Queensland’s Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi has finished sixth at the second round of the WSK Open Series at La Conca, Italy, on the weekend.
Competing in OK-N Junior with the Ward Racing team on Tony Kart/Vortex, Seb qualified 24th in 30 kart field.
“We have had great speed and been fast in practice, but quali was a bit of a disaster” he wrote on social media. “Was sent out behind a couple of karts that thought it was a good idea to defend and block through the session and I couldn’t drop back to give myself room as there were karts behind me.”
Fast times and solid heat results (12th, 9th and 13th) were followed by 10th in the pre-final (“P8 off the start, but got hit hard from behind and run wide into turn 3 on lap one and dropped to P19. Came back with multiple fastest laps to finish P10”). This earned a grid 9 start for the final.
Eskandari moved to P7 at the start but dropped to eleventh after contact with another kart. A strong recovery saw him cross the line in sixth place.
“The kart felt great to drive and I was happy in myself. Just have to keep learning and improving.”
Eskandari finished the championship in eighth place. His next event is round 2 of the Italian Championships, also at La Conca.
- video of the pre-finals and finals is below
- scroll down for the official ‘finals day’ report and pics
- full results are on the WSK site HERE
The WSK Open Series crowned its champions in La Conca
The second and final round of the WSK Open Series at the International Circuit La Conca has crowned the champions of this important international series, now in its seventh edition. As in the first event in Franciacorta, this round also saw excellent participation from major international teams, with drivers representing as many as 38 nations.
The competition featured the two MINI Gr.3 categories, as well as the Under 10, along with the two new single-brand federal categories, OK-NJ and OK-N, which have now reached a good level of participation with sizable and competitive grids. Additionally, the more performance-oriented KZ2 category, which also included the Masters for drivers over 35 years old, was part of the event. Following qualifying sessions and qualifying heats, it was the final phase on Saturday that highlighted the top contenders for success, with the Prefinals and then the thrilling Finals that crowned the category champions.
THE PREFINALS
The performances displayed in the heats were confirmed in the Prefinals except for the successful comebacks of Daniel Miron Lorente in the MINI Gr.3 and Bati Ege Yildirim in the OK-NJ.
The winners of the Prefinals
- MINI Gr.3 U10 – Prefinal: Achille Rea (ITA) (#525 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega).
- MINI Gr.3 – Prefinal: Daniel Miron Lorente (NLD) (#552 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega).
- OK-NJ – Prefinal: Ilia Berezkin (#322 Monster K Factory Team/CRG-TM Kart-Vega).
- OK-N – Prefinal: Bati Ege Yildirim (TUR) (#210 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega).
- KZ2 – Prefinal: Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-LeCont)
- KZ2 Masters – Prefinal: Davide Forè (ITA) (#102 GSR Team/BirelART-TM Kart-LeCont).
THE FINALS
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Rea is unstoppable, Perico is the champion
The MINI Gr.3 Under 10 category saw the Italian Achille Rea (#525 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) prevail in all phases of the event, from pole position in qualifying to victory in the heats and the final phase, with a remarkable success in the Prefinal and then also in the Final, where he outperformed the fellow Italian Antonio Ianni (#546 CRG Racing Team/TGroup-TM Kart-Vega) and Portuguese Xavier Lazaro (#519 SM Racing/OTK-TM Kart) on the podium. The championship leader Niccolò Perico (#501 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart), after his victory in Franciacorta, had to settle for fourth place this time, a position that still allowed him to secure the category title.
MINI Gr.3 U10 – Final
1st Achille Rea (ITA) 10 laps
2nd Antonio Ianni (ITA) +0.576
3rd Xavier Lazaro (PRT) +3.048
The championship classification:
1st Niccolò Perico (ITA) points 212
2nd Achille Rea (ITA) points 184
3rd Xavier Lazaro (PRT) points 120
MINI Gr.3 – A double surprise: Gorski wins the Final, Ratajski the title
The MINI Gr.3 had an incredible conclusion and the American Alessandro Truchot (#512 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) saw a nearly certain title slip away despite his leadership in the standings and his performance in the heats. But it was the always competitive Leonardo Gorski (#521 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) who disrupted Truchot’s plans, staging a remarkable comeback in the final to clinch victory. The Frenchman Stan Ratajski, Truchot’s teammate, also played a pivotal role, skillfully gaining important positions, aided by a penalty imposed on another BabyRace driver, Mexican Santiago Diaz De La Vega. In the Final, Gorski finished ahead of the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#553 Team Driver/KR-Iame) and Stan Ratajski, but the latter found himself at the top of the standings with a two-point lead over Truchot.
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MINI Gr.3 – Final
1st Leonardo Gorski (POL) 10 laps
2nd Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR) +1.221
3rd Stan Ratajski (FRA) +2.838
The championship classification:
1st Stan Ratajski (FRA) points 136
2nd Alessandro Truchot (USA) points 134
3rd Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR) points 110
OK-N Junior – Dominio di Berezkin
Already a winner of the first race at Franciacorta, Ilia Berezkin (#322 Monster K Factory Team/CRG-TM Kart-Vega) confirmed his position at the top of the category by also clinching victory at La Conca, further asserting his dominance over the weekend. However, other strong contenders also stood out, such as the Italian Pietro Bagutti (#313 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart), an excellent second-place finisher in the final, and the Brazilian Neto Antonio Pizzonia (#328 Team Driver/KR-Iame), who took third on the podium at La Conca. Both trailed Berezkin in the championship standings as well.
OK-NJ – Final
1st Ilia Berezkin 16 laps
2nd Pietro Bagutti (ITA) +4.605
3rd Neto Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) +4.889
The championship classification:
1st Ilia Berezkin points 251
2nd Pietro Bagutti (ITA) points 119
3rd Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) points 117
OK-N – Pasiewicz surprises winning the final and the championship
A great surprise came from the experienced Polish driver Karol Pasiewicz (#214 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE-Vega), an excellent performer in the Final, masterfully conducted and dominated until the finish line. Behind Pasiewicz, an outstanding Federico Rossi (#203 PRK/Tony Kart-TM Kart) took second place, followed by the talented Czech driver Jindrich Pesl (#247 Monster K Factory/CRG-TM Kart-Vega), who excelled in qualifying and the heats. Fourth was the Turkish driver Bati Ege Yildirim (#210 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart), winner of the Prefinal.
OK-N – Final
1st Karol Pasiewicz (POL) 20 laps
2nd Federico Rossi (ITA) +1.500
3rd Jindrich Pesl (CZE) +2.725
The championship classification:
1st Karol Pasiewicz (POL) points 139
2nd Vasileios Apostolidis (GRC) points 127
3rd Nicolas Marchesi (ITA) points 125
KZ2 – Bertuca triumphs
Cristian Bertuca (#1 BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Kart-LeCont) eventually emerged victorious in the second round of the WSK Open Series and in the championship after securing second place at Franciacorta. The Italian driver’s performance was remarkable throughout the weekend, particularly in the Final, which he dominated. Behind him were the Frenchman Emilien Denner (#39 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart) and Maksim Orlov (#52 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart), who were also protagonists throughout the weekend, along with the Romanian driver Daniel Vasile, a valuable teammate of Bertuca. Bertuca thus also clinched the championship ahead of the Dutchman Senna Van Walstijn (#11 Sodikart/Sodi-TM Kart), who had won the first round at Franciacorta.
In the KZ2 Masters, Alessio La Martina (#103 KR Motorsport/KR-Iame) emerged victorious in the Final, while Davide Forè (#102 GSR Team/BirelART-TM Kart) secured the championship title.
KZ2 – Final
1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA) 20 laps
2nd Emilien Denner (FRA) +0.265
3rd Maksim Orlov +0.566
KZ2 – Championship classification:
1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA) points 232
2nd Senna Van Walstijn (NLD) points 151
3rd Emilien Denner (FRA) points 120.
KZ2 Masters – Championship classification
1st Davide Forè (ITA) points 234
2nd Alessio La Martina (ITA) points 179
3rd Mirko Mizzoni (ITA) points 122
The next WSK event is the opener of the WSK Euro Series in the weekend of June 30th at the Franciacorta Karting Track.
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