Fighting as never before, in the Final Groman was able to get ahead at half race then he fought for the first positions until the last of the 38 laps easily winning at the end the third step of the podium. This was a good race for him, also counting on the support of an excellent set-up of Maranello chassis.
In great evidence was also Tereza Gromanova, Zdenek’s sister, who was quite unlucky in the final but extremely profitable in the qualification heats at the end of which she resulted on a good 6th position, reaching a fourth place too.

Among the drivers of Maranello Kart, the one who couldn’t pick up what he would deserve, was the Finnish vice-world champion Aaro Vainio. He was third at the Superpole but then lingered by technical problems in the heats and therefore forced to withdraw for an accident at the start. From now on Vainio’s thoughts are concentrated on car-racing where he will be debuting next year in F1 to start a definitely brilliant career if we consider his qualities.

In KF2 the British George Blundell and the Danish Thomas Krebs were able to reach the Final placing then respectively 17th and 20th , with a good recovery for both from the back positions. The Finnish Joni Wiman, Sasha Mutter and the Czech Michal Fousek were out of the race due to several accidents.
In KF3 the best performance for Maranello Kart’s drivers was of the Portuguese Francisco Abreu of Gandolfi Team, who 23rd in the Final. The Finnish Mikko Pakari was really unlucky in this category, being forced to the back lines in two of the four heats which of course jeopardized qualification. Out of the Final phase were the Russian Makim Ryzhkov and Ivan Nikitchenko and also the other Finnish Niclas Nylund.

THE INTERVIEW. Armando Filini, manager of Maranello Kart: “We were very competitive in Super KF. The list for the championship was unfortunately compromised due to better results we missed at the beginning of the season. Groman raced very well here at Lonato. I am so sorry for Vainio who had a technical problem on Saturday in a heat, otherwise we would have had two drivers for sure ahead. Tereza was also okay, she can use at best her special tyres and in the heats she performanced very well. She was forced to withdraw in the final because of a motor-breaking.

I am less satisfied with the scanty results we had in KF2 and KF3. The boys were absolutely not able to find the right set-up for this race. Let’s anyway hope the best for the future: our purpose is to be more and more competitive. We will have our new motor which we are already testing with excellent results and we also hope to find along our way other drivers like Vainio who gave us this year too nice satisfactions with his victory in the Super KF European Championship and his second place at the World Championship of Macao”.

RESULTS
Lonato (Brescia), WSK – 7th round, 1st November 2009
Super KF: 1. Ardigò (I) 38 laps; 2. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) +1.151; 3. Groman (CZ) (Maranello-Parilla) +5.138; 4. Maisano (F) (LH-Maxter) +5.390; 5. Convers (F) +5.473; 6. Puhakka (FIN) +6.667; 7. Camponeschi (I) +7.522; 8. Renaudie (F) +11.879; 9. De Brabander (B) +13.511; 10. Forè (CRG-Maxter) +14.353.

Super KF WSK Championship: 1. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) points 86; 2. Cesetti (I) 80; 3. Ardigò (I) 55; 4. Maisano (F) (LH-Maxter) 47; 5. Toman (CZ) 45; 6. Convers (F) 43; 7. Catt (GB) 37; 8. Vainio (FIN) 36; 9. Groman (CZ) 29; 10. Puhakka 28.

Euroteam WSK: 1. CRG SpA points 158; 2. Birel Motorsport 126; 3. Tony Kart Racing Team 106; 4. Maranello Kart 67; 5. Kosmic Racing Dept. 52; 6. Pcr Srl 28.

In December of this year we will give life to Maranello Engine KF and KZ. A new challenge Armando Filini and his associates from Maranello Kart, have been proposed to beincreasingly competitive and keep pace with market demands, which becomes every year more and more demanding. The engine that comes from the experience, gained in the field of motorsport in these years of racing will be available later this year.

The second big announcement is the Racing Department. With the result of the companyproducing the Maranello Engines, we have had to modify the structure and organization ofthe company. The Racing Team will be moving to a another location, not far from the main factory.

The Racing Team which will be known as Maranello Kart Ltd, led by our teammanager Euan Jeffery and the usual staff who until now has won countless results, Euan is already working on the selection of drivers who will compete next season in hopes offinding new talent in motorsport like Finnish driver Aaro Vainio, who will move to Formula category from 2010, following the trail of the French driver Jules Bianchi, who this year after winning the Formula 3 Euro Series title in 2009, will move to GP2 in the coming season.

With the hope to be able to give new emotions and success for everyone, we thank all those who have always believed and worked with our company and have made our successes possible.

The new Maranello motors are already going around the stands with excellent results and the first test on track will take place next October.

“We have decided to produce either the chassis as the engines – said Armando Filini, Manager of Maranello Kart – because we want to offer a better service to our tradesmen and also to our drivers. Supplying chassis and engines will give us the chance to be on the market with more competitive prices and the advantage of being able to prepare a better technical development of chassis-engine with all relevant evolutions. This investment will give us a greater industrial and economic impulse and at the same time we will be able to follow at best our drivers and tradesmen, as we will directly supply the spare parts, the evolutions and updating kits. Further to the KF engine we will also produce the KZ one for gear-karts: the starter will be adapted to this engine for that part of market which is TAG oriented.”

Jordan King’s full report is here.

In KF2 Max Goff won the first final then got third in the second. James Godbehere, after showing real speed all weekend, came from grid 9 in the first final to lead only to have an engine problem with half a lap left. Then he had more engine trouble at the start of the second final, but it shows the speed of the Maranello Kart in the KF categories.

In Junior Rotax Andy King was third in the first final but dropped back at the start in the main final before fighting his way back up many places.

New Karts
RS10 kart brand new for Rotax Max or KF3 £2400 + VAT
RS9 kart brand new for Rotax Max or KF3 £2400 + VAT
RS10 kart brand new for KF1 or KF2 £2800.00 + VAT
RS9 kart brand new for KF1 or KF2 £2800.00 + VAT

Used Team Karts
RS8 kart used twice KF1 or KF2 £2700.00 + VAT

Jordan arrived at the Lincolnshire circuit in the midst of a fine vein of form, with two recent podium finishes in the fiercely-contested WSK International Series on European shores assuredly confirming his status as a leading contender on the international stage.

With the winner of the one-off Kartmasters meeting earning the honour of carrying the coveted ‘GP’ plate on their kart for the remainder of the season, everybody entered the weekend with just a single goal – but only one driver would succeed in lifting the laurels.

“Over the winter we never really did that well there, and Super 1 wasn’t great either,” the Harbury ace related. “People always say it’s one of the hardest tracks in the country to win at, and I hadn’t won a major final there before.

“The competition in the two national series, Formula Kart Stars (FKS) and Super 1, is always tough as it is, and people tend to step up a level for Kartmasters – but we had done quite well there last year, when I won the pre-final and finished fifth in the grand final, my best Kartmasters result so far, so I was feeling pretty confident.”

Ignoring the advantage of the FKS regulars – who had competed at PF only a fortnight earlier – and insisting that he was ‘just concentrating on myself’, it was an approach that would serve Jordan well. His Stuart Wright-prepared Maranello chassis may generally work to its optimum in the hotter climes of Europe, but it was not to be found wanting on a mid-summer weekend in Britain either, as its driver pipped defending British Champion Jake Dennis to the top spot on the 25-strong starting grid – composed of the very crème de la crème of KF3 class competition – by the narrowest of margins.

“We only had three practice sessions, but we were quite quick in all of them,” the 15-year-old continued. “We changed the kart a little bit, and in qualifying I put it on pole by one hundredth of a second. I think it was the first pole I’ve ever had actually, which was a really good feeling!

“The Maranello doesn’t usually work quite as well in the cooler conditions in the UK, but also we hadn’t been on the right chassis for the past couple of races either, which had led to a lack of grip. The one we had for Kartmasters was much better, with more all-round grip. PF is quite grippy as it is compared to other UK circuits, too, so it was just about getting the kart balanced, and it felt good throughout the weekend.”

Inclement conditions during the two heat races failed to derail Jordan’s challenge, as he overcame a less-than-perfect set-up in the latter encounter to snatch a win and a second place – putting him firmly on pole position for the pre-final.

“In the second heat it began raining halfway through,” explained the 2008 British Mini Max Vice-Champion, “and we were on a dry set-up because it was dry when the race had started. That made it a real struggle when it began raining; it was pretty slippery out there, with not massive amounts of grip.

“I just had to drive according to what was underneath me, and I was trying not to push beyond what the kart was capable of in the circumstances and focussing on getting the best result possible out of it. We just managed to keep second in the end…”

If it was a close call – clinging onto the runner-up spot by a mere four tenths of a second – then the pre-final was a far more comfortable affair, at least after Jordan had overcome an early setback.

“It was dry for the finals the following day, so I was feeling quite confident provided I could just get away at the start and build up a bit of a gap,” he confessed. “It took quite a while for the kart to come on and we dropped back to fourth initially, but when it did come on I was able to get into the lead and just pull away.

“The grand final went pretty similarly; I fell back to fourth early on before regaining the lead, but then Jake got into second and started closing on me towards the end. He was very quick and was applying a lot of pressure, but I always felt in control.”

As he crossed the line to take the all-important chequered flag barely six hundredths of a second to the good, Jordan punched the air in jubilation, in the knowledge that not only had he defeated the defending British champion and all others for that matter, but he had also added perhaps his most glittering accolade to-date to what is fast becoming an increasingly impressive career CV.

“I can’t really describe what it was like,” reflected the overwhelmed Repton School pupil. “I can’t put into words how it felt to cross the line – I was just going crazy! We rocked! It still hasn’t really sunk in yet…”

In KF3 Jordan King was third for most of both finals but was just taken by Guilherme Silva near the end.

Jordan King was the star of the team in KF3, qualifying 40th and going on to move from 19th at the start of the final to third. With an advantage of a couple of seconds a lap at times, he could have had an easy win if he had been luckier earlier on. King is now fourth in the championship.

Following King home just off the podium was Francisco Abreu from Gandolfi who climbed from 13th to fourth, showing how adaptable the Maranello kart is in difficult conditions.

Mathieu Jaminet was also seen as a potential winner, but only finished 25th after an accident.

Armando Filini, Maranello Kart Manager:
“It was a very difficult weekend at the beginning and the misfortune of several accidents came up in the Final too, otherwise we could win the race either with King or Jaminet in KF3. The track conditions were changing each time but we could manage well anyway at the end. Our drivers could find the right set-up so we had then a favourable situation, even if in Genk the start was a real disaster. Too many accidents have penalized our drivers’ performance and furthermore the weather condition caused us other troubles as it was so changeable. At the end the results came anyway but we regret for a victory which was within our reach indeed.”