NINE DRIVERS ON TRACK, FIVE TROPHIES AND A WEEKEND OF PROGRESS ACROSS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

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Another extremely intense race weekend for DAG Management, with nine drivers competing across karting and single-seaters in five different events: Champions of the Future at Sarno, F4 CEZ at Brno, the FIA Arrive & Drive Asia-Pacific Championship in Macau, ROK Cup Italy at Lonato and the Valencian Karting Championship at Aspar.

Race Weekend 37 once again reflected the variety and depth of our agency’s work: Junior and Senior categories in international karting, a major FIA event in Asia and two young drivers continuing their development in Formula 4.

The sporting result includes five trophies, all earned by Markas Šilkūnas at Brno through an exceptionally consistent weekend: P3 overall and P1 Rookie in Race 2, P3 overall and P2 Rookie in Race 3, and P3 Rookie in the Final. Yet the value of the weekend goes far beyond the trophies.

We are particularly proud of the progress shown by every one of our drivers: the recoveries, the speed demonstrated, the ability to respond to difficulties, the results achieved in challenging conditions and the experience gained in highly competitive international environments.

As always, our sincere thanks go to the drivers, their families, teams, mechanics, engineers, coaches and partners working alongside us. Every result is the product of collective effort, and every weekend, regardless of the final position, represents another step forward in the journey we are building together.
CHAMPIONS OF THE FUTURE – ROUND 5, SARNO
MAXIME NOEPPEL – OKJ
P20 in the Final after gaining nine positions

A weekend of hard work and, above all, a very positive Final for Maxime Noeppel at Sarno.

Throughout practice, Maxime progressively built his pace, moving from a difficult opening to two P10 results and a P9 in the final Free Practice sessions. On Thursday he showed encouraging speed with P6 in the first Non-Qualifying Practice and P8 in his qualifying group, placing him P24 overall.

The heats combined strong recoveries with an unfortunate incident: P10 with two positions gained in the first heat, an accident after eight laps in the second followed by a five-second bumper penalty, and another P10 with two places recovered in the third.

After the Super Heat Maxime was P29, but he responded in the best possible way in the Final. A determined and effective race saw him gain an impressive nine positions to finish P20.

We are particularly satisfied not only with the result, but with the way it was achieved. Maxime continued to work and react throughout the weekend, turning a difficult situation into a Final that clearly demonstrated progress.
BENJAMIN WESTWOOD – OK
Front-running speed in practice and a place in the Final

Benjamin Westwood once again demonstrated very interesting speed in an extremely competitive OK field.

His weekend began with P5 in the opening practice, another P5 in Practice 3 and, most notably, an excellent P1 in Free Practice 5. Benjamin was also remarkably consistent across the three Non-Qualifying Practice sessions, finishing P5 in his group each time.

After P8 in his qualifying group and P22 overall, Benjamin gained positions in the first two heats, moving to P10 with two places gained and then P8 after recovering another three. A more difficult third heat left him P25 after the qualifying heats.

Sunday began with another strong indication of his pace: P5 in the Warm-Up. Benjamin then reached the Final, completing the weekend in P25.

The final position does not fully reflect the potential shown during the event, but the pace demonstrated – including a P1 in practice – is a very positive element on which to continue building.
MATTEO GALLO – OK
Consistent progression through the heats and valuable experience at this level

A weekend of learning and steady progression for Matteo Gallo in OK.

After P13 in his qualifying group and P37 overall, Matteo showed a very clear upward trend through the heats: P18 with one position gained in the first, P15 with four positions recovered in the second and P14 after gaining another five places in the third.

This sequence demonstrated his ability to adapt and improve race by race. Matteo was P35 after the Qualifying Heats and gained another position to finish P17 in the Super Heat.

He reached the Final and was completing a valuable weekend of experience when a last-lap mistake and spin left him P33.

Our focus is on the progression shown throughout the heats and the experience gained in a highly competitive environment. Weekends like this provide exactly the information needed to continue developing.
VLADIMIR IVANNIKOV – OK
P14 in the Final after a consistently competitive weekend

A solid weekend for Vladimir Ivannikov, who showed competitive pace from Thursday onwards.

In the Non-Qualifying Practice sessions Vladimir recorded P5, P3 and another P3 in his group before qualifying P5 in group and P15 overall.

In the first heat he delivered one of his strongest performances of the weekend, gaining four positions to finish P3. After a more difficult second heat, he responded with P6 in the third, gaining another two positions and moving to P12 after the heats.

The Super Heat ended in P7 and Vladimir started the Final from P13, eventually finishing P14.

Overall, it was a very positive performance characterised by speed, overtaking ability and consistent presence in competitive positions. We are proud of the continuity he showed and of the work completed throughout the event.
F4 CEZ CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 5, BRNO
MIO OLERT – #52
Clear progress, P1 in Free Practice and a weekend ended by a major accident

Mio Olert’s weekend at Brno showed several very encouraging signs and important progress, even though it unfortunately ended with a major accident in the Final.

Across the Collective Tests, Mio steadily improved his position from P12 to P10, another P10 and finally P6. On Friday came a particularly significant result: P1 in the Free Practice session for his group.

After P13 in qualifying, Race 1 was held in wet conditions and Mio faced some difficulties, finishing P16 overall, P8 Rookie and P6 Rocket Rookie. In Race 3 he again finished P16 overall, taking P10 Rookie and P5 Rocket Rookie.

Unfortunately, the Final ended with a significant accident that forced him to retire.

Beyond the final incident, we want to underline the progress Mio showed throughout the weekend and especially his P1 in Free Practice. He continues to accumulate valuable Formula 4 experience, and every session represents another important piece of his development.
MARKAS ŠILKŪNAS – #26
Five trophies: two overall podiums and three Rookie podium results

An outstanding weekend for Markas Šilkūnas at Brno, where a remarkably consistent performance delivered all five trophies earned by DAG Management during Race Weekend 37.

Markas had already shown competitive pace in the Collective Tests with two P7 results followed by two P4s. In qualifying he raised the level further, taking an excellent P2 in his group.

Race 2 became one of the highlights of the weekend. Markas secured P3 overall, including a superb last-lap overtake for the position, while simultaneously taking P1 among the Rookies: two podium results from the same race.

The following day he immediately confirmed his competitiveness with another P3 overall in Race 3, accompanied by P2 Rookie.

The Final was particularly complex, with several Safety Car periods and rain arriving towards the end. Markas managed the conditions with maturity, safely bringing the car home in P6 overall and P3 Rookie while collecting important championship points.

Two overall P3 finishes, P1 Rookie, P2 Rookie and P3 Rookie: five trophies that tell the story of an exceptional weekend, but more importantly of a young driver who continues to demonstrate speed, composure and the ability to deliver results in changing conditions.

We are extremely proud of Markas and grateful to the entire team for its work. It was a weekend that rewarded consistency and confirmed the direction of his development.
FIA ARRIVE & DRIVE ASIA-PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIP – MACAU
RIVAAN DEV PREETHAM – JUNIOR
P4 in the Final and a new event record of 47.375

Another international performance of great value from Rivaan Dev Preetham, this time on the prestigious stage of Macau.

Rivaan built his weekend with a very convincing progression through practice, reaching P3 in the second session and finishing P5 in the Best Free Practices classification.

On Saturday he confirmed his pace with P4 in the Warm-Up, P2 in Sprint 1 and P3 in Sprint 2, results that placed him P3 in the Sprint Classification. He finished the Qualifying Heat P5 after receiving a penalty, while also setting the fastest lap.

Sunday was affected by severe weather, with two Qualifying Heats cancelled because of thunderstorms. Rivaan nevertheless approached the Final with great determination and secured an excellent P4.

Making the weekend even more special was his 47.375 lap, a new event record. It is a prestigious achievement at an international FIA event and another confirmation of Rivaan’s potential and development.

We are extremely proud of the maturity with which he approached a new and demanding environment, taking home speed, experience and a very strong result.
ROK CUP ITALY – ROUND 8, LONATO
MIA ZANKI – JUNIOR ROK
P3 overall in qualifying in a weekend affected by a lack of engine power

Mia Zanki began her Lonato weekend with an extremely promising performance, immediately showing the pace to compete near the front.

After P6 in Official Practice, Mia took P2 in her qualifying group and an excellent P3 overall.

In the first heat she confirmed that potential with P2. The second heat was heavily affected by a lack of engine power, costing her nine positions and leaving her P11. Despite this, Mia remained P8 after the heats.

She finished the Final in P11.

The final result does not fully reflect the quality of her weekend, particularly the speed shown in qualifying and the first heat. We are very satisfied with Mia’s progress: P3 overall in qualifying and P2 in a heat in a competitive environment such as Lonato are important signs on which to continue building.
VALENCIAN KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP – ASPAR
NILAS MALIK – JUNIOR
Two strong recoveries: P6 and P5 in the races

A weekend of strong recoveries for Nilas Malik at Aspar.

Nilas immediately demonstrated his potential with P1 in Free Practice 1 and P2 in the fourth session. A more difficult qualifying left him starting from P13.

From that point came a very positive response in the races. In Carrera 1, Nilas gained seven positions to climb to P6. In Carrera 2, he continued the progression, gaining another place and finishing P5.

Two very solid races demonstrating overtaking ability, determination and the willingness to keep fighting after a difficult qualifying session.

We are proud of the reaction he showed and of the way Nilas transformed a challenging starting position into two competitive results.
NINE DRIVERS, FIVE TROPHIES AND MANY STEPS FORWARD
Race Weekend 37 closes with nine DAG Management drivers competing across five different events and five trophies collected, all thanks to Markas Šilkūnas’ outstanding weekend at Brno.

But our assessment goes far beyond trophies. Maxime gained nine positions in the Sarno Final; Benjamin demonstrated P1 pace in practice; Matteo Gallo built consistent progress through the heats; Vladimir remained firmly in competitive positions; Mio reached P1 in F4 CEZ Free Practice; Rivaan finished P4 in Macau while setting the event record; Mia qualified P3 overall at Lonato; and Nilas produced two strong recoveries to P6 and P5.

For DAG Management, this is the most important part of our work: recognising and valuing every step forward, not only the final result. A driver’s career is built through victories and podiums, but also through difficult weekends, analysis, reactions, experience and the ability to return to the track better prepared each time.

We are proud of all nine of our drivers and deeply grateful to the families who entrust us with their journeys, to the teams and to everyone working alongside them.

Five trophies are the visible result of Race Weekend 37. The progress of our nine drivers is the result that matters to us every day.