William Calleja has created history – becoming the first Australian to win not only a multi-round European karting Championship – but the first Antipodean to win a WSK-branded Series in its 19 years as he wrapped up the Mini category at Sarno.
The youngster from Melbourne led the title race heading to the famed southern Italy circuit – and won two of his heat races, placing him on the pole position for the Pre-Final, which would determine the grid for the Final.
The Melburnite’s closest Championship rival, Daniel Miron Lorente, eclipsed him in the Pre-Final seeing Calleja holding a slender one point lead heading to the decider, where they’d start side-by-side.
Wet conditions in the leadup to the Grand Final created setup headaches for the teams, however by the time the Mini final hit the famous track, the water had burnt off and a full dry race line had emerged.
The Australian, who was trained in Melbourne by Australia’s most prolific domestic Championship winner, David Sera and his KartClass team – got the best of the start in the Final, leading the eight lap race for its majority while his rival dropped right down the order from pole position, ultimately finishing ninth.
The BabyRace driver looked on to claim the Title in first place, however Polish Tony Kart driver Leonardo Gorski was literally glued to the rear crash bar of the Australian for several laps before making the decisive move.
In Calleja’s favour was that right behind him were his two BabyRace team-mates, who would create a buffer between him and Miron Lorente, but instead of playing rear-gunner and protecting the Australian, they decided to race him.
Calleja was denied his fourth straight podium in the WSK Super Masters Series right to the last corner. His four round series included a round two win. His team-mate, Julian Frasnelli created a scary moment on the final lap denying Calleja the podium, none more so than for Calleja’s parents – who arrived in southern Italy less than 48 hours before the event.
Australians have won rounds of the multiple WSK Series in the past, including McLaren F1’s Oscar Piastri and Joey Mawson – who was the last Australian to win a major FIA-sanctioned international event with a round of the Junior World Championship in Bahrain (non-WSK) – but never a Title.
The other Australian in action, Xavier Avramides ran as high as eighth in the early stages of the OK Senior Final, however yo-yoed between that place and 13th, ultimately closing his Super Masters tilt in 12th position in the Final.
WATCH ON DEMAND: Round 4, WSK Super Masters Series – Sarno (full stream):
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