It was a very positive weekend for the official Kalì Kart team the one held on the Naples international track in Sarno, where Round 4 of the Italian Karting Championship took place. Cristian Blandino took 2 wins, winning both Race 1 in the morning and Race 2 in the afternoon, thus taking the lead of the Championship with 222 points, 27 more than the 2nd in the ranking. The team did an excellent job from a technical point of view, without ever making any mistakes in the setup adjustments on a track that changed its grip several times over the course of the weekend.
Also in the Junior category, Sam Woolley did an excellent race, P6 in his group in Qualifying and then P4 in the 2nd Heat on Saturday, but unfortunately a race contact relegated him to P18 in Race 1, when he was fighting for the 5th position close to the podium. Unfortunately, the comeback in Race 2 also ended with a race contact, as happened to Francesco Montoneri, who was out in Race 1 when he was in P11 and then out again in Race 2 in a contact at the start which involved several drivers.
The weekend in Sarno did not only see the Junior drivers shine, in fact, in KZ2 Simone Bianco obtained his first podium in the gearbox category, finishing Race 2 in P3, but above all he won the special Under 18 ranking. This is a result that gives great morale to the Lombard driver, in his first year in KZ, a category that he will alternate with the international OK, with which he will race the FIA World Championship in England.
Ben Piscopo also demonstrated once again a high level performance in the Mini U10 category, P2in Qualifying Practice in his group, but then unfortunately out of both Sunday Finals due to two race accidents.
Finally, Charles Troxler made his debut in the official Kalì Kart team in the OKN category demonstrating high potential, despite missing the qualification for the Final, due to an accident in the 1st Heat on Saturday.
Now the team will focus on the OK and OK Junior World Championship scheduled in England at the beginning of September, and will then get ready for the last and decisive round of the Italian Championship which will take place in Lonato on the weekend of September 22nd.
The feedback of the Kalì Kart drivers:
Cristian Blandino (OK-N Junior): “In the previous races we took Pole Position and always demonstrated that we were fast, but due to a bit of bad luck and also a bit of lack of experience on my side in the OK Junior class, we have always missed the podium. This weekend, however, everything went well in the Finals: in Race 1 it was crucial to force Eskandari to make a mistake, while in Race 2, I gave up the lead for just over a lap, managing to respond to the attack of Stanley. The setup was perfect in both races and finally I didn’t make any mistakes in the decisive moments of the race. I’m happy to get to the last round in Lonato at the top of the standings and above all I’m very happy for the team, because they’re working hard and putting me in a position to learn a lot every race weekend. A big thank you also goes to Machac Motors who manages the TM engines on the track and to my family who makes so many sacrifices to follow me in this sport”.
Simone Bianco (KZ2): “I have to thank the Kalì Kart team and, in particular, Mariano De Faveri who has been following me from a technical point of view since Mini kart: I have made important progress in my first season in KZ and this podium repays us for the whole work done. I also want to thank TM and Viti Racing, as well as my mechanic and all the technical staff of Kalì Kart. We know that the results are the direct consequence of the work done on the track between chassis, engine and driver and everyone is doing a great job from this point of view. Now I will take part in the OK World Championship in England and at the end of the season I will get back to KZ, which will be my reference category for 2025”.
