Antonio Apicella in OK-N and Jesse Phillips in OK-N Junior win the international race "Road to the 1st OK-N World Cup". The comment from the President of the ACI Karting Commission, Raffaele Giammaria.
Franciacorta, Castrezzato (Brescia), October 7th, 2023.
A great event took place at the Franciacorta Karting Track for the first international "Road to the OK-N World Cup," organized by ACI Sport in collaboration with Franciacorta Karting Track and FIA Karting for the two new categories, OK-N and OK-N Junior, within the framework of the OK and OKJ World Championships.
It was an extraordinary event that served as a fantastic season-ending finale for the two categories, OK-N and OK-N Junior. It rewarded the successful launch of these categories in Italy by ACI Sport this year, which has already seen great success in the Italian Championship, as well as in the WSK and the Italian Zone Cups. The event showcased various engine manufacturers that power these two categories, including TM Kart, Iame, Modena Engines, LKE, and Vortex.
The two champions were Antonio Apicella in OK-N and Jesse Phillips in OK-N Junior.
In total, there were 69 participants from 17 countries at Franciacorta, with 33 drivers in the OK-N category and 36 drivers in the OK-N Junior category. This closed-number event featured an excellent weekend of racing, culminating in the finals where the two category champions, Antonio Apicella with Team Driver on KR-Iame-Vega in OK-N, and Jesse Phillips with Kidix Driver Performance team on KR-Iame-Vega in OK-N Junior, were officially crowned.
OK-N. Apicella dominates.
In the OK-N category, Antonio Apicella (#416 Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega) concluded the excellent weekend with an impeccable victory in the final race, dominating from start to finish. He had previously secured victories in both Saturday's heats and Sunday morning's Prefinal. The Italian driver crossed the finish line ahead of Frenchman Maxime Geley (#484 Geley/Sodi-TM Kart), who made an impressive comeback to claim second place. Another strong contender, Gianmarco Cortopassi (#472 Maranello Kart/Maranello-TM Kart), took third place.
Francesco Marenghi (#414 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM Kart), who had secured pole position in qualifying and was second after the heats as well as in the Prefinal, had to settle for fourth place. Following a series of duels, the other Italians in the top positions were Edoardo Leo (#412 Spino Project/KR-TM Kart), Edoardo Rovera (#421 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart), and Italian champion Federico Albanese (#439 Italcorse Racing Team/Italcorse-TM Kart). Rounding out the top ten were Filippo Parmeggiani (#408 Parmeggiani/Tony Kart-Iame), Bati Ege Yildirim (#403 Modena Kart/Parolin-TM), and Giacomo Maman (#430 TBKart Racing Team/TBKart-TM Kart).
OK-N Final Result
1. Antonio Apicella (ITA) (Team Driver/KR-Iame-Vega)
2. Maxime Geley (FRA) (Geley/Sodi-TM Kart-Vega) +3.682
3. Gianmarco Cortopassi (ITA) (Maranello Kart/Maranello-TM Kart) +3.989.
OK-N Junior – Great victory by Phillips.
After winning the OK-NJ Prefinal in the morning, Jesse Phillips (#567 Kidix Driver Performance/KR-Iame-Vega) immediately became a key player in the final race. However, a multiple-car incident at the start eliminated several contenders. The English driver, who had shown impressive speed throughout the weekend, including qualifying just 17 thousandths of a second behind poleman Dean Hoogendoorn (#556 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame) and securing a victory and a second-place finish in the heats, claimed victory in the final while maintaining his lead.
Behind Phillips, Dean Hoogendoorn once again demonstrated his prowess by finishing second overall for the weekend. Asher Ochstein (CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM) secured third place on the podium ahead of the Spanish driver Bosco Arias Chavarri (#572 Team Driver/KR-Iame), while Bruno Gryc (#515 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart) completed the top five. Other notable finishers included Francois Kerdal (CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart), Andrea Marsella (#586 MLG Racing/Parolin-TM Kart), Felipe Reijs (#585 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame), Kais Aziza (#502 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart), and Italian champion Gino Rocchio (#539 DR/DR-Modena Engines), who finished in the top ten.
OK-NJ Final Result
1. Jesse Phillips (GBR) (Kidix Driver Perfomance/KR-Iame-Vega)
2. Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD) (AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame-Vega) +0.570
3. Asher Ochstein (ITA) (CRG Racing Team/CRG-TM Kart-Vega) +1.011.
his is the comment of great satisfaction from Raffaele Giammaria, President of the ACI Karting Commission: "The 'Road to the OK-N World Cup' for both OK-N and OK-NJ has ended in an exceptional manner. All the efforts made by ACI Sport, Franciacorta Karting Track, and the collaboration with FIA have resulted in a fantastic weekend of racing, with competitors in OK-N and OK-NJ battling it out until the end. Congratulations to everyone, especially to the winners Antonio Apicella in OK-N and Jesse Phillips in OK-NJ. They demonstrated great professionalism in managing a tightly contested race, with minimal gaps and exciting competitions. We are extremely pleased to have created an event that did not exist before and has yielded good results not only at the regional level but also in the Italian Championship, and now internationally with this first race in Franciacorta. Thanks to everyone, with great optimism for 2024”.
Complete results
OK-N: https://www.acisport.it/public/2023/pdf/CIK/2023_7599System.String[]//OK-N,_risultati_completi_booklet_ok-n.pdf
OK-NJ: https://www.acisport.it/public/2023/pdf/CIK/2023_7599System.String[]//OKN-J,_risultati_completi_booklet_ok-nj.pdf
Info: https://www.fiakarting.com/event/2023-franciacorta/guide
https://www.apex-timing.com/goracing/results.php?path=%2Frgmmc%2F2023%2Ffia_franciacorta%2F&group=4&fbclid=IwAR1cw-FhtVlxYp3Qwm8Kitj7Xz5DoBxphs7gT0B8z6ondclrouIJ7AuqQkw
In the pictures:
1) The start of the OK-N Final.
2)The OK-N podium with Antonio Apicella (1°), Maxime Geley (2°) and Gianmarco Cortopassi (3°).
3) The OK-NJ podium with Jesse Phillips (1°), Dean Hoogendoorn (2°); Asher Ochstein (3°).
Foto PrintH24.
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