The Winter Cup 2008, traditional opening test of the international Karting season has started with a multitude of worthy pilots. The professionalism of the competition has grown substantially with increasingly more imposing structures. Only the future will tell us whether it will be a good one...

Without a preliminary campaign, the pink Julie Tonelli butterflies reappear almost per enchantment as of February with the arrival of the new bodywork for the year. During the winter, the Julie Tonelli Foundation for children, launched out into action and begins the year with new projects soon to be discovered...

The support for Julie Tonelli has now propagated amongst the experienced pilots and the new young arrivals in an autonomous way. At Maranello, Davide Forè transmitted Tonelli passion to Aaro Vainio, just like Armand Convers did for Andrea Boffo at PCR.

Aaro Vainio, a mere 15 years of age, is the surprise of the Winter Cup 2008 in KF3. In the competition since 2000, the pilot of Espoo is noticed in his country, Finland, where he received the award for "Pilot of the Year" in 2005. Aaro discovered the international competition in 2006, but it is the following year where he literally bursts out by winning the Finland championship, being classified 3rd in the European championship qualifications, taking the 4th place of the WSK and the 1st place of the Torneo Industrie in Parma. Aaro Vainio drives for the official Maranello team this season and climbs to the top of the KF3 podium on the South Garda track. This champion “seed” won everything this weekend: best time, first in the race laps and first in the semi-finals.

The beautiful victory of Vainio should not eclipse the result of Brandon Maissano who was the only one able to approach and regularly worry the Finn. Still in test phase with his Kart, Brandon showed proof as usual with a strategic dose of knowledge and attack capability to break away from his direct and tough opponents. In spite of his age, Brandon has shown a lot of maturity; the 2008 season could be a great one! In the same team as Maisano, Jonathan Hélias had made his beginnings in the KF3 competition level. Old enough for the category, the junior champion of France did a good job, passing through all obstacles of qualification, to end 18th overall: a superb result which should satisfy his dad and generate generous congratulations…
Jonathan was not the only ex-junior in the Winter Cup: his predecessor in the French championship, Mathieu Jaminet, also had success with a promising entry in the international scene. On entry, Mathieu attacked the top times and successfully obtained the 8th best time, then 6th, followed by 3rd in the overall qualifications and a beautiful 4th position in the semi-final. Jaminet resisted the pressure of his opponents to finish in 8th place in the finals.

KF3, the largest category with 130 pilots, faithful supporters of Julie Tonelli and the foundation meet each other from one season to another. Sebastien Bailly, passed from Kosmic to Tonykart in Daems Racing, shows himself with his advantage and finishes 8th, right in front of another fast Belgian, Sami Luka. Young Czech Lucie Panackova, Tonelli ambassadress of charm, does not leave herself impressed by the boys and finishes 20th in the final. Loic Réguillon, Clement Bluy, Alex Fontana will not have the opportunity to qualify, while Kevin Mourey and William Benedetti, often reaching the boundaries of the top 5, both end up with mechanical failures in the final.

Lastly, in the premiere category of the KF1, the Julie Tonelli colours are proportionally carried by the tenors of karting. Forè, Iglesias and Nato, however in good form, are victims of engine trouble in the final. Norman Nato was on his way to give a brilliant performance... It’s Armand Convers who somewhat unexpectedly gains most with a 5th place. Ryall, victorious in the KF2 World Cup, points in the top of the classification table, whilst Abbasse, Alfano and Santamato are honourably classified.