ROK CUP SUPERFINAL 2022: A 20th EDITION TO CHERISH

The 20th ROK Cup Superfinal will undoubtedly go down in history. Another rousing success this year, with participants from no fewer than 49 nations competing in the 7 categories at the South Garda go kart racing circuit in Lonato (Italy)

The four-day international competition sponsored by ROK Cup and Vortex go kart Engines, which began on Wednesday, October 19, with free practice sessions, and concluded on Saturday, October 22, with the finals, was filled with a wide range of feelings and unexpected turns.

On a legendary track that serves as the pinnacle of the world karting stage, nearly 400 Rokkers gave life to a singular and international spectacle.

The awards for such a well-known event could not have been any less: based on their placing, the best five in each category received engines, technical equipment, and, of course, well-deserved trophies.

The 2022 champions include Renato Jader-David (Expert ROK), Tino Donadei (Expert ROK Plus), William Go (Super ROK), Nicola Rossini, Filippo Parmeggiani, David Locatelli, and Vivek Kanthan (Mini ROK), among others (Shifter ROK).

Let's examine how the races progressed from the qualifying rounds to the finals in more depth and category by category.

MINI ROK

Qualifyings

89 entries were received for the MINI ROK, resulting in the division of qualifying into four groups. With a time of 54.342, Kacper Rajpold of Poland is the quickest overall. He finished in Group 3. Milosz Smuk (Poland), who is in second place with a difference of 37 thousandths, and Bruno Gryc (Poland), who is in third place and 43 thousandths off the top spot, are his closest competitors in the combined ranking.

Heats

Vivek Kanthan (USA), Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (Australia), and Kai Johnson (USA) won the first three qualifying heats on Thursday. On Friday, Kanthan won twice again, Johnson also triumphed, while William Calleja (Australia) took home two first-place finishes. Kanthan is ranked first overall based on total penalty points, followed by Calleja, Johnson, and Eskandari-Marandi.

Final

A breathtaking spectacle is offered by the decisive MINI ROK race. Kanthan is in the lead at the outset, followed by Johnson, Shen Zeyu (China), Calleja, and Qarrar Firhand (Indonesia). However, after a few laps, the leadership continues to alternate between the two teammates Kanthan and Calleja in the race for first place. On the final lap, Kanthan passes Calleja for the victory and skillfully protects himself from the Australian as well as Bogdan Cosma-Cristofor (Romania), who astonishingly moves up from position 16 on the starting grid. Kanthan prevails over the other two by a mere 77 thousandths of a second as they sprint to the finish line. Cosma-Cristofor and Calleja are in second and third place, respectively.

Award: MINI ROK Vortex

In the consolation MINI ROK final, Sebastian Dias (South Africa) takes the lead at the end of the first lap, but it’s Tom Wickop (Poland) running ahead on the second lap not leaving it until the chequered flag; however, the Polish driver receives a three-second penalty during the race and drops back to fifth. Wiktor Stalmach (Poland) beats Norbert Plaszewski (Norway) by just 47 thousandths of a second thus winning the race, with Jack Moore (South Africa) completing the podium.

JUNIOR ROK

Qualifyings

108 drivers competed in the Junior ROK, setting a new track record. With the fastest time among the four groups, David Cosma-Cristofor (Romania) takes the lead. He beats Martin Molnar (Hungary), who came in second by barely 34 thousandths, and Aleksandar Bogunovi (Slovenia), who came in third with +0.050.

Heats

A total of 15 qualifying heats are planned to take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. With four victories, Italian Patrik Fraboni moves into first place overall, surpassing Cosma-Cristofor (three-time winner) and Filippo Parmeggiani (United Arab Emirates). While Molnar is sixth despite three victories, Nicolas Marchesi (of Italy) is fourth with a win as well. Bogunovic advances to 16th position despite winning another heat. Also noteworthy are the two triumphs of Ethan Lennon (South Africa), who was disqualified owing to two stops in the qualifying heats, and Vegard Klemetsen's (Norway) first-place finish in the heats, which qualified him for the final on Saturday afternoon.

Final

The Junior ROK final presents a formidable task. The group is led by Fraboni out of the starting position, followed by Parmeggiani, Filippo Tornaghi (Italy), Molnar, Marchesi, and Jensen Burnet (Canada). Over the first nine laps, Parmeggiani closely observes Fraboni before taking the lead on lap 10. After two laps, Fraboni rejoins his competitor, but their duel lets Cosma-Cristofor catch up. On the penultimate lap, the Romanian driver alone emerges as the primary actor of the race. He initially passes Parmeggiani before completing the task by passing Fraboni as well. However, Parmeggiani benefits from the battle between Cosma-Cristofor and Fraboni, taking the lead at the start of the final crucial lap. The final is won by the UAE driver, with Fraboni second and Cosma-Cristofor third.

Junior ROK LeVanto Trophy

Ethan Lennon (South Africa), who won the other Junior ROK final, finished ahead of second-placed Caleb Campbell (Canada), who also set the fastest lap in the contest, by more than two seconds. Sebastian Manson of New Zealand, on the other hand, wins the race for third place after a spectacular rise of 12 spots from the starting grid.

SENIOR ROK

Qualifyings

For the Senior ROK class, there are 82 drivers and three qualifying groups. The leader in the rankings is David Locatelli (Italy), who finished first in the first group with a time of 48.262 seconds. Italy's Lorenzo Bedetti comes in second, with Jakub Rajski taking third (Poland).

Heats 

With a total of four victories from four qualifying heats and a lead in the overall standings, Locatelli has performed nearly flawlessly. Eliska Babickova (Czech Republic), who consistently achieves success, is rewarded with a second place finish and a victory, while Michael Müller (Switzerland), who consistently achieves success, comes in third. Rajski is fourth despite his three victories, and Luca Bettoni (Italy) rounds out the Top 10. A stop penalises Bedetti, who slips 21^st despite his win in the B-E heat.

Final

Locatelli delivered an outstanding effort in the Senior ROK final. The Italian has no issues getting going and takes the lead after the first corner. Müller, Bettoni, Bartosz Grzywacz (Poland), Rajski, and Babickova are vying for second position behind him. After barely two laps, Rajski notices Locatelli is pulling away and replies by moving up to second. Every lap, the Polish driver cuts into Locatelli's built-up lead, but she is unable to make the race leader nervous. Rajski comes in second, ahead of Locatelli by 0.590 seconds, while Bettoni takes the bottom step of the podium.

Senior ROK OMP Trophy

Many surprises are concealed by the Senior ROK trophy, especially after the competition. Maalik Bintang Alisyahbana of Indonesia starts the dances and maintains the lead for the first few laps, but Cristian Pastrian of Chile gains the lead on the sixth lap. The Chilean takes first place, but the race organizers disqualify him for acting in a manner that was against the rules of competition. The second finisher, Tobias Nyberg of Norway, is also given a 5-second time penalty for having his front fairing installed incorrectly. Adrian Labuda of Poland wins the race, followed by Nyberg in second and Lucas Pace of Malta in third place after a comeback of 24 positions.

EXPERT ROK

Qualifyings

Sona Ptackova of the Czech Republic won the women's expert ROK pole position with a lap of of 49.383 seconds. Renato Jader-David (USA) came in second, ahead of fellow citizen Derek Wang (USA), who came in third.

Heats

Jader-David wins three qualifying heats on Thursday and Friday, taking the lead over Marcel Nowak each time (Germany). Additionally, the American wins the pole position for the final, with Derek Wang (USA), second in the category standings, ahead of the German driver.

Final

Jader-David wins the championship match on Saturday in the afternoon, capping off a great weekend. At the starting line, the American starts off perfectly and takes control of the race right away. While Wang won't let his compatriot leave, he is also unable to discover a method to harm him. After a bad finish in the final last year, Jader-David handles the race and triumphs. Nowak places third, and Wang comes in second.

EXPERT ROK PLUS

Qualifyings

In the Expert ROK Plus, Italy's Tino Donadei takes the lead and places second overall (thus also considering the Expert ROK drivers, with whom the category shares the track). Mundy Loyer (Peru) is in third place, followed by Paolo Baselli (Italy) in second.

Heats

Donadei performed flawlessly in the preliminary heats, winning all three of them to move up to second place overall. At the conclusion of Friday, Baselli seals his second place finish, with Gianluca Todeschini (Italy) in third.

Final

After starting from the front row of the overall grid, Italian driver Donadei quickly assumes the lead during the opening stages of Saturday's final. The driver frequently finishes in the Top 3 and also holds the top spot in the "Plus" category. After 20 circuits, Donadei finishes in fourth position overall and wins his class, with Baselli and Todeschini claiming the top two spots.

SUPER ROK

Qualifyings 

With a time of 47.783 seconds, William Go from the Philippines records the fastest time in Super ROK. With a difference of 0.038 seconds from the poleman, Lyon Mathur of Switzerland finishes the qualifying heats in second position. Dmytro Muravshchyk of Ukraine takes third place.

Heats

Italy's Riccardo Ianniello displays his prowess in the three qualifying heats, winning the first two and placing sixth in the third. With these performances, Elliott Shaw (Switzerland), who received three second-place finishes, is now second overall behind the Italian. Alex Machado (Andorra) wins the third qualifying heat and moves up from 16th to 7th place, while Go slides back to third.

Final

The Super ROK final got off to a chaotic start. Unlike Shaw, who is forced to resume the race from the back and is thus sent off the track, Ianniello is adept at maintaining the lead. Go makes repeated attempts to pass Ianniello in second place, but the Italian continually outperforms his Filipino rival. Go perseveres, though, and on lap 17 eventually succeeds. Go prevails in the final standings, beating Ianniello and Machado, but Ianniello is disqualified after scrutineering. Daniele Federici (Italy) takes the bottom step of the podium and Machado is moved up to second place.

SHIFTER ROK

Qualifyings

In the Shifter ROK qualifying session, only Nicola Rossini (Italy) was able to break the barrier of 47 seconds (46.964) and take first place in the rankings. Poland's Karol Czepiel and Romania's Costin Ion are in second and third place, respectively.

Heats 

Rossini demonstrates his superior speed even in the qualifying heats, winning three of the three races, despite being penalized five seconds for an early start in the second heat. Cody Maynes-Rutty (Australia) tops the standings on Friday night, ahead of Rossini (Italy) and Alessandro Cavina (Italy), who both had minor mistakes on their scoreboards.

Final 

Rossini doesn't take a pass in the grand finale on Saturday afternoon. In fact, at the first opportunity, the Italian overtakes the Australian and starts a solo ascent to victory. The driver of the fastest time in qualifying does not discover a faster route than Maynes-Rutty and behind him by four laps. Due to her inability to keep up with Rossini, Maynes-Rutty comes in second place. Andrea Zemin (Italy), who started out in fourth place, moves up to third place as soon as the race begins and keeps it till the finish line.

This is a summary of an article written on the ROK CUP SUPERFINAL page, the original article can be viewed here.