Vortex gets on the podium of the OK-OKJ european championship in Portimao

On the occasion of the second round of the FIA Karting European Championship, reserved for single-speed categories and held in Portugal, the OTK Kart Group’s “engine division" conquers the third place in OKJ class with Ilie Tristan Crisan (Tony Kart Racing Team)

OKJ – Once again, the Vortex VTJ is among the main protagonists of the OKJ category, with not less than 86 drivers at the starting grid. In a weekend featured by pouring rain, our engine is constantly at the top of the standings: in fact, in the qualifyings it gains the second best time in group 2 with Ilie Tristan Crisan (Tony Kart Racing Team) and collects four top-3 places in the following heats, thanks to the performance of the Canadian and his teammate Nikita Ljubimov (Tony Kart Racing Team).

The final, held on a completely dry track, sees Crisan show off from the very beginning: in the first two laps he gains six positions, achieves the second-best time of the race (58.525 seconds) and fights for the fourth place for a long time. In the last lap, Crisan overtakes two rivals with a skilful operation and crosses the finish line in third position, thus conquering the podium.

Mateo Rivals (Tony Kart Racing Team) andSebastian Eskandari-Marandi  (Tony Kart Racing Team) also run two positive races, while Ljubimov is put out of play by an unfortunate collision on the second lap.

OK – There are many participants (85) registered for OK class, which sees again the presence of the Vortex VTS on track. Jindřich Pešl (Tony Kart Racing Team) is our main driver, with a fifth place as his best result in qualifying heats and a fastest lap in heat D-E. The Czech drivers stands out in the final, where he recovers eight positions in the standings. Finally, Gino Rocchio (Tony Kart Racing Team) also enters the last race of the Portuguese weekend.

Academy-Senior – For the tenth consecutive year, Vortex Engines and Exprit Kart – both OTK Kart Group’s brands– support the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for the promotion of the FIA Karting Academy Trophy, particularly in the introduction of a new category for "Senior" drivers. Altogether, on the occasion of the first round, there are 36 drivers from all over the world, aged between 14 and 16, who have been able to rely on the many years of experience of Vortex Engines and Exprit Kart, granting identical performance for everyone. At the end of a thrilling final, the success goes to Riccardo Ferrari (Italy), joined by Amador Martinez Saenz (Colombia) and Yuzuki Sato (Japan) on the podium.