A big surprise from the breakout leader in the Micro ROK category, as well as an episode of "Drive to Survive" in the Junior ROK final race were the consequence of the rain that came on the decisive day at the AMC Kart track near Bucharest.
The fourth season of the ROK Cup Romania started with the season opening round in Bucharest, the first of the five scheduled in 2022. The competitors were greeted by a new organizing club (HD Motorsport) and new partners, welcoming the efficient organization of the calendar so that young karters can gain as much experience as possible in a year.
13 competitors met on the circuit in the Micro ROK category, where the historical premiere of a girl claiming victory depended largely on the performances of Antonia Vidican (Vidi Top Sport), with an added stroke of luck. Darren Betea (BRT) and Antonia were tied for points after the first two rounds of the weekend, in which they monopolized the first two places. In the third race, Betea had a significant lead, but made a surprising mistake in the rain, thus ceding the lead to Vladimir Cozma (Prejmer Circuit). The graduates of the Promo KM category, Valeriu-Gabriel Sescu-Ursu (Drinago Racing) and Robert Pulbere (Formula K RO) also visited the podiums of the heats.
Mini ROK brought together 16 drivers, but Bogdan Cosma-Cristofor (Gulstar Racing) was not threatened in the three rounds, being the only driver to end the weekend with maximum points. David Nicolaie (Prejmer Circuit) accompanied him on the podium every time, whilst Cristian Velciu (Gulstar Racing) and Eric Balan (Formula K RO) signed standings in the Top 3. With a solid fifth position in Bucharest, Sonia Crivoiruc (Prejmer Circuit) won the Mini ROK Ladies trophy.
The Junior ROK category was marked by the sporting dispute between David Cosma-Cristofor (Gulstar Racing), who won the first heat, and Luca Paul Viișoreanu (Prejmer Circuit), who replicated in the second heat. Subsequently, Viișoreanu secured a 5-point lead at the end of the weekend with an atypical victory in the rain, being "last man standing" at the end of the scheduled distance, after all the other five opponents withdrew prematurely. David Ciureanu (Karting Team Moldova), Clara Atudosiei (Karting Team Moldova) and Tudor Grigorescu (Prejmer Circuit) each celebrated a ranking on the third step of the podium of a heat in this round. Alexandru Boltașu (Drinago Racing) took this weekend as a training session, since he had no rival in Senior ROK.
The next stage of the Romanian Karting Masters will take place on Prejmer Raceway (April 29 - May 1).
