- On the occasion of the competition assigning the European title in KZ1 category Ardigò wins but is disqualified since under weight of 600 gr. A anomalous leak of fuel is the reason for this penalty to the point that our driver reached the winning post with the tank almost empty.
- Beyond this inconvenience it is clear how our chassis potential is winning and that the performances shown at Wackersdorf prove it.
- In KZ2 category drivers from private teams do a very good work and many Tony Kart-Vortex chassis are in the first rows. Marvin Meindorfer gets on the third step of the podium.
- In KF2 category the changing weather conditions partially influence our drivers' results preventing them to succeed in one of the two finals. In the very finals not less than 35% of Tony Kart chassis are at the starting grid.
KZ1 – In the whole CIK European Championship of KZ1 category, one of the most important events in this first part of the season, our Racing Team has always been steadily among the absolute leaders.
The Pro Kart Raceland in Wackersdorf, with its 1.222 metres of lenght, was subject to very changing weather conditions, with rainfalls and sunny periods. Although the problems due to this, our drivers highlighted the great potential of the material they ran with. Racer EVRR chassis could easily adjust according to weather and Vortex engine shone for their performances and reliability.
In the qualifying heats Marco Ardigò and Rick Dreezen were always in the leading positions. The first driver won the second heat and obtained the best lap time in the third one. Dreezen, too, signed the best timing in the second heat, with 47.618, the best lap of the whole continental event.
The pre-final was held on a wet track and it was Alessandro Piccini ending eight in such difficult track conditions. In the final's starting grid we could lineup three drivers in the first five rows, in particular Ardigò in third row, Dreezen in fourth next to the already mentioned Piccini.
The final was then run with the dry track and once more we could be protagonists. Dreezen and Ardigò were the leaders during the whole competition while Piccini got a slight collision at the very beginning.
The first half of the race was to Rick Dreezen, who was really competitive, ahead of De Conto and Pex, and finally he could gain the second position at the 18th round.
Ardigò started paying attention not to be involved in any collision and excellently recovered from the tenth round. From his sixth position he overtook his rivals in an unrelenting way until he reached his teammate Dreezen first and the leader Pex, to the leading of the race.
Under the chequered flag Ardigò flew with a very good gap over the opponents but unfortunately the success was soon suppressed. During investigation our chassis and with the driver were checked to be under weight of 600 grams, so he was automatically disqualified. The inconvenience was due to a leak of fuel who lowered the fuel level inside the tank, with the consequent loss of weight.
Giacomo Aliprandi – Team Manager of Tony Kart Racing Team
“What happened to Marco (Ardigò) was the consequence of a leak of fuel. Regulations are clear and even if it is distressing, we cannot do anything else than accept it.
By the way the our chassis' competitiveness was clear, they always were at the top positions, on any asphalt condition, wet or dry. Our four drivers often signed the best laps both in the heats and in the pre-final. During the final we had Ardigò, Dreezen and Torsellini who lowered the best lap for their good rounds and finally their timings were absolutely the best.
Now it is quite difficult to work off this delusion but we have to look ahead with our usual determination and willing of doing good things, in order to do even better on next engagements. We do not have to forget that the season is still long and many are the titles still to fight for.”
Marco Ardigò - Tony Kart Racing Team's driver
“It is useless to say how I feel. We are aware we dispose of competitive technical material and what happened does not belittle the fantastic work done by the team. I started with caution since I wanted to preserve tires for the final phase of the race. At a moment I felt that the back right tire had some little problems and I believed it was do to its wear. At the end only I understood that I had a leak of fuel, ant that it went on the wheel, this was the problem, the wheel was wet by fuel.
In 2011 too, I lost the title in KZ1, at Wackersdorf, due to the puncture of the wheel and now this inconvenient....”
KF2 – The high number of drivers attending the first round of the European Championship (122 drivers), together with the difficult asphalt conditions due to changing weaher conditions, influenced a lot our drivers' results.
The many of our drivers in the cadet class ran good during the qualifying heats, with Damiano Fioravanti who signed the sixth best lap and was the best of ours.
Unfortunately, the very rapid changes conditions soon penalized some of our drivers, particularly Mac Leod, Panetta and Petjoi, who entered the track right when a light rain started forcing all drivers to slow down.
In the difficult fight which involved all our drivers during the heats, the ones who showed off were Petjoi, Fioravanti and Camponeschi, winners of one heat each, the Indonesian Armand Philo, author of a best lap and the Spanish Carlos Gil.
At the final's starting grid we found almost our official drivers, other than others coming from our partner teams, with the total amount of 12 Tony Kart, 35% of the chassis attending the competition.
Both final's races took place on the wet track, in particular race-1. The fight during the final competitions also involved some of our best placed drivers. Teemu Petjoi incurred in a collision in final-1 who took him from the third position to the half of the lineup. However he recovered and could gain good scores thanks to his determination. Armand Philo, too, was able to gain one point in race-1, after a full attack and a difficult start for the above mentioned conditions.
KZ2 – Even if not officially present in KZ2 category, we wish to point out that our sporting customers attended the race with 6 drivers running with Tony Kart-Vortex.
In the very final Marvin Meindorfer jumped from the first row and got the third step of the podium.
On the other hand Kevin Gyr, winner of two qualifying heats and one of the pretenders of the title, was quite unlucky. The Swiss driver was forced to withdraw do to a collision who took him to the back of the group.
Very good recovery for Jeleniowski (KSM Racing Team), 44th position in the qualifying heats and fifteenth position in the Final.
