Gustafsson stays in control, Lehouck and Kajak dominate KZ2. Abbasse leads Lombardo in Masters

KZ: Gustafsson (CRG/TM) stays on top
Starting from pole, Viktor Gustafsson opened the day with a win in the first heat, holding off Maksim Orlov all the way to the chequered flag. Behind them, Pedro Hiltbrand made up several positions, while Van Walstijn and Albanese also moved up after benefiting from incidents in the early stages, with Denner forced out shortly after the start following contact. Orlov then took the lead in the second heat and claimed the win ahead of Gustafsson and Emilien Denner. The race also saw several retirements, including Senna Van Walstijn, Stan Pex and Pedro Hiltbrand, who was involved in contact with Camplese, making their title challenge more difficult.
In the final heat, Denner moved into the lead ahead of Gustafsson, while Orlov gradually dropped back. Van Walstijn finished third, while Hiltbrand and Galli gained positions to move back into the top ten.

At the end of the qualifying heats, the provisional standings are:

KZ2: Lehouck and Kajak (IPK/TM) remain unbeaten
In KZ2, Arthur Lehouck confirmed the pace shown in qualifying, winning all three of his heats contested under the new two-group format introduced by the FIA ahead of this event (a system that has not exactly been welcomed by every team…). He therefore ended the day at the top of his group alongside Markus Kajak, who also secured three wins. Niklas Schaufler was another of the leading figures of the day. The Austrian took three wins on track, but a five-second penalty for a starting infringement prevented him from finishing with a perfect score. Kimi Tani also remained consistently in the leading positions, while Noah Wolfe bounced back after a heat affected by a technical problem.

KZ2 group standings after the qualifying heats:
Group 1

KZ2 Masters: Abbasse leads (Sodi/TM), Lombardo close behind
In KZ2 Masters, Anthony Abbasse took control of the standings with two wins and a second place. A key moment for the Frenchman came in the opening heat, when he passed Davide Forè and relegated the Italian to seventh. Angelo Lombardo, meanwhile, remained firmly among the front-runners. The defending champion matched Abbasse’s tally with two wins and finished the day second overall after a chaotic ending to the second heat, when he lost the lead on the final lap following a misunderstanding during a lapping manoeuvre.

Daniel Bray was consistently strong throughout the heats and sits third overall, while Forè, after a recovery drive in the final heat, is fourth. Also worth noting was Rubens Barrichello’s comeback: after qualifying 23rd, the Brazilian gained eleven positions to finish 12th in the qualifying-heats standings.
Top 5 after the qualifying heats – KZ2 Masters

The Super Heats will get underway on Sunday morning at 09:50, with live streaming available here: FIA KARTING LIVE STREAM