OKJ: Taylor Barnard’s comeback

For this weekend in Northern Italy, one could have expected Taylor Barnard’s comeback from a relatively- disappointing P4 result at the World Junior Championship final race that he started in pole position.

His Final Cup round kicked-off with a fourth-best lap time in Qualifying, but the Qualifying Heats that followed would prove to be eventful for the young Rosberg Academy trainee, dropping to 7th in the provisional rankings.

As the Junior class introduced the show on Sunday morning, Barnard seemed to have got up on the right foot by winning the Prefinal A, enough to start from pole position for the closing stage of the competition. A Final of which he took full advantage thanks to a clean start in the lead quickly helped by some racing drama further back when 15 drivers got caught up in diverse incidents in the third lap of the race! Up front, there was nothing to worry about for the KR driver who calmly but firmly held the first position to take the chequered flag, 5.1 seconds away from the chasing pack including one of the fastest local boys, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished fourth overall.

An impressive end result for the new recruit of the Nico Rosberg Driver Academy who has shown an encouraging pace all through his first weekend in the Junior category to nearly stepping onto the podium. No doubt that the recent announcement of his partnership with the Rosberg colors will be an extra source of motivation for the young Italian.

336,Barnard Taylor(GBR),Kr motor sport(KART-REPUBLIC/PARILLA/), Lonato, 21 October 2018. WSK Final Cup, © 2018, Alexandros Vernardis / The RaceBox.

OK: Travisanutto does it again!

Less than a month after claiming his first World Championship title in Kristianstad, in Sweden, Lorenzo Travisanutto did it again this weekend by dominating the OK class in the first of the three rounds of the 2018 WSK Final Cup. On a South Garda Karting Circuit that any Italian karting driver knows like his own pocket, the 19-year-old kept his Swedish momentum going and his opponents at bay to win the Final race in an impressive fashion.

Already setting up the pace in Qualifying on Friday, “Travi“ went through the Heats unbeaten with three consecutive wins to secure a front row start for Sunday’s Prefinal. And from one day to the other, the Rosberg Academy driver didn’t seem to be slowing down by winning his Prefinal A with a 4-second margin before taking the flag in the Final by almost 2.6 seconds from his strongest opponents.

“After the World Championship in Sweden, this win feels like a relief”, said Travisanutto on the podium. Today, I felt much calmer and we were very quick all day. The opposition was strong but we managed to keep the pace. Everybody in the team did a perfect job, so thanks everyone!”

At last year’s edition of the same event, held for two rounds on the Adria International Raceway, Travisanutto had also secured victory at the first Final before losing the title for nine points to Nicklas Nielsen the following week.

See you then at Castelletto Di Branduzzo on November, 11th, for the next chapter of the 2018 WSK Final Cup!

201,Travisanutto Lorenzo(ITA),Kr motor sport(KART-REPUBLIC/PARILLA/), Lonato, 21 October 2018. WSK Final Cup, © 2018, Alexandros Vernardis / The RaceBox.

Text: Guillaume Alvarez

Photos: Alex Vernardis