Karting driver Markus Kajak reached the podium on February 9th at the second round of the WSK Super Master Series held in Sarno, Italy. A total of six Estonians participated in the event.

Markus Kajak’s weekend in the most powerful KZ2 class got off to an almost perfect start on Friday, when he won his qualifying group and finished second overall in qualifying. This result allowed him to start the three heats from second place once and from first place twice. However, in the first heat, Markus lost a lot of time at the start due to a mistake, dropping more than 10 places. In the second heat, due to a wrong tire choice, Kajak lost a lap to the leader and finished in 10th place. The weather conditions completely turned the race upside down. In the final heat, Markus finally regained control of the situation, starting from the front and securing his first heat win.

In the pre-final, the fast Estonian held onto his position and finished 4th, which secured him 8th on the starting grid for the final. Markus made an excellent start, moving up several positions, while the leaders had an intense battle at the front. Kajak kept his position in the pack and gradually improved, eventually moving up to third place. Though he couldn’t catch the leaders, Markus earned a strong podium finish, showing the second-fastest pace on the track.

Another Estonian driver, Ken Oskar Algre, also made it to the final in the same KZ2 class, but unfortunately had to retire from the race.

Mark Martin Loomets Was Just 0.265 Seconds from the Podium

Mark Martin Loomets, competing in the Mini Gr.3 class, once again showed an impressive rise throughout the weekend. After qualifying in 30th place, the Estonian driver delivered powerful performances in the heats. By the end of the heats, Loomets had gained 24 positions and started the final from 11th place. He quickly climbed to 5th place on the first lap. The young driver finished the race just 0.265 seconds behind the podium.

Two More Estonians in the Top 20

In the OK class, Roland Kuklane made a great start, moving up five positions on the first lap to 12th place. However, he struggled in the following laps, falling to 19th place on the sixth lap, and at one point dropped to 22nd. In the final standings, he finished 17th.

Jan Ruudi Algre, competing in the Mini U10 class, spent most of the weekend fighting for positions in the second half of the field. Starting the final in 14th, Algre began his climb from the back of the grid. He gained three positions on the first lap and three more on the last lap, finishing the event in 18th place.

Nikita Ljubimov’s Challenging Weekend

Nikita Ljubimov had a tough weekend, with a 46th-place time in qualifying. In the heats, he managed to make some gains, but still held 47th place before the pre-final. However, in the pre-final, Nikita made an impressive comeback, moving up to 12th place. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to secure a spot in the final, and he finished the weekend in 39th place.