WSK Master Series at Sarno - Preview

In Sarno (Italy) from 4th to 7th April 2013, the second round of the WSK Master Series. The leaders are ready: Verstappen (CRG-TM KZ2), Boccolacci (Energy-TM KF), Lorandi (Tony Kart-Vortex KFJ) and Martinez (CRG-LKE 60Mini).

M. Schumacher and J. Alguersuari entrants in KZ2.

Some of the action from last year's WSK event at Sarno (Pic: Press.net Images)

WSK paddock restarts keeping an eye on Formula 1. It is a big pot the one built up by WSK for the second round of the WSK Master Series, hosted on the International Circuit Napoli in Sarno, near Salerno in Southern Italy. Next week, from 4^th to 7^th April, kart racing champions and even Formula 1 stars – who never miss the chance to drive a kart again – will race on the track at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.

Superstar in KZ2: Schumacher and Alguersuari come back to Sarno. The Dutch Max Verstappen (CRG-TM-Bridgestone) and the Italian Paolo De Conto (Birel-TM-Bridgestone) are the two standings leaders (in this order) of the KZ2 category after the first round of Muro Leccese of last 3^rd February. The Dutch Bas Lammers, one of the category top drivers, wants to join the race towards the title and, in Sarno, he will be back with his previous kart brand: he will race behind the wheel of an Intrepid kart powered by TM. Anyway, the successful beginning of the WSK season seems to have had further positive effects. Just have a look at the names of the KZ2 entrants, starting with Jaime Alguersuari (Intrepid-TM-Bridgestone). The Spaniard, former Toro Rosso driver, while waiting for his probable comeback to F1 in the 2014 World Championship, did not miss the chance to drive a kart again. He chose Sarno, one of his favourite racetracks, even though there are other big names such as those brought on the Italian circuit by Tony Kart: the Italian Marco Ardigò and the Belgian Rick Dreezen, together with the other Italian Flavio Camponeschi. The entry list is even more interesting when we realize that the Italian kart manufacturer has – again – Michael Schumacher among his drivers. The German champion participated in all the previous WSK events, even though he only took part in free practice. He hasn’t made any decision yet about his participation in the other phases of the racing weekend. In that case, he should undergo scrutineering and then get ready for the race. Only on Thursday we’ll know whether Schumacher will run right in Sarno, when the list of the scrutineered drivers will be made official.

In chase of Boccolacci in KF. The French drivers Dorian Boccolacci (Energy-TM-Vega) and Armand Convers (Kosmic-Vortex-Vega) are at the top of the category standings in KF. The driver of the Energy team leads with 72 points, 33 more than his fellow countryman of the Kosmic team, second with 39. Anyway, the other top drivers are very close to each other. In 15 points we find the Polish Karol Basz (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega), with a gap of only four points, the Canadian Lance Stroll (Zanardi-Parilla-Vega), 29 points, and the English Ben Barnicoat (ART GP-TM-Vega), 23 points.

Lorandi leads in KF Junior. Alessio Lorandi (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) so far has kept the new talent of the KF Junior, the English Lando Norris (FA Kart-Vortex-Vega), at bay. The Italian won in Muro Leccese and leads the standings thanks to his 88 points, while the Londoner is second with 65. The other favourite drivers who can aim at the title are the Canadian Parker Thompson (Energy-TM-Vega), third thanks to his 40 points, the German Mick Betsch (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) – 25 points -, the Russian Nikita Sitnikov (Tony Kart-BMB-Vega) – 22 -.

Martinez champs at the bit in 60 Mini. The situation in 60 Mini is so uncertain that the Indian Kush Maini (Tony Kart-LKE-Le Cont),winner of the first round in La Conca, is the second of the standings, 5 points behind the Spanish Eliseo Martinez (CRG-LKE-Le Cont). The Spaniard, thanks to his 65 points, can boast overall better results. For the same reason, the Italian Massimo Chinelli (Tony Kart-LKE-Le Cont) is third with 24 points, with a four-point lead over his fellow countrymen Francesco Pagano (Top Kart-Parilla-Le Cont) and Rocco Negro (Top Kart-Comer-Le Cont), both with 20 points.