Race report

Kart Winter Cup: Lonato

Nielsen takes second straight Winter Cup title

Danish karting star Nicklas Nielsen successfully defended his 2015 Winter Cup title by winning the OK class of the 2016 edition at Lonato.

David Gruz

Edited: Mar 1, 2016, 4:46 PM

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Nicklas Nielsen

Nielsen, who won two of three heats and took a lights-to-flag win in the pre-final, was likewise dominant in the decider.

The Dane was closely followed by Lorenzo Travisanutto during the first half of the race but the 16-year-old youngster was unable to deny Nielsen victory.

Still, the Italian secured his first podium in the senior class, having maintained the strong pace he had showed in the preceding WSK Champions Cup.

Karol Basz kept former GP2 driver and Formula Renault 3.5 series runner-up Ben Hanley at bay to grab third, while the Polish driver’s teammate Noah Milell ended up as the top rookie in fifth.

Logan Sargeant was forced to start from the back after a pre-final retirement and the American failed to finish the final as well, despite impressively gaining 15 positions over the course of just two laps.

Nielsen’s Tony Kart Racing teammates Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Clement Novalak were two other high-profile retirements, coming together in a battle for a top-five spot.

Kenneally snatches OKJ win

Following Kiern Jewiss' OKJ success in the Champions Cup, a different British rookie - Fin Kenneally - claimed a junior title in the Winter Cup.

Having started third, Kenneally gained a spot after the start and put pressure on his Ricky Flynn Motorsport teammate Timothy Peisselon.

The Frenchman managed to hold on to his first place for seven laps before surrendering to Kenneally.

Peisselon soon found himself in third after Ivan Shvetsov, having kept up with the leading duo, made an aggressive move.

They both lost a couple of seconds as a result, allowing Kenneally to cruise to the finish untroubled.

Shvetsov crossed the line in second, with Peisselon just holding onto third ahead Danish youngster Noah Watt.

However, the SMP-backed runner-up then received a post-race penalty, dropping behind Peisselon.

Multiple 60 Mini champion and OKJ rookie Dennis Hauger inherited fifth after a last-lap collision between Frederik Vesti and Danny Carenini.

Third Winter Cup win for Ardigo

32-year-old Marco Ardigo triumphed in the KZ2 race, with fellow Italian Luca Corberi completing a Tony Kart 1-2.

Ardigo kicked off the race from the front row and jumped ahead of Bas Lammers off the line to lead the early stages by a second.

However, on Lap 6, he was suddenly caught up and overtaken by Anthony Abbasse and it was the Frenchman's turn to edge away from the field.

Having held the lead for the next 10 laps, Abbasse eventually surrendered to the trio of Corberi, Ardigo and Fabian Federer.

Ardigo then made a successful move on his teammate with three laps to go and added a third Winter Cup trophy to his 1998 and 1999 titles.

Corberi and Abbasse completed the podium, the latter getting past Federer, who was then relegated to 11th after a post-race penalty.

Swede Joel Johansson and Leonardo Lorandi, younger brother of FIA F3 driver Alessio, completed the top five.

Pizzi inherits win after red-flagged Mini ROK race

Asd Giugliano Kart driver Francesco Pizzi ended up victorious in an eventful Mini ROK category showdown.

The race was red-flagged soon after the start following a massive four-kart crash.

Although Russian pole-sitter Kirill Smal had kept the lead at the original start, he dropped down to fifth once the race was restarted - with Pizzi, Luigi Coluccio and Evann Mallet taking up the top three spots.

Mallet then fought his way past the Italian duo and kept first place for most of the race, only to drop back to third during the final lap.

The Italian duo of Coluccio and Pizzi ended up first and second as a result, but the former received a 10-second time penalty and dropped down from first to 21st.

Pizzi took the title, followed by Mallet, Czech racer Roman Stanek, Evokart’s Francesco Crescente and Swiss Leandro Anderruti.

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