The ROK Cup Winter Trophy officially opens the new season of the Vortex on-make series in Italy, at South Garda Karting in Lonato del Garda, with huge number of drivers in the seven categories in the paddock. At the end of the two racing days, the finals crown the following winners: Andrea Baraggi (Mini ROK U10), Edoardo Traina (Mini ROK), Iven Ammann (Junior ROK), Andrea Giudice (Senior ROK), Andrea Sorbello (Expert ROK), Riccardo Ferrari (Super ROK), and Marco Chiarello (Shifter ROK).

Mini ROK U10

A finish decided by thousandths of a second for the youngest drivers in the Mini ROK U10 class.

The weekend soon begins with a close qualifying session, in which Raman Murachou gets on the top with a time of 56.228 seconds. Radoslaw Czernicki has to settle for the second place, just 6 thousandths of a second behind. Leon Giudicelli is third, followed by Andrea Baraggi in fourth, Mikhail Zanochkin in fifth, and Nelson Cabrera Mondello in sixth. Anna Makolm gains the seventh place, followed by Alessandro Puppo in eighth, Ludovico Maietti in ninth, and Stanislaw Antczak in tenth. The standings continue with Leo Sawicki, Ryszard Kocik, Konstantin Kaczmarczyk, Jakub Mizera, Elias Kaya and Gabriel Mara Varon.

Even at the end of the qualifying heats, Murachou is firmly in first place, having collected two wins and a fourth place. Giudicelli and Baraggi take the second and third place respectively, while Makolm settles in fourth. Sawicki climbs from eleventh to fifth. Czernicki, Cabrera Mondello, Zanochkin, Antczak, and Puppo complete the top ten.

In the final, Murachou keeps the leading place after the start, while Giudicelli remains his closest rival, with Makolm in third place. However, it is Baraggi who livens up the race: he climbs up to second place and, on the penultimate lap, decisively overtakes the leader Murachou, who is then also overtaken by Makolm. Shortly afterwards, a multiple collision involving Murachou and Giudicelli, among others, forces them to restart the race from the back of the field. On the last lap, Baraggi and Makolm battle for the win, which goes to the Italian driver by just 0.046 seconds. Czernicki and Cabrera Mondello fight for the lowest step of the podium then won by the Polish driver.

Mini ROK

The paddock and races of the ROK Cup Winter Trophy are also enlivened, of course, by the very young drivers of the Mini ROK class.

Pole position in qualifying is a matter of a few thousandths of a second: in fact, with a best time of 54.745 seconds, Edoardo Traina leads the standings, beating Edoardo Galimberti by just 0.002 seconds. Giorgio Sapignoli follows in third place, ahead of Lola Mukhammadiyev in fourth, Mattia Pellin in fifth, and Mathias Drexler in sixth. Riccardo Gileppa and Nathan Lotrionte are seventh and eighth respectively, while Natan Lukas and Iker Castro complete the top 10. The standings continue with Pawel Markowski, Francesco Petta, Nicolas Yerly, Stefano Bellopede, Filippo Frigerio, Aleksander Pelikanski, Samuel Dal Pozzo, Matteo Gei, Nico Fardin, Leon Lewczuk, Paul Plattner-Geramb, Sebastian Schirripa, Tymon Parszewski, Zian-Stefan Iliescu, Ethan Meresse, Francesco Sarzina, Antonio Martin, Kamrad Leon, Michal Lepczynski, Bryan Distaso, Piotr Mikolajczyk, Piotr Blotny, Thomas Ometto and Antoni Skwarek.

At the end of the qualifying heats, Traina remains firmly in the lead of the intermediate standings with two wins and a third place. Pelikanski performs a remarkable comeback, climbing fifteen positions to take the second place. Petta also shows off a positive run in the eliminatory heats, moving up from 12^th to third position. Pellin, in fourth, is ahead of Frigerio, who climbs from 15^th to fifth. Sapignoli and Lotrionte are in sixth and seventh place.

The final begins with Traina jumping perfectly, followed by Petta, Frigerio, and Lotrionte in the positions immediately behind him. On the second lap, Frigerio overtakes Petta and runs at the chase of Traina, able to keep his compatriot far and also increase his gap. Behind them, Pelikanski moves into third place after an unbrilliant start from the front row and attempts to close the gap with the two drivers ahead. The race ends with Traina taking the win, followed by Frigerio in second and Pelikanski in third. Pellin, who also has a modest start, recovers to fourth place, finishing ahead of Drexler, Lotrionte, Gileppa, and Petta.

Junior ROK

The Junior ROK final is a thrilling one, full of twists and turns.

David Moscardi gets the top in the qualifying session with a time of 49.380 seconds. Just 72 thousandths of a second behind him is Matteo Peruccio, in second place overall. Patrick Bissa and Leonardo De Grandi are third and fourth respectively, ahead of the two Polish drivers Kacper Kluk and Borys Blaszczyk, fifth and sixth. Iven Ammann secure his seventh place, followed by Emma Boschetto in eighth, Adrian Potepa in ninth, and Michai Zajac in tenth. The ranking continues with Simone Seveso, Tommaso Pomoni, Plamen Teliyski, Tommaso Mottarelli, Mia Zanki, Nicolò Poli, Manuel Calendi, Leonard Wcislo, Mattia Bianchi, Marco Pozzoni, Lena Pichler, Karol Kostur, Enzo Stambaugh, Mikolaj Gawlikowski, Sebastian Brand, Alessandro Sarlas, Stanislaw Grabowski, Leonard Utsch, Rudy Koka, Andrea Croce Screpis, Vasco De Vito, Melyann Bellini, Luca Marginean, Franciszek Jeszke, and Francia Stavros Tsotsos.

The next results of the qualifying heats significantly change the standings. Potepa scores two wins and a third place, thus gaining the overall lead. Bissa scores a win and moves up to second place, while Moscardi is forced to drop back to third. De Grandi remains stable in fourth place, with Peruccio is fifth, Ammann sixth, Blaszczyk seventh, and Kluk eighth. Teliyski moves up from 13^th to ninth, and finally Stambaugh moves from 23^rd to tenth.

In the final, Potepa remains firmly in first place after the first few corners, with Moscardi in the role of closest pursuer and Bissa forced to settle for third place after being temporarily overtaken by Peruccio. The fight for the lead soon becomes hot: Moscardi takes the lead on the second lap, but Potepa and Bissa then take turns at the lead. However, Ammann is the decisive winner, taking the lead on the eighth lap and taking advantage of the fight between his pursuers to gain a substantial lead. Bissa, after having left his rivals far away, attempts to close the gap, but Ammann wins with a 1.494-second lead over the Italian driver. Potepa finishes third but gets a penalty of three seconds for a collision with Moscardi. Peruccio thus climbs onto the third step of the podium, ahead of Potepa in fourth, Moscardi in fifth, Boschetto in sixth, De Grandi in seventh, and Kluk in eighth.

Senior ROK

In the Senior ROK category, the competition is as always of the highest level.

The weekend opens with Andrea Barbieri in pole position: the Italian, with a time of 47.515 seconds, is ahead of Riccardo Brangero by 41 thousandths of a second. Kacper Rajpold is in third place, ahead of Riccardo Salemi in fourth and Giulio Mazzolini in fifth. Alan Jakobiak and Colin Wazny are sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Elia Galvanin in eighth, Christian Romeo in ninth, and Maxim Becker in tenth. Besides them are Iwo Beszterda, Rayan Carrè, Andrea Giudice, Giovanni Polato, Luca Perelli, Mattia D'Erme, Alessandro Cocchi, Oguz Marangoz, Davide Lombardo, Jan Stencel, Ludovica Miceli, Piotr Protasiewicz, Nik Sculac, Michal Czyzewicz, Kian Gauci, Noemi Pradier, Natala Kostur, Quentin Grottoli, Leonardo Monzani, Jakub Jojko, Omar Locarini, Alexandru Radita, Stefan Constantinof, Luca Baggioli, and Andrea Ladina.

Despite not winning any of the qualifying heats, Barbieri secures his pole position for the final thanks to three second places. Giudice, with two wins gained previously, is able to take the second place. Romeo and Beszterda also climb the rankings, finishing third and fourth. Rajpold and Salemi, on the other hand, drop to fifth and sixth place, while Wazny remains stable in seventh. Lombardo and D'Erme enter the top 10, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively. Finally, Mazzolini is tenth.

The final begins with Barbieri able to keep the lead after the start, while Giudice is forced to give up to second place to Romeo shortly before the end of the opening lap. A group of five drivers quickly forms, consisting of Barbieri, Romeo, Giudice, Rajpold, and Beszterda. Among them, it is Giudice who shakes the standings: on the third lap, he overtakes Romeo and, during the fifth lap, takes the lead from Barbieri. Shortly after, Barbieri is forced to give up second place to Rajpold, while Beszterda and Romeo follow behind him. In the final stages, Barbieri is able to regain the second place, but without threatening Giudice. The checkered flag confirms Giudice's victory, while Rajpold beats Barbieri at the last corner thus gaining the second place ahead of the Italian driver. Beszterda finishes fourth and Romeo fifth.

Expert ROK

As always, the Expert ROK category in Lonato del Garda offers the public lively and exciting races.

Andrea Sorbello climbs at the top of the rankings after the qualifyings, with a time of 48.684 seconds. Alessandro Viganò takes the second, ahead of Paolo Baselli in third and Daniel Zajac in fourth. Michele Zampieri obtains the fifth place, ahead of Marco Massironi in sixth, Adrian Marcinkiewicz in seventh, and Stefano Turchetto in eighth position. Giovanni Marco Ciracì and Marco Nannavecchia are ninth and tenth, respectively. Tino Donadei, Luca Molinari, Gianluca Todeschini, Pier Giuseppe Di Landro, Eric Chapon, and Cristiano Gautier complete the qualifying rankings.

With a perfect score of three wins out of three qualifying heats, Sorbello remains in first place in the intermediate standings. Viganò, three times second, remains the main rival of the reigning ROK Cup Italia champion. Polish drivers Zajac and Marcinkiewicz move up to third and fourth place, with Zampieri holds the fifth one and Donadei sixth. Ciracì, Molinari, Nannavecchia and Di Landro occupy the last available positions in the top 10. Baselli drops back to 11^th place.

In the final, Sorbello is once again the man to beat. The pole sitter leads the race from the very beginning, while Zajac overtakes Viganò and moves into second place. Zampieri, after moving up to fourth place thanks to an excellent start, overtakes both Viganò and Zajac in just two laps, becoming Sorbello's closest rival. However, the race leader manages his gap in the best possible way and secures the victory, with Zampieri taking the second place and Viganò the lowest step on the podium. After a comeback of nine positions, Chapon gains the fourth place. Ciracì is fifth, Zajac sixth, and Baselli seventh.

Super ROK

The Super ROK category has several surprises in store during the two official racing days.

The weekend begins with Giuseppe Gaglianò taking the pole position with a time of 47.156 seconds. Bartosz Grzywacz secures the second place in the standings, while Alex Desario and Nicholas Tomasella third and fourth, respectively. Christian Canonica takes the fifth place, ahead of Lucas Bonhomme in sixth, Riccardo Ferrari in seventh, Alex Laghezza in eighth, Mattia D'Abramo in ninth, and Nicolò Coppotelli in tenth. The standings continue with Alberto Masotto, Samuele Di Filippo, Nicholas Reino, Manuel Gritti, Vittorio Maria Russo, Alessandro Zini, Mariachiara Nardelli, Pietro Mondin, Federico Zanetti, Nikola Nikolic, and Samuele Sottile.

Everything changes at the end of the qualifying heats, with Ferrari emerging at the top of the intermediate standings. The Italian boasts two wins and a fifth place, better results than Grzywacz, who remains stable in second place. Coppotelli and D'Abramo gain the third and fourth place, with Canonica behind them in fifth. Di Filippo and Russo recover several positions, finishing sixth and seventh. Behind Laghezza in eighth place, Desario drops to ninth, Tomasella to tenth, and Bonhomme to eleventh. Due to two unlucky heats, Gaglianò drops to 13^th place.

In the final, Ferrari did not waste the chance to start in front of everyone and retained the lead when the lights went out, with Grzywacz, Coppotelli, D'Abramo, and Canonica immediately behind him. In short, Ferrari and Grzywacz pulled away from the rest of the group, which was stuck behind a tenacious Coppotelli. However, it was Gaglianò who stood out during the race: he climbed up to third place and caught up with the Ferrari-Grzywacz duo. With two laps to go, the Pole began to protect his position from the Italian, allowing Ferrari to pull away and cross the finish line unchallenged. Grzywacz managed to hold on to second place ahead of Gaglianò in third. Lagezza finished fourth, D'Abramo fifth, Bonhomme sixth, Canonica seventh, and Coppotelli eighth.

Shifter ROK

The Shifter ROK class, the gearbox category of the ROK Cup, closes the ROK Cup Winter Trophy weekend.

Marco Chiarello takes the pole position in the qualifyings. The Italian driver sets a time of 46.482 seconds, finishing ahead of Gabriele Bensi, second by 111 thousandths of a second. Simone Donchi and Marco D'Elia are third and fourth respectively, while Leonardo Maria Boccardi and Louis Binder occupy the fifth and sixth place. Fabio Citignola is seventh, followed by Riccardo Franciosi in eighth, Matteo Moni in ninth, and Tymoteusz Ksiadz in tenth. Iacopo Ficini and Mattia Cocchi close the standings.

With two wins and a third place, Chiarello remains at the top of the category after the qualifying heats, still closely followed by Bensi. Binder scores a win and moves up to third place. D'Elia remains in fourth place, while Moni and Ksiadz move up to fifth and sixth. Donchi, Franciosi, Cocchi, Boccardi, Ficini, and Citignola occupy the remaining positions on the grid for the final.

In the last race of the weekend, D'Elia takes everyone in when the lights go out and takes the lead, with Bensi managing to hold on to second place. The two drivers come to blows after a few corners, allowing Chiarello, who is third after the start, to overtake them both. D'Elia then tries to hold off his rivals behind him but is passed by Binder and Bensi; in addition, the race director gives him a three-second penalty for a false start. Meanwhile, Chiarello is uncatchable and crosses the finishing line alone. Binder, who has been running in second place for a long time, is forced to retire halfway through the race, leaving the honour place to Bensi. Despite his penalty, D'Elia secures the third place, ahead of Moni in fourth. Finally, Donchi finishes in fifth position.