Archive for category: Championships

Great victory for Karol Basz in the first European CIK-FIA event at the Zuera circuit. A success built with great determination and intellect by the World Campion of Kosmic Racing who after achieving the second position in Pre-Final, signs the victory in Final at the end of an amazing struggle.

A crescendo weekend for the driver handled by the Minardi Management who proves to be a term of comparison for International karting. After ending the Heats in fifth, thanks to a tenth and third place (he signed the fastest lap), he managed to move up the standings without any mistakes, driving in a precise and accurate way and beating off a stiff competition. In Pre-Final, he achieves he second position and ends a tenth from the winner, before gaining the success in the first of the four scheduled events.

“It was a difficult race, but at the end we won. I am glad we won, this victory is very important. We did an excellent job and now we are optimist for the upcoming event. I must congratulate the whole team and my team mate Patrik Hajek on his first seasonal victory”, Karol Basz says enthusiastically.

“I must congratulate Karol. I saw a determined and very focused driver. In Final, he did a masterpiece. He struggled and gained the victory in the field as just the true champions can do. This is the best way to start this European Championship. After last season world victory, the CIK-FIA is surely one of ours goals. I can not deny this”, manager Alberto Tonti says.

From the Adria circuit, Joao Vieira starts his way into the Italian Formula 3 championship powered by Abarth. The Brazilian standard-bearer at Antonelli Motorsport is starting the second round after gaining the first points in the inaugural event of Misano, despite of some engine problems.

Along the curvy track, Joao will try to threaten the standings lead, on a grid that once again will be rich. The opening race saw more than 40 drivers challenging on the track and forced the promoters to modify the weekend format with three qualifying rounds, before the access into the Final.

“The testing day at the Adria circuit has been very positive. This make us hope for the weekend. I managed to cut some tenths of seconds compared with the last year, and I am now just one tenth from pole. Qualifyings will surely have an important role because the trail is like a karting circuit where an overtaking isn’t very easy especially with so many cars on the track. We can’t rule out the possibility of a safety car”, Joao Vieira explains.

“It will be a very difficult weekend, and qualifying will play a great role because of the track features and of the numerous cars on the grid. Last year, anyway, Joao was maker of an incredible recover, showing all his technical qualities. Unfortunately, in Misano we still had some engine problems. I hope that everything will be ok in Andria, for both Joao and the team”, manager Giovanni Minardi says.

The Italian Formula 4 Championship has started its third season at the Misano World Circuit. In the weekend, we watched 20 team at the start, and 41 drivers coming from 21 different nations. At the starting lines, seven Italian drivers defended themselves against Mick Schumacher who dominated the stage with two successes and with the fourth place in the Final won by Siebert ahead Vips and Guzman.

The high number of subscriptions forced organizers to modify the Championship format, dividing competitors (by drawing lots) in two different qualifying tournaments. Then the drivers are divided in three groups (A, B, and C) based on the overall standings. Each of these Groups competes for two qualifying races (A vs B; B vs C; A vs C that gives points for Championship standings). Then, an overall standings with the sum of every driver’s points is filled out. The first 36 drivers classified enter into the Final.

“This karting format is very appreciated, especially by stranger teams and by drivers themselves. Everyone has at least the chance to run two races, given that 36 out of 41 drivers enter into the Final. In spite of a very changeable weather, all the drivers proved to live up to the race, with Schumacher as a star performer of the opening weekend, despite the heavy media pressure. He will have to confirm his talent as a sprinter in next events” Gian Carlo Minardi says. “We had three intense and fighting races, especially in Final with 36 single-seaters on the track. As Aci, we are very satisfied with this Championship debut”, the manager from Faenza concludes.

The schedule of the Circus will go on in Adria (May,8), Imola (May 29 and September 25) Mugello (July, 17) Vallelunga (September, 11), and Monza October, 30 with the great finale.
In overall standings Mick Schumacher (Prema) leads the group with 60 points, ahead of Guzman Marchina Raul (58) and Siebert Marcos (56).

An Instant redemption for Karol Basz back at the top positions of the standings in Muro Leccese, stage of the third WSK Super Master Series event. During a weekend free from external factors, the Polish driver of the Kosmic Racing achieves two third places in Qualifying Heat that are worth the second row in Pre-final.An act of force for the standard-bearer of the Minardi Management, after two first rounds heavily affected by some contacts.

After ending the Pre-final in sixth, Karol concludes the penultimate session of the series by gaining the top-five, thanks to the fifth place in Final achieved after a great recovering. The result relaunches him into the general standing and makes grow his booty to 44 points, even if it remains the regret for the points lost in Castelletto di Branduzzo and Sarno. The showdown will be in Adria next May 22, waiting for next international challenges.

“The final fifth place is quite good, but we could surely done better. We have recovered a good pace and this is useful after the complications we faced in the previous events. The weekend started uphill, but we managed to recover. Unluckily, it’s too late for a recovery in the standing, even if we there is the round at Adria. We’ll try to end with a good result”, Karol Basz comments.

“The vehemence of some drivers frustrates the efforts and the final results too many times, but I never had any doubts about the qualities of Karol and of the Kosmic team as sprinters. This weekend we were able to move up the ranks with great determination. A good test for the forthcoming events of CIK FIA and of the German Championship“, manager Alberto Tonti says.

Photo: Alexandros Vernardis/The Racebox

After the launch of Formula 4, in which Italy has had a pioneering role in bringing the first Championship into track in 2014, the International Automobile Federation has developed the last tile by replacing the present GP2 with Formula 2, the new anteroom to Formula 1. The connection between the two series will be the FIA European F3 Championship that in the last years has been able to capture the attention revealing important names as Max Verstappen, Stefano Ocon, as our standard-bearers Antonio Giovinazzi, Raffaele Marciello, Antonio Fuoco, and Alessio Lorandi.

The real revolution will take place in 2017 with new single-seaters with which drivers should engage further to enhance their technical qualities. In recent years, the GP2 Series hasn’t been longer able to bring his champions into the Circus, that was the starting goal. “The FIA is trying to take its historical brands back, to create a chain in which F4 is the first step to get to F2 through International F3 which is experiencing an important peak” says Gian Carlo Minardi, interviewed on the subject by Minardi.it.

The revolution could not stop. Given the great success of Formula 4 everywhere in Europe, the idea to create an intermediate step is under consideration. “A National Formula 3 to link F4 and International F3 is under study“.

Gian Carlo Minardi has built much of his know-how as a manufacturer participating in the Formula 2 Championship from 1974 to 1984, at first with the Scuderia Everest and later with his Minardi Team, coming from the Italian Formula and Formula 3. “In those years, Formula 2 was a championship at the highest level with 5-6 chassis manufacturers, 4-5 engines suppliers, and 2-3 tires suppliers. The races were made up of drivers engaged in the Formula 1 World Championship and by young people who would pawed the ground for show off. Those who did well in F2 then arrived in F1 as Martini, Nannini, Alboreto and many other” the manager from Faenza explains, stressing on the lack of manufacturers, except for Dallara. What is now lacking it is a competition between the various manufacturers. Unfortunately, new Formula 2 will only be a chassis, engine and tires single brand. This scenario is the result of past decisions made by the Federation. It has wanted to entrench behind reductions of costs that has not really happened. Doing so we lost all the major manufacturers who made this sport great as Lola, March and Ralt, just to name a few. Today, scene is dominated by Dallara, even when the regulations would allow more competition, like in F3“.

Would not it be better to open the challenge to more manufactures of frames? In 2012, the latest Formula 3 Italia edition saw the challenge on track between two manufacturers, Dallara and My GAL with the French one victorious thanks to JD Motorsport and Riccardo Agostini.