PODIUM FOR TONY KART AT THE WINTER CUP
In the last act of the 2021 racing season, Jan Przyrowski obtains, with the official colours of our Racing Team, the third place in OKJ class in a wet edition of the classic competition of the South Garda Karting in Lonato.
Not even two weeks after the triumph of the FIA Karting World Championship in OK class in Campillos, Spain, our Tony Kart Racing Team comes back to Italy for attending on the track of South Garda Karting (Lonato) a "classic" competition of the international karting calendar: the Winter Cup. As usual, our Tony Kart Racer 401R chassis are still the protagonists, already with the new 2022 livery, powered by the DST (OK) and DJT (OKJ) engines of Vortex, the engine division of OTK Kart Group.
In OKJ, since the very first stages of the weekend, James Egozi is the fastest driver of our Racing Team. The American driver, recently crowned champion of his category in the WSK Open Cup, sets the best time in his qualifying group, second in the overall ranking. In the qualifying heats, Egozi scores a series of three consecutive victories, but in the fourth and last heat he is the victim of an unlucky stop, as well as in the second super heat of Sunday morning, made difficult by the pouring rain. Egozi does not give up and, from the 16th position on the starting grid, he shows all his speed skills, and climbs up to the final eighth position in the ranking. Making his way on the wet track is, on the other hand, our Jan Przyrowski. The Polish driver, with two second places on his path in the qualifying heats, obtains a place among the top ten on the starting grid of the final, a race in which he is able to gain position after position. After a long battle for the podium, Przyrowski crosses the finish line in fifth position, but a few penalties to two drivers ahead of him in the standing (due to the incorrect position of the front fairing) reward him with a well-deserved third position. The grit and determination of Enzo Tarnvanichkul and Oscar Wurz are rewarded in the final. The Thai-licensed driver, jumped from the back because of two stops during the qualifying heat, avoids several collisions in the early stages of the race and continues with no troubles towards the end, well placed in the Top 15. Even the Austrian driver, despite a fast lap performed in the qualifying heat, has to start from the back, but in the end he also finishes in the best fifteen drivers of the weekend. It's a pity for Jimmy Helias: the French driver starts from the seventh row, a result preceded by a ninth place in the super heat but is unable to finish the final. However, Helias’ outcome is positive, since, we wish to remind, he only debuted a few months ago in the "Junior" category.
In OK category, Ruiqi Liu is our only representative in the category and performs excellent comebacks during the qualifying heats. Unfortunately, a stop ruins an excellent placing on the starting grid of the final. Despite everything, and despite the difficult conditions on the track due to the falling rain, the Chinese driver does not lift his foot off the gas and gains four more positions, so as to achieve a Top 10 position under the chequered flag.
With the Winter Cup appointment, the professional racing season of our Tony Kart Racing Team ends, filing a year made memorable by the successes obtained in all the categories:
- FIA Karting World Championship OK
- FIA Karting World Championship KZ
- WSK Euro Series OKJ
- WSK Open Cup OK
- WSK Open Cup OKJ
