La Conca, June 18th, 2023.
After the uncertain weather on the eve, a beautiful sunny day blessed the final stage of the second round of the Italian ACI Karting Championship at the La Conca International Circuit, with a series of spectacular finals in front of a lively crowd, finally returning to fill a karting event.

Just like in last month's opening race in Cremona, there was also a great turnout on the Salento track, with 230 drivers from 32 countries and full grids in all categories, with the usual excellent presence in the MINI, KZ2, and KZN gear categories, as well as in OK-N and OK-N Junior, which confirmed the approximately 60 drivers from the first round of the Italian Championship, including some new arrivals that are very promising for these two new categories, which are receiving absolutely positive feedback.

The increased scoring system of the second round at La Conca compared to the first round in Cremona has also brought forth some new leaders, adding further interest to the fight for the top positions in the championship standings, looking ahead to the upcoming events that will feature even higher-stakes scores.

KZ2 – Vasile wins race-1 and is the new leader. Piccini takes the victory in race-2.
The KZ2 category was highly spectacular, featuring a series of duels and surprises right up to the finish line. After an initial dominance by championship leader Cristian Bertuca (#105 LG Motorsport/BirelART-TM Kart), the Romanian driver Daniel Vasile (#145 KCS Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) asserted himself and took the lead, while Bertuca lost some positions, being overtaken by the other weekend protagonists, the two international champions Alex Irlando (#114 Drago Corse/Drago-TM Kart) and Davide Forè (#113 Renda Motorsport/Sodi-TM Kart), who secured the other two podium positions. Bertuca finished fourth and preceded the other two Under 18 drivers, Enrico Martinese (#120 King Racing Team/KR-Iame) and Maksim Orlov (#149 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart).
Race 2 surprised everyone with Alessio Piccini (#107 Tribe One/BirelART-TM Kart), who, after finishing seventh in Race 1, took the lead and maintained his position at the front until the finish line. Leonardo Pelosi (#132 Pelosi/CRG-TM Kart) finished second, while Daniel Vasile took third place. With a fourth-place finish, Maksim Orlov is the top Under 18 driver, standing on the podium ahead of Bertuca and Enrico Martinese.
In the championship standings, Daniel Vasile is the new leader with 101 points, with Cristian Bertuca moving to second place with 96 points, and Alessio Piccini in third with 87 points. 

MINI Gr.3 – Baglin and Calleja are the final winners. Baglin leads the championship.
The first of the two finals in the MINI Gr.3 category witnessed a thrilling battle for victory, with the British driver Noah Baglin (#21 IKart/KR-Iame-MG) managing to take the lead in the last few laps and hold it until the finish line. The other two podium positions went to the Canadian Ilie Crisan Tristan (#14 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Turkish driver Iskender Zulfikari (#49 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who made a great comeback after receiving a penalty in one of Saturday's heats. Another impressive recovery was made by his teammate, the Australian William Calleja, who gained an impressive 19 positions and finished fourth. In fifth place was Valerio Viapiana (#47 Team Driver/KR-Iame), ahead of his teammate Gianmatteo Rousseau. The seventh place went to Spanish driver Manuel Miguez Gayoso (#29 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart), while the eighth place was claimed by the American driver Devin Walz (#48 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame).
William Calleja took control of Race-2, closely pursued by Iskender Zulfikari, who finished in second place. Devin Walz secured third place after a 3s penalty was imposed on Noah Baglin, who had initially crossed the finish line in third position. 
In the championship standings, Baglin jumps to the top with 101 points, followed by Zulfikari with 86 points and Calleja with 63 points

MINI Gr.3 Under 10 – Venant and Perico are the two winners, Perico is the new leader.
MINI Gr.3 Under 10 also stood out for a fierce battle for victory, with the young Belgian driver Antoine Venant (#278 Kidix/KR-Iame-MG) emerging as the winner after a remarkable comeback of 5 positions. Nicolò Perico (#237 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Racing) showcased another impressive recovery and secured second place. The Australian driver Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (#266 Tony Kart R.T./Tony Kart-Vortex) claimed a solid third place on the podium after proving to be among the top contenders in the heats. The Polish driver Leonardo Gorski (#218 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who had fought for the lead, finished in fourth place ahead of Alessandro Truchot (#254 AVRacing/Parolin-Iame), while the heat leader, Ukrainian Oleksandr Legenkyi (#230 Team Driver/KR-Iame), had to settle for sixth place.
In Race 2, Niccolò Perico managed to clinch the victory, with Gorski and Truchot following closely behind, while Venant finished in fourth position this time. David Moscardi (#260 AMC Tech Racing/BirelART-Iame), who initially crossed the finish line in second place, was classified fifth due to a 5s time penalty.
With the double result at La Conca, Niccolò Perico is the new championship leader with 102 points, followed by Leonardo Gorski in second place with 92 points, and Alessandro Truchot in third with 90 points.

OK-N – The victories went to Albanese and Yildirim. The championship is led by Marenghi.
Federico Albanese (#439 Italcorse R.T./Italcorse-TM Kart-Vega) confirmed his victory in Race 1 after finishing the heats in the first place. In the first final, Albanese secured the win, leading the race from start to finish, with Francesco Marenghi (#414 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Racing) taking second place. The Turkish driver Bati Ege Yildirim (#403 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Racing) initially finished in third place, but due to a 5s penalty, he was demoted to sixth position. The Pole Bartosz Grzywacz (#402 KGT Motorsport/Tony Kart-Vortex) moved up to the third place, while the pole position holder, Antonio Apicella (#416 Team Driver/Kosmic-Iame), finished fourth ahead of Singaporean driver Stefano Pedani (#428 Italcorse Racing Team/Italcorse-TM Kart).
In Race 2, the Turkish driver Bati Ege Yildirim (#403 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Racing) secured a masterful victory, dominating the race. In the battle for the remaining podium positions, Francesco Marenghi prevailed over Federico Albanese. The Estonian driver Robin Sarg (#420 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE) finished fourth, with Bartosz Grzywacz in fifth. The championship leader from Poland Karol Pasiewicz (#417 Novalux/Lenzokart-LKE), retired in Race 1 and finished eighth in Race 2. 
In the championship standings, Francesco Marenghi took the lead with 101 points, followed by Bartosz Grzywacz with 85 points and Federico Albanese with 71 points.

OK-N Junior – Ochstein and Lilli win the Finals, as Rocchio leads the classification.
In the first final, the American driver Asher Ochstein (#342 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart-Vega) dominated with authority, already showing great performance in the heats. Nikita Nikishov (#323 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart) secured second place, while championship leader Gino Rocchio (#339 DR/DR-Modena Engines) claimed the podium with a third-place finish. The Polish driver Bruno Gryc (#315 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart) took fourth place ahead of Giacomo Giusto (#346 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) and Pietro Lilli (#319 LGK/Birel-Modena Engines). After a comeback, Mariachiara Nardelli (#322 Kidix/KR-Iame) finished in seventh position.
Pietro Lilli emerged victorious in Race-2 in a close finish, with Giacomo Giusto and Fabio Reale (#343 La Motorsport/Falcon-Iame) following closely behind. With a fourth-place finish in Race 2, Gino Rocchio maintains his lead in the championship standings with 93 points, followed by Nikita Nikishov with 76 points and Bruno Gryc with 58 points.

KZN Under – Rendina and Calligaris on the top step of the podium. Piccioni keeps the classification lead.
In the first final, at the start, the championship leader Antonio Piccioni (#527 TK Driver/TK-TM Kart-Vega) dropped to third place, but he managed to recover and take the victory. However, at the end of the race, he received a 5s time penalty, which pushed him down to second position, with Giuseppe Rendina (#524 Laudato Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) finishing ahead of him. Dennis Menegatti (#518 Menegatti/Tony Kart-TM Kart) secured third place, followed by Andrea Caregnato (#502 Caregnato/Intrepid-TM Kart) in fourth place and Massimiliano Casagranda (#503 Casagranda/BirelART-TM Kart) in fifth.
In Race 2, Filippo Calligaris (#522 ErreEsse/Parolin-TM Kart) achieved redemption. After finishing eighth in Race 1, he started from pole position due to the reverse grid and claimed victory. Antonio Piccioni finished in second place once again after a strong comeback. Giuseppe Rendina secured third place on the podium in Race 2.
In the championship standings, Antonio Piccioni remains in the lead with 130 points. Giuseppe Rendina moves up to second place with 102 points, and Massimiliano Casagranda holds third place with 95 points.

KZN Over – Nalon wins race-1 and confirms his leadership, while Feola wins race-2.
In the KZN Over category, the championship leader Riccardo Nalon (#601 ErreEsse/Parolin-TM Kart-Vega) asserted his dominance by claiming victory. He was followed by Paolo Gagliardini (#612 Gagliardini/Maranello-TM Kart), who finished as the top driver among the Over 50 category, and Sebastiano De Matteo (#607 De Matteo/Maranello-TM Kart).
In Race 2, Pasquale Feola (#609 Renda Motorsport/Sodi-TM Kart) emerged as the winner after finishing eighth in the first final. Riccardo Nalon made a comeback to secure second place, while Sebastiano De Matteo finished in third. Paolo Gagliardini once again claimed victory among the Over 50 drivers.
In the championship standings, Riccardo Nalon maintains his lead with 153 points. Sebastiano De Matteo sits in second place with 99 points and Paolo Gagliardini holds third place with 93 points.

Complete results: https://www.acisport.it/it/CIK/

In the pictures: 1) The podium of MINI Gr.3, race-1 (Sportinphoto); 2) KZ2: Vasile’s win in race-1 (PrintH24); 3) The start of OK-N Junior (PrintH24).

Corriere dello Sport. A special feature on the Italian Karting Championship ACI Sport event at La Conca will be published on Wednesday, June 21 in the sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport.

The next events of the Italian ACI Karting Championship:
3rd round – July 16 – Kartodromo Val Vibrata, Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata (Teramo)
MINI Gr.3, OK-N, OK-N Junior, KZ2, Legend

4th round – August 27 – Circuito Internazionale Napoli, Sarno (Salerno)
MINI Gr.3, OK-N, OK-N Junior, KZ2, KZN

5th round – September 24 – Franciacorta Karting Track, Castrezzato (Brescia).
MINI Gr.3, OK-N, OK-N Junior, KZ2, OK, OKJ 

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For updates, in-depth articles, standings, and photos, visit the official ACI Sport website:
Italian ACI Karting Championship Page.
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