TONY KART’S 2022 ENDS WITH THE WSK FINAL CUP SUCCESS
On the occasion of the second and last round of the series by WSK Promotion, at the South Garda Karting of Lonato, Joseph Turney hits the title in OK CLASS with our Tony Kart Racer 401 RR. Success also in the OKJ final, with Enzo Tarnvanichkul.
The 2022 international season of our Tony Kart Racing Team could not have a better end. In the second round of the WSK Final Cup, at the South Garda Karting in Lonato, our Tony Kart Racer 401 RR, powered by Vortex’s DST engine, puts its signature on the OK category title. Our chassis is also the protagonist of the other classes, with the RTZ/RSZ (KZ2) and DJT (OKJ) Vortex engines, the "engine division" of OTK Kart Group, joined, in the MINI class, by the Tony Kart Rookie powered by the Vortex MCX.
In OK, Joseph Turney becomes champion thanks to a weekend always at the top. After having been fighting for the final victory on the occasion of the first round at Sarno, the British driver confirms his competitiveness also in Lonato. At the end of the qualifying heats he takes the lead in the intermediate ranking with one win, one second place and one fastest lap. Turney confirms his leadership also in the A pre-final with another success and in the decisive final he plays smart: he avoids any kind of close contact with his rivals and flies to second place. A result that allows him to become champion with exactly 40 points ahead of his closest chaser. This is the third 2022 title conquered by our driver, already winner of the WSK Super Master Series and the Champions of the Future Euro Series.
Solid performance also for James Egozi, who closes his first year in the category with a Top 10 in the final. The American driver also gains two podiums in the qualifying heats, in addition to the best overall timing in the Saturday morning's warm-up. At his second attendance with our Racing Team, Sebastiano Pavan proves to be tenacious on the track: first position in his warm-up group on Saturday and Sunday and, for him too, Top 10 in the final thanks to a 15-position comeback compared to the starting grid. Jan Przyrowski, at his third race among the "Seniors", also attends the final, while Jakub Rajski misses the final due to two unfortunate stops in the qualifying heats.
In OKJ, great proof of maturity of Enzo Tarnvanichkul. The world champion in force starts the weekend uphill, but recovers positions during the qualifying heats where he is also able to collect victory. On Sunday, the Thai driver goes wild: first he finishes second in B pre-final, then he takes the lead of the final and wins the second round of the WSK Final Cup. Tarnvanichkul, with this result, also celebrates his second place in the championship.
Great growth of Alp Hasan Aksoy. The Turkish driver hits three Top 3 in the four eliminatory heats, which earns him the sixth place (and a total climb of 16 positions) in the intermediate ranking. Aksoy has a chance to place in the Top 10 in the final, but the wild tussle in the first laps does not reward him. After recovering from an injury, Maria Germano Neto returns to the track and records encouraging results, including a comeback of 18 positions in A Prefinal. Unfortunately, two stops in the qualifying heats do not allow the Portuguese driver to gain a pass for the final.
In KZ2, Noah Milell has a good chance of playing for the title. The 2021 KZ world champion and vice world champion in force, finishes twice third in the qualifying heats and wins with power the B pre-final, thus obtaining the third position on the starting grid of the final. Due to some collisions in the very early stages of the race, the Swedish remains jammed in the group and finishes the race in the top ten. Milell thus misses a possible championship win, but still finishes second.
In his second attendance with our colours, Tom Leuillet makes his mark with the fastest lap in Sunday morning's warm-up and with a third place in the A pre-final. Alexander Gubenko, on the other hand, is hit by bad luck in Prefinal B, where he has to stop.
In the MINI category, the number of our drivers grows: Ludovico Mazzola and Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi are joined by Ilie Tristan Crisan. Mazzola scores a fast lap in the qualifying heats and makes a comeback of 12 positions in the final; Eskandari-Marandi comes close to the Top 10 in the A pre-final and easily enters the final; finally, Crisan makes his debut with our colours and signs a best lap during the eliminatory heats.
With the WSK Final Cup, the curtain falls on the 2022 racing season of the Tony Kart Racing Team. A memorable year full of successes in all categories:
- FIA Karting World Championship OKJ
- WSK Super Master Series OK
- WSK Euro Series OKJ
- Champions of the Future Euro Series OK
- Champions of the Future Winter Series KZ2
- WSK Final Cup OK
