8th place. He remained the holder of the absolute fastest time of the meeting until the end.
Hugo Sasse had four good heats with a 2nd place and two 3rd places, but he was also delayed in the heaviest of the rain. At the edge of the top 10 on the Final starting grid, he was long in 10th position before falling back in the fight and finishing 19th.
Junior: Wharton on the right track
More and more successful at the wheel of his Parolin / TM Racing kart, the Australian James Wharton began with posting the 9th fastest time among the 104 participants of the Junior World Championship. He then asserted his claim by climbing to 4th place at the end of the Qualifying heats in which he never left the top three. He made an excellent start to the Final close behind the leader, on whom he was preparing his attack. Unfortunately, his engine betrayed him on the fifth lap of the race.
Brando Badoer and Lukas Malek were off the mark after a tough Qualifying. In a bubbling pack, they were unable to join the list of 34 finalists.
That same weekend, Rashid Al Dhaheri achieved his qualification for the 2019 Rok Super Final by winning the Rok Cup Italy at the Adria Karting Raceway with his Parolin chassis.
The karting season is far from over, but Parolin is already sharpening its strategy for next year to highlight the unanimously recognised quality of its chassis in multiple categories.
The 2019 European season ended in France on the Le Mans circuit with a very successful performance from the official Parolin Racing Kart team and its #1 driver Gabriele Minì in OK, while James Wharton secured a very convincing top five in OK-Junior. Race after race, Parolin affirms its advantageous position among the best thanks to its extremely effective chassis in all conditions.
“We are very happy with our progress in the European Championship,” commented Marco Parolin. “The team has worked well to exploit the potential of our chassis on very different tracks, regardless of the types of tyres used. At Le Mans, the competition was very tough against formidable opponents, but we can be proud to have given the maximum to get ahead and take an indisputable victory. Gabriele Minì deserves our gratitude for reaching 2nd place of the OK Championship. In Junior, it was a great reward to be able to reach 5th position with James Wharton who was only competing in his 2nd race with us. We are very much looking forward to the big world meeting in Finland in early September.“
The weather was still warm for the fourth and last meeting of the FIA Karting European Championship at Le Mans. Only a short downpour reduced grip on Saturday in the early afternoon without affecting the efficiency of the Parolin / TM Racing karts. The tension continued to rise during the Qualifying Heats where there were many incidents, while the free management of tyres complicated the running of the races on Sunday morning. The Finals were fiercely contested and there was no shortage of twists. The calmness of the drivers and the Parolin team allowed them to obtain the best results possible.
In the wake of his victory in the French OK Championship two weeks ago, Gabriele Minì once again completed a clear round. 4th fastest among the 67 participants, he did not leave the top two in the heats and resisted many opponents starting on new tyres with his 6th place in the last heat on Sunday morning. Starting from the second row of the Final, Minì took 1st place after six laps and managed his lead perfectly for another indisputable win. After this remarkable performance, Minì gained a place in the Championship and finished 2nd.
With little to his advantage during Timed Practice, Hugo Sasse performed well in the heats to regain 12 places. Very effective in the Final, the German driver was back in 7th place with a gain of 10 positions when a collision demolished his hopes on the penultimate lap of the race.
The young Australian James Wharton has confirmed his good performance at the French Cup in OK-Junior. Already 10th at the end of Qualifying, he made a good comeback in 4th place in the heats with a win. He started the Final in 3rd position before being pushed and falling back to 10th. James continued to fight and managed to return to the top five after many adventures, achieving a top performance for his second race with Parolin.
Brando Badoer was not in the best position to shine after a complicated Qualifying session in which he finished 31st. He proved more and more competitive in the last heats, but had to give up on the second lap of the Final. Mateo Rubio Luengo started with a very good 16th place and two finishes in the top 10 of the heats before falling in the rain and then giving up in a crash at the start of the last heat, which deprived him of qualification for the Final.
Well represented at Le Mans during an FFSA meeting preceding the conclusion of the European Championship, the official Parolin Racing Kart team was in the public eye once again. Gabriele Mini’ dominated the OK category and added an undisputed victory to his record while new rookie James Wharton made a convincing debut in OK-Junior.
“We decided to take advantage of the FFSA event to get our bearings on the Le Mans circuit before the last meeting of the FIA Karting European Championship,” declared Marco Parolin. “Victory was not our main goal, but it’s always a good sign when one of our drivers wins. Gabriele Mini’ once again fulfilled his mission by climbing onto the top step of the podium. That said, we will continue our work to improve our performance. The other reason for satisfaction is the arrival of an excellent Junior driver in our team. The young Australian James Wharton quickly felt confident with our equipment and he was able to take a 4th place in his first participation with Parolin. It’s very encouraging for him and for us!“
The field was of a sufficiently high standard at Le Mans in the French OK Championship for the confrontation to be significant. Parolin Racing was able to gather a lot of information on the French track and the LeCont tyres to prepare its Parolin / TM Racing karts equipped with LeCont tyres for the European Championship. Already 2nd in Timed Qualifying, Gabriele Mini’ then won all the heats, the Prefinal, and the Final after a close battle. At the same time, Hugo Sasse was more and more successful and finished in an interesting 6th position.
James Wharton did not take long to adapt to his new team, as he was already in 2nd place in Timed Qualifying in the French Cup for OK-Junior against 54 participants, including several seeded in the category. 7th at the end of the heats, he came back to 3rd in the Prefinal before finishing with a quite significant 4th place in the Final. The arrival of a driver of the standard of Wharton provides an excellent opportunity for the team to progress in Junior too. The competition was not easy for everyone, but we can note the beautiful comeback of 11 places by Mateo Rubio Luengo. Much delayed by two retirements in the heats, Brando Badoer, 8th in Qualifying, could not qualify for the Final.
In less than two weeks at the Le Mans circuit, the fourth and final round of the European Championship promises to be particularly interesting for Parolin. Currently 3rd in the provisional standings, Mini’ will have a great card to play while Wharton will be able to demonstrate the full extent of his talent with his new team.
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The 2019 WSK Euro Series ended on 30th June at the Adria Karting Raceway with a semi-nocturnal event marked by very hot weather. The overwhelming competitiveness of Parolin Racing Kart since the beginning of the season was rewarded with the win for Rashid Al Dhaheri overall in 60 Mini, while Gabriele Mini’ achieved a remarkable race in OK and dominated the Final stages of the competition.
“We have many good reasons to celebrate the WSK Euro Series,” said Marco Parolin. “The quality of our chassis has been confirmed in the face of strong competition which reinforces the value of our success at Adria. Gabriele Mini’ was ahead of the rest in OK and the way he won an indisputable victory gave us a lot of joy. In 60 Mini, Rashid Al Dhaheri made a remarkable run to secure the title. Finally, the progress of Mike Van Vugt in OK-Junior is very important for our team.“
The Adria meeting took place in the heatwave with temperatures reaching 40°C at the height of the day. Fortunately, the unique timing of the event meant most of the races at night with less heat thanks to the powerful lighting of the Adria circuit.
Al Dhaheri crowned in 60 Mini
Rashid Al Dahehri has fulfilled his mission with great intelligence. 5th fastest in Qualifying among the 76 entries, he took the lead in the category by winning three heats out of four. He then showed some caution in the Final stages while remaining very fast. In particular, he ensured 2nd place in the Final by minimising the risks to establish himself as the undisputed leader of the WSK Euro Series. Qualifying Practice at night with one or two quick laps at maximum had baffled many drivers. Starting 27th after Qualifying, Keanu Al Azhari made a superb return to 6th place in the Final. Maxens Verbrugge also came back and managed to qualify to fight in the top 20 of the Final.
Again well represented, the Parolin chassis won five heats as well as five fastest laps in the race before monopolising the top three places in the Final ranking of the WSK Euro Series.
Mini flies ahead of the OK category
More motivated than ever after the incident that had ousted him from the Final a few days earlier at Lonato, Gabriele Mini’ performed a real demonstration of his talent and the potential of his machine at Adria. He started by taking pole position in Qualifying and finished 2nd in the heats with relative carefulness in the fight. The Final stages would give him the opportunity to shine indisputably. Gabriele took the lead halfway through the Prefinal and won with a 2.4″ lead and the fastest time. He then dominated the Final from start to finish to win with a lead of more than 2.7” on his opponents. He was 4th in the WSK Euro Series after his disappointment at Lonato and mounted the final podium of the ACI Karting Italian Championship. But we will especially remember his incredible level of performance in the Finals at Adria as a positive sign for the rest of the season.
OK-Junior: Van Vugt gains confidence
Mike Van Vugt’s performance in OK-Junior shows he has great prospects in the 12-14 age group. After his 11th place in Qualifying, the young Dutchman proved very fast and reached the 5th position at the end of the heats. 5th in his Prefinal, he lost places in the scramble of the closing laps of the Final, which did not detract from the quality of his performances. The other four Junior drivers of the team also qualified for the Finals. Very fast, Brando Badoer and Matteo Rubio however had to retire due to racing incidents.
The Parolin Racing Team is now turning to the preparation for the Final meeting of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK & OK-Junior which will take place at Le Mans (FRA) from 19th to 21th July as well as the preparatory FFSA Karting competition scheduled two weeks earlier.
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In the third round of the WSK Euro Series held at Lonato, Rashid Al Dhaheri took 3rd place on the 60 Mini podium while returning to 2nd place in the Championship. In OK, Gabriele Mini’ had an incredible mishap when he was due to achieve an excellent result. The common point of these two outcomes remains the high standard of performance of the Parolin / TM in international competition.
“It is impossible not to be disappointed by the mishap that hit Gabriele Minì,” said Marco Parolin. “Losing a piece of bodywork in the middle of the Prefinal when we were closing on the leader is still a painful moment. Fortunately, our competitiveness was once again excellent this weekend. And Rashid Al Dhaheri managed to race well in the 60 Mini category despite tough battles.“
The demonstration continues
The chassis manufacturer Parolin Racing Kart can once again be congratulated on its top position in the 60 Mini category with 40% of the WSK Euro Series field at Lonato. Success was also there with the two fastest times of Qualifying, the leadership of the Qualifying Heats 12 wins out of 15 and 11 fastest laps in the race set by seven different drivers. The competition continued with both wins in the Prefinal and the Final victory with the fastest lap in the race. In addition, Parolin placed five of its chassis in the top six.
Al Dhaheri shines in adversity
The 60 Mini competition was even livelier than usual in Qualifying. After setting the 12th fastest time, Rashid Al Dhaheri drove four very good heats, but gave up in the last. 17th in the intermediate classification, he performed magnificently by taking 2nd place in his Prefinal and continued his momentum reaching 3rd in the Final. With this important result, Rashid has progressed to 2nd place in the Championship.
Very effective in the heats, Keanu Al Azahri set two fastest times and finished with a 2nd place and a victory, which gained him 10 positions over his Qualifying position. Although he was a little ahead in Prefinal A when his line started less well, Keanu fought bravely to gain ground in 12th place in the Final. Among the other three drivers of the team qualified for the Final, Giovanni Trentin finished 17th with a gain of 20 places since Qualifying and Maxens Verbrugge took 35 places to finish 22nd.
Unrewarded effort for Minì
Gabriele Minì’s justifiable ambitions in OK flew away with his bodywork in Prefinal A of the WSK Euro Series. This is all the more regrettable because he was extremely competitive at Lonato. Twice 2nd and once victorious in the heats, he set two fastest times. He came back to 2nd in the Prefinal and was close to the leader when he was forced to stop. Hugo Sasse, meanwhile, made a promising comeback to 8th in the Final with a total gain of ten places during the weekend. The results for the young OK-Junior drivers were less eloquent, with only Brando Badoer managing to qualify for the Final after three strong heats.
The Parolin Racing team will have little time to breathe before heading to the Adria circuit for the last round of the WSK Euro Series from 27th to 30th June.
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Gabriel Minì took full advantage of his excellent Parolin / TM Racing equipment to stay at the front of the OK category during the whole weekend of Kristianstad during the third round of the European Championship. Fast and combative, he achieved his best performance of the European season and consolidated his position in the top three of the Championship.
“It’s very satisfying for Parolin to stay at the top of the results sheets, race after race, whatever the track and the driving conditions,” said Marco Parolin. “In Sweden, we were remarkably consistent at the front from the beginning to the end of the meeting when the competition was not easy, as shown by the small gaps between the competitors. Gabriele made no mistakes and the team did a great job to showcase the great potential of our chassis. We have a strong card to play in the Championship, which is very rewarding!“
Top Qualifying and heats
2nd in the OK-Junior World Championship last year at the same circuit, Gabriele Minì started the Swedish meeting well in 2019 in the higher category. After a magnificent 3rd place in the Qualifying session, only 52 thousandths of a second from pole position, the young Italian drove great races, twice with the fastest time. Gabriele kept pace with some of the competitors who had been putting on their new tyres before the final stages. This constant competitiveness allowed him to again appear in the top three.
Beautiful Final confirmation
“The race started very strongly with several attacks on the opening laps,” explained the Parolin Racing Kart driver. “By the time I came back to 2nd position (on the 5th lap), the leader had already widened the gap. I was able to accelerate in the second part of the race and I gradually got closer to the leader. It was a significant risk to try a manoeuvre and I preferred to take the second step of the podium, but the win had never been so close…“
The fastest lap of the Final, one-tenth faster than the winner, as well as the 3.9″ separating him from 3rd confirmed the real chances for Minì during this event. The top three in the provisional classification of the OK European Championship of which Minì is part have now distanced their main rivals. The final battle to take the title promises to be particularly tight in France, at the Le Mans circuit, from 19th to 21st July.
Due to the unpredictable weather in Belgium, the second round of the FIA Karting European Championship was the most difficult of the season so far. Small showers often caused unpredictable variations in the grip of the Genk circuit. Delayed for this reason in Qualifying, Gabriele Mini’ admirably recovered from 43rd to 6th place finish with the fastest lap, therefore preserving all his chances in the OK rankings. Another reason for satisfaction was that Hugo Sasse and Mike Van Vugt had very convincing performances as soon as they joined the Parolin Racing Kart Team.
“The weather was really difficult to manage this weekend,” said Marco Parolin. “The conditions could change between the parc fermé and the dummy grid. It sometimes looked like a poker game! The good thing is that we reacted and Gabriele Minì was able to come back to the forefront with commendable determination. We have also strengthened our driver training. We are counting on newcomers to grow faster in both categories and increase our chances of success.“
Complicated choices in Qualifying
Gabriele Minì demonstrated the efficiency of the TM Racing-powered Parolin chassis in Free Practice in good weather, while the German Hugo Sasse gradually took the measure of his new equipment. The changeable weather for Timed Practice posed acute strategic problems that did not favor the team. Sasse was unfortunate with his 24th position, while Mini’ was far off the mark in 43rd place.
Minì gains 37 places in OK
Regaining an average of ten positions in each heat with two fastest laps in the race on Saturday, Gabriele gained 30 places before continuing his effort in a magnificent Final. Just before a storm, he was able to finish in 6th place (+7 pl) and was again the fastest. The constant work of the team and the efforts of the driver allowed him to maintain his 3rd position in the provisional classification of the European Championship. Hugo Sasse concluded with an interesting 18th place finish, while Ricardo Gracia Filho missed his qualification for the Final after two retirements in his heats.
Strong potential for Van Vugt in Junior
Despite his 32nd in Qualifying, Mike Van Vugt had good performances in the OK-Junior heats, scoring among the fastest, with notably a 3rd and a 4th place. His comeback in the Final ended prematurely after contact while he was 15th. With three positive results in the heats, Brando Badoer unfortunately gave up in the other two and could not reach the Final.
Parolin Racing Kart can confidently approach the next meeting of the European Championship in less than two weeks in Sweden, at the Kristianstad circuit.