201 drivers from 52 nations will be competing this weekend in Slovakia in three categories on the Slovak Karting Center's 1172 m long circuit, whose winding layout offers technical challenges that highlight the selectivity of the event. Qualifying Practice went extremely well as the first time that Maxxis tyres had been used in temperatures in excess of 30°C. Qualifying was intense in terms of managing on-track traffic and a number of drivers recorded poor performances, reinforcing the strategic importance of the upcoming Qualifying Heats.

Junior: Sala on pole

The first session was the fastest with Filippo Sala (ITA) taking pole position - 51''762 - on his second flying lap. Noah Baglin (GBR) followed by 9 thousandths of a second, Jason Burnett (CAN) was third and the top seven were all within a tenth of a second of each other. Ilie Crisan (CAN) was fastest in the second session in 51'870, 1.08 tenths off pole position. Niklas Schaufler (AUT) was second and Arias Bosco (ESP) third. Finally, Rocco Coronel (NLD) set the fastest time in the third session in 51''933, 22 thousandths ahead of Arjen Kraeling (DEU) and 0.39 tenths ahead of Andrea Manni (MCO). Provisional Championship leader Dries Van Langendonck (BEL) was 16th in Qualifying, the runner-up Christian Costoya (ESP) was only 72nd and third-placed Iacopo Martinese (ITA) was 14th.

Top six Junior qualifiers

1- Filippo Sala (ITA - LN / TM Kart / Maxxis)
2- Ilie Crisan (CAN - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis)
3- Rocco Coronel (NLD - KR /IAME / Maxxis)
4- Noah Baglin (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
5- Niklas Schaufler (AUT - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
6- Arjen Kraeling (DEU - KR / IAME / Maxxis)

Monteiro the poleman in OK

Noah Monteiro (PRT) took pole position as the fastest driver in the second session with a third lap time of 50'215. Louis Iglesias (FRA) followed him by almost a tenth, while Kaï Rillaerts (BEL) finished third. In the first session, Leo Nilsson (SWE) revealed his talent with a very good third lap of 50''220, with Jimmy Hélias (FRA) hot on his heels and Dmitry Matveev 67 thousandths behind in third place. It was very close in the third session between Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL), who set a third lap time of 50'300, and Scott Kin Lindblom (SWE), who was just two thousandths off the pace. Noah Wolfe (GBR) was third, nearly a tenth off the pace. Championship leader Joe Turney (GBR) was 17th in Qualifying, with second-placed Gabriel Gomez (ITA) 22nd and third-placed Lewis Wherrell (GBR) 18th.

Top six OK qualifiers

1- Noah Monteiro (PRT - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
2- Leo Nilsson (SWE - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
3- Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
4- Louis Iglesias (FRA - CRG / IAME / Maxxis)
5- Jimmy Hélias (FRA - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
6- Scott Kin Lindblom (SWE - KR / IAME / Maxxis)

Herman achieves the best Qualifying of the Academy Trophy

The Academy Trophy's Exprit / Vortex / Maxxis one-design karts provided some interesting Qualifying action in Slovakia. Gilles Herman (BEL) stood out in the second session with a time of 52''815, which put him well ahead of his rivals led by Martim Barros Meneses (PRT) at 0.237'' and Joel Taipale (FIN) a thousandth further back. Victor Alexandru Rad (ROU) completed two very close laps with a fastest time of 53'105, two hundredths behind Aleix Pinera Rusinol (ESP), while Fausto Arnaudo (ARG) was third, 28 thousandths behind the leader. At the top of the provisional Trophy rankings, Dan Allemann (CHE) was 9th in Qualifying, the runner-up Jakub Gasparovic (SVK) was 12th and third-placed Wian Boshoff (ZAF) 20th against the clock.

Top six Academy qualifiers

1- Gilles Hermen (BEL)
2- Victor Alexandru Rad (ROU)
3- Martim Barros Meneses (PRT)
4- Aleix Pinera Rusinol (ESP)
5- Joel Taipale (FIN)
6- Fausto Arnaudo (ARG)

Provisional schedule for the Slovakia Karting Center event

Saturday 22nd June
08.00 - 09.39: Warm-up
09.50 - 18.40: Qualifying Heats

Sunday 23rd June
08.30 - 09.55: Warm-up
10.05 - 10.40: Qualifying Heats - Academy
10.45 - 12.20: Super Heats - Junior & OK
13.55 - 16.35: Finals

The Slovakia Karting Center event can be followed on the official FIA Karting Championship app for mobile devices and on the website. Live streaming will be broadcast on Saturday and Sunday.