The most important event of the season it’s finally here: the FIA World Championship for the KZ and KZ2 classes will take place in Sweden on the Kristianstad track from the 2nd to the 5th of September. 28 top drivers will fight against each other in KZ and in this category the CRG Factory Team will line up 3 drivers with great ambitions: Jeremy Iglesias, Alex Irlando and Paolo Ippolito. Unfortunately Jaime Alguersuari had to forfeit due to the persistent pain in his ribs. The Spanish driver is expected to come back racing around the end of the season.
KZ is the most performing category of international karting, where professional drivers race against each other and, as usual, they will offer an incredible show during the 4 days of competition. CRG will be on the track with many high-level drivers also in KZ2, a category that will have 101 drivers fighting for the title. Among the latter, Giacomo Pollini, the new European Champion racing with the colors of the external NGM team, is the one whom forecasts are favorable for. With the Factory Team, on the other hand, the Finnish Paavo Tonteri, who got 5th in the European Championship, will have to be followed closely, as well as Brandon Nilsson, who will race on his home track. The Italian Lorenzo Giannoni and the Spanish Jorge Pescador and Gerard Cebrian, who were all very competitive in the first part of the season with the team, will complete the official CRG squad.
From a technical point of view it must be said that both categories at the start are equipped with gearboxes and the tires used will be provided to all teams by MG. For what concerns the engines, all CRG drivers will use TM ones, with the only differences as regards to the preparers: in KZ Irlando and Iglesias will be followed directly by the TM Factory structure, while Ippolito will be supported by the French technician Cedric; in KZ2, on the other hand, all the drivers will have the assistance service on the track of the Italian technician Gianfranco Galiffa.
The Kristianstad racetrack is located in southern Sweden and boasts a long positive tradition for the CRG colors as it is exactly here where Paolo De Conto won his world title in 2017 with the team. The layout of the track extends over 1,120 meters and is very technical with fast sectors alternating with slower and "guided" parts, where the technical characteristics of CRG chassis are always enhanced.
After a season which has been characterised by a constant growth and has culminated in Pollini's victory in KZ2 and Ippolito's 3rd place in KZ, expectations for a new event as protagonists are very high at CRG. Everybody is hoping to have a race without variables caused by the weather and obviously, given the fact that it is a Championship that will be awarded in a single stage, reliability and concentration in each phase of the race will also be very important, in order not to make mistakes. The action on the track will begin on Thursday with free practice, qualifying will take place on Friday, qualifying heats on Saturday and the Finals on Sunday. The Live Timing service will be available on the FIA Karting website and on Saturday and Sunday also the Live Streaming.
CRG drivers’ expectations:
Paolo Ippolito (KZ): “Winning the last race in Adria gave us a great boost and we will get on the track even more aware of our potential, both in terms of chassis and engine. One of the keys to the weekend will be maintaining a great concentration, taking care of the details and not making mistakes in the heats, where it will also be important to manage the tires to start in front of the grid on Sunday. The team has a great experience in this type of event and this aspect can make the difference”.
Alex Irlando (KZ): “The track is very technical and I like it. On this type of racetrack, cornering speed and direction changes are important, where our frame is very effective. I am also sure that talking about the engine, TM and Franco Drudi's staff will do a great job and therefore we will have everything play the trump cards”.
Jeremy Iglesias (KZ): "We did an exceptional job throughout the year, both with small but important technical improvements, and by finding a good working feeling with TM technicians and engineers. Now the most important event of the year has finally come and we will try to put everything together to fight against our opponents".
Giacomo Pollini (KZ2): “The fact that I have won the European Championship does not change the pressure that this type of event puts on me. I feel ready and focused and even if the opponents will be a lot and very competitive, we have everything to confirm ourselves on the same levels of the European Championship. The first goal will be to do a good qualification, because starting from the front of the grid in the heats is essential, considering there will be more than 100 entrants; then we will think about Sunday's race also according to the weather which can change very quickly here”.
Brandon Nilsson (KZ2): “Taking part in such an important race event on my home track is always special. I will try to take advantage of the knowledge of the racetrack, but also of the support I will have here from my family and friends. The most important thing, in any case, is that I have had a very good season so far and we have the potential to achieve a very positive result".