29/10/2013

DANTE ITALIAN VICE-CHAMPION IN KZ2 WITH SGrace/MARANELLO KART, ZANCHETTA ON THE PODIUM IN FINAL ONE

Massimo Dante just missed out on the title of Italian CSAI Karting Champion by three points that can mainly go down to a penalty issued in the last round of the championship held in Castelletto.Marco Zanchetta got on final one's podium and was stripped of the victory in race-2 by a trivial inconvenience. The Italian CSAI Karting Championship reached its end in Castelletto di Branduzzo with the fifth round of the season and SGrace/Maranello Kart's works drivers have been once again the main protagonists of the event with Massimo Dante on the title hunt until the very last and Marco Zanchetta always on top. Two unlucky race episodes unfortunately penalyzed Massimo Dante, that got to Castelletto with all what was needed to confirm himself on top of the standings and clinch the title. In race-1 an incident with Celenta while SGrace/Maranello Kart's driver was trying to get the third place with two laps to go severely damaged Dante who was also issued a 6s time penalty. In race-2 a further 10s penalty due to an allegedly jump start hit Dante again and forced him to see Giulietti get past him in the standings by only 3 points. The weekend did not go as hoped for, but Dante and Zanchetta have always been very competitive showing the good quality of the new RS10 chassis by Maranello Kart. SGrace/Maranello Kart gets back home head-high from the last round of the Italian Championship with Massimo Dante as the new vice-champion in KZ2 and an excellent Marco Zanchetta that put in bold performances in the two finals of Castelletto. Marco Zanchetta has been an absolute protagonist in race-1 when he ended on the podium with a good third place, while in race-2 he has been among the fastest – he also held a solid lead that last until the final stages – but finally had to give the leadership away due to a trivial inconvenience. A bee got in fact inside the visor of his crash-helmet and therefore he had to slow down and concede the first position. “What a pity on how the second final ended! I was pretty sure I could clinch the victory – said Zanchetta at the finish line after freeing himself from the annoying bug – I managed to build a good gap but then I had to slow down as a bee flew inside my visor and stung my neck. Anyway, I am happy on my performance in Castelletto, but I would have obviously been happier with a victory.” Massimo Dante felt bitter instead about the unexpected ending: ”I have been a bit too nervous during this weekend but it is also true that I lost the championship over a nonexistent penalty in final-1 due to a contact with Celenta. I had a look at the footage and it has been a simple racing incident. When Boccolacci went off from P2 in race-2, bad luck wanted that Giulietti inherited the third place and earned those points necessary to overtake me otherwise I would have been the champion even if by one point only. Next 10th November I will run the Trofeo delle Industrie and then I will start recharging my batteries at best for next year.” SGrace/Maranello Kart is very happy on the results obtained during the season. “Obviously we would have preferred to bring home the titles we have been fighting for until the very last moment – commented Maranello Kart's manager Luca Iannaccone – i.e. WSK Euro Series, European Championship and Italian Championship but a certain deal of uncertainty is part of racing. What is important is that our material has been extremely competitive at all karting tracks. This has been a good season, tight and one where we have always been among the protagonists. This is why I would like to thank everyone, from our technicians to our drivers. Now we have to start working to development our package ahead of next season to capitalize our efforts and obtain those results that just slipped off our hands in this season”.

The Classification of the Italian CSAI Karting KZ2 Championship follows: 1. Giulietti points 142; 2. Dante 139; 3. Celenta 135; 4. Mazzali 103; 5. Pastacaldi and Piccioni 94; 7. Drudi 64; 8. Spinelli 62; 9. Di Poto and Longhi 57...