| The Champions of the Future Euro Series, favoured by the factory teams and the most successful private international teams, has seen a rewarding increase in participation for its second meeting of the 2022 season, held on the magnificent Zuera circuit. No less than five teams, four chassis and three different engines had the honour of mounting the podium. Nakamura-Berta in OK-Senior and Matveev in OK-Junior took magnificent victories in Spain, but it was Joe Turney and Nathan Tye who took the lead in the overall classification. The Zuera International Circuit, which is very popular with drivers for its fast and spectacular 1700m track north of Zaragoza, was awarded a Champions of the Future Euro Series event for the third consecutive year. The world’s best drivers also enjoyed four days of warm and sunny weather, which allowed all the teams to work in excellent conditions in preparation for the second round of the FIA Karting European Championship, scheduled for 29th April to 1st May at the same circuit in Aragon. From a sporting point of view, the show was as good as it gets. In OK-Junior, seven drivers took turns at winning the heats and Super Heats, with Matveev the eighth driver to win. The hierarchy took even longer to emerge in OK. Nine drivers had the opportunity to cross the finish line as winners between Friday and midday Sunday. Kean Nakamura-Berta, who was well placed in ambush, pulled out all the stops in the Final to triumph after some intense duels. This Euro Series had many surprises in store and confirmed its status as a very high level series. OK-Junior: Matveev wins, Tye leads the seriesBritish driver Nathan Tye (Sodikart) was impressive throughout the first part of the event, taking pole position and 1st place after the Qualifying Heats. Although he lost to Singaporean Tiziano Monza (DPK Racing) and Brazilian Miguel Costa (Sauber Academy) in his Super Heat, Tye retained the best position going into the Final ahead of Frenchman Jules Caranta (Energy Corse), who was also very impressive from Friday onwards. Poland’s Jan Przyrowski (Tony Kart Racing Team) made up for it by winning the second Super Heat. The Final started at a very fast pace, with a magnificent duel between Tye and Costa. Caranta was the victim of this lively field and crashed out, while Dmitry Matveev (Koski Motorsport) made an excellent start from the fourth row of the grid. The winner of the opening round of the FIA Karting European Championship passed Monza, Costa and then Tye to take the lead on the third lap. “I was able to take advantage of my position on the inside of the track to gain several positions on the first lap, before keeping a very strong pace thanks to the fantastic equipment,” admitted Matveev. “I worked hard to get a big enough lead and was never worried until the finish.” Behind Matveev, Tye won the battle for 2nd place, while controlling the return of Anatholy Khavalkin (Parolin Motorsport). The Briton took the opportunity to take the lead ahead of Kirill Dzitiev in the Euro Series. Lenn Nijs (KR Motorsport) made a good breakthrough from 9th to 4th place ahead of Costa. Energy Corse could console itself after the lack of success for Caranta with the return of Peruvian Andres Cardenas and Hungarian Martin Molnar in 6th and 7th places. After a difficult start, Przyrowski was 8th ahead of Monza, who was hoping for better. Another promising Hungarian driver, Adam Hideg (Sodikart) celebrated his debut with his new team with a top 10 finish. A five-second penalty (wrong position of the front fairing) pushed the Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev (RFM) back to 12th position behind the German Taym Saleh (KR Motorsport). OK: What a Final! Jamaican Alex Powell (KR Motorsport) set the fastest time in Timed Practice, but Britain’s Joe Turney (Tony Kart Racing Team) emerged at the top of the long and difficult Qualifying Heats. Turney confirmed this in the first Super Heat, while Enzo Deligny (Parolin Motorsport) went on to win the other Super Heat. However, the Frenchman had to settle for 14th place on the starting grid for the Final after retiring from a heat on Friday. This long awaited Final offered an incredible spectacle, with multiple overtaking. In addition to Turney and Powell, drivers such as the Italian Luigi Coluccio (Tony Kart Racing Kart) and the Belgian Ean Eyckmans (Tony Kart-Vortex) were actively involved in the duels, soon joined by the British driver Kean Nakamura-Berta (KR Motorsport) and Deligny. The latter two were very fast in Zuera and soon got the better of their opponents. Nakamura-Berta led from the very first part of the race and scored his first ever victory in OK, while Deligny ended up in 2nd place. “The work done in the heats paid off,” commented Kean, “We found the ideal set-up to be fast without damaging the tyres.” To complete the podium, Eyckmans gave it his all to get the better of the formidable Turney and Powell. In 6th place, Oscar Pedersen was the best representative of the Ward Racing team. The American Luis James Egozi, who moved up nine places, passed Coluccio, his team-mate from the Tony Kart Team, to take 7th place. Germany’s Maxime Rehm (RFM) climbed back up to 9th place ahead of Italy’s Cristian Bertuca (Birel ART Racing), who was the driving force behind the heats, finishing in 3rd place. Finn Eemeli Koivisto (Koski Motorsport) and his Danish team-mate David Walther were not successful in the Final. |
