02/07/2013

AN UNLUCKY DOUBLE ACCIDENT IN THE PRE-FINAL AND IN THE FINAL PREVENTED MARCO ZANCHETTA FROM BATTLING FOR THE KZ2 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP. ALSO LUCA TILLOCA

Genk (Belgium). On the circuit of Genk, SGracee/Maranello Kart expressed once again all its competitiveness in the second and decisive round of the KZ and KZ2 European Championship. Maranello battled for the CIK-FIA KZ2 title until the end with Marco Zanchetta, but two accidents - one in the Pre-final, the second in the Final - prevented the driver from laying his hands on a title which seemed within his reach.

The two favourite drivers for the victory of the KZ2 European title, in Genk, got soon kicked out of the competition. Riccardo Negro (DR) and Marco Zanchetta - namely the first two placed in the round of Wackersdorf - here in Belgium were bound to challenge each other in a kind of repetition of the WSK Euro Series showdown.
Things did not go as expected: Negro was out of the game in the Pre-final for an engine issue, while Zanchetta, in the very same Pre-final, saw his race spoilt when he got hit from behind during lap three, right at the end of the main straight, when he was second.Qualifyingdid not start well for Zanchetta in Genk, but in the heats his performance got better and he managed to win three times and to gain the first row of the starting grid in his Pre-final. Then, the accident spoilt his whole race, even though the Italian driver managed to recover and to finish tenth. Our driver, anyway, still stood the chance to aim at a great result in the Final, but starting from the back rows is always risky. He got involved in another accident which definitely kicked him out of the race. In the final ranking of the Championship, Marco Zanchetta placed fifth, while the title went to the Norwegian Emil Antonsen, fourth in Wackersdorf and second in this Belgian round behind the winner, the Italian Felice Tiene.
Apart from the disappointment for the Championship - which was definitily within reach of the Italian driver -, Marco Zanchetta and Maranello Kart showed excellent performing qualities throughout the whole season. The Italian factory's performance was outstanding both in the CIK-FIA European Championship and in the WSK Euro Series. Also the qualities of the Maranello Kart RS10 chassis were outstanding: it was always quick and reliable on every racetrack all around Europe. Among the other SGrace/Maranello Kart drivers, Luca Tilloca also showed great competitiveness: he placed eighth in Wackersdorf, but in Genk he did not take part in the Final after he got involved in a crash in the Pre-final. Several issues prevented the Danish Jonas Hansen and the Greek Serkos Movsesian from qualifying for the final phase.For SGrace/Maranello Kart and its drivers there is another international appointment on schedule: the World Championship on 22nd September, in Varennes. That will be the occasion where they will be able to redeem themselves from the unlucky finale of this European Championship.

THE FINAL STANDING OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP:

KZ2. 1. Antonsen (DR-Tm) 33 points; 2. Johansson (Energy-Tm) 32; 3. Tiene(CRG-Maxter) 25; 4. Negro (DR-Tm) 25; 5. Marcon (Tony Kart-Vortex) 22; 6. Zanchetta (Maranello-Tm) 20; 7. Schmidt (CRG-Tm) 11; 8. Schmitz (Tony
Kart-Vortex) 11; 9. Lundberg (Maranello-Tm) 10; 10. Midrla (Birel-Tm) 10; 11. Yard Pex (CRG-Tm) 9; 12. Manetti (Praga-Parilla) 8; 13. Tilloca (Maranello-Tm) 8; 14. Habulin (CRG-Modena) 7; 15. Specken (Birel-Tm) 7; 16. Hays (Energy-Tm) 6; 17. Fiault (Sodi-Parilla) 6; 18. Marconi (First-Tm) 5; 19. Brenna (TB Kart-Modena) 5; 20. Paauwe (Birel-Tm) 5; 21. Illgen (CRG-Tm) e Oberg (Gillard-Tm) 4; 23. Van Meever (Lenzokart-Tm) 3; 24. Da Silva (Birel-Tm) 2; 25. Piccini Alessio (Tony Kart-Vortex); 26. Kooijman (CRG-Tm) 1.