VORTEX COMES CLOSE TO THE KZ WORLD TITLE AT LE MANS

The RTZ and RSZ engines get one step closer to their second consecutive victory in the FIA Karting World Championship reserved for the KZ category, after setting the fastest time in the qualifying and taking the pole position in the final.

KZ - Excellent start for Vortex's RTZ and RSZ engines at the French weekend, with as many as three drivers in the top three positions of the qualifying practices. The reigning World Champion Noah Milell (Tony Kart Racing Team) beats everyone and takes the pole position thanks to a record time of 49.170 seconds, together with his team-mates Simo Puhakka (Tony Kart Racing Team) and Lorenzo Camplese (Tony Kart Racing Team) second and third respectively. With a roster made up of two victories and a second place, Puhakka takes the lead and with the following success in the super heat he secures the first position in the final.

At the start of the decisive race that awards the world title, Puhakka makes no mistakes and firmly holds the lead, eventually settling into second place. In the meantime, Milell emerges from the fifth starting position and quickly reaches the top three drivers. In the second half of the race, Milell gains the second place and, in the last available laps, looks for the way to take the lead. In the end, the Swedish driver crosses the finish line in second place, very close to the winner of the race. Puhakka, on the other hand, finishes at the foot of the podium.

Tuukka Taponen (Tony Kart Racing Team), one of the youngest drivers in the race, ends his first world championship in KZ in ninth position. Adrien Renaudin (Tony Kart Racing Team) also ends up in the Top 10, while Juho Valtanen (Tony Kart Racing Team) suffers a 5-second penalty for his front spoiler in the wrong position. Finally, Camplese does not finish the final, after collecting an unlucky stop also in the super heat due to a collision with another competitor.

KZ2 - A record number of entries in the cadet category of the shifter karts, with no less than 123 drivers checked. Each of them competes in seven heats, thus making reliability the key element to access the final. Samuel Luyet (Tony Kart Racing Team) avoids any kind of risk and brings home a victory, four seconds and two fourth places in the qualifying heats, as well as a second place in the super heat: with these results, the Swiss driver starts from the front row in the final, but is unable to express his potential fully. On the other hand, the young Norton Andreasson (Tony Kart Racing Team) grows steadily throughout the weekend and, with a good performance in the final run, achieves the sixth place. Jean Luyet (Tony Kart Racing Team), on the other hand, makes a comeback of 11 positions and finishes in the Top 10.

KZ2 Masters - International debut for the KZ2 category reserved to the Over 35, with 64 entries, in the first edition of the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup. Grooten Bertrand (Claude Bal) starts the weekend from the bottom of the standings, but thanks to a series of good performances in the qualifying heats, he ends the final in the Top 15. Victor Jimenez (Tony Kart Racing Team) gains 14 positions in the ranking than the starting grid, while Eduardo Martins (Tony Kart Racing Team), flanked by his brother Andre Martins, gains 7 positions. A pity for the stop of Roberto Profico (Tony Kart Racing Team), author of a fourth place in the eliminatory heats.

FIA Karting Academy Trophy - With the third and last round of the season, the one-make championship (Exprit Kart chassis and Vortex engines by OTK Kart Group) wanted by the FIA to easy the access to international karting for young talents aged between 12 and 14 (chosen by the ASNs of their countries and coming from all over the world) comes to the end. In the French event, among the 47 entries, the final and the title go to Arthur Dorison (France), while Mark Dubnitski (Estonia) and Nando Weixelbaumer (Austria) finish second and third, respectively.