Lithuania is sending Markas Silkūnas to the FIA Karting Academy
After all, only one representative from each country, delegated by the national karting federation, can take part in the FIA Academy competition. The FIA provides identical equipment to all participants, so only the talent of the racer is decisive here.
Did not expect to win the election
“It simply came to our notice then. We know that Mark is fast, kicked, but he was even less familiar with the technique of the OK Junior class, because in recent years he started in the Mini class, where he became the Lithuanian champion, ”says the Lithuanian representative to the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy. “. “Markas Šilkūnas’ father Mindaugas was chosen for the competition.
At the beginning of this year, the Lithuanian Karting Federation announced the election of the country’s representative to this prestigious competition, whose 8 candidates: Domantas Knyva, Kipras Juršė, Dominykas Vinogrodskis, Markas Šilkūnas, Linas Volungevičius, Dovydas Gudelevičius, Tomas Rudokas and Maksimas Schurko were nominated to defend our country’s honor. Some of them increased their skills in the Lithuanian Junior Championship class in 2021, others tested their strength in the younger and less powerful Mini Class.
It was in this class that Markas Šilkūnas won 4 of the 5 final races last year, secured the title of champion earlier, and in the final stage he was already in the OK Junior class once.
Stable results led to Markas beating Cyprus Juršė in the final vote of the Council of the Lithuanian Card Federation and already planning the most important starts this year. By the way, the Lithuanian Karting Federation will pay the entry fee of almost 3,000 euros for participation in the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy stages.
Some tracks are already familiar
In this year’s competition, young “academics” will compete in Belgium, Italy and France.
So it is reasonable to speculate that a student of Kaunas Eruditas Lyceum will not start the new school year with her classmates. “It’s justified, but there’s no excuse for Mark from doing his homework. He knows what he has to do, he’s well-versed in his duties – I can be glad that he’s compiling the competition and science priority on his own. He really needs a lot of extra work, but we knew it, what does it mean to achieve sports victories, ”says Mindaugas.
Genko and Le Mans are already familiar to Mark. In Belgium, for example, he was among the top three racers in his class since his second workout last year. It can be said that that route is perfect for him. True, it was a MINI class race, so challenges are waiting for you, because the Academy Trophy is taking place with a powerful OK Junior technique.
Le Mans – will also be familiar, and the competition in Italy should take place on a new track, so a quick adaptation will be especially important.
At the end of March, Mark had left for Portugal with several other racers. There, many participants of the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy tried it during the tests and training strengths.
Loves accuracy
Asked where he sees his son’s strengths, Mindaugas Šilkūnas admits that Markas drives especially fast on dry surfaces – where he can reach the highest speed and need maximum size. This also helped Mark at the end of 2021 in the Rotax Grand Finals in Bahrain: back then in the Mini class, Mark took 6th place and proved that the Lithuanian champion is almost inferior to competitors from other countries.
“This year’s plans were more modest: we planned to enter Mark’s new OK Junior in a new one, the competition was continued, but there was a chance for the whole class. leave aside. In all the karting tracks of the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy stages before the official race, we will have to try the tracks too, but it is necessary to prepare for that, ”says the father of a promising athlete.
Lithuanians have already received medals
Kajus Šikšnelis flashed in the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2019. Two and a half years ago, the winner of the World Championship gathered the most diverse companies of “academics”: the first place in the general standings only confirmed that the Lithuanian was extremely fast.
In 2016, Kaspar Vaškelis took the 3rd place in the same competition stage in Portugal.
And now comes the turn of Markas Silkūnas. “Starts have already become Mark’s daily routine. But in the past, he fought for himself. And now it will be necessary to drive outside Lithuania. This is a much bigger responsibility. A bigger challenge. But also a much higher motivation, “says the athlete’s dad. And we can only wish Mark success.
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