Double win for the Tony Kart at the WSK Final Cup in Franciacorta

On the occasion of the first championship appointment, Tony Kart Racing 401 T chassis hits the victory in OK class with Jindrich Pesl, while the Tony Kart Rookie finishes first the final reserved to the MINI Gr.3 category with Victor Thomas Gorun.

The 2025 edition of the WSK Final Cup begins with a double victory for our Tony Kart Racing Team. In the first round of the championship in Franciacorta (Italy), the Tony Kart Racer 401 T led the OK category final, powered by the Vortex VTS, while the Tony Kart Rookie wins the last race of the weekend in the MINI Gr.3, powered by the VTM unit from the OTK Kart Group's “engine division.” The “Racer” also plays a leading role in OKJ and KZ2 classes, paired with VTJ and VTZ engines, respectively.

In OK, Jindřich Pešl is among the fastest drivers in the category from Friday onwards. In his qualifying group, he sets the fastest time with a lap of 47.251 seconds and wins the first qualifying heat. Saturday continues with two more first places in the remaining two qualifying heats, results that allows the Czech driver to move to the top of the intermediate standings. Pešl starts from pole position in Sunday afternoon's final and, thanks to an excellent start and a pace that was impossible for his rivals to match, crosses the finish line first.

Oliver Rasmussen also ends his weekend at the top, finishing the final in the top five. The Danish driver proves to be tough and competitive, as proved by his results: he is second in his group in the chrono trials, achieves two fourth places in the qualifying heats, and gains the third place in pre-final B.

Thomas Pradier completes our Racing Team's hat-trick in Group 1 of the qualifying heats, behind his teammates Pesl and Rasmussen, and takes the second place as his best finish in the eliminatory heats. However, a stop in the second heat and a collision on the first lap of Prefinal B forces the French driver to start from the back of the grid in the final, which he ends with a comeback of eight positions. Iskender Zulfikari makes his debut in our official colors at Franciacorta and, after recovering 19 positions between qualifying and the pre-final, finishes the final without any problems, behind Pradier.

In the MINI Gr.3 class, Victor Thomas Gorun wins in the final. The Romanian driver scores one victory and two third places in the qualifying heats, then wins the Prefinal A, securing a pole position for the final. In the last race of the weekend, Gorun starts at the lead and, after temporarily losing it in the middle stages, keeps his cool and remains in the leading group. With a decisive overtaking maneuver on the last lap, our driver returns to the front of the group and, gaining a comfortable lead over his pursuers, thus securing his victory.

Lingham Li also narrowly misses the podium, after having shown a steady improvement throughout the final. The result, nonetheless positive, rewards a high-level weekend for the Chinese driver, who is second in his qualifying group and consistently among the leaders throughout the Italian event. Andrea Iannone finishes in the top 10 after a final featured by a comeback of seven positions. Miguel Enrique Manzano Suarez is the best climber in Sunday afternoon's race, thanks to a recovery of 17 positions. Zane Pace, at his debut with our sports division, stands out during the qualifying heats with a second place as his best result.

In OKJ class, Oliveri Sini achieves his best result in his first full season in the category. The Indonesian driver starts Friday with third place in Group 1 of the qualifyings, then continues with a series of placings that allows him to start the final from the fourth row of the starting grid. Despite starting from the outside line, Sini remains in-between the front of the group and, taking advantage of some mistakes by others, finishes fourth, narrowly missing out on the lowest step of the podium.

Ilie Tristan Crisan also shows to have the pace to challenge for victory. The Canadian driver sets the fastest time of 48.686 seconds in Group 2, takes a victory and a second place in the qualifying heats home, and finishes ahead of everyone in the Prefinal A, a result that allows him to start from the pole position in the final. Unfortunately, a collision with another competitor on the warm-up lap forces him to start from the last position, effectively preventing him from fighting for a possible victory.

The second-best finisher in the final among our official drivers is Julian Frasnelli, who also shows his talent in Prefinal B, finishing second and setting the fastest lap. Henri Constant Kumpen and Antonio Reginaldo Pizzonia Neto also show a good pace but are unlucky in the final. Finally, Yubo Wen has his first important experience with our team and is already looking forward to the next two rounds of the championship.

In KZ2, Marcus Armstrong makes his return to karting with our Tony Kart Racing Team, with whom he raced in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The New Zealander, who has been involved in the IndyCar Series in recent years, is getting to grips with the Franciacorta Karting Track, a circuit where he has never raced before, and is running useful kilometers in view of the next Cremona and Lonato del Garda rounds.

In MINI Gr.3 U10 class, Blake Hsueh and Nahil Padovani Amador are on track for the first time with our official team. Thanks to the work of our staff, the two young drivers constantly improve their performance over the weekend: the American finishes the final in the top ten, while the French driver gains seven positions from the start.

The WSK Final Cup will continue in less than two weeks at Cremona Karting in San Martino del Lago (November 11-16), with the Tony Kart Racing Team competing in the KZ2, OK, OKJ, MINI Gr.3, and MINI Gr.3 U10 categories.