Unexpected victories in the WSK Final Cup's opening round in Sarno

At the conclusion of a challenging weekend at the International Circuit Napoli of Sarno, victory went to Chinese Cui, Dutch Van Walstijn, Italian Olivieri, and Panamanian Rousseau (MINI) (OK). On Sunday in Lonato, the series' second and final round will take place.
Sarno, Italy, June 6, 2022

At the International Circuit Napoli, the WSK Final Cup's opening round was a tense weekend that produced an amazing show for the Finals on November 6th. After a wet start, the favorable weather helped to create the ideal conditions for the on-track fights in Sarno.

First-round winners included Panamanian Gianmatteo Rousseau (Alonso Kart by Kidix/Alonso-Iame-Vega) in the MINI category, Italian Emanuele Olivieri (IPK Official Team/IPK-TM Racing-Vega) in the OK-Junior category, Dutch Senna Van Walstijn (CPB Sport/Sodikart-TM Racing-Vega) in the KZ2 category, and Chinese Yuanpu Cui With a provisional entry list of more than 290 drivers, the drivers will return to the track in Lonato in a few days for the second and final round of the WSK Final Cup, which will be held at the South Garda Karting Circuit next November 9–13.

THE PREFINALS

MINI. Bogdan Cosma-Cristofor (BabyRace/Parolin-Iame, Romania) lost to Vladimir Ivannikov (Gamoto/EKS-TM Racing-Vega) in the fiercely contested Prefinal-A. Instead, the Italian Filippo Sala (Team Driver/KR-Iame), the heats' victor, dropped to P8 in the closing laps. The Australian William Calleja (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Racing), who had been leading the Turkish polesitter Iskender Zulfikari (BabyRace Driver Academy/Parolin-Iame), won the sprint to the finish line in Prefinal-B as well.
OKJ. Zac Drummond (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Racing-Vega), the victor of the heats, maintained his advantage over Salim Hanna Hernandez (Ricky Flynn Motorsport/LN-Vortex), a Colombian, in Prefinal-A. Aleksandar Bogunovic of Slovenia (DPK Racing/KR-Iame), who finished first in prefinal-B, was followed by Taym Saleh of Germany (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame).
KZ2. The Frenchman Emilien Denner (CPB Sport/Sodikart-TM Racing-Vega), who also led the pack in the heats, eventually won the sprint to the finish line in the KZ2 Prefinal. Senna Van Walstijn, a teammate of the Frenchman, came in second, while Giuseppe Palomba (BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Racing), who had been in the lead for the majority of the race, finished third.
OK. The British driver Joe Turney (Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont), who rose to prominence in the heats, dominated Prefinal-A. He followed Paralin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Racing's Anatoly Khavalkin. Prefinal-B was won by the American Luis James Egozi (Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) against the Jamaican Alex Powell (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame).

THE FINALS:
MINI: Gianmatteo Rousseau of Panama wins the sprint in MINI.
In MINI, a fierce struggle was predicted, and expectations were not disappointed. Gianmatteo Rousseau (Alonso Kart by Kidix/Alonso-Iame-Vega), a driver from Panama, outperformed the odds in the final laps to defeat Vladimir Ivannikov (Gamoto/EKS-TM Racing-Vega), who had taken the early lead. Filippo Sala (Team Driver/KR-Iame), an Italian, finished third after having taken the early lead. Iskender Zulfikari, a Turkish driver for BabyRace Driver Academy/Parolin-Iame, led the field for the first several circuits before settling for P4.
MINI Final Result
1. Gianmatteo Rousseau (PAN)
2. Vladimir Ivannikov
3. Filippo Sala (ITA)

OKJ – The Italian Emanuele Olivieri takes the win in OKJ.
Emanuele Olivieri (IPK Official Team/IPK-TM Racing-Vega), an Italian, gained the advantage from halfway through the OKJ Final and finished his performance on top. The Scot Zac Drummond (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Racing-Vega) combat had to be won by him. Aleksandar Bogunovic of Slovenia (DPK Racing/KR-Iame) took third place. German Taym Saleh (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), Swiss Kian Fardin (Energy Corse/Energy-TM Racing), and Spanish driver Christian Costoya (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Racing) were the next three finishers.
OKJ Final Result
1. Emanuele Olivieri (ITA)
2. Zac Drummond (SCO)
3. Aleksandar Bogunovic (SVN)

KZ2 – Good win for the Dutch Senna Van Walstijn in KZ2.
After a start in which his French teammate Emilien Denner and the Italian Giuseppe Palomba (BirelART Racing/BirelART-TM Racing) shared the lead of the race in KZ2, Senna Van Walstijn (CPB Sport/Sodikart-TM Racing-Vega) defeated all of the competitors. Van Walstijn took the lead on lap three and would not give it up until he crossed the finish line, while Denner was forced to call it quits after making contact with Palomba. The Swedish driver Noah Milell (Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) ran a strong race and tried unsuccessfully to overtake Van Walstijn in the last laps as he closed in on him. Egor Nosov (IPK Official Racing Team/IPK-TM Racing) finished a strong race in third position on the podium.
KZ2 Final Result
1. Senna Van Walstijn (NLD)
2. Noah Milell (SWE)
3. Egor Nosov

OK – A surprising win for the Chinese Cui in OK.
The OK Final was somewhat unexpected, and Yuanpu Cui (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame-LeCont), a Chinese driver, eventually made it all the way up from the third row of the field to win. The British driver Joe Turney (Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex), who maintained the lead until three laps remained in the race, and the Jamaican driver Alex Powell (KR Motorsport/KR-Iame), were in a final struggle for the victory. Powell was forced to make an early stop with one lap remaining, while Cui crossed the line first, followed by Anatoly Khavalkin (Parolin Motorsport/Parolin-TM Racing). Due to a penalty assessed to Turney, Jimmy Helias of France (Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex) took over third place.
OK Final Result
1. Yuanpu Cui (CHN)
2. Anatoly Khavalkin
3. Jimmy Helias (FRA).

Complete results are available at: www.wskarting.it/index.asp
The next round of the WSK Final Cup
2nd Rd – 13/11/2022 LONATO - MINI-OKJ-OK-KZ
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This is a summary of an article from the WSK website, the original can be found here.