MOTORSPORT – BAHRAIN’S young karting champion Tariq Soofi put in a sensational performance in round seven of the ROK Cup Italia 2025, held over the weekend at Franciacorta Karting Track in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Competing amongst a high-quality field of ultra-quick youngsters from around the world, Tariq showed his limitless potential by placing sixth on the 31-driver classification in a hotly contested final of the Mini ROK U10 category.
Tariq’s participation in Franciacorta followed his ROK Cup Italia debut in the series’ sixth round, held at Kartodromo Cremona Circuit in the city of Cremona, as well as a test at South Garda Karting track in the town of Lonato del Garda. Both took place last month, also in Italy’s Lombardy region.
“The ROK Cup was amazing,” 10-year-old Tariq told the GDN last night. “I finished 16th in Cremona and sixth out of 31 drivers in Franciacorta, which makes me very happy.
“I gained some great experience during my summer stay in Italy. Franciacorta was easier than Cremona – all tracks were fantastic with a lot of grip.
“I experienced driving in the rain on some testing days, which was fun, and I learned how to communicate with my mechanic every lap so I get the best set-up for my kart.”
Tariq, who suits up in the kingdom’s national karting championships with NorthStar Racing, is being guided on his international motorsport journey by Minardi Management – a leading driver management company in Italy established in 2003 by Giovanni Minardi, son of Gian Carlo Minardi, the founder of the historic Minardi Formula One team that bears their family name.
He competed in the prestigious ROK Cup Italia with Italian entrant LA Motorsport.
In Franciacorta, Tariq made up four places in the round’s seven-lap final after starting from 10th on the grid. He completed the hotly contested race in a time of seven minutes 43.545 seconds – finishing just 0.713 seconds behind winner Platon Kovtunenko from Ukraine, who took the chequered flag in 7:42.832. Max Zvarich from Italy was the race’s runner-up 0.260s from the victor, while Filip Stec from Poland came third 0.369s back.
Classified just ahead of Tariq were Leon Giudicelli of France 0.485s from first place and Edoardo Traina of Italy, who was 0.649s off Platon’s mark.
Tariq had a best lap time of 58.322s in the race. He had earlier secured his starting position after finishing 10th in the pre-final, also claimed by Platon. Tariq would have taken a front-row spot for the final – as per reverse-grid rules for the pre-final’s top eight when there are less than 36 competitors – if not for a five-second penalty for a technical infraction.
Meanwhile, in Cremona, Tariq placed 16th in the round’s eight-lap final, which featured 23 drivers. He had a time of 7:55.871 on the final classification – 24.345s behind winner Nicolo Pacillo from Italy. Tariq had received a pair of five-second penalties as he made up three places after starting the race from 19th.
“I felt the ROK Cup is harder than Rotax because the Vortex Engine is aggressive and fast,” explained Tariq, who is the back-to-back Mini MAX champion in the Bahrain Rotax MAX Challenge (BRMC), the kingdom’s premier karting championship.
“Steering is a bit harder and the drivers are very aggressive over there,” he continued. “The weather was generally very hot – I learned to stay hydrated, drink lots of water, keep water in my head, and eat healthy to be fit for the races.
“Thank you to LA Motorsport team principal Luca [Nordera] and my mechanic Emiliano [Meneghelli] for believing in me.
“Thank you to Minardi Management, Giovanni and Dorothea Minardi, for supporting me as it was an exciting and joyful journey.”
Tariq is scheduled to return to competition in the new national racing season’s Sakhir Rotax MAX Challenge and BRMC. He will also be part of Team Bahrain that will be flying the kingdom’s flag in this year’s Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, which is set to be hosted by the kingdom at the end of the year.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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