With 85 racers, representing 37 different nations, and with the best karts and Motors available in the world, the most advanced Technologies with the most respected  professionals working for the factory teams or private teams with all the support from the  top kart factories. No doubt, a very competitive scenario that truly represents the best of the international karting nowadays, for the opening round of the WSK Master Series in La Conca, Italy, with special focus in the Mini Cadet Class In this highly competitive environment, a mixture of World Cup with F1, arrived a Young and Unknown talent, at least to the European karting scene. His name is Giuliano Raucci (Dolly Beverages/ Energy Cose). Raucci, who just turned 12, competes in his native Brazil in the Junior Menor Class, but it’s not old enough to race in the KF3 Class. By European kart rules, he has to race in the Cadet Mini, ages 9 to 12.

Giuliano Raucci, is know in Brazil as one of the most talented drivers of his generation. After his fantastic performance in the Red White Sangari International GP held in Malaysia in 2010 where he finished as the Runner Up in the Rotax MicroMax Class, it was time to do the reverse trip taken by his ancestors, and “conquer” Europe.

It was a week od a lot of adaptation and learning for the young Brazilian. Raucci had to adjust to a different chassis, a motor with very distinct characteristics to the ones he is used to in Brazil, and also, very different tires and compounds. On top of it all, he had to learn the La Conca track and adapt to the very cold European weather at this time of the year.

But ever since he hit the track for the first free practices, Raucci was able to show his incredible natural talent. Along with the valuable support of his coach, Renato Russo and the great work by his Energy Corse crew, the results were fantastic.

On the time trials that would define the grid positions for the 4 qualifying races, another element was added to the adaptation process. It rained a lot in Muro Leccese (Lecce) where the La Conca Circuit is located. Giuliano would have to find out the wet tires performance, grip and best wet race lines in the few laps he had during qualifying.

He managed a 27th timed lap out of 85 racers, which placed him in the 12th spot on the starting grid for the 4 qualifying races.

He finished 7th in the first qualifying heat, 10th in the second heat, 4th in the third and 3rd in the final qualifying, in contention for a win. As a result, he was 7th in the classification charts and 4th in the starting grid for the Pré-Final A

At the Pre Final A, Giuliano Raucci started from the second row, out of 34 racers. One of his most impressive qualities that got the attention of team owners and competitors, was his ability to have great starts.

At the start, Giuliano jumped to the 3rd spot, putting pressure in the 2nd place driver. With the rain gone and the track dry, the front runners imposed an impressive rhythm on the 8 lap race, which meant that any mistake could cost a chance to a win. One of the corners at the winding La Conca track, had become  the “Calvary” for many drivers and it was not uncommon to see drivers breaking a little to late and overshooting the tricky corner.

On the final stages of the race, “Dollyinho” - as he is kindly know at the Brazilian tracks -, attempted to pass to 2nd place and missed the breaking point, missing his apex to avoid overshooting the corner. In the process he ended up losing two spots at once. Chances for a win were lost after a minor mistake, but the 5th spot at the Pre Final gave the Energy Corse driver a place at the main event.

Giuliano positioned his kart on the grid in the 5th row. Next to him was Russian driver Ilya Kulemetyev. Ilyas countryman Alexander Vartanyan was on pole. Raucci expected to have another great start, but on corner 1, a kart spun in front of him. He was able to avoid the crash but lost positions and fell to 14th place. With all the drivers setting very similar lap times, Giuli had to be content to finish the race in the 14th spot.

At the track, the victory came to the Russian pole sitter and Tony Kart driver  Alexander Vartanyan. But after the race, Vartanyan received a 10 seconds penalty for jumping the start. The British driver Billy Monger was later awarded the win. Italian driver Lorenzo Travisanutto was also penalized, and in the end, Raucci was promoted 2 spots with a 12th place final result.

Not a bad result for the “unknown” driver Giuliano Raucci (Dolly Beverages/ Energy Corse) to finish in 12th out of 85 racers. It was all within the plans and better yet, alerting competitors and team owners of the most competitive championship in the world, to the fact that Brazil, still provides incredible natural talents to the karting world.

“I tried to have a good start and position myself with the front runners. My kart was great and I was confident that I could do a great race up until a Guy spun in front of me and to avoid the impact I had to loose a lot of places and was caught with in a group that killed my chances of fighting for the top positions. A enjoyed everything, but I’m a little disappointed with my final result”, described Giuliano Raucci

“Our goal for the first round of the WSK was to learn as much as possible. We were confident but aware that to be among 85 of the best world racers in the class, was a tough call, but not impossible”, said Rogério Raucci, a experienced racer himself and Giuliano’s dad. “We achieved the main goals, in very consistent performances and results that caught the attention of a loto f respected professionals Who wanted to learn more about Giuliano and his career in Brazil. The best of all was to see the incredible dedication given by the Energy Corse Team, being mirrored on track by Giuliano’s real chances of fighting for a victory. To finish 12th in a grid so big and with so much quality, is reason enough to celebrate”, concluded Raucci Snr.

The next round of the WSK Will be held in Castelletto di Branduzzo(PV) also in Italy.

Here are the results for the Cadet Mini Class in the 1st Round of the WSK Master Series:

1.- Monger Billy (GB) Birel/ LKE/ Vega, with 10 laps – best lap 56s626
2.- Martinez Merono Eliseo (E) CRG/ Parilla/ Vega, +1s652 - best lap 56s387
3.- Lorandi Alessio (I) Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +1s978 - best lap 56s407
4.- Marcu Dionisios (RO) Top Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +3s865 - best lap 56s585
5.- Ferrucci Santino (USA) Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, +4s823 - best lap 56s950
6.- Besler Berkay (TR) Top Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +5s440 - best lap 56s651
7.- Ilott Callum B. (GB) Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, +5s603 - best lap 6s625
8.- Baiz Mauricio (YV) Birel/ Parilla/ Vega, +5s754 - best lap 57s024
9.- Tjader Otto (S) Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +6s170 - best lap 56s803
10.- Kulemetyev Ilya (RUS) Top Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +6s318 - best lap 56s919
11.- Ahmed Enaam (GB) Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, +7s805 - melhor 56s947
12.- Raucci Giuliano (BR) Energy/ Parilla/ Vega, +8s202 - best lap 56s837
13.- Vartanyan Alexander (RUS) Tony Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +8s318 - best lap 56s639 (+10s000)
14.- Bale Thomas (GB) Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, +9s626 - best lap 56s588
15.- Mazepin Nikita (RUS) CRG/ LKE/ Vega, +9s851 - best lap 56s867
16.- Angelillo Luigi (I) Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +10s467 - best lap 56s755
17.- Mosca Tommaso (I) PCR/ Parilla/ Vega, +12s326 - best lap 56s845
18.- Pollara Alessio (I) FA Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +12s929 - best lap 56s624 (+3s000)
19.- Zanchi Ludovic (I) Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +13s948 - best lap 57s108 (+3s000)
20.- Machado Alex (AND) Birel/ LKE/ Vega, +14s087 - best lap 57s066
21.- Travisanutto Lorenzo (I) Energy/ LKE/ Vega, 14s786 - best lap 56s664 (+10s000)
22.- "Alex" (I) Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +15s637 - best lap 57s034
23.- Guven Ayhancan (TR) Top Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +16s375 - best lap 57s126
24.- Kari Niko (FIN) Birel/ Parilla/ Vega, +16s677 - melhor best lap 57s212
25.- Carrara Giorgio E. (RA) Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, +16s702 - best lap 57s321
26.- Stura Alessandro (I) Top Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +16s786 - melhor best lap 57s142
27.- Valtonen Isac (S) Energy/ LKE/ Vega, +17s573 - best lap 57s264
28.- Florescu Petrut G. (RO) Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, +18s417 - best lap 57s029
29.- Piotr Parys (PL) CRG/ Parilla/ Vega, +18s649 - best lap 57s337   
30.- Popovic Nik (SLO) Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +19s570 - best lap 57s000
31.- Shtol Angel (RUS) Top Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +21s391 - best lap 57s039 +10s000
32.- Hakkinen Hugo (FIN) CRG/ LKE/ Vega, +21s552 - best lap 57s960
33.- Kiselev Kirill (RUS) Tony Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +5 Laps - best lap 57s281
34.- Weyer Gaby (GB) Birel/ LKE/ Vega, +7 Laps - best lap 58s410 +3s000
Meilleur tour/ Best lap: Martinez Merono Eliseo – 56s387

Pré Final A Results”

1.- Besler Berkay TR Top Kart/ LKE/ Vega, with 8 laps - best lap 58s043
2.- Martinez Merono Eliseo E CRG/ Parilla/ Vega, a +0s022 - best lap 58s657
3.- Monger Billy GB Birel/ LKE/ Vega, a +0.061 - best lap 58s526
4.- Ferrucci Santino USA Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, a +0.328 - best lap 58s960
5.- Raucci Giuliano BR Energy/ Parilla/ Vega, a +0.503 - best lap 58s541
6.- Tjader Otto S Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, a +1.406 - best lap 58s442
7.- Baiz Mauricio YV Birel/ Parilla/ Vega, a +3.739 - best lap 58s916
8.- Shtol Angel RUS Top Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, a +5.185 - best lap 58s300
9.- Travisanutto Lorenzo I Energy/ LKE/ Vega, a +6.046 - best lap 58s752 (+3s000)
10.- Ahmed Enaam GB Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, a +6.614 - best lap 59s195
11.- Kari Niko FIN Birel/ Parilla/ Vega, a +7.085 - best lap 59s118
12.- Pollara Alessio I FA Kart/ LKE/ Vega, a +7.259 - best lap 59s211
13.- "Alex" I Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, a +8.399 - best lap 58s972
14.- Angelillo Luigi I Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, a +8.848 - best lap 58s434
15.- Zanchi Ludovic I Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, a +9.332 - best lap 59s324
16.- Florescu Petrut G. RO Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, a +9.744 - mel best lap 59s719
17.- Machado Alex (AND) Birel/ LKE/ Vega, a +13.250 - best lap 59s514

Non Classés/ Not Classified
Psaltakis Markos GR Tony Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +13s549 - best lap 58s627
Alexandrov Nikita RUS Energy/ Parilla/ Vega, +15s436 - best lap 1m00s258
Baby Race I Melgar Arturo E Tony Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +15s636 - best lap 1m00s131
Lloveras Brunet Xavier E Top Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +15s767 - best lap 59s943
Lundgaard Christian DK Tony Kart/ Vortex/ Vega, +15s912 - best lap 59s709
Ochoa Bruno E Birel/ Parilla/ Vega, +17s089 - best lap 59s772
Nifosi Michelangelo I FA Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +19s397 - best lap 59s485
Mueller Michael CH Top Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +19s582 - best lap 1m00s260
Floersch Sophia D Birel/ LKE/ Vega, +19s698 - best lap 59s815 + (3s000)
Brough Sam GB Birel/ LKE/ Vega, +21s831 - best lap 1m00s759
Matthiesen Patrik DK CRG/ LKE/ Vega, +21s881 - best lap 1m00s558
Boris Machulda Marek CZ Tony Kart/ Vortex/ Vega, +27s940 - best lap 1m00s940
Krasonis Thomas GR Tony Kart/ Parilla/ Vega, +27s994 - best lap 1m00s515
Zailinger Nicole A CRG/ Parilla/ Vega, +37s636 - best lap 1m00s618
Marinescu Alexandra RO Lenzo/ LKE/ Vega, +39s811 - best lap 1m02s412
Haxhiu Gjergj CH CRG/ LKE/ Vega, +3 Laps - best lap 59s921
Reicher Simon A FA Kart/ LKE/ Vega, +8 Laps
Meilleur tour/ Best lap: Besler Berkay – 58s043
Pas un tour/ No lap: Reicher Simon (A) FA Kart/ LKE/ Vega

English Version: Luigi Carneiro