ROK Cup Italy, round 8 – Race Report

The season of ROK Cup Italy 2024 ends with the appointment on the 7 Laghi Kart track, in Castelletto di Branduzzo (BV), able of welcoming throughout the year more than 500 different drivers in its paddock.

At the end of the day, the following category champions were decreed: Alessandro Nanni (Mini ROK), Lyuboslav Ruykov (Junior ROK), Andrea Giudice (Senior ROK), Andrea Sorbello (Expert ROK), Brando Pozzi (Super ROK) and Samuele Leopardi (Shifter ROK).

Mini ROK
Endless emotions in the Mini ROK, the youngest category of the ROK Cup Italy.

It is Filippo Frigerio who precedes everyone in Sunday morning's qualifying. The Italian sets a time of 54.351 and beats his teammate Alessandro Nanni by just 5 thousandths of a second. Third, at 19 thousandths, is David Moscardi, followed by Mikolaj Gawlikowski, fourth at 55 thousandths of a second from the session's best time. Blazej Kostrzewa occupies fifth place, preceding Augustin Feligioni, sixth, Francesco Lisignoli, seventh, and Leonardo De Grandi, eighth. Odin Flora and Dominik Wojcik are ninth and tenth, respectively. Behind them are Alessio Ottaviani, Tommaso Pomoni, Farel Dugat Beretta, Vincenzo Salierno, Mattia Finadri, Daniel Hakkinen, Leo Kralev, Momcilo Davoust, Johannes Buchhammer, Andrea Carbone, Andrea Croce Screpis, Antonio Mattia Mirarchi, Antonio Martin, Shae Shield, Sebastian Schirripa, Samuel Dal Pozzo, Ernest Molenda, Nicholas Bertolani, Camilla Amarotti and Luca Trimarchi.

In Race 1, Frigerio firmly holds the lead at the start, but on the second lap the red flag waves for an accident in the back positions. After a new start, the race resumes again with Frigerio ahead of everyone. On the second lap, however, he is forced to surrender the lead to Kostrzewa and, shortly after, also the second place to Nanni. The latter attempts an attack on Kostrzewa on the sixth lap, favoring, instead, Frigerio who takes advantage of it to return to the lead. On the last and decisive lap, Nanni overtakes Frigerio and, taking advantage of the ensuing tussle between his teammate and the rest of the pursuers, stretches just enough to secure the victory. Frigerio hits the podium, beating Moscardi, Feligioni, Kostrzewa, Gawlikowski, De Grandi and Flora.

In Race 2, it is Flora who has the honor of starting on pole position, but, even before the opening lap is over, it is Gawlikowski the new leader. The Pole initially finds himself battling with Feligioni, second, and Kostrzewa, third, both of whom are able to pass him in the middle stages of the race. However, it is Nanni who emerges in the leading group and, having taken the lead on lap 6, does not relinquish it until the checkered flag. Kostrzewa and Frigerio complete the podium, with Moscardi, Gawlikowski, Wojcik, Feligioni and Davoust behind them. Flora finishes his own event 12th.

With the two victories of the season, Nanni secures the Mini ROK title with a total of 394 points, ahead of Kostrzewa with 342 in second position and 323 points of Moscardi, third position.

Junior ROK
Everything happens in the Junior ROK race weekend in Castelletto di Branduzzo.

The last championship pole position goes in the hands of Filippo Pola, the fastest in qualifying thanks to a time of 48.347 seconds. By just 21 thousandths of a second, Valerio Viapiana has to settle for second place. Giulio Mazzolini is third in the standings, followed by Riccardo Brangero, fourth, Matteo Melis, fifth, and Riccardo Repetto, sixth. Seventh position for Anh Tu Ranghetti, eighth for Ioan Tudor Jercan, ninth for Lyuboslav Ruykov, and tenth for Ilias Mitaki. Immediately behind, we find Christian Romeo, Francesco Koci, Enrico Pietro Villa, Emilio Tedesco, Liam Secall, Francesca Pietrini, Julia Angelard, Maxim Becker, Leonardo Lanza, Daniel Pokorny, Andrea Dell'Edera, Federico Sbardellati, Marlon Di Salvo, Andrea Thej, Carlo Pongratz, Andrea Savoldelli, Michal Czyzewiz, Leonardo Monzani, Pietro Chesini, Selina Baum, Tommaso Scarato, Plamen Teliyski, Stefano Ferrari and Shamal Sacha.

In Race 1, starting on the inside, Pola defends himself excellently from Viapiana and remains firmly leader of the operations. However, after two laps, Pola surrenders his position to the churning Viapiana: in the following passages, Pola tries in every way to stay glued to his compatriot who, instead, is able to increase more and more his lead over his pursuers. Behind the leading pair, Mazzolini tries to overtake Repetto who, in turn, has running close Brangero, at that moment third. The race ends with Viapiana winning, about two seconds ahead of Pola, while Brangero takes the lowest step on the podium. Behind him finished Repetto, Jercan, Ruykov, Melis, Romeo and Mazzolini, the latter overtaken in a few laps by his rivals.

In Race 2, Romeo obtains the lead of the race after the start and remains in the lead for three laps, until on the fourth lap it is Ruykov who takes the lead. The Bulgarian, however, cannot shake off his rivals and, on the tenth lap, is overtaken by Melis, to whom he responds already on the next lap, taking back the first position. Thanks to a shrewd and error-free defense, Ruykov precedes Melis to the finish line and wins a well-deserved victory. Romeo finishes on the podium, third, with Brangero, Sbardellati, Mazzolini, Koci, Repetto, Jercan and Monzani completing the top-10. A contact between Pola and Viapiana drop the two drivers 21st and 25th, respectively.

With the weekend's results and a haul of 377 points, Ruykov wins the Junior ROK title. Brangero finishes second in the championship with 318 points, while Mazzolini is third with 310 points.

Senior ROK
Two gripping and hard-fought races are run by the protagonists of the Senior ROK.

Back again in pole position is Andrea Giudice, author of the best lap in 47.662 seconds. Riccardo Salemi gets the second place, 0.079 thousandths of a second behind Giudice, while Lorenzo Bedetti and Giuseppe Gaglianò place third and fourth respectively. Fifth place for Mattia D'Erme, ahead of Mattia Jentile, sixth, Luca Perelli, seventh, and Alessio Costantini, eighth. Riccardo Ferrari and Kaloyan Varbitzaliev round out the top-10, ninth and 10th. The standings continue with Federico Zanetti, Simone Taccola, Samuele Di Filippo, Andrea Barbieri, Kacper Turoboyski, Giovanni Polato, Edoardo Prioglio, Alberto Bernardi, Ghazi Motlekar, Riccardo Chiodo, Fabio Silvestri, Rikardo Bakaj, Alex Laghezza, Emanuele Romanelli, Charles Alexander Troxler, Pietro Camerlengo, Tereza Pokorna, Andrea Saporiti and Dominik Beller.

In Race 1, Giudice jumps well from the inside line and holds the lead. With an excellent start, Bedetti gains the second place, ahead of Jentile, Salemi and Gaglianò. Soon the victory becomes a two-way affair between Giudice and Bedetti: the polesitter shows no signs of relenting in front of his rival, who cannot find the right opportunity to attack him. At the end of the scheduled 15 laps, Giudice triumphs under the checkered flag and Bedetti “settles” for the place of honor. Behind them, Salemi holds off the Gagliano-Jentile-D'Erme trio and takes the last available step of the podium. Varbitzaliev is seventh and Ferrari is eighth.

In Race 2, as a result of the inversion of the top eight finishers in Race 1, Ferrari starts from the pole position and makes the most of the opportunity by keeping first place after the first few corners, soon gaining about a two-second lead over Bedetti, meanwhile able to take second. Behind, Gaglianò occupy the third place, the first of the small group also formed by D'Erme, Varbitzaliev and Giudice. With Ferrari already unreachable after a few passes, Bedetti holds firm in second place, but, in the finale, he was forced to watch his back from the menacing Gaglianò and Giudice, the latter having moved up to fourth. Ferrari wins the last race of the weekend and the Bedetti-Gaglianò pair secure the remaining steps of the podium, leaving Giudice in fourth place.

With a total of 441 points, Giudice becomes the Senior ROK champion, finishing ahead in the standings of Ferrari, second with 341 points, and Bedetti, third with 334 points.

Expert ROK
Disputed to the last the title of Expert ROK, the Master category of the ROK Cup Italy.

Andrea Sorbello is the author of the best time of 48.785 seconds in qualifying, but receives a penalty of two positions in the standings due to the front spoiler in the incorrect position. Andrea Moretti thus inherits first place, ahead of Viganò, second, and Sorbello, third. Baselli and Zani are fourth and fifth respectively, followed in the standings by Donadei, sixth, Pelanconi, seventh, and Marcinkiewicz, eighth. The fifth row sees Repetto and Beretta, the sixth Nannavecchia and Galloni, while in seventh we have Rubiolini and Cavini. Finally, in the eighth row are Congiu and Davì.

In Race 1, thanks to a perfect start, Moretti led the group, but halfway through the lap he gets into contact with Viganò and Sorbello thus take advantage to steal the position from both, taking the lead. At the end of the first lap, the ranking sees Sorbello, Zani, Viganò, Baselli and Moretti in the top-5. The latter, however, is willful: in fact, in six laps, Moretti recovers the second position and, having zeroed the gap from Sorbello, goes straight to the lead. The checkered flag sanctions Moretti's victory, Sorbello's second place and Zani's third, with Viganò fourth by just 0.062 seconds. Baselli, Donadei, Galloni and Repetto are the top eight finishers.

In Race 2, with the pole position gained thanks to the inversion of the first eight, Repetto is first ahead of Galloni during the first two laps, but making his way through the leading group was Moretti who, starting from the fourth lap, takes the lead. Initially, only Viganò is able to keep the same pace as Moretti, but the latter increases his pace in the final passes and wins with a 2.207-second lead over his compatriot. Starting seventh, Sorbello regains the third place overall, ahead of Zani, fourth, and Repetto, fifth. Donadei, sixth, Nannavecchia, seventh, and Beretta, eighth, precedes Galloni, ninth.

With the last round also over, the title is awarded to Sorbello, first in the championship with 403 points. Viganò is second with 360 points and Repetto is third with 299 points.

Super ROK
ROK Cup Italy's also sees on the track the top-performing single-gear category, the Super ROK.

With a strong performance in the qualifyings and a time of 47.185 seconds, Matteo Berruti takes the pole position. Domenico Cicognini finishes second and precedes Brando Pozzi, third, Gaia Cardinali, fourth, and Alex Desario, fifth. Sixth position is of Aleksandar Bogunovic, seventh Lynn Neuhaus and eighth Luca Magnussen. The category also sees Chiara Bolognini, Daniele Galbiati, Alessandro Cocozza, Alessandro Zini, Simone Donchi, Manuel Gritti, Mattia Gafforelli, Matilde Seregni, Riccardo Cocozza, Edoardo Braga and Gabriele Cucinotta at the starting ribbons.

In Race 1, Cicognini uses all his experience to overtake the poleman Berruti on the outside and take over the reins of the race. Pozzi, Cardinali, Desario and Bogunovic follow in the positions immediately after, while an accident at the start ends Neuhaus's race. From the early stages, Cicognini shows to run with a better pace than his rivals and begins to build up a good lead, while Berruti loses several positions before the final retirement. With the victory now in Cicognini's pockets, the attention focuses on the tussle for the second place: Desario, fourth at the end of the second lap, passes Bogunovic midway through the race and, on the last pass, puts Pozzi behind him. Cicognini wins by 4.467 seconds over Desario, while Pozzi resists Bogunovic and finishes third. Cardinali, Magnussen, Galbiati and Bolognini finish in the top eight.

In Race 2, it is Bolognini who starts at the head of the pack, but Magnussen overtakes the Italian after a few corners and takes the lead. Meanwhile, with an excellent sprint at the start, Cicognini already finds himself in third position, followed by Bogunovic and Pozzi. Over the course of 13 laps, the top five drivers remain close to each other, but only Pozzi manages to pass Bogunovic for fourth place. With great decisiveness, Magnussen signs his first championship victory, beating Bolognini; however, the latter is disqualified in the post-race for being underweight, and the remaining two steps of the podium thus go to Cicognini and Pozzi. Fourth place for Bogunovic, fifth for Desario, sixth for Cardinali, seventh for Galbiati and eighth for Berruti.

With two podiums in the last round and a total of 399 points, Pozzi seals the Super ROK title ahead of rivals Desario, second with 361 points, and Cicognini, third with 290 points.

Shifter ROK
The ROK Cup Italy completes its weekend schedule with the races of the Shifter ROK, the category reserved for gearbox karts.

Sunday morning's timed practices see the top three drivers running within just 28 thousandths of a second. Coming out on top is Mattia Limena, in pole position with a time of 47.416 seconds, ahead of Philippe Ehrensberger, second in 47.436 seconds, and Federico Diana, third in 47.444 seconds. Andrea Zemin takes the fourth, 0.099 seconds behind Limena, and is ahead of Lorenzo Ripamonti, fifth, and Victor Jimenez, sixth.

In Race 1, when the lights are off, it is Limena who performs a better start than anyone else running at the lead into the first corner, chased by Ehrensberger, Diana, Ripamonti and Zemin, while Jimenez remains still in his pit lane and has to abandon the race prematurely. The leader Limena controls Ehrensberger in the early stages, after which he begins to perform a series of fast laps that allow him, at the end of the 15 laps on the program, to finish 3.102 seconds ahead of the second-place Swiss driver. Author of the best lap in 47.739 seconds, Zemin takes the third place. Ripamonti, fourth, closes the ranking, while Diana retires after losing ground due to a heated tussle with Zemin.

In Race 2, Jimenez does not have a great start from pole position and immediately surrenders the lead to Diana, tailed by Ehrensberger, Ripamonti, Limena and Zemin. Already after two laps, Diana boasts a one-second lead over his pursuers and, with a significantly better pace, flies solo to victory. In the final passes, Limena blows second place to Ehrensberger and closes to 3.458 seconds behind Diana. Ripamonti is again at the foot of the podium, finally Jimenez finishes fifth. A technical problem, however, ends Zemin's race.

The final championship standings speak for themselves: Samuele Leopardi is the new Shifter ROK champion with 415 points, winning the battle with Riccardo Rigodanza, second with 326 points, and Marco Chiarello, third with 291 points. Fourth place goes to Andrea Zemin with 266 points.