Vortex victory and podiums in Italy and Slovakia
OTK Kart Group's "engine division" climbs the podium in the "Junior" category of the third round of the FIA Karting European Championship for OK-OKJ at the Slovak Karting Centre, signing a double win in the MINI Gr.3 class, on the occasion of the Italian ACI Karting Championship at Val Vibrata.
OKJ - With a total of 85 entries at the start of the 'Junior' category, the VTJ engine is in contention for victory in the final and gains the third step of the podium. Already in the qualifying practices, the Vortex-designed engine confirms to have all the potential to compete for the top positions in the rankings, thanks to Ilie Tristan Crisan's (Tony Kart Racing Team) best time in Group 3 and, in the following qualifying heats, it achieves a victory, two podiums, three top-5 positions and a fastest lap; finally, on Sunday morning, it extends its haul with a success and a best lap in A Super Heat.
The final race starts with the trio made up of Joel Pohjola (Tony Kart Racing Team), Ilie Tristan Crisan (Tony Kart Racing Team) and Scott Marsh (Tony Kart Racing Team) fighting for the top positions. Among the three drivers, it is Pohjola who increases his pace and, thanks to a series of overtaking moves, gains the third place on lap 9. The Finnish driver goes on setting a pace which results to be unmatchable by his rivals, as proved also by his best lap, and one lap to go he ends his comeback by attacking the race leader. The attempt does not end in the best possible way, so much so that Pohjola also loses a position to the drivers behind him, ending the final on the third step of the podium. Marsh finishes in the top five, ahead of Crisan in the standings.
Author of a second place in the eliminatory heats, is Oliver Rasmussen (Tony Kart Racing Team) who attends the Sunday afternoon final finishing ahead of Thomas Pradier (Tony Kart Racing Team) and Maria Germano Neto (Tony Kart Racing Team).
FIA Karting Academy Trophy - The one-make championship promoted by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) continues with its second round, once again featuring the Vortex Engines-Exprit Kart technical package, which guarantees identical performance for all drivers. At the end of a weekend offering a great show, in Slovakia, it is Gilles Herman (Belgium) who takes the victory home, accompanied on the podium by Nojus Stasionis (Lithuania) and Turner Brown (USA).
MINI - After its triumph in the second part of the championship, Vortex VTM engine gains another first place at Val Vibrata in the MINI Gr.3 category. In the qualifying heats Oliver Sini (Tony Kart Racing Team) and Leonardo Gorski (Tony Kart Racing Team) gain the second and fifth positions respectively and then finish the B-C Heat with a double win. The Indonesian driver also enriches his roster with a third place in the A-B qualifying heat.
In Race 1, Gorski makes no mistakes at the starting grid and, after a brief initial tussle, steadily occupies the third position from lap 6 to the chequered flag; Sini, on the other hand, crosses the finish line in sixth position. In Race 2, Gorski performs one more jump from the sixth starting box and, taking the lead three laps to go, flies straight to victory, covered behind by his teammate Sini. Henri Kumpen (Tony Kart Racing Team) finishes twice in the top-10, while Achille Rea (Tony Kart Racing Team) attends his second weekend in the category.
In the MINI Gr.3 U10 class, Tiberius Müller (Tony Kart Racing Team) shows off in the last two races of the weekend with a seventh place in Race 1 and a fourth one in Race 2. Linghan Li (Tony Kart Racing Team) also takes part in the Under 10 class.
