RACE WEEK #6 – GOOD START OF 2025 IN WSK AND ROK. SOOFI E ZHU SHINE IN ROTAX

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Five Minardi Management drivers hit the track last weekend on karting tracks from Europe to the Middle East. Tariq made another step towards the Rotax Bahrain title, while Zack made a great debut in the Rotax France. Julia showed promising speed in the ROK at Lonato, while in WSK at Sarno, Pietro is growing and Vladimir instead had a great first weekend in OK.

Tariq Soofi – P2 in the Rotax Bahrein at Sakhir, cat. Micro
Our youngest talent had another excellent weekend in the Rotax Bahrain, held on the kart track near the F1 circuit. He was the fastest, or second fastest, in every session, and fought for the victory in the final. Wisely, he avoided unnecessary risks and finished P2, maintaining the championship lead with one round to go.

Zack Zhu – P10 in the Rotax France at Salbris, cat. Junior
Zack made his debut in the Rotax France showing impressive speed. His first sessions promised a successful weekend, but he had a contact in the last heat, so his starting slot for the Super Heat was compromised. Due to a technical problem in the Super Heat, he didn’t even make the start, so he had to start the final from the back of the grid. Zack didn’t give up and overtook 21 opponents to finish the race in P8. A great performance, which shows once again his great speed and fighting spirit.

Julia Angelard – P26 in the ROK Winter Trophy at Lonato, cat. Junior
Julia is getting used to being the fastest girl on track. In qualifying she achieved a good P8 in her group, while the first two heats went also very well. Unfortunately, she had an accident in the third heat and went off track, so she started the final from P19. Keen to make up positions, she began to climb the order, but she was hit and had to start again from scratch. She didn’t give up, and overtook many opponents, before being hit again and finishing P26 at the finish line. Despite her bad luck in the final, Julia showed great speed, fighting spirit and determination.

Pietro Bagutti – DNQ in the WSK Super Master Series at Sarno, cat. OKJ
Pietro’s 2025 season could have started better, but it’s never easy to shine in changing conditions. His weekend started uphill, but he worked hard to turn the situation around and, in the last heats, he improved considerably. He kept this momentum in the Super heat, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to earn a spot in the final, missing out by just two positions. Now the goal is to maintain the upward momentum to Lonato, the next round of the WSK Super Master Series, where there will be a lot of work to do both on his driving and on the part of the team.

Vladimir Ivannikov – P18 in the WSK Super Master Series at Sarno, cat. OK
Vladimir made a very good debut in the OK category. He achieved a good P5 in his qualifying group and continued to impress in the heats, being always in the top 10 and finishing a great P3 in the first heat. His great feeling with the kart made the difference in the prefinal too, as he climbed from P9 to P4 at the flag. The final was the hardest race, as he fought hard to defend P9. At the end he crossed the finish line P13 (became 18th after a 5 second penalty for the bumper), but he showed that he has excellent bases to hope for a great result in the next round at Lonato.

Author: Jacopo Rava