Tony Kart, 2026 begins with a double podium at Muro Leccese
Tony Kart Racing wins two third places in the first round of the WSK Super Master Series, with Jindrich Pesl in the OK category and Zane Pace in the MINI Gr.3 final.
The Tony Kart Racing Team's new season starts positively at the World Circuit La Conca in Muro Leccese (Italy). In the first round of the WSK Super Master Series, our Tony Kart Racer 401 T and Tony Kart Rookie chassis, both powered by Vortex Engines (the ‘engine division’ of OTK Kart Group), take third place in the OK and MINI Gr.3 classes respectively. Our racing department is also competing in the OKJ, OKJ-N and MINI Gr.3 U10 categories.
In OK, Jindřich Pešl is already a contender for a leading role in the qualifying heats, in which he collects one victory and three second places. The Czech driver, who ended the 2025 season with the WSK Final Cup title, confirms his excellent performance on Sunday morning, winning the B pre-final and thus securing pole position for the afternoon final. In the decisive race of the weekend, Pešl maintains a firm lead in the early stages and remains fighting for victory until the chequered flag, securing a positive third place in the championship standings.
Endo Arata makes his first official appearance with our Racing Team, achieving a top-5 finish in the qualifying heats. The Japanese driver finishes the final as our second best driver, ahead of Iskender Zulfikari, who is forced to retire in the third qualifying heat, and Thomas Pradier, who manages to gain twelve positions from the start. Ilie Tristan Crisan and Gabriel Canal compete in the ‘Senior’ class for the first time, improving their performance over the weekend.
In MINI Gr.3, Zane Pace starts the new season with a top-3 finish, thanks to a high-level performance throughout the event. The Maltese driver wins the first qualifying heat and sets the fastest lap in the last qualifying heat, but is penalised by a collision on the last lap that relegates him to the back of the field. Despite being forced to start from the seventh row, Pace makes an excellent start in the final and, after just one lap, runs firmly in third position. Our driver remains in contention for the win until the last lap, securing the third step of the podium.
Alvaro Medeiros also secures a victory in the qualifying heats, finishing ahead of everyone in the race reserved for groups A and D, but a stop in the final prevents him from achieving a significant result. David Aagten takes part in Sunday afternoon's race, while Nahil Padovani and Farel Beretta Dugat perform well for the next rounds of the series. In MINI Gr.3 U10, Blake Hsueh spends the weekend consistently at the top of the standings and narrowly misses out on the podium in the final by just over three tenths of a second.
In OKJ class, Julian Frasnelli performs a significant comeback: despite an unlucky qualifying session that partly affects his weekend, he recovers twenty-eight positions between the qualifying heats and pre-finals, narrowly missing out on the top 10 in the final. Henri-Constant Kumpen shows good signs throughout the event, including a fourth place in the second qualifying group, a second place in the first qualifying heat and the fastest lap in the A-B heat. However, the Belgian driver’s progress is hampered by a stop in the A-C heat, which forces him to start from the middle of the grid in the final, a race in which a few collisions deny him a result in line with his performance.
Oiva Vettenranta, making his debut with our sports division, achieves the third fastest time in Group 2 of Friday’s qualifying and shows off his skills in the final with a nine-place comeback. Antonio Ianni, Jean Poujol, Yubo Wen and Martin Luis Bertolaccini work hard throughout the event, working closely with our staff in view of the upcoming events on the calendar.
In OKJ-N, Victor Thomas Gorun makes his mark in the new category – after racing in MINI Gr.3 until last year – finishing in the top 10 in the final. Behind him there are Linghan Li, also making his debut in the class, and Valentino Manassero, who manages to recover eleven positions during the race. Augustin Feligioni, our fourth best-ranked driver, stands out in qualifying with a first place in heat A-C.
The next round of the WSK Super Master Series is scheduled in two weeks (4th–8th February) at the Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Sarno. Our Tony Kart Racing Team will attend the event with its official drivers in the OK, OKJ, OKJ-N and MINI categories.
