CRG at the top in Sarno: Gustafsson wins the race and Iglesias is Vice European Champion
The second and final Round of the FIA European Championship of the KZ and KZ2 categories took place on the Sarno circuit; CRG and Jeremy Iglesias got there with the opportunity to win the title in the top class, after the victory in Round 1 in Spain. Unfortunately, however, the French driver, despite a solid weekend, closed the Final only in P5 behind Danilo Albanese who, on the other hand, had scored more points in the qualifying stages and in the Final he obtained P2, thus conquering the Championship success. Iglesias lost the title by just 8 points, but still competed in a Championship as a great protagonist and the same did his teammate Viktor Gustafsson who, on the Sarno track, took an amazing win, just ahead of Albanese on the finish line. For the Swedish driver there is regret for the unlucky first race in Spain, when he was forced to retire losing many points and the chances of winning the title. Gustafsson was always among the fastest in Sarno, conquering the top ten in Qualifying Practices and the second position after the Heats and the Super Heat on Sunday morning, which he won with authority. With the victory of the Sarno Final, obtained by remaining in the lead from the start to the checkered flag, he thus conquers P4 in the Championship. More unfortunate in KZ was Arthur Carbonnel, who was involved in a racing accident when he was fighting in the top ten in the first laps of the Final.
The outcome of this European Championship for CRG, despite the title missed out by a few points, remains exceptional with the victory in the important Team standings with 199 points conquered and the satisfaction of having won both Finals: in Spain with Iglesias and in Italy with Gustafsson.
The competitiveness of the CRG-TM combination was also confirmed in the KZ2 category in which Paavo Tonteri stood out from the Qualifying Practices, obtaining P3 in the general classification and then conquering the fourth position on the starting grid of the Final, after the Heat and Super Heat. In the Final the Finnish driver confirmed an excellent race pace finishing in P5 and just missing the podium.
It has been a solid weekend also for Nikolas Roos competing with the CRG Holland team and Brandon Nilsson. The first one obtained P17 in Qualifying Practices, P13 after the Heats, and in the Final he finished in P14, penalized by a race contact, while Brandon Nilsson was fast throughout the weekend, but unfortunately, he was forced to retire at the beginning of the race in the Final. Again in KZ2, despite a good speed, Bruno Mulders, who was back after an injury and almost 4 months off, did not qualify for the Final, as well as Andrea Bosetto, Adrian Malheiro, Filip and Jakub Wojcik. After the podium in Spain, the Kalì Kart driver, Jorge Pescador, also didn't have much luck in Sarno, as he lost one Heat due to an accident and finished outside the points in the final.
The Summer Break is now starting for the entire Circus of the KZ categories to then get back on track at the beginning of September with the most important appointment of the season: the FIA World Championship in Germany.
CRG drivers’ post-race reactions:
Viktor Gustafsson (KZ): “It was a great win today, which came after being among the fastest at every stage of the weekend and it's a real shame what happened in Zuera, if we think that with today's points I have closed the Championship in P4. I have to thank all the team for the fantastic job done and Gianfranco Galiffa for the TM engines. Now a little holiday and then we will work on the World Championship, where we willl go to defend the 2022 title."
Jeremy Iglesias (KZ): “There is certainly a bit of disappointment for a title that we have missed out by a few points. I lacked a bit of progression in race pace in the Final to reach the podium zone, but if I look at the overall balance of this European Championship as a team, we can only be satisfied: we won both Finals and the team title. All this was possible thanks to an exceptional chassis-engine technical package and a highly skilled technical staff. Thanks go to the whole team and TM for the very competitive engines managed by Gianfranco Galiffa. Now we look to the World Championship with the certainty that we will be among the protagonists".