The international campaign has begun with the WSK Champions Cup.

The tenth WSK Champions Cup, which kicked off the 2023 WSK season, featured a number of exciting Finals.

Lonato (ITA), 29.01.2023
With the tenth WSK Champions Cup, the first race of the 2023 season hosted at South Garda Karting in Lonato, WSK Promotion's events got off to a great start. The international karting season has gotten off to a very strong start thanks to the significant involvement of over 320 drivers from 51 different nations as well as the intense level of athletic and technical competitiveness.

The 2023 season of the WSK Champions Cup also saw the entry of the two single-make categories: X30 Junior and Senior, following the usual categories MINI, OKJ, OK, and KZ2. One of the innovations was the division of the smallest category, MINI, into age groups, from 8 to 10 years and from 10 to 12 years, due to the overwhelming popularity of the participants.



The drivers to the fore in the Prefinals.
The Prefinals held on Saturday had these winners:

MINI Gr.3: Prefinal-A was won by the Chinese Zeyu Shen (AV Racing/Parolin-TM-Vega), Prefinal-B by the Brit Noah Baglin (IKart/KR-Iame-Vega);
MINI Gr.3 Under 10: Prefinal-A went to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Legenkyi (Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega), Prefinal-B to the Pole Antoni Ociepa (Gold Kart/Righetti Ridolfi-Iame-Vega).
OK-Junior: Prefinal-A went Lewis Wherrel’s ways (Forza Racing/Exprit-TM-Vega), Prefinal-B to the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega);

The winners of the Prefinals held on Sunday morning:

X30 Junior: the Prefinal was won by Angola’s Lorenzo Campos (Team Driver/Tony Kart-Iame-Vega);
X30 Senior: Prefinal-A to the Italian Brando Pozzi (M2 Racing/Tony Kart-Iame-MG), Prefinal-B to the Brit Luca Griggs (Falcon/Falcon-Iame-MG);
KZ2: Prefinal-A was won by the British driver Freddie Slater (BirelArt Racing/BirelArt-TM-Vega), Prefinal-B by the Frenchman Adrien Renaudin (DR/DR-Modena Engines-Vega);
OK: Prefinal-A went to Dmitry Matveev (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont), Prefinal-B to the Dane David Walter (Koski Motorsport/Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont).

The Finals.
KZ2 – Bertuca Triumphs.
Cristian Bertuca (BirelART-TM-Vega), an Italian, won the KZ2 Final. He quickly claimed the lead from the second row and controlled the race for all 21 circuits. His teammate, the Englishman Freddie Slater, who started the race from pole position, lost positions but made up ground in the closing laps to finish in second place. Excellent third position for Viacheslav Putiatin (LA Motorsport/Palcon-TM), a driver from Ukraine. Matteo Spirgel (CPB Sport/Sodi-TM), a French driver, finished fourth, and Paul Maximilian (DR/DR-Modena Engines), a German driver, finished fifth after making a strong recovery.
Final KZ2
1. Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
2. Freddie Slater (GBR)
3. Viacheslav Putiatin (UKR)

OK – Walther wins the Final.
The Danish driver David Walther (Koski Motorsport/Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont), who won the Prefinal-B, ultimately prevailed in the Final despite competition from a number of other drivers. Soon after the race's halfway point, he took the lead. Dmitry Matveev (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), the Prefinal-A winner, grabbed the lead at the start of the race, however a technical issue caused his race to end after the fifth lap. The Hungarian driver Martin Molnar (Energy Corse/Energy-TM) was subsequently given the wheel, but he was unable to equal Walther's winning speed and was forced to settle for second place. Tomass Stolcermanis of Latvia, Molnar's colleague, came in second. The fourth place went to the Austrian driver Kiano Blum (DPK/KR-Iame), and the fifth to the Czech driver Miroslav Mikes (Mikes Premy/MS-Iame) after a great comeback.
Final OK
1. David Walter (DNK)
2. Martin Molnar (HUN)
3. Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA)

OK-Junior – Werrell is unstoppable.
Lewis Wherrell, an English driver with Forza Racing/Exprit-TM-Vega, was unrelenting in the final, cruising to victory after also winning the Prefinal. Following Wherrell in the final were the German driver Taym Saleh of Sauber Academy/KR-Iame and the Austrian driver Niklas Schaufler of DPK/KR-Iasme, who both made comebacks and finished in second and third, respectively. With a strong performance, the Italian driver Filippo Sala of Sodikart/Sodi-TM finished fifth, followed by the Spanish driver Luna Fluxa Cross of KR Motorsport/KR-Iame in fourth place.
Final OKJ
1. Lewis Wherrell (GBR)
2. Niklas Schaufler (AUT)
3. Taym Saleh (BEL)

MINI Gr.3 – Zulfikari is excluded, but the classification is sub-judice.
The MINI Gr. 3 final was fairly competitive, with the Turk Iskender Zulfikari (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-Vega) taking the lead after the Dutchman Dean Hoogendoorn (Kidix/Alonso-Iame) initially dominated. However, the winner Zulfikari's removal for poor sportsmanship in the post-race provided shocks. However, his side has appealed, and the categorization is currently under dispute. Iskender Zulfikari triumphed over Vladimir Ivannikov (Gamoto/EKS-TM) and Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (Team Driver/KR-Iame) at the line, with colleague Ilia Berezkin coming in fourth. Following a strong comeback, the Australian William Calleja (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM) took fifth place, and the American Keelan Harvick (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) took sixth. Hoogendoorn finished sixth in his effort.
Final MINI Gr.3 (sub-judice)
1. Iskender Zulfikari (TUR)
2. Vladimir Ivannikov (ITA)
3. Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (ROU)

MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Legenkyi dominates the Final.
Oleksandr Legenkyi of Ukraine (Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) only lost the race's lead for one lap before regaining it and holding onto it the rest of the way. In an attempt to surprise Legenkyi, the Polish competitor Leonardo Gorski (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) briefly held the top spot. However, he eventually finished third after being passed by Belgian Antoine Sylva Venant (Kidix/KR-Iame), who ended in second place. The Italian Lorenzo Leopardi (LGK/BirelArt-TM), who finished fourth, finished a fine race ahead of the Swiss Albert Tamm (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
Final MINI Gr.3 Under 10
1. Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR)
2. Antoine Sylva Venant (BEL)
3. Leonardo Gorski (POL)

X30 Junior – Ferrari takes the Final.
In the final laps of the competition in the X30 Junior class, Italian driver Riccardo Ferrari (Zanchi Motorsport/Tony Kart-Iame-MG) prevailed over Swiss driver Tiziano Kuzhnini (Team Driver/Tony Kart-Iame) and his teammate, Angolan Lorenzo Campos, who had won the Prefinal. After crossing the finish line in second place, Dutch driver Sacha Van't Pad Bosch (Martinis/Red Speed-Iame) was assessed a 5s time penalty and placed sixth overall. His two colleagues, French driver Clovis Nougueyrede and Dutch driver Rocco Coronel, came before him.
Final X30 Junior
1. Riccardo Ferrari (ITA)
2. Tiziano Kuzhnini (CHE)
3. Lorenzo Campos (AGO)

X30 Senior – Pozzi dominates.
Italian driver Brando Pozzi (M2 Racing/Tony Kart-Iame-MG), who had previously won the Prefinal-A, went on to win the Final as well after a battle with French driver Pacome Weisenburger (Martins/Red Speed-Iame), who came in fifth. After a strong comeback, the other Italian, Federico Rossi (PRK/Tony Kart-Iame), finished in second place, followed by Belgian Elie Goldstein (TBKart/Tony Kart-Iame) in third and Andrea Giudice (Marra61/Tony Kart-Iame) in fourth.
Senior X30 Final
1. Brando Pozzi (ITA)
2. Federico Rossi (ITA)
3. Elie Goldstein (BEL)

The next round: February1-5, the opening round of the WSK Super Master Series, also at the South Garda Karting circuit in Lonato.

Complete results are available at www.wskarting.it/index.asp

This is a summary of an article released by WSK promotion, you can view the oringal article here. 
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