SODI Vitesse, partnered with the SODIKART Official Racing Team, headed to Italy for the first round of the WSK Final Cup at South Garda Karting. Lucas Blantford was the teams sole entry into the OKJ category.

Qualifying was difficult and left Blantford on the back foot. Pushing forward from 62nd was not going to be an easy feat and Blantford gave it his all.

The Qualifying Heats saw 5 contests for each driver to give the top 60 qualifiers for the Pre-Finals A and B. Blantford after consistent heat results, but unfortunate to have seen a DNF in Heat 4, progressed to 50th overall in the standings. Starting 25th for Pre-Final B, Blantford went into it with an ‘all or nothing’ attitude.

After an impressive start, having made it to 15th by the third corner, Blantford got caught in an on track incident and took a nasty hit, causing injury to his wrist. Still pushing through the remaining 17 laps, he came across the line 22nd.

The accumulated points from the Heats and Pre-Final weren’t enough to push Blantford through to the Final and so the weekend ended there. Nevertheless, Lucas showed what he was capable of on a highly competitive gird in a class he hadn’t driven before.

Lucas ends 2023 there and will spend the off-season in recovery, ready to push forward into 2024.