The young and super fast Dutch karter Max Verstappen has been given a contract as a factory driver for CRG as of 2010. The 12- year old son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen is going to be racing in the KF3 category. Jos Verstappen, who also used to race for CRG, said: "We're really delighted about the cooperation with CRG and I'm kind of proud too. I mean, it's one of the best brands in the world as far as karting is concerned."
Throughout all the years that CRG has been involved in karting, the team has won numerous international titles with the help of drivers such as five times world champion Danilo Rossi, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Alex Zanardi and currently Jonathan Thonon and Arnaud Kozlinksi. "We put a lot of trust in CRG. You can feel their involvement within the sport. The people who work at the factory are really committed to what they do and they really love their brand. The CEO at CRG, Giancarlo Tinini, really wanted Max to drive for the factory team. He was an important factor in the process, but he wanted him because of his talent."
Max Verstappen's talent hasn't gone unnoticed in the international karting scene. The youngster has been a familiar face on the podium, winning championships in every season since he began. Both his parents were involved in racing, so basically Max was born into the sport. Karting has been and will always be the most important way to reach a professional career as a racing driver.
Although he is now making his way to CRG, his father is still very much involved in coaching his son. "I'm still helping Max out as his engineer and I can still teach him a lot about racing. We do things our way. We're also supported by a small group of important people, such as Michel Vacirca of CRG Holland, who keeps an eye on the general picture.”
“Max has won a lot of trophies, but now it's time to take it to an international level. There's a nice schedule planned out for us and we're going to participate in all of the big KF3 races. We're really looking forward to our European tour,” declared Jos Verstappen, “Max is ready… as well as his father!"
Verstappen Junior will be stepping into his new kart soon, with his first race the Winter Cup in Lonato to begin the new season, followed by testing sessions for the Winning Series Karting (WSK). He will also take part in the Euro WSK, World WSK, the qualifications for the European Cup in Denmark, the CIK European Cup in Genk and the World Cup KF3 at Braga (Portugal).
About CRG
C.R.G., nowadays company leader for the manufacturing and marketing of chassis and spare parts for karts, was founded in 1986 thanks to the experience of its promoting partners, matured starting from the seventies in the company KaliKart. KaliKart was born as a little factory producing hobby chassis’ but in a few years it changed into an important company, selling its products throughout the whole Italy and in 1979 it won the 125cc Italian championship.
The new company C.R.G. established itself from the beginning of its activities in the international karting arena, thanks to a constant commitment to the research and technical development of its products. At the beginning of the nineties, it changed from handmade craft production into more of an industrial manufacturer.
In that period, the widespread expansion began of importers and distributors in the five continents, with a particular focus on the key markets of Europe and U.S.A., which nowadays has reached a total of 70 official dealers around the world and this number is still increasing, with the new importers of the rising markets, such as the countries of the ex U.S.S.R and the Middle East.
In the nineties, the company started the development of a new line for the study and designing of karting engines, but this required high specialization, both for the manufacturing structure and for the different skills required of the staff. So, after the company and production shakeout of the year 2000 the management decided to create a separate company: Maxter S.r.L.
In 2003 the company restructure was completed by the establishment of the Tinini Group; the leading holding that controls and coordinates both Maxter S.r.L. and the new C.R.G. S.p.A., now focused only on its core business. The two companies, located presently in two separate buildings, will very soon move into a new important industrial pole that will represent in a better way, the leading role that they have in their respective fields.
The commitment of C.R.G. S.p.A. is centred not only on the technological evolution of the karts and their components, but also on the international competitions: the palmares achieved by the Racing Team boasts a huge number of victories in the World and European Championship and many continental titles. A staff of highly skilful professional mechanics supports the official drivers during the races, providing them with special technical support. They also have the task of testing the new products for the company, combining the trial on the track to the study and the research carried out inside the company.
We can consider C.R.G. a real factory of champions: this is evident by the great number of drivers who have passed from karting to Formula 1, thanks to their characteristic qualities. Some examples include: Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Heidfeld, Liuzzi, Nico Rosberg, Kubica, Lewis Hamilton... all of them have raced on C.R.G. chassis’.
The commitment of the company for the technical and qualitative improvement of its products steadily continues in time, and this is confirmed by the drivers that every year take C.R.G. to the top positions of the national and international championships. The passion is the same... and the evolution goes on! |
