The final victories of this memorable edition went to Poulain (KZ2), Josseron (OKJ), Albanese (OKN), Mazzola (OKNJ), Truchot (MINI Gr3) and Perico (MINI Gr3 U10).
The 35th Andrea Margutti Trophy at the South Garda Karting circuit in Lonato concluded with a thrilling final event that defined the winners of this memorable 2024 edition in the categories of MINI Gr.3 Under 10, MINI Gr.3, OK-Junior, OK-N Junior, OK-N, and KZ2, with excellent participation from major international teams and drivers from around the world. There were a total of 288 drivers from 42 nations, out of approximately 300 entries, setting a new attendance record for this event that has been continuously running since 1990, organized by Parma Motorsport in memory of the young Andrea Margutti.
After three intense days of qualification phases, the prestigious titles were claimed on the final day, with several surprises, by the winners of the finals: Poulain in KZ2, Jesseron in OKJ, Albanese in OKN, Mazzola in OKNJ, Truchot in MINI Gr.3, and Perico in the youngest category, MINI Gr.3 U10.
The results of Prefinals.
The Finals were proceeded by the Prefinals in the morning. The winners of the Prefinals were:
– Prefinal KZ2: Markus Kajak (EST) (#108 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart-Vega).
– Prefinal OKJ: Ilia Berezkin (#314 Monster K Factory Team/CRG-TM Kart-Vega).
– Prefinal OK-N: Federico Albanese (ITA) (#417 Italcorse Racing Team/Italcorse-TM Kart-MG).
– Prefinal OK-N J: Pietro Bagutti (ITA) (#203 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart-MG).
– Prefinal MINI Gr.3: Alessandro Truchot (ITA) (#526 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG).
– Prefinal MINI Gr.3 Under 10: Niccolò Perico (ITA) (#601 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-MG).
The Finals
KZ2 – A surprising win by Poulain.
An exciting and eventful final unfolded in the most performance-oriented category, KZ2, where victory went to the emerging young Frenchman Arthur Poulain (#155 CPB Sport/Sodi-TM Kart-Vega) after two 5-second penalties were imposed on those who had crossed the finish line first, namely the Dutch driver Senna Van Walstijn (#152 CPB Sport/Sodi-TM Kart) followed by his teammate Giuseppe Palomba. At the end of the race, Van Walstijn was penalized for contact with the Estonian Markus Kajak (#108 Maranello SRP/Maranello-TM Kart) when the two were battling for the lead, and Giuseppe Palomba for contact with Riccardo Longhi (#144 KCS Racing/BirelART-TM Kart). Therefore, the Polish driver David Liwinski (#172 Dorr Motorsport/KR-Iame) moved up to second place, Senna Van Walstijn to third. Palomba slipped down to seventh place.
Among notable retirements, Cristian Bertuca (#101 KCS Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) retired due to a broken gear lever after he had already climbed to third place from last position in the trials, then Andrea Dalè (#139 Dalè/CRG-TM Kart) retired on the second lap following a collision, and Riccardo Longhi (#144 KCS Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) retired due to contact with Palomba.
Final KZ2
1st Arthur Poulain (FRA) 20 laps
2nd David Liwinski (POL) +0.795
3rd Senna Walstijn (NLD) +2.433
OKJ – The victory goes to Josseron.
After the finish, which had seen Ilia Berezkin (#314 Monster K Factory Team/CRG-TM Kart-Vega) prevail after a great duel and position exchanges with the Japanese driver Kosei Oguma (#321 AKM Motorsport/KR-Iame), the standings changed due to a 5s time penalty imposed on Berezkin. The victory thus passed into the hands of the Swiss driver Kilian Josseron (#328 Gold Kart Racing Team/Righetti Ridolfi-Iame) who had finished behind Berezkin, while Oguma finished in second place. Third place went to the South African driver Ethan Lennon (#326 Beyond Racing Team/LN-Iame), while Ilia Berezkin slipped to fourth place. The Indonesian driver Qarrar Firhand (#323 La Motorsport/Parolin-TM Kart) was classified fifth, also due to a 5s penalty. Sixth was the Czech driver Martin Toth (#307 E-motion Racing/LN-TM Kart).
Final OKJ
1st Kilian Josseron (CHE) 18 laps
2nd Kosei Oguma (IPN) +0.540
3rd Ethan Lennon (ZAF) +1.659
OKN – A flawless win for Albanese.
In OKN, an impeccable victory was achieved by Federico Albanese (#417 Italcorse Racing Team/Italcorse-TM Kart-MG), who dominated the final after also winning the Prefinal. There were intense battles, however, for the other podium positions. The Swiss driver Christian Canonica (#429 KGT Motorsport/Tony Kart-TM Kart) ended in second place. while the Polish driver Karol Pasiewicz (#420 Novalux/Lenzokart-Lke) secured third. In a closely fought finish for the remaining positions, Federico Rossi (#418 PRK/Tony Kart-TM Kart) claimed fourth, followed by the Swiss driver Tiziano Kuzhnini (#437 Novalux/Lenzokart-Lke) in fifth and Riccardo Ferrari (#409 M2 Racing/OTK-TM Kart) in sixth.
Final OK-N
1st Federico Albanese (ITA) 18 laps
2nd Christian Canonica (CHE) +0.223
3rd Karol Pasiewicz (POL) +1.886
OKNJ – Mazzola takes his maiden win.
Ludovico Mazzola (#234 Mazzola/Exprit-Vortex-MG) emerged victorious among the emerging young talents in OK-N Junior. His speed was already highlighted by his first-place finishes in the heats and third fastest time in qualifying, before securing his first win in the category. The Greek driver Nikolaos Karagiannis (#202 Monster K Factory Team/CRG-TM Kart) was second and secured pole position in qualifying, while the third step of the podium went to the Polish driver Wiktor Stalmach (#211 CMT/Tony Kart-TM Kart), winning the battle with Valerio Viapiana (#215 Team Driver/KR-Iame). Fifth across the line was Gioele Carrer (#208 Scarpi Racing/Parolin-Iame), followed by Cristian Tonalini (#232 KCS Racing/BirelART-TM Kart) in sixth. Forced to retire almost halfway through the race was the Prefinal winner, Pietro Bagutti (#203 Gamoto/Tony Kart-TM Kart), while leading the race.
Final OKNJ
1st Ludovico Mazzola (ITA) 18 laps
2nd Nikolaos Karagiannis (GRC) +1.224
3rd Wiktor Stalmach (POL) +2.747
MINI GR.3 – Truchot dominates.
The victory in the final race was excellent for the American, with Italian license, Alessandro Truchot (#526 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame-MG), who also won the Prefinal and the heats. Truchot led throughout, finishing with a comfortable lead over his pursuers. The Indonesian Saadie Sini M. Olivieri (#521 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) managed to secure second place with a last-lap pass at the finish line, overtaking Truchot’s teammate, Julian Frasnelli, by just 0.025s. Another BabyRace driver, Mark Pilipenko, was in fourth place and was followed by the Pole Leonardo Gorski (#520 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex) in fifth, ahead of the Swiss driver Albert Tamm, also racing with BabyRace.
Final MINI Gr.3
1st Alessandro Truchot (ITA) 10 laps
2nd Saadie Olivieri Sini (IDN) +6.230
3rd Julian Frasnelli (ITA) +6.255
MINI GR.3 U10 – Perico triumphs.
Niccolò Perico (#601 Energy Corse/Energy-TM Kart-MG) confirmed his victory in the final race after winning the Prefinal and securing first place in the heats, following a significant comeback. In a close finish, his teammate, the Estonian Mark Loomets, finished second. Third, at a greater distance, was another Italian, Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (#621 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame). In the battle for other top positions, Andrea Iannone (#640 Spino Project/Energy-Iame) finished fourth ahead of another BabyRace driver, the Englishman Mason Robertson, and Achille Rea (#630 Tony Kart Racing Team/Tony Kart-Vortex). On the other hand, the Frenchman Jean Poujol (#619 BabyRace/Parolin-Iame), who had secured the pole position in qualifying, was forced to the back of the pack.
Final MINI Gr.3 Under 10
1st Niccolò Perico (ITA) 10 laps
2nd Mark Loomets (EST) +0.148
3rd Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (ITA) +6.734
Complete results are available at www.trofeomargutti.com.
Info Parma Motorsport / Photo © Sportinphoto