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The penultimate round of the WSK Championship will take place at Zuera in Spain on 24-27 September.                    

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Tony Kart Junior Racing Team wins WSK Euro Cup in KF2 and KF3

With the KF2 drivers’ title already settled, Paul Spencer’s Tony Kart Junior Racing Team had gone into the concluding round of the WSK championship in a relaxed, but focused, frame of mind. 

“Although Ben (Cooper) had already won the championship at Zuera in September, second place in the points was still up for grabs and I really wanted us to win the Euro Cup in KF2 and KF3,” Paul said. 

In the pre-final, the team’s trio of Cooper, Matteo Beretta and Chris Lock finished in 5th, 6th and 7th to score an impressive haul of points ahead of the main final. 

Cooper would end his year as it had begun - with a trophy. Runner up at La Conca in the opening round back in February, Ben returned to the podium at Lonato with an excellent third place. Lock delivered another mature performance to take the chequered flag in 6th position, which also secured the vice-champion’s title for him and the Euro Cup for the Tony Kart Junior squad. Unfortunately, a first lap collision deprived Beretta of a chance to improve his standing in the championship points. 

In the Junior class, Carlos Sainz signed-off his karting career with 3rd place overall in the championship after another solid weekend. Finishing just out of the points in the pre-final, the ‘young matador’ as he is known in Spain, fought his way up the order in the main final to net 13th on the road, but 3rd overall in the points table.  

His Brazilian team-mate, Guilherme Silva completed his first season in European competition with a brace of top ten finishes in the two finals – good enough for an excellent 6th place overall in the championship.  

Speaking from the historic circuit, located near the southern tip of Lake Garda, Paul Spencer said “I’m absolutely delighted! This has been a fantastic end to the season. For Ben and Chris to finish 1st and 2nd in KF2 and for the Tony Kart Junior Racing Team to win the Euro Cup in the two categories we compete in, is just superb. It is testimony to all the hard work that everyone has put in throughout the season - the drivers, the mechanics, and the guys back at our base in England. This has been another great year; I’m very happy and would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our success.” 

He added, “I would also like to wish all the very best to Carlos, who is now making the move to cars. He’s a super driver and undoubtedly has a very big future ahead of him”.

Tony Kart Junior Racing Team wins WSK title for second year running

WSK round 6, Zuera, Spain – 26/27 September

Paul Spencer and his Tony Kart Junior Racing Team have won the WSK championship’s KF2 title for the second year running. 

Last year, the partner squad to the factory Tony Kart Racing Team swept to the title with Flavio Camponeschi. In 2009 they have retained the crown with English driver, Ben Cooper with a round remaining. 

Spencer’s delight was compounded by the performances of his other KF2 stars; Chris Lock and European Championship runner-up, Matteo Beretta. 

In the KF3 category, the team’s Carlos Sainz Junior scored a brace of runner-up finishes, with his Brazilian team-mate Guilherme Silva joining him on the pre-final podium. Having performed well in the heats, Gustavo Menezes had a far tougher time in the two finals - but stuck to his task and returned home to America having done enough to keep him in the top fifteen of the championship table.   

Knowing that he simply needed to go for points rather than outright podiums, Cooper came through the heats strongly and improved on his pre-final starting grid position to take the chequered flag in fourth place. Lock battled to a hard-fought 11^th, whilst Beretta recovered to 21^st after being knocked off the circuit during the race.  

With one hand on the trophy, Ben’s objective for the main final was simply to finish ahead of his nearest rivals - Matteo Vigano and Joel Johansson - and he delivered in fine style. A measured and mature drive saw him avoid any unnecessary battles to put the championship beyond doubt. Chris’s stirring drive up the order to an excellent 2^nd place saw him move up the points table and the 2008 European Rotax Max champion has a chance of making it a Tony Kart Junior one-two at the closing round at Lonato.  

With a total of ninety points available for wins in both finals, Matteo (Beretta) will also be keen to improve his position in the standings. He took points away from Zuera thanks to his 14^th position and will be keen to end his WSK season on a high, on home soil. 

In the KF3 class, Carlos, Guilherme and Gustavo all made it safely through the eliminatory heats, to qualify for the pre-final. Sainz opened his account with a fine drive to 2^nd with Silva putting in another exciting drive behind for 3^rd.  

Another quality display from Carlos saw him steer clear of trouble, finish 3^rd and close the gap on Danil Kvyat in the championship standings. Guilherme dropped places in the race, but not in the points table, and will return to Lonato – the circuit where he first burst onto the European scene with a hugely impressive Winter Cup debut. Gustavo demonstrated true American grit and fought hard for his three points in 13^th place. 

Commentating on the weekend, Spencer said, “It was really, really good. All the drivers did a brilliant job. Ben just had to sit and watch the battles ahead and that’s exactly what he did. His maturity under pressure was just fantastic”. Acknowledging that the team built from a solid if unspectacular start to the event, Paul added “It was something of a progressive meeting in the end. The boys had to cope with endless variables, such as the ever-changing track conditions. We just kept chipping away and it all came good”. 

Looking to the final round, he said, “We can go to Lonato and enjoy it. We’d like to finish in first and second in KF2 and improve each of the drivers’ points positions overall. And of course, win the Euro Cup (for teams) in both classes. That would be really, really good for me, the mechanics and of course everyone at Tony Kart and Vortex who have worked so hard to give the drivers the kit with which to consistently be able to fight for trophies.”      

Chris Walker/Kartpix for the portrait of Ben Cooper and Gregory Heirman/FotoFormulaK for the race photo

Tony Kart Junior drivers dominate Salbris podium 

The Tony Kart Junior Racing Team’s season continues to gather trophies, and last weekend’s visit to Salbris in north western France saw Ben Cooper lead KF2 team-mate Matteo Beretta to a two-three finish in the latest round of the WSK Championship. 

In the KF3 category, the team’s Guilherme Silva and Carlos Sainz dominated the pre-final, with Carlos again returning to the podium after a dramatic main final. 

The senior drivers; Ben, Matteo and Chris Lock were strong from the outset, with the Italian driver recording the 2nd-fastest time in qualifying, with his English team-mates close behind in 4th (Cooper) and 6th (Lock). 

Ben then scored a perfect four wins out of four in the heats to top the intermediate classification prior to the finals, with Matteo in 3rd and Chris rounding out the top ten qualifiers. 

However, it was in the pre-final that Matteo gained the upper hand to take 2nd place, with Ben in 3rd, whilst Chris had powered through to 5th position. 

Knowing that, at this stage of the Championship, going for strong points finishes rather than outright wins was the best policy, Ben opted to protect his Championship lead and settled for an excellent 2nd place in the final. Matteo joined him again on the rostrum after finishing 3rd, with Chris completing the image of the trio flying in formation as he shadowed his colleagues home in 4th.

Team manager Paul Spencer said, “I’m really, really happy. Ben had to keep his head under a lot of pressure from his title rivals and went for the points finish. He’s in a strong position now, and barring a disaster in the remaining two races, he’s in the box seat now.” 

He added, “Matteo had a great weekend. He played a great part, as did Chris towards sealing the Euro Cup for the team. Not only that, they’ve consolidated their own positions in the driver’s table.” 

Not to be outdone by their KF2 counterparts, the team’s KF3 drivers; Carlos Sainz, Guilherme Silva and Gustavo Menezes performed heroically

Carlos topped the time sheets in qualifying, before winning three of his heats. The Brazilian star Silva also showed a great turn of speed to ultimately finish 5th overall in the intermediate rankings – with Carlos ranked 1st. Gustavo also delivered a solid performance to easily qualify for the two finals.

Guilherme was in scintillating form in the pre-final and promptly won it, with ‘the young Matador’, Carlos keeping him honest in 2nd. Gustavo fought hard to take the chequered flag in 18th place, the victim of some earlier robust driving. 

In the final, as they tried to break away from the chasing pack, a mistake saw Guilherme collect Carlos and the pair ran off the track. Sainz was able to recover and carved his way up to an eventual 2nd whilst Silva became embroiled in the midfield and could not progress beyond 13th place. Menezes battled gamely to 21st.  

With two rounds remaining, Carlos is currently in 3^rd place overall, with Guilherme in 7^th and Gustavo in 14^th. These positions – like their KF2 counterparts’ efforts – mean that the Tony Kart Junior Team heads the Euro Cup standings.

Tony Kart Junior Team: European Championship runners-up 

In Europe, they call him ‘the young Matador’ and indeed, the team’s Carlos Sainz delivered a brave performance to become the European KF3 Championship runner-up at Zuera last Sunday (12 July). 

The 14-year old from Madrid began his campaign solidly enough in Timed Qualifying with a time just two tenths of a second off pole time - despite being baulked by slower traffic. 

Carlos cemented his competitive start to the weekend by taking strong finishes in his heats – 3rd, 1st, 3rd and 2nd to claim third overall in the intermediate points ranking, which determined his grid slot for the pre-final. 

Also joining him having made the cut for the first final were his team-mates, the American star Gustavo Menzes (5th), Brazil’s Guilherme Silva (9th) and new-signing Martin Doubek from the Czech Republic (26th). 

After slotting into second at the start, Carlos drove an excellent race to maintain the position and guarantee himself a front-row start for the crucial main final. Behind him, Guilherme again demonstrated his ever-improving skills to come through to fourth, whilst Gustavo battled hard for a fine sixth place. Unfortunately, Martin was unable to complete the race, but was classified in 32nd spot.  

With the crowd very much behind him, Carlos took the lead of the main final to a huge cheer. It was to be all too short-lived. Despite his best efforts, the immensely talented Spaniard could not maintain his advantage but was able to create a comfortable gap over his nearest pursuer, fellow Tony Kart/Vortex racer, Danil Kvyat. 

Similarly, Silva had enjoyed a superb start to briefly take third spot, but slipped to an eventual seventh place in a hard-fought contest. Menezes soon became embroiled in a race-long fight with a train of drivers. Just the slightest error could allow several karts through past. As Gustavo fought to clear the mid-field, it was clear that the squabbling pack was slowing each other down. His fastest lap was half a second shy of the eventual winner’s. Doubek was left to rue a weekend to forget, as his bad luck returned and he was forced to watch the majority of the race after a start-line clash forced him out early on. 

Tony Kart Junior Team manager, Paul Spencer remained philosophical, “I’m happy for Carlos because it was the maximum we could do. I said to him before the racing got underway, ‘If you do your job and everything is perfect, then we will have a good chance of winning. He didn’t make any mistakes but we just didn’t quite have the lucky break we needed”. 

He added, “In race trim, our equipment was extremely competitive. Carlos and Guilherme were able to set fastest laps in two of their heats and Sainz and Kvyat were pace-setters in the finals. This proves that the combination of the Racer EVR chassis and Vortex engine again gave us the opportunity to fight for one of junior karting’s biggest titles.” 

Carlos said, “I feel very happy. Although I would’ve preferred the victory, second is a great result and I would like to thank the Tony Kart Junior Team, for their excellent work. My focus is now on the next races, especially the KF3 World Cup that will take place at Sarno in September. We are all going to work hard in order to arrive in Italy with the best preparation.” 

Tony Kart Junior Team on top in Belgium 

Team manager, Paul Spencer hailed all six of his drivers’ performances a success in the fourth round of the Winning Series Karting Championship at Genk, Belgium last week (11-14 June) saying, “I’m really excited about the talent in the team right now. We have some of the best drivers in Europe in the Tony Kart Junior Team right now and all of them drove superbly, all weekend.” 

In KF2, the team’s Ben Cooper(right), Chris Lock and Italian star Matteo Beretta all took heat wins and comfortably qualified for the pre-final, with Ben storming through from 10th on the grid to take the win. Chris also moved forward from his starting grid position to take 5th, whilst Matteo was the biggest improver, coming from the 12th row to cross the finishing line in a respectable 14th place. 

Cooper, a student at the highly regarded Oxford Brookes University in England, completed a perfect day by winning the main final and taking the series lead with three rounds to go.  

Chris pushed his identical Racer EVR/Vortex hard in his team-mate’s wake to take the chequered flag in a solid 4th place, whilst Matteo brought his Tony Kart home in 9th.  

In the KF3 class, Carlos Sainz, Guilherme Silva and Gustavo Menezes all performed with typical Latin verve, Strong throughout qualifying and the heats, the trio qualified for the pre-final with Gustavo putting his kart down on P3 of the grid. Nearby, Carlos would start from 7th on the grid with Guilherme directly behind him. 

Unfortunately, it was not be a race of good fortune for Carlos - who did not finish - or Guilherme, who could only bring his kart home in 18th. However, Gustavo’s luck held and he was able to deliver an excellent 3rd place for the team. 

His father is known as El Matador in their native Spain, and young Carlos demonstrated the same bravery and fighting spirit that earned his father the sobriquet, with a superb drive through the field from 32nd to 8th place. Also demonstrating that he is a huge talent for the future, Guilherme drove beautifully to take the chequered flag in 2nd place. Unfortunately, Gustavo was excluded for a minor technical infringement at the start.  

Speaking from inside the Tony Kart Junior Team’s impressive awning, Paul Spencer said “On the whole, Genk went very, very well. Ben was extremely good, although he did make a mistake in qualifying. But it is a mark of his quality that he knew what he had done wrong and did everything in his power to overcome it and in the racing, he was impeccable. He did his job brilliantly.” 

“Chris is improving every time he goes out on track. He was 4th in the second final, faster than Ben and has moved himself up into 4th in the championship points. It’s all looking really good for him.” 

“Matteo is just fantastic too. He’s only just turned 15, came 2nd in Japan and featured in Genk. He was a little unlucky but he has impressed me. I’m very pleased.” 

Commenting on his KF3 charges, Paul said “Carlos’ electrics failed whilst he was running at the front in the pre-final. He showed tremendous ability and character to fight his way from the back of the main final grid to inside the top ten. As a result of that, he’s third overall in the points.” 

“I’ll tell you one thing that sums up Guilherme” he smiled. “After Ben won the second KF2 final, Guilherme ran across the circuit over to Ben and asked him for advice about the track conditions before the start of the KF3 main final. That’s very smart.” 

He added, “Prior to the main final, Gustavo had been going brilliantly and what I saw from each of the drivers has given me reason to be very excited about the rest of the season

Tony Kart Junior Team passes first test with flying colours 

Paul Spencer couldn’t hide his delight after watching three of his drivers win the KF2 and KF3 finals at Angerville on Sunday (3 May), whilst hearing that Matteo Beretta had also qualified for the European Championship finals whilst competing at Sosnova (Czech Republic) and Gustavo Menezes – racing with Swedish partner team, Ward Racing – had also made the cut over in Genk (Belgium).   

“I’m knackered, but delighted,” he said. “Angerville is such a tricky circuit to work at because the track temperatures change so quickly, and when they do you have to completely alter the karts’ set-ups. You can never relax, you are constantly working.” 

The team’s efforts were to be rewarded with some superb individual performances from the drivers. 

“Carlos (Sainz Junior) was on fire. Often his rivals were able to match his pace, but if one went quicker his mechanic would raise his finger and Carlos would respond.” 

Sainz (right)delivered a flawless performance throughout the weekend, fastest in Timed Qualifying, the Spanish teenager then won all his heats and the two finals - marking himself as one of the favourites for overall glory at the KF3 finals which will be held at Zuera, Spain in July (11/12). 

Carlos’ team-mate, Guilherme Silva endured a torrid European Qualifier debut, but showed character and maturity to finish a highly-creditable 7th overall. Just one place behind him in his regional qualification’s rankings, was Gustavo Menezes.  

Paul commented, “Gustavo also did a good job. He’s continuing to improve and he did well to adapt to working with a different team and achieve what we all wanted – to make it through to the finals at Zuera.” 

His praise for his KF2 drivers was equally - if not more - fulsome to that of his Juniors. 

“To win both finals with two different drivers is a great advert for the Tony Kart Junior Team. It also shows that the equipment – the EVR chassis and the Vortex engines – are extremely good. At one point I thought we were going to have a one, two, three on the podium with Chris Lock, Luke Wright and Ben Cooper all running at the front. As it was, Jorge Pescador took 2nd on the same equipment and we were still 1st, 3rd and 4th. Luke took his first podium with us and put in a storming drive to come from 25th on the grid to 3rd. Chris won it, but sadly crashed out of the second race, whilst Ben took victory in that and left France as the number one-ranked driver.” 

He added, “For Ben and Chris’ first year at this level and in the KF2 class, they’re doing brilliantly. I’m really, really pleased for them. I am very confident for Essay. Each of the boys delivered something exceptional and I think they all have a very good chance when we return to France. Carlos must be a favourite for the Spanish final now and I expect Guilherme to be in the top ten also”