Gradual return in Lonato

Almost two months after Freddie Slater won the European Junior Champion title in Zuera, the Ricky Flynn Motorsport team was back on the road to international competition. The final part of the season started in Lonato with the opening of the WSK Open Cup on September 18th-19th.

The Italian event was held in changing weather conditions, first with sunny skies and then rain that made the South Garda track slippery in the Prefinals. Slater and Hanna left the OK-Junior stage prematurely due to incidents. Gowda and Frey did not finish the Final, but Anpilogov’s incredible comeback was the best performance of the team along with Sato’s strong progress in the OK Final.

Freddie Slater started well in 4th place in the Qualifying session among the 71 Junior drivers. The British driver continued in the heats with two wins, two 2nd places and two fastest laps. The RFM Kosmic/Vortex karts were once again performing well. Delayed by a retirement in one heat, Slater was still in contention for a good result at the start of the Prefinal. He was in the top three on the first lap, but unfortunately had to drop out after only four laps, missing out on defending his chances in the Final. Further back in the field, Salim Hanna suffered the same fate.

Enea Frey started from 8th place in the qualifications and qualified in 11th place in his Prefinal. Dion Gowda was back on track during the heats thanks to several top fives and was still progressing on the track in 10th place in his Prefinal. The Final was unfortunately fatal for them: Dion did not complete a lap while Enea retired after half of the race.

Edgar Anpilogov saved the honour by ensuring a faultless comeback from the depths of the ranking up to the end. A problem put him in last position during Qualifying, but with impressive determination, he made up between 10 and 14 positions in the field in each heat and was 33rd on Saturday evening with a gain of 37 places. Edgar persevered during the Final stages, both in the wet and in the dry, and finished his marathon with a very deserving 22nd position after a total climb of 49 places during the meeting.

In OK, Rintaro Sato was in the spotlight with 2nd in the Qualifying session. He then lacked success in the heats and in the Prefinal. His recovery from 33rd to 13th position at the chequered flag of the Final was very comforting, even though a spoiler penalty placed him 16th.

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