Turnney and Ramaekers are the undisputed FIA Karting champions of Spain.

The Super Heats were held in the morning of the last day of the FIA Karting European Championship - OK & Junior in Valencia, while the Finals were held in the early afternoon. The races offered a compelling athletic spectacle in the lovely Spanish weather, even if the top starting drivers were not assured of finishing on top of the podium. Englishman Joseph Turney advanced five places to win the OK Final, while Belgian Thibaut Ramaekers won the Junior Final.

Valencia's Kartódromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero made an impressive entrance onto the list of tracks utilized for FIA Karting championships. On the quick and extremely complex 1428-meter track, the entire race was especially fascinating to watch. The competition was made more intense by the new scoring system for the qualifying and super heats, which awarded extra points to the winners.

The Super Heats for the top 72 drivers, which will determine which 36 drivers advance to the early afternoon Finals, will kick off Sunday's schedule. The drivers' excitement peaked during the Super Heats, and the races occasionally overflowed with excitement. The more relaxed Finals, where mastery of each aspect was the primary goal, were when concentration was at its peak.

Junior: Thibaut Ramaekers' talent blossoms

Against Elliot Kaczynski (SWE-Tony Kart/Vortex/Vega) and Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR-KR/IAME/Vega), the Super Heats awarded two promising drivers: Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL-KR/IAME/Vega) and Lewis Wherrell (GBR-Exprit/TM Kart/Vega).

Bondarev quickly pulled ahead of Kaczynski and Zac Drummond (GBR-Parolin/TM Racing/Vega) at the start of the Final. Ramaekers encountered several challenges coming from the outer lane. Yet it only took him four circuits to advance from fourth to first and create a margin that widened as more laps passed. He was able to cross the finish line ahead by 3,3" thanks to the fierce competition amongst the pursuers. Bondarev never put the leader in danger, but he did have to be on the lookout for Wherrell's late-race return after setting the fastest lap and climbing three spots in the front row.A few more circuits would have been enough for the Englishman to pass for second place. Although Niklas Schaufler (AUT-KR/IAME/Vega), who started the race in 13th position, produced an outstanding comeback to finish in the top five, Taym Saleh (DEU-KR/IAME/Vega) was able to maintain his fourth spot without being able to go for the podium. Stepan Antonov (KR/IAME/Vega), who was delayed by his disqualification in Timed Practice, continued his impressive 75-place improvement by climbing another 10 spots to seventh place in the Final despite receiving a penalty for an incorrectly positioned front fairing. Kascynski, who had performed admirably up to that point, could only achieve 10th in the final. The wild card competitor Martin Barry-Berg (NOR-Kosmic/Vortex/Vega), who placed 13th in the Final, had a fantastic overall performance.In 14th, Luna Fluxa Cross (ESP-KR/IAME/Vega) was the best woman.

Provisional ranking of the FIA Karting European Championship - Junior 2023 after the first race :
1- Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL) - 71 points
2- Oleksandr Bondarev (UKR) - 62 points
3- Taym Saleh (DEU) - 58 points
4- Elliot Kaczynski (SWE) - 56 points
5- Lewis Wherrell (GBR) - 45 points

OK-Junior team ranking after Valencia
1- KR Motorsport (ITA) - 98 points
2- VDK Racing (BEL) - 71 points
3- Sauber Academy (SWE) - 58 points
4- Ward Racing (SWE) - 56 points
5- Parolin Motorsport (ITA) - 50 points

OK win goes to the experienced Joe Turney

Sunday morning's Super Heats of the FIA Karting European Championship - OK solidified Brazilian Gabriel Gomez's (ITA-CRG/IAME/MG) dominance as the unchallenged leader throughout the competition. After winning Super Heat B, Rene Lammers (NLD-Parolin/TM Racing/MG) clinched the second spot. Alex Powell (JAM-KR/IAME/MG) and Jan Przyrowski (POL-Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) were ahead of Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA-Energy/TM Racing/MG) in third place.

In the Final, Gomez was able to maintain the lead for the first six circuits, by which time Turney had advanced from his starting position of sixth to the lead group. While in the lead, the Englishman maintained enough separation from Przyrowski, his immediate pursuer, to deter him from launching an assault. Despite his obvious skill, Turney won magnificently by 5 tenths, a first for him at this level. In the pack, the conflict was more intense. Lammers overtook Gomez for third place in the middle of the race, depriving him of even the satisfaction of a podium finish following his dominance since the Qualifying session. Powell set the fastest lap of the race and came within a tenth of a second of Gomez at the finish line, but he still finished sixth. To finish sixth, Luigi Coluccio (ITA-Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) gained ten positions. After just finishing the opening lap in 13th place, David Walther (DNK-Tony Kart/Vortex/MG) proved his tenacity by recovering to finish seventh, 0.064" behind Coluccio.

Provisional FIA Karting European Championship - OK 2023 standings after Round 1:
1- Gabriel Gomez (ITA) - 69 points
2- Rene Lammers (NLD) - 66 points
3- Joe Turney (GBR) - 56 points
4- Jan Przyrowski (POL) - 54 points
5- Alex Powell (JAM) - 47 points

OK team ranking after Valencia
1- Tony Kart Racing Team (ITA) - 84 points
2- Parolin Motorsport (ITA) - 80 points
3- KR Motorsport (ITA) - 74 points
4- CRG (ITA) - 69 points
5- Prema Motorsport (ITA) - 60 points

European Championship calendar
Round 2 18th to 21st May 2023, Třinec, Czech Republic
Round 3: 15th to 18th June 2023, Rødby, Denmark
Round 4: 27th to 30th July 2023, Cremona, Italy

Follow the evolution of the International Karting Ranking (IKR) after the Valencia event.

The results of the Valencia event can be found on the official FIA Karting Championship app for mobile devices and on the website.

This is a paraphrase of an article found on the FIA website for the full article please view here.