The fourth and penultimate round of the Italian CSAI Karting Championship did not betray expectations and awarded once again a lot of on track spectacle, especially in the first series of finals, that have been spectacular and close until the flag as well as crucial for the title campaign that will end next October 27th in Castelletto di Branduzzo (Pavia).

The success of the event held at the South Garda Karting has been granted by the good level of competitiveness of the 172 drivers at the start – 50 of which foreign – that made the championship hit the record number of 700 participations in the 4 rounds run so far, with a per-race average of more than 170 drivers on track.

In this round at Lonato the title contenders got more faith in their means as all the provisional leaders were confirmed as in the case of Massimo Dante (KZ2) despite the regret for not winning the first final, then the French driver Julien Darras who pulled away in KF2 thanks to a very good second place in the first race, Alessio Lorandi back to dominate the KF3 with an hat-trick obtained securing both finals, while Nicola Abrusci thanks to the win in the first final of the 60 Mini managed to top the standings.

In the championships the situation is still fairly open while the Formula 60 ACI/CSAI reached its third and last act of the season. The first winner of the category is the 9 years old from Palermo, Santo Macaluso, who managed to beat the rivals thanks to the win in the first final of Lonato and the fourth place in race 2..

KZ2, WINS TO CELENTA AND MAZZALI

In KZ2 Massimo Dante (Maranello-Tm) managed to keep is leadership, but the driver from Trento would have liked to get on the top step of the podium was it not for an incident he was involved in when already eying the finish line of the first final. In the heat of the final meters, Francesco Celenta (Energy-Tm) crossed the line in first position, ahead of Dante and Riccardo Longhi (Art GP-Tm), while the very good Mattia Drudi (Maranello-Tm) was fourth proceeding Massimo Mazzali (Art GP-Tm) and Alessandro Giulietti (Intrepid-Tm) that was also involved in the incident in the final stages of the race.

The victory in the second final went to Mazzali, while Antonio Piccioni (Intrepid-Tm) managed to get a good second place, with Giulietti third and on the podium again. In the second final Dante was involved in another incident but this time he ended only 19th.
The French driver Dorian Boccolacci (Energy-Tm) showed a good competitiveness in his debut in KZ2 but could not give his best due to some incidents in both finals.

Dante confirms to be the classification leader with 139 points, Celenta is second at 117.

GOOD RACES FOR ANDREA MORETTI AND RUSSO IN KF2

In KF2 Andrea Moretti (Kosmic-Tm) won the first final, topping the classification leader Julien Darras (Tony Kart-Tm) who increased his championship lead. Third place for Marco Moretti, who is Andrea Moretti's brother. Behind them were Marco Maestranzi (Top Kart-Tm), Diego Bertonelli (Zanardi-Tm), Callum Ilott (Zanardi-Tm) and Luca Corberi (Kosmic-Vortex) with the latter among the main protagonists of the initial part of the race.

In the second final, run on slippery tarmac due to the rain, the victory went to Andrea Russo (Kosmic-Vortex), who was eighth in race 1 and therefore he started the second final from the pole position due to the grid inversion. Bertonelli ended behind Russo and then Andrea Moretti again. Darras obtained only the 11th place instead.

Darras reached 185 points in the standings, while Marco Moretti is currently second at 134.

DOUBLE WIN FOR ALESSIO LORANDI IN KF3

After the wins obtained last year, Alessio Lorandi (Tony Kartr-Parilla) is back to dominate KF3. The current classification leader did not score a win before the round of Lonato. He won the first final after a good recover that made him finish ahead of his main title contender Leonardo Pulcini (Tony Kart-Vortex), with his brother Leonardo Lorandi good third and on the podium. Race 2 was run under the rain and Alessio Lorandi gave another driving lesson in the wet winning again and also lapping several rivals. The second place went to Giuliano Raucci (Energy-Tm), who proceeded the Russian driver Robert Shwartzman (Tony Kart-Tm). Leonardo Lorandi was forced to the retirement due to an electric problem instead.

Alessio Lorandi pulled away in the championship where he now stands at 200 points with Pulcini second at 176.

ABRUSCI IS THE NEW PROVISIONAL LEADER IN 60 MINI

The victory in the 60 Mini went to Nicola Abrusci (Tony Kart-Lke) who managed to get the classification lead even if the standings is still sub-judice due to the appeal put forward by Giuseppe Fusco regarding the race held in Siena.

Abrusci led Francesco Pagano (Top Kart-Lke) and Lucas Legeret (Tony Kart-Lke) in the first final, while in the second – run under the rain – Francesco Pagano got he win. In this occasion, former classification leader Giuseppe Fusco (Lenzo-Lke) ended both races in the back.

Abbrusci got the lead of the standings (sub-judice) with 160 points, Pagano is second at 121, while Fusco was stranded at 120 and provisionally he slipped back to the third place.

MACALUSO IS THE FIRST CHAMPION OF FORMULA 60

The new Formula 60 ACI/CSAI – the innovative project with all inclusive rental – reached the conclusion of its first season after the third and last round held in Lonato. The title went to the young Sicilian driver Santo Macaluso who harvested the win in race 1 and a fourth place in a wet race 2. The victory in the second final went to Francesco Pizzi. Classification-wise, the main rival of Macaluso was Matteo Roccadelli, as he ended third in race-1, behind Etienne Linty, and second in race-2, ahead of Michael Paparo Barbaro.

The final classification of the Formula 60 ACI-CSAI Karting: 1. Macaluso points 140; 2. Roccadelli 126; 3. Linty 112; 4. Dal Ferro 78; 5. Bizzotto 61; 6. Aiello 60; 7. Pizzi 55; 8. Paparo 48; 9. Crescente 42; 10. Minì e Cioci 30.

CORRIERE DELLO SPORT, FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER. A special on the Italian CSAI Karting Championship race of Lonato will be published on Friday 20 September on the sports magazine Corriere dello Sport featuring comments, classifications and pictures.

GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT, THURSDAY 26 SEPTEMBER. A special on the round of Lonato will be published by Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday 26 September.

All results, classifications and picture from the racing track will be available at www.acisportitalia.it

The final round of the Italian CSAI Karting 2013 Championship:

5th round - 27 October 2013 - International Circuit 7 Laghi
Castelletto di Branduzzo (Pavia), Org. La Conca Sporting Club
Categories: 60 Mini, KF2, KF3, KZ2

ACI Sport S.p.A.
Press Office

In the picture: the two brothers from Brescia, Alessio (on the left) and Leonardo Lorandi, on the podium of the first KF3 final of the Italian CSAI Karting Championship held at the South Garda Karting of Lonato (picture by Acisport).