Lonato del Garda, September 22nd, 2024.
An epilogue full of suspense characterized the final race of the Italian ACI Karting Championship at the South Garda Karting circuit in Lonato, where the contenders for victory gave it their all to win the category titles, which were still up for grabs before this fifth and final round of the Championship, following the first four rounds at Triscina, La Conca, Val Vibrata, and Sarno.
At the end of an intense weekend that saw 240 drivers from 36 nationalities on the track, the championship standings were decided by the first finals on Sunday morning, except for the OK-N Junior category, which had to wait for race 2 to crown its champion. Here are the winners of the Italian ACI Karting Championship:
KZ2 and KZ2 Under 18: Cristian Bertuca (#102 LG Motorsport/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega)
KZ2 Master: Davide Forè (#184 GSR Team/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega)
OK-N: Federico Rossi (#436 PRK/Tony Kart-TM Kart-MG)
OK-N Junior: Cristian Blandino (#304 Kalì Kart/Kalì-Tm Kart-MG)
MINI Gr.3: Julian Frasnelli (#41 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG)
MINI Gr.3 Under 10: Niccolò Perico (#213 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-MG)
KZ2 - A Cristian Bertuca clinches the title before the Final.
The first to secure the title in race 1 was Milan's Cristian Bertuca (#102 LG Motorsport/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega), winner of the first KZ2 final, making his lead insurmountable. His advantage was already significant going into this last race, having clinched the KZ2 Under 18 title early in the previous race at Sarno. In race 1, Bertuca finished ahead of Ethan Frigomosca (#831 Renda Motorsport/Sodi-TM Kart) and Matteo Zanchi (#152 Zanchi Motorsport/BirelART-TM Kart). In race 2, an immediate accident took Bertuca out of the running, even though he had started from eighth position due to the reverse grid order from race 1's results. After an intense battle at the front, Alessio Piccini (#107 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) surged ahead to victory, crossing the finish line ahead of teammate Marco Tormen, with Matteo Zanchi once again on the podium in third place. The multi-time champion from Brescia, Davide Forè (#184 GSR Team/BirelART-TM Kart-Vega), secured the KZ2 Master title for drivers over 40.
KZ2 Race 1:
1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA)
2nd Ethan Frigomosca (CHE) +0.577
3rd Matteo Zanchi (ITA) +1.755
KZ2 Race 2:
1st Alessio Piccini (ITA)
2nd Marco Tormen (ITA) +0.850
3rd Matteo Zanchi (ITA) +1.614
KZ2 Championship:
1st Cristian Bertuca (ITA) points 350
2nd Alessio Piccini (ITA) points 202
3rd Michael Barbaro Paparo (ITA) points 180
OKN - Rossi ends the game in race 1. Double win for Scognamiglio.
In the OK-N category, only a few points were needed for Lazio's Federico Rossi (#436 PRK/Tony Kart-TM Kart-MG) to secure the title. In race 1, a penalty for his front fairing being out of position dropped him from second to fifth place, but the 32 points he earned were more than enough for him to claim the national title. In the first final, the victory went to an excellent Manuel Scognamiglio (#442 Tellone Motorsport/Tony Kart-Iame), ahead of Riccardo Ferrari (#491 M2 Racing/Gillard-TM Kart) and Poland's Bartosz Grzywacz (#455 LA Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart), who made a comeback of 10 positions. In race 2, Francesco Marenghi (#420 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart) held off Scognamiglio’s attacks to the finish line but was penalized. Scognamiglio claimed another victory, with Gino Rocchio (#422 Monster K Factory/CRG-TM Kart) moving up to second place, and Gianmarco Cortopassi (#485 Maranello Kart/Maranello-TM Kart) finishing third.
OKN Race 1:
1st Manuel Scognamiglio (ITA)
2nd Riccardo Ferrari (ITA) +2.431
3rd Bartosz Grzywacz (POL) +2.900
OKN Race 2:
1st Manuel Scognamiglio (ITA)
2nd Gino Rocchio (ITA) +0.094
3rd Gianmarco Cortopassi (ITA) +0.371
OKN Championship:
1st Federico Rossi (ITA) points 317
2nd Manuel Scognamiglio (ITA) points 277
3rd Gino Rocchio (ITA) points 231
OK-N Junior - Blandino eventually clinches a highly contested title.
In the OK-N Junior category, it took until race 2 to determine who would win the title. In the end, Cristian Blandino (#304 Kalì Kart/Kalì-TM Kart-MG) managed to come out on top, but only in race 2, also benefiting from an incident at the start involving Cristian Tonalini (#302 Tona Racing/Tony Kart-TM Kart-MG). In race 1, the final was won by Ilia Berezkin (#353 Monster K Factory Team/CRG-TM Kart), ahead of Australian Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (#348 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex) and Michele Orlando (#338 DR/DR-Modena Engines), with Blandino finishing fifth. In race 2, Eskandari-Marandi claimed victory after a comeback of 6 positions, with Indian driver Qarrar Firhand (#358 LA Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) finishing second and Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia (#310 Team Driver/KR-Iame) in third. Blandino finished 11th but still secured the title.
OKNJ Race 1:
1st Ilia Berezkin
2nd Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (AUS) +0.368
3rd Michele Orlando (ITA) +0.754
OKNJ Race 2:
1st Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (AUS)
2nd Qarrar Firhand (IDN) +0.325
3rd Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) +2.672
OKNJ Championship:
1st Cristian Blandino (ITA) points 233
2nd Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (AUS) points 216
3rd Cristian Tonalini (ITA) points 189
MINI GR.3 - Frasnelli takes the title with a stunning race.
In the MINI Gr.3 category, Julian Frasnelli from Bolzano (#41 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG) performed a 'miracle' in the final stages of race 1, securing an incredible victory after dropping back in the early phases. With this race 1 win, Frasnelli also clinched the title. He won ahead of the Indian Oliveri Sini (#58 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#5 Team Driver/KR-Iame). In race 2, the Spanish driver Daniel Miron Lorente (#4 Team Driver/KR-Iame) emerged victorious, followed by the American Alessandro Truchot (#36 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame) in a comeback, while Frasnelli secured another podium with a third-place finish.
MINI Gr.3 Race 1:
1st Julian Frasnelli (ITA)
2nd Oliveri Sini (IDN) +1.650
3rd Oleksandr Legenkyi (UKR) +1.714
MINI Gr.3 Race 2:
1st Daniel Miron Lorente (NLD)
2nd Alessandro Truchot (USA) +0.288
3rd Julian Frasnelli (ITA) +2.573
MINI Gr.3 Championship:
1st Julian Frasnelli (ITA) points 313
2nd Daniel Miron Lorente (NLD) points 247
3rd Alessandro Truchot (USA) points 226
MINI U10 - Perico wins the championship, Di Pietrantonio takes a double win.
In the MINI Gr.3 Under 10 category, after an incredible battle, Niccolò Perico from Bergamo (#213 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-MG) secured the category title for the youngest drivers with a third-place finish in the final stages of race 1. However, the standout performer of the weekend was Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#218 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who won both race 1 and race 2 after a comeback of 8 positions. In race 1, Di Pietrantonio finished ahead of German driver Henri Mohring (#266 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) and Perico, while in race 2, he triumphed over Georgian Leon Chelidze (#207 Team Driver/KR-Iame) and American Lucas Palacio (#225 Kidix/KR-Iame).
MINI Gr.3 U10 Race 1:
1st Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (ITA)
2nd Henri Mohring (DEU) +2.134
3rd Niccolò Perico (ITA) +4.228
MINI Gr.3 U10 Race 2:
1st Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (ITA)
2nd Leon Chelidze (GEO) +0.054
3rd Lucas Palacio (ITA) +0.356
MINI Gr.3 U10 Championship:
1st Niccolò Perico (ITA) points 316
2nd Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (ITA) points 290
3rd Leon Chelidze (GEO) points 203
Championship classifications: https://www.acisport.it/it/CIK/classifiche/2024.
Legend 100 to Leonardi, Legend 125 to Taglienti.
In the 100 Legend category, Matteo Leonardi (#512 Tony Kart-Rotax-Vega) won the final ahead of Riccardo Foltran (#515 Tony Kart-Rotax) and Fabrizio Scottà (#519 Birel-Rotax). In the 100 Over 40 category, the victory went to the Danish driver Allan Hansen (#508 PCR-PCR), followed by fellow countryman Lasse Stenkilde and by the Greek driver Anastasio Karachalios.
In the 125 Legend category, Roberto Taglienti (#556 Righetti Ridolfi/TM Kart-Vega) claimed victory over Matteo Zamboni (#551 CRG-TM Kart) and Andrea Maragna (#554 Righetti Ridolfi/Power). In the Over 40 category, Maragna won the race, with Giancarlo Ricci (#553 CRG-TM Kart) finishing second and Stefano Cossetti (#557 Birel-Comer) third.
Complete results: https://www.acisport.it/it/CIK/home
Media coverage.
A television special will be broadcast on ACI Sport TV, RAI Sport, and other national and regional networks nationwide.
On Thursday, September 26th, a special page with photos and comments about the event will be featured in Gazzetta dello Sport magazine.
In the picture: 1) The Italian Champions 2024
(Ph. PrintH24)