Pollini stars at the 24th Winter Cup
Giacomo Pollini was one of the stars in the KZ2 class in a typical start of the season race, duelling with the best right up to the end, and only a penalty drove him back down in the standings.
The traditional start of the season event, at South Garda Karting in Lonato, for the 24th edition of the Winter Cup. IPKarting was represented in all 4 classes (KZ2, OK, OKJ and Mini ROK) with its own Praga and Formula K chassis, deployed out on the track by the works teams and its partners.
Of the 98 taking part in KZ2, Formula K was represented by Giacomo Pollini (NGM Motorsport) and Jeremy Iglesias (Formula K Racing Team), while Praga could count on Tom Leuillet (Praga Racing Team) and Francesco Celenta (ASD Scuderia Bassano Corse kart). Pollini got off to a great start, posting the 4th fastest time in qualifying, winning 2 of the subsequent heats and taking 2nd place in the standings of the heats. Iglesias confirmed the excellent performance of the Formula K chassis, recording two podium finishes in the heats, but only managing 22nd in the standings due to a single disappointing heat.
In the subsequent Super Heats, Pollini confirmed his position as one of the best by winning his race, while Iglesias finished 10th behind the excellent Celenta, who did well to gain 7 places and climb up to 9th. Leuillet experienced a little more difficulty and was unable to qualify for the Final.
In the decisive race, Pollini duelled with the best right up to the end. He took the chequered flag in 4th after a final sprint that saw the leading drivers finish within less than a second of each other. However, a penalty saw him relegated to 16th place in the standings.
Iglesias, on the other hand, staged a great comeback in the Final, managing to climb eight places and finishing 12th.
There were 3 Praga chassis in the OK class, all brought to the track by RS Schumacher Racing drivers: David Schumacher, Reggie Duhy and Kobe Pauwels. The latter two, in particular, drove a very similar race, putting in gritty performances in the heats and both taking 15th place in their respective Super Heats. They also experienced similar bad luck, which saw them miss out on the Final at the last hurdle, Duhy by just one position and Pauwels by three.
IPKarting drivers who took part in the OKJ class also belonged to RS Schumacher Racing: Andrey Petrovic and Luca Leistra. After a quiet start, Leistra’s speed came to the fore over the weekend, allowing him to showcase his excellent driving skills and reliability of the material at his disposal. Indeed, the Belgian driver managed two inspiring comebacks in both the Super Heat, in which he climbed 11 places and finished 7th, as well as in the Final, in which he took the chequered flag in 15th after climbing 13 places.
Lastly, in the Mini ROK class, the Formula K Junior Team lined up with three drivers: Kostin Platon, Mark Kastelic and Matic Presa. Out of all of them, Platon took the spotlight, showing consistency by always finishing the heats in the top ten and doing well to finish his Super Heat in 5th place. In the end, he managed 15th place, an experience that will stand him in good stead for the coming events.
