The tough results of the 2018 Winter Cup Finals did not reflect Parolin Racing Kart’s presence in the foreground during most of this famous competition. The Parolin chassis were certainly at the forefront of the performance multiple times, in OK-Junior with Gabriele Mini, in Mini Rok with Piotr Protasiewicz and also in KZ2 with the superb performance of Alessio Lorandi.
“On Saturday night, we had Parolin drivers among the favourites of three categories: Mini, Junior and KZ2”, congratulated Marco Parolin. “There were a number of incidents that prevented them from getting the results they hoped for on Sunday, but I think we put on a nice demonstration of our skill all weekend, regardless of track conditions. I am proud to see more and more Parolins on the track. Parolin was the third best represented brand of the field at Lonato, all categories combined. We dominated for a long time in Junior and Mini Rok before the hard circumstances of the race deprived Gabriele Mini and Piotr Protasiewicz of a fair reward. Alessio Lorandi’s rapid adaptation to his new Parolin chassis and his magnificent performances are very promising. We are very hopeful of shining and achieving great success at the next sporting event at Lonato in early March at the WSK Super Master Series.”
At the wheel of his Parolin / Iame, Gabriele Mini showed in OK-Junior that the equipment worked very well. After setting the fastest time he won two races and led the category before the Super Heats. He started from the front row at the start of the Final, but was forced to retire in the heat of the action. He nevertheless posted the best time of the whole race. Alessandro Cenedese managed to qualify despite a retirement in a heat, while the Australian James Wharton was close to the top 10 before giving up in the Final.
In the Mini Rok category, Parolin Racing Kart dominated the field with more than a third of the participants. Despite varying fortunes in the Final, six Parolins were in the top 14 of the Winter Cup. The Parolin Poland team driver Piotr Protasiewicz was the big favourite after his pole position in Qualifying and his three heat wins. Leader on Saturday night, fastest in Super Heat 1 and the record holder of the event, he started 2nd in the Final, but did not take the finish. Martinius Stenshorne started from a distance with his 33rd in Qualifying and was fighting in the leading group of the Final before finishing 6th. There was also solid progress for Brando Badoer, 17th and 7th in the Final, while Andrea Barberi of AV Racing team set the fastest time and reached 8th position.
Alessio Lorandi made an incredible KZ2 debut at the wheel of his new Parolin chassis. While discovering his equipment on Wednesday, he was already the fastest in his timed session on Friday and was 4 hundredth from pole position among the 94 participants. He then won three Qualifying Heats before being delayed by racing incidents. Despite these incidents, he did not hide the satisfaction at the convincing grip of his Parolin.