Italian Flavio Camponeschi was crowned 2012 CIK-FIA World Karting Champion at the Kartódromo de Coloane in Macao today, with the 20-year old earning his first-ever FIA world title as the championship battle came right down to the wire.  Championship runner-up, Tom Joyner of Great Britain, celebrated a perfect tally of four wins in the final races of the eight-race championship.

While Joyner, 20, didn’t put a wheel wrong this weekend, it was not enough to grab the championship from Camponeschi who arrived in Macao having taken three victories earlier this year at Suzuka.

“I am very happy to have this result,” said Camponeschi, who finished fifth and fourth in today’s Races 3 and 4, respectively. “I wasn’t very fortunate in Macao, but I managed to succeed and I’m very happy about that. While the most important races for me to win this championship were the three race wins in Suzuka, my race in Macao yesterday, when I drove from last on the grid to finish second in Race 2, was my best one.”

Joyner, too, was delighted with his success in Macao: “It was a perfect weekend. To win all four races was incredible. I came here not really having any pressure and not in a position to win the championship because I had a difficult time in Suzuka. But the team and I have worked hard and the kart was perfect.”

Italian Felice Tiene, third on the podium in Race 3, and second in Race 4, finished third overall in the championship.

Macao hero Andy Chang, 15, had a strong KF1 World Championship debut, finishing just outside the top five in Race 4.  The youngster finished 11^th and 13^th on Saturday, before a superb performance on Sunday saw him cross the line in seventh and sixth.

Ahead of the fourth and final race of the weekend, Mr. Cheong U, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, led a delegation of Macao officials for a meet-and-greet session with the KF1 karters representing Macao, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, wishing them luck ahead of their race.

In the second title awarded in Macao today, Jehan Darvuala was crowned the 2012 CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific KF3 Champion, capping off a strong weekend in a thrilling 21-lap race that saw the Indian overtake Sato Marino on the last lap to grab the win.

“It was a really tough final,” Darvuala said. “I was fighting with Sato a lot. We had a really good last five laps, and on the last lap I managed to pull it off. I’m really happy with this weekend – it gave me a lot confidence.”