The ROK Cup Italia is back for the second time in this season at the Franciacorta Karting Track in Castrezzato (BS), for the sixth round of the 2023 calendar and with a total of 215 drivers. At the end of the race day on Sunday, the championship leaders are: Shen Zeyu (Mini ROK), Marchesi Nicolas (Junior ROK), Dragan David (Senior ROK), Donadei Tino (Expert ROK), Cardinali Gaia (Super ROK) and Rigodanza Riccardo (Shifter ROK).

Mini ROK

Great success of participants also during this weekend for the Mini ROK, “sold out” with 50 drivers on the track.

The qualifying practices get the pink color: Sofia Povazhnaia, the fastest in group 2 with 56.267 seconds lap time, takes the pole position and beats Alberto Masotto, at the head of group 1 with 56.460 seconds lap time. Angelo Pecoraro gets the third place, followed in the ranking by Zack Zhu, fourth, Marcell Zsebo, fifth, and Daniel Hakkinen, sixth. Alessandro Nanni, Leonidas Peruzzi, Antonio Reginaldo Pizzonia Neto and Pietro Bagutti complete the Top 10. To follow, we find: Tommaso Cristoforo, Manuel Miguez Gayoso, Achille Rea, Antonio Ianni, Enzo Eit, Dario Palazzolo, Giuseppe Noviello, Lourenzo Vilao Amaro, Riven Esteves, Andrea Galimberti, Nicolò Carrara, Emiliano Hernandez, Benjamin Westwood, Luca Muzzolon, Tommaso D’Ambrosio, Andrea Carbone, Matteo Infantino, Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio, Ella Hakkinen, Daniel Pasquali, Johannes Buchhammer, Lorenzo Zucchetto, Shae Shield, Ilias Mitaki, Plamen Teliyski, Momcilo Davoust, Davide Di Filippo, Vincenzo Salierno, Carlo Pongratz, Jamie Ehrat, Augustin Feligioni, Gianmaria Ferretti, Valentino Vivian, Amine Pantoli, Alex Dal Maso, Nicholas Bertolani, Bryan Filippelli, Francesco Lisignoli, Julian Frasnelli and Leon Beller.

The hierarchies are completely revolutionized after the results of the qualifying heats, which are decisive for the assignment of the places on the starting grid of the final. Bagutti surprises everyone with two victories and gets the first place, while Peruzzi wins a manche and goes in second position. Pecoraro is stable in third position, with Nanni fourth and Povazhnaia fifth. In the first ten we find Cristoforo, Rea, Palazzolo, Zhu and Redondo. Masotto slips to 15th, Zsebo is 5th due to a withdrawal in the second heat.

The final in the afternoon is spectacular and intense. Bagutti has a good start and remains at the head of the race, while Peruzzi doesn’t make a good start from the outside and Pecoraro, Povazhnaia, Zhu, Cristoforo, Nanni, Rea and Palazzolo overtake him. Despite the attacks of the rivals, Bagutti keeps the leadership during the first seven laps, when at the 8th lap, Palazzolo, Zhu and Pecoraro go at the head of the group. The Swiss lasts to the pressure of Zhu, Bagutti, Pecoraro and Povazhnaia just for one lap and, unfortunately, he gets involved in a contact which sends him into a spin. The victory is only for four: in the final lap, Bagutti is ahead of Pecoraro for only 64 thousandths. The chasers are Povazhnaia, third, and Zhu, fourth. However, Pecoraro and Zhu get a 5-seconds penalty for the front spoiler in the incorrect position and so: Povazhnaia goes at the second place, while Nanni goes from fifth to third: the first place of Bagutti doesn’t change.

Junior ROK

45 drivers at the Franciacorta Karting Track for the Junior ROK category.

Nicolas Marchesi is back in the qualifying session: the current championship leader gets the best lap time of 49.348 seconds in group 1 and signs the pole position, while the teammate Riccardo Repetto, in group 2, takes the second place overall. Third position for Knud Nielsen, fourth Vegard Klemetsen and fifth Teoh Travis. Matteo Berruti takes the sixth place, with Riccardo Brangero, Antoni Kosiba, Alessandro Giarratano and Alex Desario to close the ranking of the top ten. To follow, Stefano Zamponi, Qarrar Firhand, Andrea Thej, Nikita Nisishov, Alex Laghezza, Morgan Knudsen, Ettore Sanesi, Federico Sbardellati, Franciszek Czapla, Tom Martinez, Alessandro Merigo, Ahn Tu Ranghetti, Davide Pretosi, Emilio Tedesco, Simone Donchi, Alexander Panaev, Matteo Melis, Leonardo Monzani, Pietro Torneri, Rodolfo Cambiaso, Harold Shepskis, Lorenzo Lenzi, Matteo Pau, Giulio Mazzolin, Riccardo Moreni, Alessandro Cocozza, Enrico Pietro Villa, Ettore Di Domenico, Jacob Micallef, Selina Baum, Pietro Camerlengo, Zackary Taylor, Serena Valenza, Dominik Beller and Jan Turk Blazic.

Marchesi is absolutely perfect in the qualifying heats: two victories out of two for the Italian, always on the top of the ranking, but, this time, followed by Nikishov, very good at jumping from 14th to second. Desario climbs the ranking and goes at the third place, ahead of Teoh, fourth, Firhand, fifth and Knudsen, sixth. Despite a triumph, Repetto goes from second to seventh, while Martinez jumps from 20th to eighth. Klemetsen and Czapla are respectively ninth and tenth. Instead, Nielsen slips to 17th.

Final full of surprises, in the Junior ROK. Marchesi maintains the leadership at the start, with Desario good at going in second position ahead of Firhand, Travis and Nikishov. These are the five main protagonists of the race: the Firhand-Travis duo have a good start and overtake Desario and then Marchesi. Nikishov takes advantage of the fight to close the distances from the first four and he overtakes Desario and Marchesi. Halfway through the race, the marshals give a 3-seconds penalty to Travis for not respecting the starting procedure. At this point, the Malaysian takes the lead and tries to gain space, while Firhand blocks Nikishov. The plan doesn’t work: Travis is the first to cross the finish line but he finishes fifth, while Firhand wins the race ahead of Nikishov, Desario and Marchesi. However, in the post-race, Nikishov receives a 5-second penalty, this time for the front spoiler in the incorrect position and goes back to ninth place. Desario is second, while Marchesi takes the lowest step of the podium.

Senior ROK

More than 40 participants for the Senior ROK, 42 to be precise, for the 6th Round of the championship.

For the fifth time in this season, David Stefan Dragan is the star in the qualifying: 48.031 seconds is the best time of the Romanian in group 1, against the reference time of Adrian Labuda with 48.332 seconds in group 2. Filippo Tornaghi and Vittorio Maria Russo are third and fourth respectively, while Colin Würthenberger and Alberto Bernardi are fifth and sixth. Space among the first ten for Andrea Giudice, Riccardo Salemi, Mattia Jentile and Simone Taccola, while behind we find Giulio Olivieri, Paolo Dung Pastori, Luca Bettoni, Nicole Ameglio, Samuele Di Filippo, Pietro Fioravanti, Dance Vinci, Suleiman Zanfari, Andrea Volpato, Fabio Silvestri, Sachel Rotgé, Giorgio Franzoni, Ludovica Miceli, Ruben Pistolato, Alessandro Bernandini, Giovanni Tiberio, Michael Müller, Patrik Fraboni, Mattia Marchiante, Noah Massa, Federico Biagioli, Sofia Zanfari, Cristian Lovi, Gabriele Cucinotta, Diego Bartolozzi, Renius Jejdling, Niccolò Fontani, Massimo Cannizzo, Matteo Bellandi, Micah Scicluna, Maia Meneghin and Giovanni Polato.

Dragan is unstoppable even in the qualifying heats, in which he gets two victories out of two scheduled heats. A success also for Tornaghi, who takes the second place in the intermediate ranking, ahead of Giudice, third. Russo and Würthenberger are stable in fourth and fifth place, while behind them we find Taccola, Bettoni, Olivieri, Bernardi and Jentile. Labuda is unable to keep the second position and goes 11th.

The absolute protagonist of the final is Dragan. The Romanian is really good at the start and he is immediately ahead of everyone, with Giudice, Würthenberger, Tornaghi, Taccola, Russo, Bernardi and Vinci as the chasers. The fight begins with Würthenberger and Tornaghi that overtake Giudice, and Dragan takes a good gap on the three. In the following laps, Würthenberger makes a series of fast laps and reduces the gap from Dragan, but the leader of the race manages his advantage perfectly and, at the end of the total 16 laps, crosses the final finish line triumphantly. Würthenberger celebrates the second place, while Tornaghi makes the best lap time on the last lap and takes the lowest step of the podium. Giudice, Taccola and Vinci finish in the top six.

Expert ROK

Two hard races for the Expert ROK in Franciacorta.

Second pole position of the season for Alessandro Viganò, the fastest in the qualifying practices thanks to 49.637 seconds lap time. Exactly with a tenth of difference, Luca Fiorenti is second, ahead of Pini, third, Donadei, fourth and Zani, fifth. Paolo Baselli and Angelo Ardito make the same time: the two are sixth and seventh respectively. Among the top ten we find Filippo Repetto, Michele Zampieri and Fabio Cretti. At the start of the race also Roberto Nali, Roberto Pelanconi, Pier Giuseppe Di Landro, Marco Beretta, Leonardo Grassini, Valerio Modugno, Alberto Franchini and Marzio Cavini.

In race 1, well done for Viganò at the start who keeps the first position with Fiorenti, Donadei and Pini immediately to chase him. The leader of the race gains a good gap on his direct rivals and Donadei, trying not to lose space, overtakes Fiorenti and then tries to keep the contact with the poleman. At the 8th lap, with about 3 seconds of advantage, Viganò slows down due to a technical problem and withdraws: the lead goes then to Donadei who, thanks to his experience, keeps the gap from Repetto, behind him. Donadei crosses the finish line first, with Repetto second and Zani good at overtaking Ardito, Repetto and Pini in the final phase.

In race 2, Baselli overtakes Cretti at the start, who started from the pole position due to the inversion of the first eight and takes the leadership. However, the sporting marshals notice Baselli's irregular start and immediately give him a 5-second penalty. With Baselli virtually out for the victory, the fight is now on Cretti, Donadei, Zani and Nali. Donadei studies Cretti and during the 8th lap overtakes the rival and gains the possible first place. Doanadei is unstoppable and after the overtake on Baselli, he wins for the second time, right on the day of his 63rd birthday. Cretti defends himself from Zani in the final turns and the two finish second and third, ahead of Nali, Zampieri and Baselli. Viganò does not take part in the race.

Super ROK

A good show in the Super ROK, the most performing single-speed category of the ROK Cup Italia.

Cristian Comanducci takes the second pole position in a row in the qualifying, with 47.513 seconds lap time. Always really fast even Gaia Cardinali, second in the ranking with 62 thousandths from the Italian, while Bartosz Grzywacz and Yicheng Qu are third and fourth respectively. Domenico Cicognini and Elliott Shaw take the third row, Pozzi and Neuhaus the fourth. Tomas Aires Silva Costa Mota, Manuel Gritti, Riccardo Martinello, Jerome Huber, Chiara Bolognini, Edoardo Montoro, Valentina Nessi, Riccardo Cocozza, Sergio Koch, Nicole Maffeis, Christian Signoretta, Matilde Seregni, Lorenzo Poletti e Alessandro Zini close the general ranking.

In race 1, Comanducci keeps the lead at the first turn, with Grzywacz ahead of Cardinali and Shaw. Cardinali does really good in the first phase: firstly, she takes her position from Grzywacz, then reduces the gap from Comanducci. The leader of the race has a bad ending: at the 3rd lap he stops his kart on the edge of the track and definitively raise the white flag. Cardinali is at the head followed by Shaw, Pozzi and Grzywacz, fourth. After a contact with Pozzi, Grzywacz give two positions to Cicognini and Qu, but the Pole goes behind Shaw after a few laps. Meanwhile, Cardinali is the queen of the race and wins with more than two seconds of advantage on Shaw and Grzywacz, with the final sprint of the Swiss ahead of the Pole.

In race 2, Huber has a good start from the pole position, thanks to the inversion of the positions on the grid and he goes immediately at the lead. Cicognini goes in second position ahead of Neuhaus who gets overtaken by Shaw, Qu e Grzywacz. The leadership of Huber doesn’t last long because the Swiss gets overtaken by Cicognini, Shaw and Grzywacz, this one goes ahead of Qu. Cicognini is the leader and Shaw must defend himself from Grzywacz. Cicognini wins the second race of the weekend, while Shaw is ahead of Grzywacz for the second time on the finish line. Qu finishes fourth, followed by Pozzi, Neuhaus and Huber. Withdrawal for Cardinali.

Shifter ROK

Intense atmosphere in the Shifter ROK. The gearbox category of the ROK Cup Italia with 38 participants at the start.

Federico Squaranti gets his first pole position of the season with 47.138 seconds lap time in group 1, ahead of Riccardo Rigodanza, first in group 2 for only 12 thousandths. Fabrizio Morardo takes the third place, followed by Andrea Aliberti, fourth, Niki Taylor, fifth, and Manuel Daziano, sixth. First appearance in 2023 for Mattia Sergio Limena, winner of the 2021 title, with the seventh position in qualifying, ahead of Demis Graziani, Massimiliano Pezzucchi and Edoardo Sabatino. To follow in the ranking, we find Federico Mascialino, Alessandro Lizio, Boris Cutaia, Andra Zemin, Marco Chiarello, Luigi Del Vecchio, Gabriele Bensi, Stefano Bonara, Ferruccio Alacqua, Berry Greg, Lorenzo Ripamonti, Gioele Pollini, Marco Acquarella, Alessio Foresto, Gabrio Bizzozero, Ivan Paller, Damiano Sapio, Alessandro Tagliacollo, Pietro Gobbi, Thomas Consonni, Lorenzo Celetti, Leonardo Boccardi, Michal Bartoszuk, Alfio Messina, Mattia Rossetti, Christian Quagliata, Riccardo Franciosi and Lyon Mathur.

For the first time in this season, the drivers of the Shifter ROK go through the qualifying heats and get divided in three groups. Thanks to two victories, Rigodanza takes his revenge on Squaranti and they switch positions, compared to the qualifying, in the intermediate ranking. Mascialino gets the third position, while Daziano and Limena are fourth and fifth respectively. Taylor relegated to sixth place, ahead of Pezzucchi, Chiarello, Zemin and Lizio. A withdrawal ruins the score of both Aliberti, 16th, and Morardo, 21st.

In the final, everything normal when the semaphore goes out: Rigodanza defends his position from the attacks of Squaranti who closes the way to Mascialino at the first turn. Pezzucchi, Taylor, Chiarello, Foresto, Limena and Daziano are in the positions immediately following the first three. The situation is stable, with Rigodanza, Squaranti and Mascialino careful not to make mistakes. But, at the 8th lap, Mascialino overtakes Squaranti to get the second position, while Taylor overtakes Pezzucchi for the fourth. The race is perfectly balanced and the positions do not change until the end: Rigodanza wins with half a second ahead of Mascialino and Squaranti finishes on the lowest step of the podium. Fourth Taylor, fifth Pezzucchi, sixth Daziano.