Franciacorta – Castrezzato (Brescia), September 24th, 2023.
The 2023 Italian ACI Karting Championship concluded with thrilling competitive action in the fifth and final round at the Franciacorta Karting Track in Castrezzato. This event had the responsibility of awarding all the category titles in the fifth round of the season for KZ2, OK-N, OK-N Junior, MINI Gr.3, MINI Gr.3 Under 10, as well as in the two international categories, OK and OK-Junior.

With the participation of major manufacturers and highly qualified teams, there were 270 drivers on the track, including a significant number of foreign drivers whose presence added prestige to the Italian ACI Karting Championship.

In this last event of the season, surprises were not lacking, especially in race 1, where two front-runners leading their respective championship standings had to suffer a dramatic retirement. This turn of events reopened the title fight in their categories: Cristian Bertuca in KZ2 and Bartosz Grzywacz in OK-N.

KZ2 – Orlov and Ebner share the victories, Orlov clinches the championship.
In KZ2, everything went well for Maksim Orlov (#149 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart-MG) in race 1, as the main contender for the championship lead, Cristian Bertuca (#105 LG Motorsport/BirelART-TM Kart), was forced to retire due to an accident while he was recovering from the ninth starting position. Orlov dominated the race, narrowing the gap to Bertuca to just 16 points. Behind Orlov, two-time world champion Paolo De Conto (#197 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart) and Moritz Ebner (#124 Drago Corse/Drago-TM Kart) secured their positions with a considerable lead over their pursuers. Alessio Piccini (#107 Tribe One/BirelART-TM Kart) finished fourth, and Samuele Marchetti (#118 King Racing/KR-Iame) came in fifth.

In race 2, Moritz Ebner claimed the victory, with Nicola Rossini (#138 SGRace/Maranello-TM Kart) in second place, and Maksim Orlov secured the podium and the overall Italian championship as well as the Under 18 title. Alessio Piccini took fourth place, and Enzo Lacreuse (#199 Lacreuse/DR-Modena) finished fifth. Cristian Bertuca made an impressive recovery from the back of the grid, gaining 24 positions to finish eighth, but the title slipped away from him.

In the championship standings, Maksim Orlov closed with 296 points, Cristian Bertuca with 288, and Alessio Piccini with 224.

OK-N – Federico Albanese takes the title among the many contenders.
The second twist came in race 1 in the OK-N category, where the championship leader, Bartosz Grzywacz (#402 KGT/Tony Kart-TM Kart), was forced to retire in the early stages of the race. Taking advantage of this was Federico Albanese (#439 Italcorse/Italcorse-TM Kart), who took the championship lead thanks to the eighth place he secured in this first final. Race 1 was won by Jakub Kamenik (#470 DCR Motorpsort/Tony Kart-TM Kart-Vega) after a fierce duel with Antonio Apicella (#416 Team Driver/KR-Iame). Behind the two contenders, Lamberto Ferrari (#407 FK Motorsport/IPK-Modena) secured the third place, completing a podium with three different engines in the top three positions: TM Kart, Iame and Modena. Federico Rossi (#467 PRK/Tony Kart-TM Kart) finished fourth and Bati Ege Yildirim (#403 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart) took fifth.

In race 2, Bati Ege Yildirim claimed the victory and was chased by Antonio Apicella, who was desperately seeking the win that could have given him the title. However, it was Federico Albanese who won the Italian Championship, finishing on the podium in P2 after a penalty was imposed on Apicella.

In the championship, Federico Albanese secured 285 points, Antonio Apicella was second with 240, and Bartosz Grzywacz took third place with 230.

OK-N Junior – An incredible epilogue: Rocchio takes the title.
In the battle for victory in race 1 in OK-N Junior, Jesse Phillips (#367 Kidix/KR-Iame-Vega) emerged victorious over Bosco Arias Chavarri (#372 Team Driver/KR-Iame), with Dean Hoogendoorn (#356 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame) securing a podium spot on the final lap. Following them across the finish line were Kais Aziza (#302 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart) and Iskender Zulfikari (#371 Team Driver/KR-Iame). In the championship fight, Gino Rocchio (#339 DR/DR-Modena) finished ninth, bringing him level on points with Bruno Gryc (#315 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart) who placed seventh.

In race 2, Bruno Gryc crossed the finish line first but received a 5-second penalty, dropping him to ninth place. The victory went to Giamatteo Rousseau (#349 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame), with Giacomo Giusto taking second place and Jesse Phillips finishing third. Rocchio retired.

However, in the championship, Gryc and Rocchio ended up tied on points with 202 each. Giacomo Rocchio secured the title based on the tiebreaker of better results. Asher Ochstein finished third.

MINI Gr.3 – Calleja wins race-1, Baglin the championship. Blandino secures the win in race-2.
The first final of the MINI Gr.3 was characterized by a fierce battle at the front, with several contenders vying for the lead. Eventually, William Calleja (#10 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG) emerged victorious, securing the win ahead of his teammate Devin Walz, Pietro Bagutti (#58 Gamoto/EKS-TM Kart), and Cristian Blandino (#7 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart), who had taken the lead in the early part of the race. The championship leader, Noah Baglin (#21 iKart/KR-Iame), only needed a fifth-place finish to clinch the Italian title.

In race 2, it was Cristian Blandino who prevailed in the final two laps, winning a closely contested race over Bogdan Cosma Cristofor (#99 Team Driver/KR-Iame) and Ilie Crisan Tristan (#14 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex).

In the Italian Championship, Baglin secured the title with 292 points, followed by William Calleja with 237 and Devin Walz with 228.

MINI Gr.3 U10 – Legenkyi wins race-1, Gorski the tite. Miron Lorente wins race-2.
The first final of MINI Gr.3 Under 10 was also thrilling, with Oleksandr Legenkyi (#230 Team Driver/KR-Iame-MG) emerging victorious in a close race, ahead of his teammate Daniel Miron Lorente and championship leader Leonardo Gorski (#218 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame). Gorski's third-place finish was enough to secure the championship ahead of time. David Moscardi (#260 AMC/BirelART-TM Kart) finished fourth and Antonio Ianni (#220 Kidix/KR-Iame) took fifth place. In race 2, Daniel Miron Lorente closed with a win, maintaining his position at the front. David Moscardi finished second, with Oleksandr Legenkyi in third.

In the championship, Gorski claimed the Italian Championship with 296 points, Oleksandr Legenkyi was second with 240 and David Moscardi third with 194.

OK-Junior – Niklas Schaufler is the Italian Champion.
In the OK-Junior Prefinal, Niklas Schaufler (#534 KR-Iame-Vega) managed to seize the victory over Elliot Kaczynski (#505 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex), who had led for much of the race. Third place went to Enzo Nienkotter (#541 CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart), followed by Ariem Kraling (#514 Kidix/KR-Iame), Sun Xiaoyo (#508 Ward Racing/Tony Kart-Vortex) and Kosei Oguma (#AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame). In the final, it was once again Niklas Schaufler who secured the win, a result that earned him the title of Italian Champion in this single-event format. Sun Xiaoyo and Elliot Kaczynski completed the podium with second and third place finishes.

OK – Eliska Babickova is the Italian Champion.
In the OK Prefinal, Eliska Babickova (#610 Forza Racing/Exprit-TM Kart-MG), after securing the pole position in qualifying, continued to display great speed and won the Prefinal ahead of Andrea Dupè (#633 Kidix/KR-Iame) and Maxens Verbrugge (#625 CRG Racing Team/CRG-Iame), both starting from the front row. Other notable positions were taken by Sebastien Kawpeng (#631 Kidix/KR-Iame) and the two CRG drivers Michael Ider and Olin Galli, with Danilo Albanese (#602 KR-Iame) in seventh. In the final, Eliska Babickova once again took the lead and won the race, pursued by Andrea Dupè and Maxens Verbrugge, who maintained their second and third positions.

Classifications and Results at: https://www.acisport.it/it/CIK/

Gazzetta dello Sport, Wednesday, September 27th.
A one-page special feature on the Italian Karting Championship ACI Sport event at Franciacorta will be published on Wednesday, September 27th, in the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

In the pictures: 1) The podium of KZ2, race-1; 2) The final podium of OK.

Karting Press Office
ACI Sport S.p.A.
Web: http://www.acisport.it/it/CIK/home
E-mail: external.morandi@acisportspa.it
Facebook: @ACIKarting

To receive the newsletter of the Italian ACI Karting Championship please visit:
http://www.acisport.it/it/home/newsletter/iscrizione

Updates, in-depth analysis, standings, and photos on the official ACI Sport website
Italian ACI Karting Championship Page
OFFICIAL SOCIALS FB, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE