Category: Non categorizzato

The 5^th and final round of the Italian Karting Championship, which took place this weekend in Lonato del Garda, crowned Kalì Kart Racing and Cristian Blandino as Italian Karting Champions in the OK-N Junior class. This is an important success, in one of the most competitive categories of the Italian series and achieved with a driver, the Sicilian Cristian Blandino, making his debut in this class. The success was achieved with placings in each of the 5 Championship events, which began on the Sicilian track of Trascina in April and then continued on the circuits of Muro Leccese, Val Vibrata, Sarno and Lonato with the final race. Overall, Blandino closed the Championship with 233 points, 17 more than Sebastian Eskandari, who was the most competitive opponent in this long season in which the double success in Sarno certainly shines for Kalì Kart colours, while it is worth saying that the final round in Lonato was not particularly positive, finishing with a 5^th place in Race 1, mainly thinking about the standings and with P10 in Race 2 due to a chassis problem which appeared immediately in the first laps of the race.

Despite an unlucky last weekend, Blandino deservedly won a Championship in which he demonstrated consistently high performance on different tracks. The name of Cristian Blandino in the Kalì Kart palmares in the Junior categories joins the one of Giorgio Pantano, Italian Junior Champion with Kalì Kart colors in 1993 and 1994, as well as that of Ennio Gandolfi, Italian Junior Champion with Kalì Kart in 1992.

The last weekend of the Italian Championship also saw the debut of two new Kalì Kart drivers in OK-N Junior: Mark Zvarich and Andrea Saccà. The former was very unlucky as he had to retire after the first Heat, due to a bruised wrist, while Andrea had an excellent weekend with excellent placings in the Heats, which earned him a place among the 36 finalists. The weekend in Sarno also saw the debut of Marat Zvarich and Max Zvarich, in MINI U10 and MINI Gr.3 respectively: the former did not qualify due to a technical problem in the 2^nd Heat, while Max ended two excellent races, doing a lot experience in this first important commitment in Italy. Again in the MINI category, a race contact forced Ben Piscopo to retire in the 1^st Final when he was fighting for the top 10 with an excellent race pace, while in Race 2, starting from the back of the grid, the driver from Malta finished P19, recovering 15 positions. Simone Bianco also had a positive weekend in the KZ2 class, finishing Race 1 in the points (P4 in the Under 18), while in Race 2 a contact deprived him of the top ten, while he was doing an excellent race. Finally, Charles Troxler did not qualify for the OK-N Final, but he has certainly made a lot of progress, considering that he has only been practicing karting at this level for a year.

Now a few days of rest for the OK and KZ drivers, while the Mini ones will be competing at the WSK in Sarno next weekend.

The drivers’ feedback:

Cristian Blandino (OK-N Junior): “I am very happy for this title and I have to thank the whole team, the team manager Mariano De Faveri and Machac Motors. Today in Race 1 I only thought about the points that were missing for mathematics and I didn’t get involved in unnecessary risks by finishing P5, but in Race 2 when I could race with more peace of mind, unfortunately, we had a problem with the seat which came loose from lateral support already in the first laps and driving became very difficult for me. I stayed with the leaders for over half the race, but towards the end I dropped to P10. I would have liked to celebrate this title on the podium, but the most important thing is to have won it, against very competitive opponents and teams and in my first experience in OK-N Junior“.

Simone Bianco (KZ2): “I am very disappointed by the accident that took me out of the running in Race 2, because it came from a maneuver that made little sense by another driver, which ruined both our races. At that moment I was very fast and I was catching up with the leaders. This weekend we struggled more than in the last two races to find a good balance, but finally in Race 2 everything worked better. Now after the parenthesis in OK for the World Championship in England, I will focus exclusively on the KZ category and we will prepare the Trofeo delle Industrie and the two WSK Final races in the best way possible”.

Ben Piscopo (Mini U10): “If I look at the result, I am a little disappointed, but if I look at the performances, I am quite happy. Our chassis proved to work very well this weekend and in Race 1 I was very fast after a good start, but unfortunately with 4 laps to go, a three-way collision forced me to retire and also caused me a bruise. In Race 2 I started far behind, but I recovered 15 positions with a pace equal to the leaders. I think it’s only a matter of time to consistently fight for the top of the rankings and I hope to have a good race this week in Sarno”.

Important appointment is upon us for Kali Kart Racing which, this week, from 19th to 22nd September, will be committed on the Lonato track for the 5th and final round of the Italian Karting Championship. There will be 5 categories competing: Mini Under 10, Mini Gr.3, OKN Junior, OKN and KZ2.

The Kalì Kart team lines up 8 drivers at this important national meeting and a presence in each category. But eyes will be focused in particular on OKN Junior in which Cristian Blandino, after the double success in Sarno, is the championship leader with 208 points. The two Finals on Sunday will be decisive, awarding the winner 80 points for Race 1 and 50 for Race 2, considering the margin of advantage that Blandino will be able to manage over Tonalini 2nd in the standings of only 27 points. In OKN Junior there will also be interest in the debut of two new Kalì Kart drivers: Andrea Saccà and Mark Zvarich. The latter will be accompanied in this new phase of his growth as a driver in Italy by his two younger brothers, who will be racing in the Mini categories always with Kalì Kart colours: Max in Under 10 and Marat in Gr.3. Ben Piscopo is also expected to have a good race in the MINI U 10, who after many constantly improving performances is looking for a notable result. This last seasonal event of the Italian Championship will also be important for Simone Bianco in KZ2 who currently occupies 5th position in the Under 18 classification and will be able to aspire to the category podium, as well as improving his position in the general classification. Finally, Charles Troxler will defend the Kalì Kart colours in OKN.

The event program will respect the usual format with the qualifying practice on Friday, the heats on Saturday and the two Finals on Sunday: Race 1 in the morning and Race 2 in the early afternoon. You can follow the event live on the Federation’s website: www.acisport.it

After a few years in which the Kalì Kart chassis were mainly involved in the National Championships, this year the Italian brand, part of the Tinini Group, will return to compete in the World Championship in the direct-drive categories. The meeting is going to be this weekend, from September 12th to 15th, on the PF International track in England. There will be 4 Kalì Kart Racing drivers registered for the event: Sam Woolley, Cristian Blandino and Oskar Poberaj in the OK Junior and Simone Bianco in the OK category. Overall there will be over 250 drivers taking part to this international meeting, all competing to stand out and earn a place in professional motorsport, as happened to the winners of past editions. 

The Kalì Kart team took part in the Champions of the Future preparation race last week and was able to gain a lot of experience, both in wet track conditions and on a dry track. Sam Woolley certainly has the advantage of knowing the circuit well and demonstrated excellent speed in all track conditions, doing an excellent job on the set up for the race. As for Blandino and Poberaj, last week’s race was mainly useful for finding the feeling with the circuit and also for them the balance of the work done is positive in view of this weekend that is about to begin. In OK Simone Bianco had many ups and downs, but he certainly has the experience to capitalize on the work done and run a good race. 

The event program includes the qualifying phases starting on Friday with the qualifying practice and the first heats, while the final phases will take place on Sunday with the Super Heats in the morning and the Finals for the top 36 in the afternoon. To follow the event you can connect to the official website (fiakarting.com) where Live Timing and Live Streaming will be available.

The most important event of the year for Team Kalì Kart Racing, the FIA ​​World Championship OK and OK Junior, is quickly approaching. In this preparation process for the event scheduled for next September 15^th in England, the Champions of the Future race will be held on the same track (PF International) in a week’s time. It will be a pre-event with all the protagonists of the World Championship on the track to work on setups and study the secrets of this technical circuit.

The Kalì Kart Racing Team will line up 4 drivers in this double event: Sam Woolley, Cristian Blandino and Oskar Poberaj in the OK Junior category and Simone Bianco in the OK class.

The format of the race will be the same of the FIA ​​event and therefore it will be possible to replicate everything that will happen in the World Championship. The Kalì Kart technicians already have a solid technical base after the testing sessions that took place in August, but obviously this week’s race will give official confirmation of the team’s potential and ambitions.

This is how Mariano De Faveri, Technical Manager of the team, has commented on the upcoming trip to England:

“We have 3 very young drivers in OK Junior and with little experience in this type of event, but each of them has great potential and we believe we can have an excellent race. Woolley did a good job in testing and knows the track well, while Blandino and Poberaj will have to use this race mainly to find the feeling with the track. Fortunately, our technical base is very competitive, both in terms of the chassis and the engine, due to the close collaboration with Machac Motors and TM. This will allow us to work less on the chassis and concentrate more on the boys’ way of driving. Simone Bianco will return to the direct-drive category in OK, after having been exclusively involved in KZ this year; we will have to try to get him to rediscover some driving automatism,s because in the tests he had several problems in finding the feeling with the track, but he certainly has the experience to have a good race and this weekend will be very important for him”.

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 2^nd 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 2^nd Heat on Saturday, but unfortunately a race contact relegated him to P18 in Race 1, when he was fighting for the 5^th 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 1^st 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”.

The Kalì Kart colors will be protagonists in the top KZ class of the 2024 FIA Karting European Championship with Jorge Pescador. The Spanish driver, who is also the Team Manager of the Kalì Kart Spain team, returns to competitive karting in this first of two events of the Continental Championship, scheduled for this weekend on the Aragon track. The Kalì Kart colors therefore return to the top class after last year, when Jorge himself was among the protagonists of the KZ2 category. The ambitions of having a good weekend are high, also considering Pescador’s big knowledge of the Spanish track, as well as the technical package (Kalì Kart KK4 chassis and TM engine), which impressed in the pre-race testing sessions.

Again with Kalì Kart colours, Alejandro Lahoz Lopez and Mario Pinazo Cerro will be among the protagonists of the KZ2 class, both with great possibilities to fight for the top positions.

As regards the event schedule, the track will give the first official feedback on Friday with Qualifying Practice and the first Heats, while the Finals are scheduled for Sunday after the Super Heats. Scores will be assigned starting from the qualifying phases and to follow the action on the track, Live Timing and Live Streaming will be available on the official Championship website (www.fiakarting.com).

This is how Jorge Pescador commented on the eve of this important appointment:

“The opportunity to compete in the 1^st Round of the European Championship here in Spain was too interesting not to take and in the pre-race testing sessions, I immediately had a good feeling with the chassis and the tires. I believe that the tires will be the most unpredictable variable and we could have some surprises. I am sure that Lahoz and Pinazo will also have an excellent race in KZ2 and will contribute to demonstrating the solidity of the Kalì Kart brand and chassis in this important FIA meeting”.

 

In the last few days the Kalì Kart Racing team has formalized a double competitive program for Simone Bianco in the second part of the season. Together with his commitment in the KZ2 class, a category in which he had his debut this year to gain experience in the WSK races and in the Italian Championship, the Lombard driver, in fact, will also take part in an OK program with the aim of attending the FIA ​​World Championship in England.

Simone has been racing with the Tinini Group for several seasons and in the last two years he has raced at international level in the OK category with the official CRG team, so for him it will just be a matter of rediscovering some driving automatisms and then he will certainly be able to aspire to outstanding results. On June 23^rd he will take part in the KZ race in the Italian Championship of Val Vibrata in the KZ2 category and from the first week of July he will resume training with the direct – drive OK category on the Lonato track. As for the racing program, this parenthesis in OK will be to take part in the tests and the OK World Championship scheduled for September 15^th, also taking part in the Champions of the Future event the week before. Once he will have made this experience, Simone Bianco will return to the KZ2 category for the final races of the season.

In the OK class Simone will also be supported by TM regarding the engines with on-track service from Machac Motors.

This is how Simone has commented on this opportunity:

“The apprenticeship in KZ2 proved to be very challenging and, at the moment, we were not ready and competitive enough to take on international FIA competitions in this category. I am sure that the first positive results in the gearbox category will arrive soon, especially in the national races, but at the moment we have considered it an opportunity to take part in the OK World Championship, a category where I certainly have more experience and the possibility of being competitive, resuming the automatic mechanisms with a few days of testing. The English PFI track is very technical and it will be a very nice experience to be able to take part in this event”.