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NEWS 04/02/2010
 

CRG AND MAXTER WITH THE OFFICIAL TEAM AT WSK EURO SERIES AND WSK WORLD SERIES 2010

THE OFFICIAL PARTICIPATION IN THE TWO INTERNATIONAL WSK SERIES 2010 CONFIRMED BY CRG AND MAXTER. ENTRIES TO THE EUROPEAN SERIES – WHICH IS DUE TO START NEXT 7TH MARCH ON THE INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT LA CONCA AT MURO LECCESE - ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 200.

 

 

Lonato (Brescia, Italy), 3rd February 2010. Entries for the 2010 edition of the WSK Euro Series have reached the 200 participants. The Series will start from the International Circuit La Conca at Muro Leccese next 7th March and it will be the first of the five European meetings.

A good success which confirms the leadership gained in karting by this championship at international level, both for the competitive quality of its participants and for the first rate technical challenge. CRG and Maxter will participate with their official team in the 2010 WSK Euro Series together with other top constructors, such as Birel and Tony Kart; with them they will also take part in the new, fascinating world challenge of the WSK World Series. CRG and Maxter have supported the WSK Euro series since the beginning, because of their organizing and promoting capacities which, during these last few years, have been meeting the sports expectations of constructors and teams.

The continental series of the WSK Euro Series 2010 will be contested in five meetings: after the opening race at Muro Leccese the other meetings will be at Lonato (28th March), Zuera (18th April), Genk (9th May) and Sarno (6th June). The new WSK World Series will be contested on three continents, with meetings in Europe (Portimao, Portugal, 3rd July), United States (Millville, New Jersey, 1st August) and Africa (Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh, 31st October). The programme of the WSK 2010 is completed by the new national series WSK Master, structured in three meetings in Italy (Siena 29th August, Val Vibrata 26th September, Castelletto 10th October) and in the WSK Nations Cup event at Muro Leccese on 28th November.

The complete programmes of the WSK 2010 are available on the website www.wskarting.com

Press Office

CRG SpA

 

 

 
NEWS 26/01/2010
 

TEN YEARS AFTER, HAMILTON AND ROSBERG ARE BACK ON KARTS AT LONATO WITH DINO CHIESA AND CRG

THE TWO F1 DRIVERS LEWIS HAMILTON AND NICO ROSBERG, WHO RACED FOR CRG AND DINO CHIESA IN 2000 AND 2001, SPENT A WHOLE DAY DRIVING KARTS LIKE THEY USED TO DO IN THE OLD GOOD DAYS ON THE 'SOUTH GARDA CIRCUIT', AT LONATO. HAMILTON TESTED THE 'LH' CHASSIS PRODUCED BY CRG. NICHOLAS, LEWIS'S BROTHER, AND THE NEW KARTING STAR NICK DE VRIES WERE WITH THEM.

 

 

Lonato (Brescia - Italy), 25th January 2010. F1 drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, who used to race together for CRG and Dino Chiesa's team a few years ago, went back on a kart last Friday, both to get some fun and for a small training session for next F1 season. The two drivers met on the 'South Garda Karting Circuit', welcomed by their former team manager Dino Chiesa, for a full immersion day in karting.
Both Hamilton and Rosberg, before their début in car-racing, used to race together for the MBM team (acronym of Mercedes Benz McLaren) in 2000 and 2001, with CRG chassis; in those years they even took part in the Italian Championship Open Masters. With Dino Chiesa and CRG, Hamilton became Formula A European Champion in 2000, with Rosberg crossing the line for second.


Hamilton, who turned 25 few days ago and is about to race for McLaren for the 4th season, could test the 'LH' chassis, recently developed by CRG thanks to 2008 F1 World Champion's advice and technical specs.
Rosberg, who is racing for Mercedes this year, raced on a 'Zanardi' chassis; he already had the occasion to appreciate it last November, on the very same circuit of Lonato together with Michael Schumacher and the young Dutch star Nyck De Vries. De Vries, who was together with the two F1 drivers on this occasion too, has recently been included in the McLaren young driver development programme.


Also Lewis Hamilton's brother, Nicholas, got on a kart: he had lot of fun testing a CRG-Rotax Max.
Lewis Hamilton concentrated on the driving of his 'LH', both in the KF and KZ version - with gears and Maxter engine. "I really had lot of fun - said Hamilton after racing for almost a whole day -. Above all, I enjoyed the kart with gears, which I had never tried before. I've always raced on a 100cc without gears, and it's been hard for me to adjust to the driving style the KZ requires. I need to get the knack of it, but I've already seen that it's total fun. I obviously felt at ease with the KF, quite similar to my old 100cc. Anyway, it was wonderful to meet again with my old team, my brother and all my Italian friends."


Dino Chiesa was very satisfied too: "Meeting again on a track after almost ten years was a great experience. First of all, both Hamilton and Rosberg wanted to have fun, without trying to get first rate performances, even though they raced at full throttle. Nicholas Hamilton had lots of fun too: he didn't want to get down of the kart. I think he completed almost 200 laps… I hope to repeat this experience in a few months."

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Photo: Spotinphoto and Chiesa Corse

 

 

 
NEWS 22/12/2009
 

TININI, CRG SPA CHAIRMAN: “REGULATIONS NEED A CHANGE: IT IS THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY TO SAVE KARTING”

IN TAKING STOCK OF THIS YEAR’S WORK, GIANCARLO TININI DRAWS A SKETCH OF THE PRESENT SITUATION AND POINTS HIS FINGER AT THE TOO STRICT KF MOTORIZATION REGULATIONS. IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO TAKE A STEP BACK IN ORDER TO GIVE KARTING NEW CREDIT.

 

 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia – Italy), 22th December 2009.

The opening of the brand-new C.R.G. plant and the year-end prize-giving ceremony for the important 2009 achievements of the Italian manufacturing firm were an ideal occasion to draw a sketch of the current situation of karting with the chairman of C.R.G. S.p.a., Giancarlo Tinini.

The spotlights are definitely on the appalling situation of the KF engines after three years from their introduction. It is not the engine to be under accusation, on the contrary: it has been performing at excellent technical levels so far, but the complex regulation hinders its usage and spread.

“KF Class is in troubled waters – says Mr Tinini – and this situation has nothing to do with the product, which is of excellent quality. It is rather a matter of regulation, because it is far too strict. If we want to keep on going steadily towards the KF failure, we just need to keep on with this system. If we won’t make it simpler we won’t get anything good out of it. We need to simplify.”

For example?

“It is necessary to make simpler regulations, which means giving the possibility to racers to spend more time on the tracks rather than on the trolleys for the technical tests. With today’s regulation you spend a lot of time in tests instead of running on tracks, which is what people want. This is the direct consequence of the stubbornness of many people. We should be more sensible and go back to the well-tested technical and sports rules we had had for so many years, starting all over, but always with KF. Because the problem is not in the product but in the rules. I make an example: when a 100cc engine undergoes a technical inspection, scrutineers use a homologation paper of three pages. Well, in KF the same homologation paper is of twenty-seven pages. For me the product (the engine) is a good one. All the manufacturing firms have reached good quality standards: if they fix up the rules we will not regret the old 100cc. I think that all the ASNs of the world should use the new KF engine and provide for their own control regulation, using the same method that we adopted in the ICA or in the Junior (where you just had to check the volume of the combustion chamber, the exhaust timing, the diameter of the carburettor and the measure of the reed valve): in a short time KF could soar without troubles. Unfortunately, sticking to these strict rules gives only big problems.”

Is this the reason why many drivers are more attracted by the KZ?

“Sure. Drivers are more and more attracted by KZ and by ‘single-brand’ championships, where rules are so much less strict. It is normal. This is a situation created by this regulation issued by KF. We immediately pointed out that regulations made in such a way couldn’t work. They are just absurd. They’re unfit for this kind of categories, but they might be fit for a ‘single-brand’ category which wants to remain static. Taking CIK races – where a lot of money has been spent on testing and equipment - as grounds for the regulation isn’t practicable for all the regional and national races taking place on Saturdays and Sundays on the circuits all over the world. The regulation that we need to outline should be tested in the races it refers to and then applied as a unique world regulation.”

Is the participation in the CIK-FIA races put in question by major constructors for this reason too?

“Our firm has got clear ideas: we know karting better than others and we know that the direction we are following for the regulations is not the right one. Just keep in mind that a driver doesn’t go on the track by himself. Together with him there’s a group of people: mechanics, technicians and all those who cooperate in the setting of the chassis and of the engine. All these people work together to get better and better results. If we take away this opportunity from them, they will lack in adrenalin and people will prefer …to go fishing, because we have denied them the possibility to do their best . This is the most stupid thing we can do. In these last three years we have been making a lot of fuss and now I can say that we have often denounced how unfit these regulations were, in particular those rules that oblige the constructors to work on projects which are much more complex and, consequently, much more expensive too. Today I’m happy, because the other firms which had initially supported these regulations are now beginning to understand that things can’t go on like that. If, even today, many ASNs refuse to introduce KF in their countries, it’s because it is a ‘scary’ product, but not because of the way the engine is made. We all know that this is a concept very similar to the Rotax ‘single-brand’, which is the number one in the world as a product: still, it is a ‘single-brand’.”

So, what do we need to do?

“A very simple thing. Last year - and two years ago too – we had already proposed it: we just need to go back to the rules of the old ICA and Junior. However, always with the KF engine as it is now. Remaining still and unwilling to change is wrong.”

Which is the message for the Federation which makes the rules?

“We should be honest and take a step back in the regulations, for the sake of karting. The engine, as it is now, is perfect. We are in contact with many ASNs and together we are trying to lay the foundations for a specific set of rules which, probably, could mend the situation.”

Press Office

C.R.G. S.p.A.

 

 

 
NEWS 21/12/2009
 

CRG OPENS ITS BRAND-NEW FACTORY AND CELEBRATES ITS CHAMPIONS AND WORLD’S DEALERS


GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW AND VERY ADVANCED CRG FACTORY, COMPLETION OF AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL WIDENING PROJECT OF THE GROUP. AWARDS GRANTED TO THE DRIVERS FOR THEIR WINS IN 2009 AND FOR THE DEALERS FOR THEIR IMPORTANT 2009 ACHIEVEMENTS.

 

 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia – Italy) 21st December 2009. Last 18th December, CRG, the prestigious Italian manufacturing firm, completed its project of widening and modernization of its structure with the opening ceremony of its very advanced brand-new factory at Desenzano del Garda. In the same area, during the last two years, the CRG group had already opened the two new factories of Maxter Engines and Maranello. All the most important representatives of karting were invited at the party given for the occasion.

The new plant, with its innovating architecture and its accurate and refined design of the rooms, has three stories and an overall surface of 10,000 square meters. Together with the nearby Maxter and Maranello plants – respectively 1,450 and 1,350 square meters – the new complex is now a top industrial hub for karting.

The old CRG factory, not far away from the new one, will keep on working and will house the CRG Racing Team structure and Primatist, one of the brands of the group specialized in the production and selling of connecting rods, drive shafts and other accessories for karting.

All the major dealers for CRG from all over the world with all the members of the official racing team – drivers, mechanics, technicians - took part in the opening ceremony, together with karting VIPs and several representatives of the national and international press.

This important event was the occasion for the traditional CRG prize-giving ceremony, during which prizes for the 2009 season were given to CRG drivers and dealers. A season full of crucial achievements: CRG excelled in the most important world championships: from the win of “Koko” Arnaud Kozlinski in the Super KF World Championship and in the WSK International Series, to the third win in a row of Jonthan Thonon in the KZ1 World Cup.

Among the CRG dealers, the Best Dealer Award went to Christian Marchandise’s French firm KCM. Further prizes for this particular ranking went to Dominique Labreque’s Canadian firm PSL and to the German Prespo of Manfred Brandl. This is Giancarlo Tinini’s comment, chairman of C.R.G. S.p.a.: “It was a great celebration for CRG. All our friends and major dealers of our brand took part in it, coming from all over the world. It’s been two years since our last ceremony before Christmas, since we suspended it because of my father’s death. He was a great supporter of this annual appointment and he was always so pleased to represent our brand. Without him I felt it was pointless to keep on organizing the event. But the achievements of this year – the opening of the factory and the wins in the championships - pushed me to resume the tradition.

 

I was pleased to realize how happy our guests were and it is always great to see such an enthusiasm surrounding our brand. The opening of our new factory is a crucial moment in our business enterprise. The new structure is essential to increase the production and to simplify the goods handling, with the possibility of adding new equipment. Our aim was to work better.

Everything seems so big, but in the end you always need more room. Anyway, we definitely took a big step forward. Now our commitment is to step up the production. We are quite satisfied for the achievements of the year at the moment.

Our production is at the same level of last year production: good news considering the general conditions of the world’s economy. We got excellent selling results in France, followed by Canada and Germany. We recorded a light increase in Japan but a worrying downward trend in America that we will try to recover. In 2010 we think we can increase our sales, even though it won’t be easy.

Regarding the racing we are about to complete our official team: our goal is to get as many trophies as possible, according to our tradition. Jonathan Thonon will take part in KZ1 and KZ2 competitions together with Gary Carlton, while “Koko”, Davide Forè and Eddy Tinini will compete in Super KF. In this class we will have Felice Tiene’s comeback, the winner of this year KF2 Asia-Pacific Championship. Giovanni Martinez will compete in KF2, Luca Tilloca in KZ2. In KF3 we will have the début of the promising young kating driver Max Verstappen, son of the F1 champion Jos Verstappen.

Soon we will have the names of the drivers of our new junior team, besides probable new drivers in KF2 and KF3”.

Jonathan Thonon: “ I want to thank Giancarlo Tinini for his confidence. I have been racing for CRG for nine years, with the VDK Team first and then with CRG Official Team. This is something I’m so proud of because it’s a continuity that is hard to get in the world of sports; it is based on a great and mutual respect, and this is fundamental for me. It makes me very self-confident.

My season will be focused on KZ1 in the WSK World series and in KZ2 in the WSK Euro Series. The only exception will be the Winter Cup, where I will compete in Super KF. For 2010 we have lots of novelties, starting from the engine, and I’m sure we’ll have a top level season”.

Arnaud Kozlinski: “It is the first time I take part in a CRG celebration and I had the feeling to be a member of a big family. A beautiful feeling.

Concerning my racing activity, in these last weeks I have been following the development of the new engine, and I must say that we are at a satisfactory stage.

We are all happy with the equipment, for the power and the reliability at top levels. My season will be focused on Super KF in the WSK, both in the World Series and in the Euro Series, besides the opening race in the Winter Cup”.

Davide Forè: “I’m expecting much from 2010. I have tested the new Maxter KF engine and I noticed it has been greatly enhanced. It offers excellent reliability, it is much smaller than the previous one and this is the reason why the chassis offers a better efficiency. It’s given me positive emotions, that’s why I’m so confident.”

Press Office

C.R.G. S.p.A.

CRG 2010 OFFICIAL TEAM (temporary list)

KZ1 (e KZ2)

Jonathan Thonon (B)

Gary Carlton (USA)

Super KF

“Koko” Arnaud Kozlinski (F)

Davide Forè (I)

Eddy Tinini (I)

Felice Tiene (I)

KZ2

Luca Tilloca (I)

KF2

Giovanni Martinez (I)

KF3

Max Verstappen (NL)




 

 
NEWS 10/12/2009
 

CRG AND KOZLINSKI RECEIVED A TRIBUTE AT WSK PRIZE-GIVING CEREMONY FOR Super KF CONSTRUCTORS’ AND DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS


GREAT SATISFACTION FOR CRG-MAXTER FOR THE TROPHIES WON DURING THE SEASON. THE PARTICIPATION IN THE 2010 WSK IS CONFIRMED. MOST OF CRG TEAM HAS ALREADY BEEN DEFINED FOR NEXT SEASON, WITH THE DÉBUT OF MAX VERSTAPPEN AND FELICE TIENE’S COMEBACK.

 

 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), 9th December 2009. Great celebrations for CRG and Arnaud Kozlinski at 2009 WSK “Gran Galà” - at Monza Sporting Club – for the season final prize-giving ceremony. The constructors’ championship, won by CRG with Maxter engines in the WSK most professional class – the Super KF -, and the drivers’ championship – won by Arnaud Kozlinski, driver for CRG – were the further season achievements of the Italian manufacturing firm, after the World Championships won by Jonathan Thonon in the KZ1 World Cup at Sarno and by Kozlinski himself in the Super KF World Championship in Macao.

For CRG-Maxter the 2009 season ended in the best possible way, with the win of the most prestigious karting championships. At the WSK prize-giving ceremony Mr Giancarlo Tinini, chairman of C.R.G. S.p.a., and his driver Arnaud Kozlinski were greatly satisfied with their results.

The 2009 season has just finished, but the team is already focused on the next season, as Mr Giancarlo Tinini points out: “We are absolutely happy for our achievements in 2009. Our drivers’ performances showed the excellent quality of CRG chassis and Maxter engines, besides the brilliant results of LH chassis and the trophies won by the other brands of our group, Maranello and Zanardi. The next season is approaching and we are already defining a schedule with our official participation in the Euro Series and in the World Series of the WSK, as well as in the season opening race in the Winter Cup of Lonato. As official team, we won’t fail to provide for assistance to our drivers in the CIK-FIA Championships in all the classes. We are arranging the team for our official CRG-Maxter drivers for the next season, even if the team is not completely defined yet. Anyway we have several novelties, such as Felice Tiene’s comeback to our team. He will compete in Super KF with a CRG chassis, together with Arnaud Kozlinski, Davide Forè and Eddy Tinini, whereas Jonathan Thonon will compete in KZ together with the American driver Gary Carlton. The French driver Brandon Maisano and the English driver Oliver Rowland will compete in Super KF too, with a LH chassis. The promising Max Verstappen, son of the F1 driver Jos Verstappen, will be our driver in KF3, but there are negotiations pending for other interesting young drivers. In our team there are also two drivers from Sardinia: Giovanni Martinez in KF2 and Luca Tilloca in KZ2. In the following weeks we will be able to give a full account of the list of our drivers.”

Arnaud Kozlinski, the protagonist of the celebrations for the Super KF drivers’ championship, was very happy too: “Winning the championship was just like winning a European championship for me. It was a great pleasure getting the trophy just two weeks after the win in the World Championship in Macao. Maybe, winning the World Championship 15 days before this tough trophy was the ‘psychological push’ I needed. In the last race I gave everything and I made it. Last year I had lost the championship in the last lap of the last race against Cesetti: this year I had my revenge. I could even have had a better end of season in the last race of Las Vegas, but a problem with my shift gear didn’t allow me to try to win and I was obliged to be content with a fourth place. In 2010 I hope I will be able to have another terrific season like this.”

C.R.G. S.p.a.

Press Office

(Photo Press.net)




 

 
NEWS 09/11/2009
 

THE VERY YOUNG DRIVER MAX VERSTAPPEN WILL JOIN THE CRG TEAM IN 2010 TO TAKE PART IN THE WSK INTERNATIONAL SERIES

THE SON OF THE F1 DRIVER JOS VERSTAPPEN WILL DEBUT IN KF3 WITH THE OFFICIAL CRG TEAM.

 

 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), November 9th 2009. The official CRG team is defining its structure for 2010 and we officially have the first driver name for next season.
The Italian company is glad to announce the agreement with the very young driver Max Verstappen, a new talented driver who's following in his father footsteps.
In fact, his father is the Dutch Jos Verstappen, a sublime kart driver who then has run over 107 Grand Prix in F1 from 1994 to 2003 (with Benetton, Arrows, Tyrrell, Stewart, and Minardi) and who has also recently been a protagonist in the A1 Grand Prix and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.


Max Verstappen will make his debut in KF3 in 2010 with the official CRG team.
Max is 12 years old, he was born in Hasselt, Belgium and has already conquered an important series of victories: he was twice Belgian Champion in the Junior category, twice champion of Benelux in the Rotax Minimax, twice Belgian champion in the Mini and Dutch champion of Rotax Minimax.
Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), November 9th 2009


 

 
NEWS 06/11/2009
 

THE CRG GROUP ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF A NEW "CRG JUNIOR TEAM" FOR THE YOUNG CATEGORIES

THE NEW "CRG JUNIOR TEAM" IS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT TO THE COMPETITION ACTIVITY OF THE YOUNG TALENTS AND WILL BE MANAGED BY MR. ALAIN AND MR. ERIC VERDAASDONK THE BELGIAN MANAGERS OF THE TEAM VDK.

 

 

Giancarlo Tinini, president of C.R.G. S.p.A., announces an agreement which concerns the creation of a new "CRG Junior Team": "An agreement has been reached between CRG and VDK for the creation of a Junior Team which will have the task to let the young drivers grow in competitions. The selection of the best drivers it's up to VDK, then they will be proposed to the factory team for the continuation of their activity at the highest levels".
The CRG Group is going to extend its racing engagement in karting and will have a new "CRG Junior Team" that will be side by side with the head office, with the main goal to let the new karting talents grow. The "CRG Junior Team" will therefore have the mission to favour above all the young drivers competitive activity towards the most important sports goals. It's a clear sign of trust in the future, starting from the youngest drivers, which involves an important brand such as the CRG Group, that confirmed itself also this year as the most winning brand in World Championship titles.
The new "CRG Junior Team" will be managed by the two Belgian brothers Alain and Eric Verdaasdonk, appreciated owners of the VDK Team and clever talent-scout like in the case of Jonathan Thonon, world champion now for the third consecutive time with CRG-Maxter after having started his karting career in 1996 in the "mini" class of the Belgian Championship with the VDK Team. Among the drivers who are followed at the moment by the VDK Team we need to mention the 17-years-old Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne who is successfully racing in the WSK International Series.
The "CRG Junior Team" will take part in the international races of the KF3 and KF2 categories, in the Belgian and French Championships and will avail itself of a suitable operating structure on the race tracks.
Press Office C.R.G. S.p.A.


Lonato (Brescia), November 6th 2009

 

 
NEWS 01/11/2009
 

CRG-MAXTER WINS THE SUPER KF DRIVERS AND TEAM TITLES IN THE WSK SERIES WITH ARNAUD KOZLINSKI

THE CRG-MAXTER DRIVER ARNAUD KOZLINSKI WITH A SECOND PLACE IN THE LAST ROUND OF THE WSK CHAMPIONSHIP IN LONATO WINS THE TITLE IN THE SUPER KF CATEGORY. THE ITALIAN COMPANY ALSO WINS THE TITLE FOR TEAMS.

 


 

Lonato (Brescia), November 1st 2009. Another sensational success for CRG and Maxter, even better it was a double success the one conquered in Lonato by the Italian company in the final race of the WSK International Series. The seventh and last act of the season took place on the South Garda Karting circuit and the French Arnaud Kozlinski of CRG-Maxter won the prestigious title of the Super KF “queen” category, celebrating in the best possible way the recent World title obtained two weeks before in Macao. It was a double success indeed because further to the drivers title, CRG also won the prestigious Team title thanks to the second position of Kozlinski and the fourth place of Brandon Maisano in addition to the tenth place of Davide Forè.


In order to mathematically win the title, Kozlinski had absolutely to conquer at least the second place and so he did, with a race full of unexpected events and great suspense.

His opponents for the title were the classification leader Cesetti and Gary Catt: both drivers were anyway forced to withdraw before the finish of the long 38 laps final. Cesetti in spite of the withdrawal could anyway compete for the title forcing “Koko” to gain at least 30 points with a second place. After an initial duel with Ardigò and later on also with the Zcech Maranello driver Groman and Catt, since the second half of the race “Koko” succeeded in keeping the second position behind Ardigò till the end of the race. Thanks to this good performance the French driver well deserved to win the Super KF title, confirming at the same time the great reliability of the Maxter engine and the perfect set up of the CRG chassis. At a certain point “Koko” could have been able to even attack Ardigò’s first position but he preferred to avoid any risk giving this way as a present to CRG-Maxter the third title of the season, after the World Cup title conquered by Jonathan Thonon in KZ1 and his victory in the Super KF World Championship.

As for the other CRG drivers, the French Brandon Maisano with LH chassis finished fourth after having been in the third position and having made a wonderful recovery, while Thonon was forced to withdraw at half race just when he was producing his attack. Just before that Eddy Tinini and Oliver Rowland (LH) had to give up because of an accident.

Kozlinski was obviously very happy, rightly proud for having reached a very difficult goal: “I started well this race with my best timing in the Superpole, then in the heats it was difficult to find the right set-up of my kart. Before the Final I wanted to risk everything and together with my mechanic and my team we made a series of important technical changes. During the warm-up these changes proved to be okay, everything went very well so I could start the final in the best possible conditions. After the battles at the beginning, when I overtook Catt and Groman and got the second position, the last 10 laps made me understand that the title was very close. For this reason I tried to control the position without forcing, I calmed down and ended with that second place which made me win the title. I really wish to thank all my team and of course my mechanics for the great work done before the Final.”

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: “Excellent result. Last year we had lost both the WSK and the Super KF titles, but this year we have won both of them, further to the World title of Thonon in KZ1. This was a difficult race for us because we were forced to make a result at any cost to be able to win the title, so we had to avoid any mistake and so we did. In the future we will also work on the younger categories and we will invest on drivers who might give us the result. I think we will do very well also in KF3 and KF2”.

RESULTS

Lonato (Brescia), WSK – 7th round, November 1st 2009

Super KF: 1. Ardigò (I) 38 laps; 2. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) +1.151; 3. Groman (CZ) +5.138; 4. Maisano (F) (LH-Maxter) +5.390; 5. Convers (F) +5.473; 6. Puhakka (FIN) +6.667; 7. Camponeschi (I) +7.522; 8. Renaudie (F) +11.879; 9. De Brabander (B) +13.511; 10. Forè (CRG-Maxter) +14.353.

WSK Championship, Super KF: 1. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) points 86; 2. Cesetti (I) 80; 3. Ardigò (I) 55; 4. Maisano (F) (LH-Maxter) 47; 5. Toman (CZ) 45.

Eurocup WSK: 1. CRG SpA points 158; 2. Birel Motorsport 126; 3. Tony Kart Racing Team 106; 4. Maranello Kart 67; 5. Kosmic Racing Dept. 52; 6. Pcr Srl 28.

Press Office

C.R.G. S.p.A.

Lonato (Brescia), November 1st 2009



 
NEWS 31/10/2009
 

CRG-MAXTER AND ITS NEW WORLD CHAMPION ARNAUD KOZLINSKI WILL TRY TO WIN THE WSK TITLE

KOZLINSKI WINS AN INCREDIBLE SUPERPOLE DURING THE TESTS IN LONATO GETTING CLOSER TO THE CLASSIFICATION LEADER AND SO HE WILL FIGHT FOR THE SUPER KF TITLE IN THE LAST APPOINTMENT OF THE WSK SERIES..


 

Lonato (Brescia), October 31st 2009. CRG and Maxter, together with the new World Champion "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski, are ready to face the last battle of the season in the final event of the WSK International Series in Lonato that will take place on the South Garda Karting circuit, where a record number of 194 drivers will compete in the Super KF, KF3 and KF2 categories.
The title is still to be assigned in the "queen" Super KF category and CRG-Maxter which together with Kozlinski have just made a great performance winning the World Championship of Macao, have now to turn to their favour the championship classification in order to recover the disadvantage from the leader Sauro Cesetti.
The good winning moment of CRG Maxter was clear enough since the official heats of Saturday, when Kozlinski was first able to be among the top ten fastest drivers then he conquered for the second time this year a sensational Superpole: the French driver gained therefore 3 points which allowed him, according to the differences, to shorten up to 9 points his delay from Cesetti.


The two qualification heats of Saturday highlighted another great performance of CRG-Maxter and Kozlinski, who got a brilliant third place in both races while Cesetti, after an 8th position of the first heat, was forced to withdraw in the second race. The last heat on Sunday morning will be decisive for the starting grid of the Final of Sunday afternoon, in a race final stage which seems to be quite uncertain and of great suspense.
The CRG-Maxter official team will support Kozlinski thanks to its other 2009 World Champion in KZ1 Jonathan Thonon, who was able to well recover in the two heats with a 10th and 6th places but also thanks to Davide Forè and Eddy Tinini who are at the moment slightly lingered because of some troubled episodes.
With regards to the LH chassis and Maxter engines, this time assisted on track by Dino Chiesa, also Oliver Rowland and Brandon Maisano will compete, being the second in great evidence since the beginning of this event.
CRG will also line up the Spanish Antonio Alarcon and Giovanni Martinez in KF2 and the Rumenian Robert Visoiu in KF3.

WSK Super KF Championship classification after the Superpole of Lonato won by Kozlinski: 1. Cesetti 65 (80 - 15 of difference); 2. Kozlinski 56 (68 - 12 of difference).

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Lonato (Brescia), October 31st 2009


 
NEWS 25/10/2009
 

ALESSANDRO VANTINI WITH CRG IS ONCE AGAIN SUPER ROK INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION 2009

FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW ALESSANDRO VANTINI WITH CRG "ROAD REBEL" CHASSIS WON THE SUPER ROK WORLD TITLE IN THE ROK CUP INTERNATIONAL FINAL WHICH TOOK PLACE ON THE SOUTH GARDA KARTING CIRCUIT OF LONATO (ITALY) DURING THE WEEKEND OF THE 25TH OF OCTOBER.


 

In the closing event of the season of the Rok international one brand championship a good number of 298 drivers were present on the starting grid and the fast, young 18-years-old driver from Milan literally dominated the final after having been the fastest even in the official heats where he got a great pole position.
"Last year I wasn't able to conquer the pole - said Vantini just after his good performance - so I think this is a good start that gives me the chance to defend my title".
And so it was. Vantini has been shining since the qualification heats gaining a third place for the starting grid of the final, then two bends were enough for him to show himself as the leader until the end of the race, driving a CRG chassis which proved to be perfect in all circumstances.
This is what Vantini said after his victory: "I think I've done a good set-up job of my kart, therefore I didn't have any kind of problem. I was quite immediately the leader of the race in the Final so that my competitors couldn't catch me up me anymore. I've had some advantage in the first laps and I won with about 4 seconds of time over them".
This was the best possible way for Vantini to finish his season, considering his second place in the Super Rok National Championship and his brilliant qualification at the selection round of the European KF2 Championship run in Sosnova in the Czech Republic.
"Unfortunately I couldn't take part in the KF2 European Final - said Vantini with a bit of regret - but it is a priority for me next year. In fact I would like to repeat this experience and maybe to obtain a good result in the KF2 European of 2010. I am anyway really happy for this second Super Rok international title".
Vantini's team manager, Alessandro Marrapese, was of course very satisfied: "I am very happy for this second international title on Super Rok won by Vantini. I've been following him for two years and now I am fully satisfied with his results. He is a very fast driver who is also very keen to the set-up of his kart so he is then very focused on the track. We will first of all point to the KF2 European Championship next year, but Alessandro might also look for his third victory in the international Super Rok".

RESULTS

Lonato (Brescia), October 22nd-25th 2009
2009 Super Rok International Final
Super Rok
1. Alessandro Vantini (CRG-Super Rok-Bridgestone) - Italy
2. Lorenzo Caponi - Italy
3. Martin Acosta - Argentina
Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Lonato (Brescia), October 25th 2009

 

 
NEWS 11/10/2009
 

THE BIG SLAM OF CRG-MAXTER: AFTER THE KZ1 WORLD-TITLE IT ALSO WINS THE SUPER KF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN MACAO WITH ARNAUD KOZLINSKI

AFTER THE WORLD SUCCESS WITH THONON IN KZ1 CRG-MAXTER GETS THE "EN-PLEIN" WINNING ALSO THE WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE CATEGORY SUPER KF IN MACAO.


 

Macao (China), the 11th of October 2009. Another great world success for CRG and Maxter motors in the Karting World Championship. After the recent success of Thonon in the KZ1 World Cup it was this time the French Arnaud Kozlinski to win for CRG-Maxter and to jump on the highest step of the podium in the Super KF World Championship referring to the queen category of karting without gear during the event of a sole round which was run for the first time in Asia on the circuit of Macao.
A victory which was built with great determination: that's what "Koko" got in the difficult Chinese weekend where the 28-years-old driver from Bordeaux was a protagonist since the beginning of the race, mastering the scene and well deserving to become World Champion 2009.
CRG wins therefore the "big slam" title of the season with a sensational second year of victories which seals indeed a fabulous end of season for the whole Italian team. A great result that confirms the competitiveness of CRG chassis further to the power and to the reliability of Maxter motors.


"Koko" was able to reach this result in Macao after his victories in the qualification heats and in the pre-final. On the contrary, there was quite an uncertainty as to the result in the Final which was one of the most uncertain and hard fought race of these last years, influenced furthermore by the rain which started to fall from the 6th of the 25 laps in programme.

In fact the asphalt was already particularly slippery due to problems of the day before which were solved during the night using concrete and resin, and from the 6th lap of the Final also the rain came to create confusion, so that the leadership of the race was passing from "Koko" to Renaudie then to Ardigò and later to Vainio. But in the topic moment of the race, at 6 laps from finish, it was "Koko" to get again the leader just in time before the end with red flag when it was clearly dangerous to continue the race which was anyway considered valid because 80% of the total laps were run until stop. Vainio and Hanley got the podium together with "Koko" and the fourth place went to Thonon who made an excellent recovery from the 9th position.

Unfortunately the French Brandon Maisano on LH-Maxter wasn't able to put into practice the good things done during the whole weekend and even starting from the first line with "Koko", he was immediately out of the race due to an accident just after the start. The other driver with LH chassis, the British Oliver Rowland, who was assisted on track by Dino Chiesa as well as Maisano, hardly fought for the leadership but had then to be satisfied with his 12th place just ahead of Davide Forè who was lingered by some contacts. Among the CRG drivers, finally we need to mention Eddy Tinini who was really unlucky being involved in a couple of accidents in the heats so to loose the access to the Final which he was well deserving.

A great celebration at the end for the whole CRG team but also emotion for the umpteenth World Title which further enriched the yet fantastic international palmarès-prizewinners of the Italian company. "Everything was OK - said just after the race Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A. - and it was a nice result for CRG and of course for "Koko" who was chasing this title since a long time. He made an excellent race and proved what a good driver he is. It was a good result which came at the end of a season I which "Koko", Thonon and Forè have been committing themselves to the development and research.

Here in Macao we also had a good fourth place with Jonathan who recovered very well after the qualification heats. I'm also happy for Aaro Vainio and Ben Hanley of Maranello who complete the success of Tinini Group together with Maxter motors which reach the first four places of the Super KF World Championship. It was anyway a pity for Eddy because he couldn't reach the Final due to a couple of accidents. It was an important season full of successes so this is the right occasion to thank all the mechanics and the staff who gave a great contribution to our victories."

Obviously very happy Arnaud Kozlinski: "It's my first victory in a World Championship and of course I am happy indeed. I had a rather bad start at the beginning of the year but I kept on having trust so after a lot of work on the development of the motors we had at the end a brilliant result. This title is a reward for previous disappointments and above all for the misfortune of last year after an accident in Las Vegas. This is my third year with CRG and I wish to thank the whole team which supported me in every moment. Running in Asia brings me good luck considering also that I was third in the SFK World Cup in Suzuka and always in Suzuka I won the 2006 World Cup in Formula A. With this success in Macao I have also won a bet with Nico, who is the Maxter responsible manager. The prize was a Rolex which is now my watch!".

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sportive Director: "After the problems the day before due to the crumbling asphalt the event could have a regular ending and we had Kozlinski's important victory. It was marvellous also because our driver was chasing this result since a long time. My congratulations to "Koko" who made me move for what he could realize. We also had a great performance from Thonon while Forè suffered for a few accidents. Excellent was Maisano who was in great shape but also quite unlucky for the accident at the start. We are closing this year with two Championship titles in Super KF and KZ1, further to a third place at the European KZ1. We really have very good equipment either CRG or Maxter and this is so encouraging to be able to reach other goals in the future".

Nico Carigiet, Responsible for Maxter engines: "Really a fantastic result for us as we had four Maxter motors at the first four places which is proving our superiority on a dry and also on a wet track. We had a splendid growth trend in our results this year with a series of good victories especially at the end of the season".

Jonathan Thonon: "I am very happy for Koko's victory and for CRG which wins this way both the World Titles of KZ1 and Super KF. In the Final I had a good start and was just following Koko but I preferred to support my team avoiding therefore to pass him. I think I did the right thing as it was very important for CRG to win the World title and I am satisfied for my contribution".

Davide Forè: "I had an accident in the pre-final which forced me to start the final from the 17th position. Just before the rain I was among the leaders then after that I had to slow down because it was becoming a real dangerous situation. I am anyway very happy for Koko's result and for CRG".

Eddy Tinini: "I am very satisfied with the result of the whole team. I wished to run the Final too so to be able to give my contribution but unfortunately it was impossible because two accidents during the heats stopped me".

RESULTS

Macao (China), 9th-11th October 2009 - 46th CIK-FIA World Karting Championship of Super KF

SUPER KF - Final: 1. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) 18 laps; 2. Vainio (FIN) +1.008; 3. Hanley (GB) +6.103; 4. Thonon (CRG-Maxter) +7.376; 5. Camponeschi (I) +9.255; 6. De Brabander (B) +12.612; 7. Renaudie (F) +13.832; 8. Bressan (I) +15.379; 9. Ardigò (I) +15.841; 10. Puhakka (FIN) +16.917; 11. Convers (F) +17.992; 12. Rowland (LH-Maxter) +19.703; 13. Forè (I) (CRG-Maxter) +20.559; 14. Cesetti (I) +22.923; 15. Kunranta (FIN) +24.517.

All results on website www.cikfia.com

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Macao (China), 11th October 2009



 

 
NEWS 03/10/2009
 

CRG-MAXTER AND ITS DRIVERS AT THE SUPER KF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF MACAO, THAT WILL TAKE PLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ASIA

THE CRG TEAM WILL BE PRESENT AT THE EVENT WITH ALL ITS CHAMPIONS. THE YOUNG DRIVER MAISANO WILL BE ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPETITORS FOR THE TITLE WITH THE LH CHASSIS AFTER HIS SURPRISING VICTORY IN THE WSK OF ZUERA


 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), October 2nd 2009. The International Karting is about to land in Macao for the last, important rendez-vous of the season referring to the CIK-FIA Championship titles. On this ex-Portuguese colony the Super KF World Championship of Karting it's in fact on stage from the 8th to the 11th of October, just when they are about to celebrate the tenth year since the ex-colony has entered in the Chinese Popular Republic in 1999. The top kart category without gear will see on stage all the major manufacturers and the best drivers worldwide.
The World Championship will therefore land for the first time in Asia on the permanent circuit of 1.203 mt. on the Island of Coloane, just in front of Hong Kong, where in the last years we saw an intense international activity.
Among the protagonists of this historical event we can find CRG-Maxter with all its technical equipment, its complete team led by the Belgian Jonathan Thonon who is the holder, for the third consecutive year, of the KZ1 World Cup Title. With him the five-time World Champion Davide Forè who is also the winner of the World Championships of 2004 and 2006, the French Arnaud Kozlinski who was third in the last edition of the World Cup in Suzuka and the fast driver Eddy Tinini who was also in great evidence there.


Together with the big champions of karting CRG will draw up two young and promising drivers in Macao who will compete with the new LH chassis manufactured by the Italian company and designed by the F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, assisted on track by Dino Chiesa.
The 16-years-old French driver Brandon Maisano, coming from Vallauris near Cannes, who was surprisingly but immediately winning at his debut in Super KF in the last WSK race of Zuera in Spain, and the 17-years-old British driver Oliver Rowland, from Sheffield, already holder of a KF2 World Title in 2008 will compete with the LH branded yellow-black chassis.
CRG is one of the most titled companies ever in the Roll of Honour of the World Championship of karting. The most titled driver of CRG was Danilo Rossi with 5 World titles (1990,1992 in FK and FC, 1997 and 1999). Among the drivers now competing in F1 we shall underline how Tonio Liuzzi won the 2001 World Championship with CRG.
The long weekend of Macao will start on the 8th of October with the free practices. Then on Friday free practices again, on Saturday qualification heats and on Sunday 11th the Final phase live on Eurosport TV at 2:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m. in Europe).

CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL DRIVERS
Macao, October 8th-11th 2009 - CIK-FIA World Karting Championship

5 - Davide Forè (I) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone
Brescia (I), 16/07/74. Winner of the 2008 World Cup for KF1. 1998 (FSA), 2000 (FSA), 2004 (FA) and 2006 (FA) World Karting Champion. Winner of the 2006 World Cup Super-Icc. 1994 European Formula A Champion.

15 - Oliver Rowland (GB) - LH-Maxter-Bridgestone
Sheffield (GB), 10/08/92. Winner of the 2008 World Cup for KZ2. 5th in the 2008 European KF2 Championship. 3rd in the 2008 KF2 WSK Series. 2007 British Junior Champion. 2003 and 2004 British Cadet Champion.

18 - Jonathan Thonon (B) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone
Waterloo (B), 22/10/86. Winner of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 KZ1 World Cup. 3rd in the 2009 European KZ1 Championship. 2008 European KZ1 Champion. 2002 European ICA Champion.

20 - Arnaud Kozlinski (F) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone
Bordeaux (F), 8/10/81. 3rd in the 2009 World Cup for Super KF. 2nd in the 2008 European KF1 Championship. Winner of the 2006 World Cup for FA. 2nd in the 2003 and 2004 World Championship.

43 - Brandon Maisano (F) - LH-Maxter-Bridgestone
Vallauris (F), 24/6/93. 6th in the 2009 CIK-FIA World Cup for KF2. Winner of the 2008 CIK-FIA Monaco Kart Cup for KF3. 2008 French KF3 Champion.

50 - Eddy Tinini (I) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone
Lonato (I), 14/12/85. Finalist in the 2009 CIK-FIA World Cup for Super KF at Suzuka.

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Desenzano del Garda (BS), 2nd October 2009


 

 
NEWS 01/10/2009
 

ED SERVES UP VICTORY ON AN O-PLATE

CRG DRIVER ADDS 0 TO 1



Junior Max star Ed Brand completed a double at Shenington, near Banbury last weekend (26/27 September), by adding the British Open title to his Super 1 championship victory completed earlier in the month. The event, known simply as the 'O' Plate - after the number plate bearing the letter O that is awarded to the winner - is one of British karting's most prestigious and therefore hard fought for titles."It was a dogfight all weekend," said the HRS Motorsport driver. "I really had to work hard for the win, and I did think it would end in tears a few times - but that's what makes it all the sweeter. To add the British Open to my Super 1 title is just fantastic".

The weekend had begun well for Ed - who competes on the HRS-designed CRG Dark Knight - chassis when he carved his way from 21st on the grid up to 6th place at the finish, setting the fastest lap of the race. In the following encounter, he finished 2nd but suffered a small reversal of fortune in his next two races, when he crossed the finishing line in 9th and 15th positions. Albeit that he again recorded the quickest lap in the third heat and powered his way up the order from 21st place in his last encounter.


These results were good enough to give Brand fourth place on the grid for the winner-takes-all final. A steady start saw him maintain his starting place for the first two laps, before he saw a gap and was able to move into 2nd. He trailed the leader for a further tour and briefly assumed the lead before dropping back a place. On lap 8, Ed launched his bid to put the victory beyond doubt. With a furious scrap for the remaining podium places developing behind him, Brand was able to open a gap over his nearest rival and maintain it for the rest of the race, taking the chequered flag over a second clear of the runner-up. The victory has further boosted Ed prior to his appearance at the Rotax World Finals at Sharm el-Sheik in December, where he is hoping to add the international season's biggest victory to his domestic triumphs. "I came second in the Euro Max championship and by doing so, earned my place at the World Finals. It will be the biggest race of my life so far but with the team I have behind me and the form I'm currently in, I'm going to Egypt with the aim of winning, not to make up the numbers."

 

 
NEWS 28/09/2009
 

MAISANO WINS THE SUPER KF WSK RACE IN ZUERA ON LH-MAXTER. KOZLINSKI (3°) COMPLETES THE PODIUM FOR CRG.

FIRST SUCCESS IN ZUERA FOR MAISANO IN SUPER KF AT HIS DEBUT IN THE TOP CATEGORY AND FIRST VICTORY OF THE LH CHASSIS MANUFACTURED BY CRG. KOZLINSKI, THIRD, IS NOW ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPETITORS FOR THE SUPER KF TITLE WHERE CRG IS NOW LEADER IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TEAMS.



Zuera (Spain), September 28th 2009. The sixth and second-last round of the WSK International Series was held on the International Circuit of Zuera - Spain where in the Super KF, the most performing category, we have been watching one of the most fascinating races of the season with the victory of the young French driver Brandon Maisano who has given the first success to the new LH chassis, produced by CRG and designed by the F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

All the best specialists were present on this Spanish circuit and in Super KF a young and promising driver of the International karting came into the limelight. His name is Maisano, a sixteen-years-old driver from Cannes who was at his debut in the top category. He came close to the KF2 World Championship title last week on the circuit of Alcaniz. On the same day when Hamilton dominated the F1 race in Singapore, Maisano brought for the first time to success the chassis which was born from the collaboration with the F1 Champion that also here in Spain was Maxter motorized and assisted on track by Dino Chiesa.

It was really an exciting end of the season for Maisano who is now getting ready to face the next event of the World Championship in Macao with great determination and the real chance to win the Super KF World Title too. Maisano won the race in Zuera after having been very fast during the official tests and in the Superpole where he got a sensational second best final time after excellent qualification heats where he ran as a protagonist. Maisano's success was then confirmed in the Final when the French driver was the creator of a great competitive show and finally won the battle with Gary Catt for the very first position.

To confirm the competitiveness of CRG-Maxter, which recently won the KZ1 World Cup with Jonathan Thonon, the colors of the Italian Company were completed, on the Super KF podium of Zuera, with the third place of the French Arnaud Kozlinski who made a very good race with a recovery from his initial 6th position. Thanks to this result he is now one of the major competitors of Cesetti for conquering the Super KF title in the WSK Championship which will end on November 1st in Lonato (Italy).

The new KZ1 World Champion Jonathan Thonon was among the other CRG protagonists but he made the most part of this event in Zuera in order to develop the equipment for the Super KF World Championship which will take place in Macao from October 11th. The Belgian driver was 12th at the end while Davide Forè was forced to withdraw at three laps from the finishing line when he was fighting for the first positions. The British Oliver Rowland with the other LH-Maxter kart finished 16th after having been involved in an accident at the beginning of the race.
At the same time CRG took the lead of the championship for teams and as to the special list of the Super KF Eurocup it is now leader with 132 points.

Here in Zuera the CRG colors could also celebrate the podium of KZ2 with the Belgian Rick Dreezen of CRG Holland who was third on the finish line after a long race ahead. The other CRG-Holland driver, the Dutch Jorrit Pex placed behind him. In this category Mirko Torsellini with the LH chassis of Elto Racing Team was afflicted with a series of problems and couldn't therefore express himself at his best.

In KF2 Antonio Alarcon on CRG-Maxter made a very good performance: the driver from Mallorca got a victory at the repechage race after having had a technical problem during one of the heats and in the Final he recovered up to the 20th position having started from the back lines. This foreign race was on the contrary unlucky for the Sardinian driver Giovanni Martinez who was distressed with set-up problems which stopped him from entering the final phase.

In KF3 the Rumenian Robert Visoiu has confirmed his positive trend proving to be also in this race one of the best of this category. He was forced to make the repechage due to a penalization for an early start in one of the heats but he come back easily among the finalists even having to start from the back lines, he had to be satisfied with his 29th place and couldn't therefore do better.


THE INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: "I am very happy for the first victory of our LH chassis and of course for Maisano. His race was important to gain experience with our special tires but the result came nevertheless. This is a result that shall let think over on all levels. This Super KF race was the demonstration of how even a young driver may get the maximum result, especially if he is in the condition of running at best with a good equipment. So the WSK race in Spain proved that even a young driver may win in Super KF. If a driver runs fast he will stand out immediately and it's not a question of age".

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sportive Director: "It was a great success for the CRG Group with LH chassis. We obtained a nice victory with Maisano who in spite of his young age proved to be an excellent driver with great driving skills. The LH chassis and Maxter engine have been very competitive and Maisano was able to exploit their potentialities. Good result also for Kozlinski, who could manage the result and won the third place. We are also very satisfied with what we gained in the other categories. The Super KF race was for us very useful to further develop the set-up of the equipment before the next World Championship in Macao, where we will be for sure very competitive".

Nico Carigiet, Responsible for Maxter engines: "It was a great success indeed. We came very close to the victory in the KF2 world championship last week with Maisano and there we showed the winning quality of our motors. Here in Zuera we have dominated with the same driver and the same equipment but in another category and this victory proves our competitiveness. Now we hope to be able to pick up the fruits of our work also in the World Championship in Macao".

Brandon Maisano: "I am very happy with this result which came after a good job done on the chassis and engine set-up. It's my first victory in Super KF and I'm very satisfied with the nice result that was important also for our LH chassis and our Maxter engine which were perfect in any circumstance. Last week in Alcaniz I came very close to success but then I had an accident at the last bend but this weekend everything went well. I wish to thank our team and all the CRG-Maxter staff who gave me a lot of trust. I am now very optimistic for the race in Macao but I know that there I shall give my best to be able to get a good result".

Arnaud Kozlinski: "We had a difficult start at the beginning of this Spanish weekend but we managed to tune the kart very well and in the end we have obtained the result. I wish to thank my staff therefore as they gave their best and made an excellent job. I have been gaining important points over Cesetti and the race in Lonato will be decisive for the Title. I think in fact that we both shall only fight for the title during the last WSK race".


RESULTS

Zuera (Spagna) - September 24th-27th 2009 - WSK International Series, 6th round

SUPER KF - Final: 1. Maisano (F) (LH-Maxter) 23 laps; 2. Catt (GB) +1.413; 3. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) +2.272; 4. Cesetti (I) +3.746; 5. Foster-Jones (GB) +4.741; 6. Convers (F) +4.901; 7. Bressan (I) +5.439: 8. Groman (CZ) +8.735; 9. Camponeschi (I) +12.200; 10. Domenech (E) +12.527.
Championship: 1. Cesetti points 80; 2. Kozlinski 65; 3. Maisano 47; 4. Toman 45; 5. Catt 37.
Team Championship: 1. CRG points 132; 2. Birel 126; 3. Maranello 54; 4. Tony Kart 52; 5. Kosmic 40.

KZ2 - Final: 1. Lammers (NL) 15 laps; 2. Iglesias (F) +0.090; 3. Dreezen (B) (CRG-Maxter) +0.328; 4. Pex Jorrit (NL) +3.258; 5. Jeleniowski (D) +4.018; 6. Piccioni (I) +4.551; 7. Annunziata (I) +4.567; 8. Renaudie (F) +7.550; 8. Mich (F) +9.087; 9. Ryall (GB) +9.558; 10. Puhakka (FIN) +10.866.
Championship: 1. Lammers points 152; 2. Ardigò 131; 3. Iglesias 85; 4. Dreezen 74; 5. Thonon 69.

KF2 - Final: 1. Kanamaru (J) 15 laps; 2. Lock (GB) +0.451; 3. Moller (DK) +1.165; 4. Cooper (GB) +1.489; 5. D'Agosto (I) +3.145; 6. Johansson (S) +4.370; 7. Da Luz (P) +6.793; 8. Suarez (E) +7.533; 9. Pescador (E) +8.124; 10. Curia (RA) +9.992.
Championship: 1. Cooper points 219; 2. Johansson 130; 3. Lock 127; 4. Viganò 115; 5. Grenhagen 97.

KF3 - Final: 1. De Vries (NL) 12 laps; 2. Albon (GB) +1.839; 3. Sainz (E) +3.490; 4. Machunskas (NL) +4.430; 5. Klinsby-Silver (DK) +4.830; 6. Silva (BR) +4.876; 7. Kvyat (RUS) +4.982; 8. Fioravanti (I) +5.156; 9. Gil (E) +5.700; 10. Marciello (I) +7.252.
Championship: 1. De Vries points 253; 2. Kvyat 176; 3. Sainz 175; 4. Albon 104; 5. Marciello 93.

All the results are available on the website www.wskarting.it

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Zuera (Spain), 28th September 2009

 


 

 

 
NEWS 20/09/2009
 

MAISANO WITH LH-MAXTER IS THE PROTAGONIST OF THE KF2 WORLD CUP IN SPAIN

THE CRG DRIVER HAS BEEN FORCED TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF AN ACCIDENT, WHILE HE WAS CLOSE TO ACHIEVE THE WORLD TITLE IN HIS CATEGORY. HE WAS RACING WITH THE NEW LH CHASSIS. THE BELGIAN VANDOORNE (VDK TEAM) AND CRG-MAXTER ON THE PODIUM WITH A SECOND PLACE.



Alcaniz (Spain), 20th of September 2009. There is a moral winner of the KF2 World Cup that took place in Alcaniz (Spain). His name is Brandon Maisano, he is sixteen years old and he comes from Cannes. He made a great performance in Spain racing with the LH "Lewis Hamilton" chassis and the always more performing Maxter engine.
This very young French driver was the leading actor of this world event, unfortunately just till the last bend. He has been then forced to leave due to an accident caused by one of his competitors.
The excellence of Maisano and the new "LH" chassis has been shown during the whole weekend. This chassis is manufactured by CRG, the KZ1 world champion team. Moreover, Maisano has been able to conquer the pole position and to arrive first and second (twice) during the qualifying heats. Starting from the 12th position, he has been able to obtain the success in the Pre-final and to get the pole position in the Final. Maisano was the leader until one of his competitors spoiled his race causing an accident when they were close to the last bend. On top of that, this competitor was not able to win because of the three seconds of penalization that he got at the beginning of his race. What a shame! Maisano concluded with a sixth position, while he would have deserved the World title on his category together with the LH chassis that confirmed its excellent performance. The LH chassis' development and growth have been obtained thanks also to the great work made by Dino Chiesa.

The Portuguese David Da Luz with the Zanardi chassis was the winner of this extraordinary Final. This chassis is part of the CRG group, so this success could alleviate the team's regret due to the missing victory of Maisano and LH chassis. The second place on the podium has been achieved by the Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne (VDK Racing team) who was racing with CRG-Maxter. His great performance in the end let him recover from the 15th position of the Prefinal.

INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: "I am very sorry for what happened during the Final, the accident that spoiled the performance of Maisano before the finishing line, when we were close to the victory. Another deserved World Championship title could have been added to the one we obtained with Thonon in KZ1 this year. We had anyway another confirmation about our new LH chassis good performances. It is extremely competitive and very fast thanks to the development achieved during its first racing season. Congratulations to Da Luz who brought our Zanardi chassis to the victory and to Vandoorne who achieved a great second place racing with CRG-Maxter for the VDK team."

RESULTS

Alcaniz (Spain) -September 17th-20th 2009
KF2 World Cup - Final:
1. Da Luz (P) 18 laps; 2. Vandoorne (B) (CRG-Maxter) +1.942; 3. Mitchell (I) +2.049; 4. Oberg (S) +2.493; 5. Tiene (I) +3.168; 6. Maisano (F) (LH-Maxter) +4.490; 7. Nortoft (DK) +4.867; 8. Chamberlain (GB) +6.222; 9. Luciani (I) +6.775; 10. Basz (PL) +8.777.

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Alcaniz (Spain), September 20th 2009

 

 

 
NEWS 16/09/2009
 

ED IS EUROPEAN JUNIOR MAX VICE-CHAMPION!

ED BRAND SHOWED GENUINE STAR QUALITY WITH A BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE IN THE FINAL ROUND OF THE EURO MAX KART CHAMPIONSHIP IN FRANCE LAST WEEKEND.


 


The HRS Motorsport driver had headed to Salbris fifteen points off the championship lead, knowing that he needed to produce something special if he was to stand a chance of lifting the European Junior Max title. The first glimpse he gave of what would be a dominant performance throughout the weekend, was his fastest lap in timed qualifying, when he was comfortably the quickest of the thirty-strong field. And a glimpse was all that most of his rivals would see of him for much of the event. Ed won all three of the heats to secure pole position for Sunday's pre-final.

Shortly after the start of the first race, he was leading - but suddenly found a wasp had flown up the underside of his helmet and was now trapped. Unaware of what was happening, Ed's team looked on, baffled by his desperate attempts to free the increasingly angry insect by "fiddling with his visor", as his father Mark, somewhat prosaically put it. After three nerve-wracking laps, he managed to release it and suffered no further dramas as he recovered his composure, drove to the chequered flag and take his fourth win of the weekend. Having successfully completed this first objective, the CRG driver had it all to do again in the following race. Another faultless drive saw Ed comfortably win by over two seconds - but it was just not enough for him to pip fellow Englishman Josh Webster to the title.

"I knew beforehand that I needed something of a miracle and had to win both finals, if I was to stand any chance of beating Josh in the points. I did everything that was asked of me, but it just wasn't enough," he said phlegmatically before adding, "But I'm very happy. We showed what we can do today and my other main objective was to qualify for the Rotax World Finals [at Sharm el-Sheik in December]. I've now done that, so we have a happy team, mechanic and driver." Before he can pack for the superb Ghibli Race, located near the Red Sea, Ed is bidding for victory in the final round of the British Super 1 series at PFi in Lincolnshire, this weekend [19/20 September]. "I'm leading the championship, but it will be a very close thing. The nature of the circuit [two very tight hairpins in succession] means that you have to stay out of trouble during the opening lap. My job will be to keep the kart on the tarmac and shiny side up. But after Salbris, I feel like I'm in great form, so we'll just have to see."

 
 
NEWS 08/09/2009
 

A TRIUMPH FOR CRG-MAXTER AND THONON AT THE KZ1 KARTING WORLD CUP

THIRD CONSECUTIVE SUCCESS FOR JONATHAN THONON AND CRG AT THE KZ1 KARTING WORLD CUP. THE FRENCH ARNAUD KOZLINSKI FINISHED 5TH. NICE PERFORMANCES ALSO FOR DAVIDE FORÈ AND THE AMERICAN GARY CARLTON. EXCELLENT RESULTS FOR CRG ALSO IN KF3 WORLD CUP WITH ITS YOUNG DRIVERS ROBERT VISOIU AND MATIAS KOYKKA.


 


Sarno (Salerno), September 6th 2009. For the third consecutive CRG conquered the triumph in the KZ1 World Cup, the "queen" category of karting. The great interpreter of the most powerful shifter category was once again the top driver CRG, the Belgian Jonathan Thonon. Jonathan and CRG have once again confirmed themselves to be on the top of the karting world thanks also to the performances of the CRG engines: in fact CRG-Maxter has won the most important event of the year in the single event which took place on the Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Sarno , from the 3rd to the 6th of September 2009. It was a great demonstration of power the one carried out by Thonon and his team-mates together with all the technicians of the Italian Company who well deserved to celebrate the World title which was strongly chased and desired. Thonon’s weekend improved always more till the final apotheosis, and the Belgian driver showed his great determination and his fantastic driving ability especially with the decisive overtakings on the difficult track of Sarno where he furthermore displayed his great professionalism.

Thonon in the end conquered a well deserved success to which all his competitors had to bow. He first started the prefinal from the 9th place, then he reached the 4t place with a great comeback. Then there was a further excellent recovery in the Final where Thonon has also won with the fastest lap of the race. His team-mates made very good performances too, in spite of the final result which didn't award them for the hard work done during the weekend.

The French "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski finished 5th after having suffered for two days a strong physical debilitation, while Davide Forè and the American Gary Carlton were forced to withdraw: they were anyway protagonists since the qualifying heats including the qualification heats and the Pre-final.

The only one who wasn't able to reach the Final was Luca Tilloca, at his very first important race, due to several competitive troubles in the heats even after his brilliant qualifying heats where he reached a good 13th best time.

Unlucky race also for the British Oliver Rowland, world champion 2008 of the KF2 category, at his debut in the shifter class with the LH chassis produced by CRG. Rowland wasn't able to find the right feeling, he couldn't carry on a good qualifying session which meant always starting from the backrow, he missed the final phase only by an hair's breadth.

The KF3 World Cup which took place during the same weekend was excellent and beyond any expectation. The young Rumanian Robert Visoiu who definitely reached a very competitive level after a year of apprenticeship made a sensational performance. He started with the 8th time in the qualifying then he launched himself into the qualification heats always fighting for the first positions and he also lead the group several times. Visoiu had then an accident in Pre-final when he was among the leaders and this stopped his hopes for the victory. He ran very well in the Final recovering up to the 18th place being at the beginning in the last position. The young Finnish Matias Koykka raced very well too reaching the 16th place after recovering the 11 positions lost during the initial row which is quite common in this category.

Among the private drivers with CRG chassis in KZ1 the best results were gained by the Dutch Jorrit Pex from CRG Holland who conquered the 9th position in the final. The other Dutch Danny Bleek of Renda Motorsport arrived 17th while the Croat Kristijan Habulin of KK1 Team ended at place 22nd.


THE INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: "Thonon showed all his competitive force at the right moment. We knew we had some more margin and everything went according to our expectations. We won a World Title once again, the most important event of the season, thanks to everybody's work and to Thonon himself who made a great performance. Forè could have conquered the podium too but he had a technical problem in the Final. "Koko" raced OK but he had a physical problem on Saturday that prevented him to drive at his best. His season had started with a different engine solution, then there was the passage to the current one which is winning at the moment with the engine tuner Savard. Of course the fact of not having prepared the equipment during the first part of the season didn't help him. Gary Carlton did very well in the Pre-final before somebody crashed into him then the back lines of the Final penalized him. He was really unlucky but I saw a great Gary in the Pre-final while he was recovering positions together with Thonon and Forè. Tilloca would have conquered the Final but he was damaged by the lack of experience. His debut was anyway positive. In KF3 Visoiu made his best race of the year, finally I saw him much more confident than he was before. Koykka did well too, unfortunately due to school problems he couldn't do his test-drives before the World Championship so it was very difficult for him to run for the first time on the difficult track of Sarno. Every race of the weekend saw his improvements and therefore his performance was very positive."

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "It has been a great week-end crowned by the world title of Thonon. We achieved great satisfactions since the beginning of the event during the official heats and with the performance of Foré, Kozlinski, Carlton and Tilloca. We had to fight to bring home this title, the third title in a row for Thonon that confirms his superiority. It is a great satisfaction for the whole team. Even in KF3 everything was good, with Visoiu that showed his sportive skills improvements during his first year in the international racing season. The Romanian driver had a very good training in CRG. We are also satisfied with the performance of the Finnish Koykka."

Nico Carigiet, Responsible for Maxter engine: "We have been really satisfied with the victory of Thonon. This was a very demanding year for us. Three Maxter engines arrived among the first six positions in KZ1. This is very important also for the confidence showed by our customers."

Jonathan Thonon: "I am very happy with this results because the weekend was really hard fought. I have lost just one of the four manches, so I had to recover because I started a bit on the back in the Pre-final. I was not able to improve as I would have wanted in the Pre-final because of a crash. In the final I have started from the fourth position, but everything worked well. I have competed during the whole weekend using my mind, I was very focused in order to reach the final result. I am very happy for the team, for all the people who helped me to arrive here and for Giancarlo Tinini who is like a second father for me. I thank all the team. Actually all the elements have to be at their maximum in order to win: the team, the chassis and the Maxter engine with Tec-Sav tuning. After all CRG was the winner together with all the team."

Davide Forè: "Everything was good during the whole weekend, I was always in the first positions. During the manches I have won once and I arrived second and third. Unfortunately I have got a puncture in one manche, so I started from the back rows in the Prefinal concluding this really competitive race in the sixth position. The connecting rod got unluckily damaged during the Final so I have been forced to leave… what a shame! I am very sorry. Nevertheless I am really satisfied with my kart performance, I could have reached the podium. At the starting line in the Final there were three CRG in the first six positions, that means that the equipment is excellent. After all I am very happy anyway for Jonathan, Tinini, CRG, Maxter and all the team members."

Arnaud Kozlinski: "I did my best for the team, I tried to help Jonathan fighting with our competitors, but I was not so fast to achieve a better result of the fifth position. I am a bit disappointed because I had not the possibility to conquer the podium. Obviously I did not get the right set-up especially in the engine, despite we made a very good job in setting-up this weekend."

Gary Carlton: "I had some problems in the qualifying heats, then I did quite well during the manches. In the pre-final I recovered till the seventh position, but I have been clashed and I had to leave. In the Final I recovered again till the seventh position, then my engine got damaged. What a shame! I could have finished among the first five positions. Even if I was a bit unlucky, I am quite satisfied. The competition was at a very high level. I hope to be confirmed as official driver by CRG next year and to compete during the whole season."

Luca Tilloca: "I was not able to qualify myself for the Final stage, I am really sorry. The qualifying timing was good, but I have been spoiled in the first preliminary heat by the missing start of the driver ahead. I did well just in one manche where I have achieved the seventh position. During the other preliminary heats I had bad luck because of some other accidents. I am sorry because I am the only CRG driver who did not go beyond the qualifying heats and most of all I could not return the undertaking and the confidence showed by CRG and Maxter. I hope to have the chance to recover some time."


RESULTS

Sarno (Salerno) - September 3rd-6th 2009
KZ1 World Cup - Final:
1. Thonon (B) (CRG-Maxter) 18 laps; 2. Iglesias (F) +0.935; 3. Lammers (NL) +2.047; 4. Nato (F) + 2.553; 5. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) +3.413; 6. Piccioni (I) +5.996; 7. Gatto (I) +7.601; 8. De Luchi (I) +9.303; 9. Pex Jorrit (NL) (CRG-Maxter) + 10.598; 10. Convers (F) +11.059.
Best lap: Thonon (B) (CRG-Maxter) 1:03.255.

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Sarno (Salerno), September 6th 2009

 

 
NEWS 01/09/2009
 

CRG-MAXTER LOOKING FOR THE THIRD TITLE IN A ROW IN THE KZ1 WORLD CUP

THE WHOLE CRG TEAM WILL TAKE PART IN THE KZ1 WORLD CUP THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN SARNO ON SEPTEMBER 6TH. CRG WILL BE REPRESENTED BY THONON, THE WINNER OF THE LAST TWO EDITIONS, FORÈ, THE FRENCH KOZLINSKI AND THE AMERICAN CARLTON. AT THEIR DEBUT IN THE WORLD CUP ARE ALSO THE BRITISH ROWLAND (LH) AND THE ITALIAN FROM SARDINIA TILLOCA. THE FINNISH KOYKKA AND THE RUMENIAN VISOIU WILL RACE IN THE KF3 WORLD CUP.



Desenzano del Garda (Italy), September 1st 2009. During next weekend from the 3rd to the 6th of September the world of karting will focus its attention on the "Circuito Internazionale Napoli" in Sarno (Salerno), where the most important event of the season will come on stage with the KZ1 World Cup: 76 drivers representing 14 countries will compete here with a top ranking of equipments and technicians at the highest level. During the same weekend 78 drivers of the young class will take part in the KF3 World Cup.

The KZ1 125cc shifter class, the queen category of karting, will present an excellent plateau of protagonists and first of all the CRG official team which is also holder of the last two world titles conquered by the Belgian Thonon. The CRG official team, racing with high performance Maxter engines, will line up its best drivers who will fight for the final success.

 

The forecasts are favourable for Thonon, who is definitely in great shape at the moment thanks to his brilliant victory conquered recently in Salbris and a third place at the European KZ1 in Wackersdorf. Other CRG drivers will join this World Cup such as the five times World Champion Davide Forè, the French "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski (he was recently third in the World Cup in Suzuka and was the winner in 2006) together with the very fast American driver Gary Carlton who has always been a protagonist in the international races of these last years and also the USA champion in 2006 and 2007.

Another promise of the international karting, Luca Tilloca from Alghero, will join CRG and the other four champions in KZ1: he has already shown his qualities during the European KZ2 championship this year.
The KZ1 World Championship will also be an occasion to test in such an important race the new "LH" chassis, produced and marketed by CRG, signed by the F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton. The LH chassis has already had a positive debut this year during the international events of the WSK series and the British Oliver Rowland will drive it for the race in Sarno: he was the KF2 World Champion in 2008 and McLaren is keeping an eye on him. This is anyway his first time in KZ1 World Cup and his debut with the shifter kart.

CRG-Maxter will take part in the KF3 World Cup in Sarno with the Finnish Matias Koykka - a real revelation in the European KF3 - together with the Rumenian Robert Visoiu who made his apprenticeship mainly in the international WSK Championship and in the European Championship.

Among the official drivers there will be several private drivers who will run with CRG chassis in this double world event. In the KZ1 class the CRG chassis will be the most used ones with a total of 16 drivers (19 with Maxter engines). CRG Holland will also participate in the event with the Dutch Rick Dreezen and Arjan Kievitsbosch together with the two fast brothers Jorrit and Yard Pex who were already in great evidence in the European KZ2. Other names are Nicola Nolè (European ICA champion in 2006), the Dutch Danny Bleek, Daniele Delli Compagni (a protagonist in the European KZ2), William Benedetti, the Croat champion Krisijan Habulin of KK1 Team, the Bulgarian Mishel Georgiev and the French Anthony Garbarino.


The CRG colours will be defended in KF3 also by the VDK Racing Team with the Belgian Bryan Laloux and the AKK Team with Risto Vukov from Macedonia.

Last week the whole CRG team made a two-days test on the "Circuito Internazionale Napoli" in Sarno which was useful to improve the performances before the World Cup.

Here are the comments and expectations of the CRG drivers:

Jonathan Thonon: "I want to do my best for the CRG team. We have seen how well we have raced in the recent WSK race in Salbris even against those competitors who were absolute protagonists at the beginning of the season. In these last years we have never been disappointing at the World Cup and also this time I am in a great shape for this event. I went through a two-days' test with my engine tuner Savard and everything was OK. CRG chassis and Maxter engine have had an excellent development so I am satisfied and ready to win my third title in a row."
Davide Forè: "I am quite sure that I am able to win this World Cup and therefore to repeat my success of 2006, also that time I could win the title thanks to a penalization against Thonon. I have been sharing success in these last years with my team-mate and I hope to be able to win at the end. Of course first of all we need to race, a mishap is always possible and every time is a new story. We will have four heats each and just the qualifying heats will be very important to find the right set-up."

Arnaud Kozlinski: "I was fourth last year so this time I hope to reach at least the podium. I like the circuit very much, I have already won the podium at the Super KF World Cup in Suzuka and I'd really like to enhance this season with a good podium in this KZ1 World Championship. The tests were OK and furthermore I will also avail myself of the engine tuner Savard so I trust in a good result."

Gary Carlton: "It will be certainly a difficult race but I think I will run at best. I have the potential to win and I could be able to be successful if I won't be unlucky. The whole team is supporting me and believes in me, so it's the same for me. We have the bases for that and the test in Sarno was definitely OK. Last year I started 29th and after 7 laps I was already in the 11th position, then I broke my motor. I hope his time not to have any mechanical problem. I know we can do it and I will do my best to make a good performance."

Oliver Rowland: "It's the first time that I'm driving an LH chassis with gears and also my first KZ1 World Championship. I am sure it will be a difficult event for me but I think I will do well. I have to work hard and I will try to make a good Final. Last year I won the KF2 World Cup, I'll do my best in Sarno but it will be difficult to win there."

Luca Tilloca: "This is my first World Championship. I aim at qualifying for the final phase and to get over the heats. I am very trustful but as it happened during the European championship a mishap is always possible and in that case it was a real pity because there were the conditions to obtain a very good result after the podium I had reached in the first Final in Muro Leccese. My expectation is to arrive in the Final then we will see. Certainly I hope to get a good result but I have to compete with the best drivers in the world."

CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL DRIVERS
Sarno (I), September 3rd-6th 2009

CIK-FIA KZ1 WORLD CUP

1 - Jonathan Thonon (B) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
Waterloo (B), 22.10.86
Winner of the 2007 and 2008 KZ1 World Cup. 3rd in the 2009 European KZ1 Championship. 2008 European KZ1 Champion. 2002 European ICA Champion.

3 - Davide Forè (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
Brescia (I), 16.07.74
Winner of the 2008 World Cup for KF1. 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2006 World Karting Champion. Winner of the 2006 World Cup Super-Icc. 1994 European Formula A Champion.

4 - Arnaud Kozlinski (F) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
Bordeaux (F), 8/10/81
3rd in the 2009 World Cup for Super KF. 2nd in the 2008 European KF1 Championship. Winner of the 2006 World Cup for FA. 2nd in the 2003 and 2004 World Championship.

21 - Gary Carlton (USA) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
Marysville, California (USA), 3/5/86
2006 and 2007 USA Icc Champion. 6th in the 2007 European KZ2 Championship. 13th in the 2008 European KZ1 Championship.

48 - Oliver Rowland (GB) - LH-Maxter- Dunlop
Sheffield (GB), 10/08/92
Winner of the 2008 World Cup for KZ2. 5th in the 2008 European KF2 Championship. 3rd in the 2008 KF2 WSK Series. 2007 British Junior Champion. 2003 and 2004 British Cadet Champion.

67 - Luca Tilloca (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
Alghero (I), 27/7/87
3rd in the 2009 KZ2 Final-1 at Muro European Championship.13th in the 2009 European KZ2 Championship.

CIK-FIA KF3 WORLD CUP

111 - Matias Koykka (FIN) - CRG-Maxter-Vega
Lahela Tuusula (FIN), 23/11/94
2009 European KF3 Championship (11th)
158 - Robert Visoiu (RO) - CRG-Maxter-Vega
Pitesti (RO), 10/2/96
2009 European KF3 Championship (42th)

Time table:
Thursday September 3rd: Free Practice 8.30.
Friday September 4th: Free Practice 8.30; Qualifying Practice 14:35.
Saturday September 5th: Warm-up 9:00, Qualifying Heats 10:20.
Sunday September 6th: Warm-up 8:30; Qualifying Heats 9:30; Prefinals 14:25, Finals 15:55.

Live broadcasting of the Finals Sunday September 6th on TV RAI Sport (e.d. and sat) with link from 15:45 to 17:00.

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Desenzano del Garda (BS), 1st September 2009

 

 
NEWS 31/08/2009
 

PSL KARTING TRIUMPHANT AT CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS


HUGO OULLETTE TO REPRESENT CANADA AT THE ROTAX WORLD FINALS



GOODWOOD, ONTARIO – PSL Karting.com descended on the ASN/FIA Canadian National Karting Championships last weekend at Goodwood Kartways with a talent laden team. Odds on favourites had to be the Ouellette brothers. Pier Luc is Ouellette is a past World Champion in Rotax Max DD2, while Hugo has shown brilliance on occasion – matched with blazing speed. Accompaining Hugo at the podium was his good fellow and teammate Massimo Scotti. Samuel Fontaine is a driver of the future to watch. The very capable Fontaine would compete in the ultra competitive Rotax Mini Max class. Tommy Beshro rounded out the top names of the sport and he would represent the powerhouse PSL KARTING.COM team in Rotax Max Jr.

Rotax Max Senior proved to be a battle of the brothers, with PL Ouellette taking the early lead before a multi-kart crash ended his day. “It was very disappointing to end this way, but I still have DD2 to go,” said an upbeat PL. With the loss of PL, Hugo stepped up to take the lead, and he was as dominant as Michael Schumacher in his best day with Ferrari. Hugo built a substantial lead on his PSL GRG and took the checkered flag in convincing fashion. With the win, he will represent Canada at the upcoming Rotax Max World Finals.

 

“I have to thank Dominic and the whole crew from PSL Karting.com,” Hugo said after the race. “The CRG was clearly the best chassis to have here – like usual – and while it was disappointing to see my brother go out early, I am glad to be going to the World finals to represent Canada and PSL Karting.com.”

Massimo Scotti proved his driving skills been fast all week, finishing in 3rd in the final filling with this result 2 spots at the podium for the CRG PSL Team.

Samuel Fontaine powered his way to a win on his PSL CRG in the highly competitive Mini Max class, giving PSL Karting.com its second National Championship of the weekend. In Rotax Max Jr, you would be hard pressed not to have given PSL Karting's Tommy Beshro the drive of the day.

Beshro suffered in qualifying and the heats, but he managed to pass 27 karts in the prefinal and final to take third overall in the final. “That was a lot of work.” Beshro said. “My CRG was perfect for the pre-final and final, and that is why I could make it to the podium.”

 

 
NEWS 28/07/2009
 

BHPETROL.IRU1 RACING TEAM JUST MISSES OUT ON MAIDEN VICTORY

DAIM HISHAMMUDIN EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD IN ASIAN SERIES



BHPetrol.Iru1 Racing Team’s dream of its first victory was crushed at the final lap of the Asian Max Senior race when Formula BMW driver Fahmi Ilyas picked up loose debris, sending him to the wall. It was a rather strong weekend for the team, with BHPetrol.Iru1’s Micromax star Daim Hishammudin extending his lead in the championship after finishing third in Prefinal and sixth in Final. Meanwhile, 14-year old Ron Tan (Senior) climbed up strongly from 25th on the grid to finish the race in 7th place. Indonesian Aldi Rizky (Senior), a new addition to the team, finished 12th and now third in the Series.

17 year-old Fahmi Ilyas who made his debut with the team this weekend impressed everyone in the race, by winning the prefinal and was leading the Final until the very last lap of the race. However loose dirt on the track caused by another driver caught Fahmi and he lost control of the kart, sending him to the wall. Syafiq Ali, from sister-team Pacific.Iru1 Racing Team, who was running second through out the race, inherited the position and achieved the first win of the season for the “CRG works team”.

Fahmi Ilyas commented, “Firstly, I would like to thank Nik Iruwan for the opportunity to race with his team . I enjoyed the weekend very much and it could have been sweet to win the race. From the help of the team, we managed to get the right settings in the Prefinal and Final. There was a kart who skidded into the dirty side of the track and spilled some of the dirt on the the racing line. Since I was the first one to come to the corner, and it was a blind corner too, I got caught in it. It was just unfortunate but I’m happy for the team because they have done a good job”.

Fahmi Ilyas started karting back in 2006 through Iru1 Motorsports Driver Management program. Fahmi then went on to race with other teams and in 2009 moved to Formula BMW Pacific with Team E-Rain notching up his first win two months ago at the Sepang International Circuit. He was invited to race with BHPetrol.Iru1 Racing Team based on his previous relationship with Team Principal, Nik Iruwan.

Another driver who made his debut in the team at Pekan was 15 year old rookie Aldi Rizky from Indonesia. Aldi finished a commendable 12th in the race, and now leads the Indonesian Rotax Max Series and fourth in the Asian Max Series just 12 points away from leader, Mikko Nassi of KRS Motorsport.

Meanwhile, the team’s Micromax driver, 10 year old Daim Hishammudin extend his championship lead to nine points in the Asian Series after finishing third in Prefinal and sixth in Final. Daim suffered from engine problems in the Final, despite a strong weekend.

“Sister” team, Pacific.Iru1 Racing Team which is running identical CRG karts, however brought the cheer to the family after winning the Micromax class courtesy of Lukman Hakim and Senior class by Syafiq Ali. Andy Chang from Macau on CRG Dark Knight chassis brought third place for the team in the Junior class.

Both Fahmi Ilyas and Syafiq Ali was running on the latest CRG Bad Boy Chassis while Lukman Hakim was on a CRG Mini New Age chassis.

Team Principal of BHPetrol.Iru1 Racing Team, Nik Iruwan commented:

“I am very happy with the team this week, because we have moved our competitiveness to another level. It’s great to have Fahmi Ilyas with us and he was able to show the true potential of the team. It was just unfortunate in the Final but the whole team now knows that we are capable of winning and this will just make us more confident of the next race. Daim also did well over the weekend despite being away on medical reason for almost two month, and even with that, he extends his champiomship lead by nine points. Ron again proved his customary charged through the field from 25th on the grid to 7th so that’s quite a remarkable effort for a rookie. I would also like to congratulate our satellite team Pacific.Iru1 Racing for winning two of the categories and again this proved that the CRG chassis distributed by us is working perfectly!”

The championship now heads to the final round at Speedway Plus, USJ, Selangor on 15th of August 2009.

 

 
NEWS 26/07/2009
 

CRG-MAXTER, EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS OF JONATHAN THONON AT THE WSK IN FRANCE

THE VICTORY OF THONON IN KZ2 MAKES THE CRG DRIVER GAINING IMPORTANT POINTS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. THE POLE POSITION CONQUERED BY FORE' CONFIRMS THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ITALIAN FACTORY . GOOD PERFORMANCE OF MAISANO (LH) AND ALARCON IN KF2. THE YOUNG DRIVER VISOIU MAKES A GOOD RACE IN KF3.


Salbris (France), July 26th 2009. CRG-Maxter obtains a great achievement in the 5th race of the WSK International Series that took place last weekend on the 24th-26th July at the International Circuit of Salbris, France. The Belgian driver Jonathan Thonon is the uncontested winner of the 5th race of the most famous international karting championship. Thonon was a great performer on the French track 1500 meters long and the big dominator of the "Queen class" KZ2 final race.

Thonon is the one who achieved the highest step of the podium, confirming the competitiveness of CRG chassis and Maxter engine, and Davide Forè, the other standard bearer of the Italian factory, was another great leader during the French weekend thanks to the great performances made during the heats and the conquest of the pole position.
The race of Salbris was then a CRG "All Black" appointment and confirmed the high competitiveness of the Italian factory, which is ready to compete at its best in the next very important event, the World Cup Championship in Sarno at the beginning of September.

Thonon thanks to the second place achieved in the Prefinal and first place in the Final is now the third candidate to the WSK Championship KZ2 title following Ardigò and Lammers.
So everything well for Thonon in Salbris, while Forè unfortunately had not the chance to give substance to his good results in the heats and the successful manches. The Italian driver finished the Prefinal on the 5th position, and in the Final he has been forced to leave the race due to the hard crash of a "kamikaze" competitor while he was in the first positions. Results spoiled by several accidents for the third CRG driver Arnaud Kozlinski who has been stopped at the beginning of the Final by a multiple clash that prevented him to be in the first positions.

Among the private teams drivers, an excellent fifth place was achieved by the Belgian Rick Dreezen of CRG Holland team, who once again confirmed himself to be one of the best drivers in his class.

CRG achieved good results also in the KF2 class, where the Spanish young driver Antonio Alarcon, coming from Mallorca, made a good performance and showed an interesting growth compared to the first races of the season. Alarcon achieved the 14th place at the end of the manches then he had some unfortunate events during the remaining part of the race, but he made great lap timing.

Bad luck for Niccolò Schirò and Giovanni Martinez, who have been damaged by various problems and accidents and could not join the finalist drivers of their category.

One of the new leaders in KF2 is the French Brandon Maisano with its LH Lewis Hamilton Chassis produced by CRG. Maisano achieved the 5th position at the end of the qualifying heats but he has been forced to leave the Prefinal because of some technical problem, concluding his great recovery in the Final where he achieved the 17th position.

The group of the KF3 finalists in Salbris included the very young driver Robert Visoiu. The Romanian driver concluded the repechage with an excellent 2nd place and achieved the second best timing. Visoiu has been then able to end all whole laps both the Prefinal and the Final races getting much more experience.

INTERVIEWS:

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: "This year we have been often very close to the victory, but we never had the possibility to get the right satisfaction for our work. This time everything was good. Foré achieved great results both in the heats and in the manches, and Jonathan then obtained the well deserved victory. Forè has been penalized by a wrong set-up choice made on his kart in the Prefinal. We did quite well in KF3, we have been able to qualify our young driver Visoiu. He still needs to find a bit more of "fighting spirit" in the races, but his lap timings are quite good. In KF2 we missed the result, but we are not so far away from them because our material is working well. This category penalized us because our drivers still need to make experience. On the contrary Maisano made a good performance with the LH chassis. A technical problem stopped him in Prefinal otherwise he could have obtained great results."

Omar di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "With the great performance of Thonon the CRG and Maxter team obtained a well deserved victory. Thonon made great improvements during last weekend, and his success has been obtained with no issues. Forè achieved great results during the whole weekend showing his driving skills, while Kozlinski is having quite good results with the engine development. Maisano did well in KF2, despite his technical problem occurred in Prefinal. Alarcon made great changes since the beginning of the year, we really trust in his possibilities. Schirò and Martinez had on the contrary several problems. I am very happy for Visoiu because he is finding the right space inside our team, in Salbris he obtained the qualifications for the Final, and this is very important for us."

Jonathan Thonon (KZ2): "I had a small technical problem during the qualifying heats, so I had to recover some positions during the manches. After having achieved the 2nd place in the Prefinal, we introduced some changes on the chassis so that I have been then able to overcome both Ardigò and Iglesias. I conquered the leadership from the second lap and I have not had any kind of problem. This is my first success of the season, I was not so lucky this year but this race was perfect. I am very happy with the team, my mechanic, the CRG chassis and Maxter engine. It is difficult to express all the great emotions that I felt when the checkered flag sanctioned my victory in such an important race. I would like to underline that this success is not just mine, but it is the success of a the team and the good working system. For this reason I want to thank all the people who helped me to achieve this great result, starting from Giancarlo Tinini".

Davide Forè (KZ2): "In the Final I was very close to the third and second drivers, after having overtaken Lammers. Unfortunately a driver run into me and when I had the possibility to start again I realized I was in the last position. I did well during the heats and the manches, then I have changed the kart set-up in the Prefinal, hoping to improve even more, but I was wrong. In the Final I made some further changes and in this way my chassis worked much better. I am sorry for the final result because together with Thonon we could have obtained a great team result. In any case I am very happy for Jonathan and CRG, this means that we are ready for the World Cup."

Arnaud Kozlinski (KZ2): "I have been stopped by the group of karts after 2 bends immediately after the Final race start. I am very disappointed about this result. I hope to be more lucky very soon."

Antonio Alarcon (KF2): "My weekend was quite positive. Apart from an accident, I did well during the manches. Unfortunately when I was tenth in Pre-final the competitors ran into me and, the same happened in the Final. Despite these accidents, I am very satisfied about the competitiveness expressed in the race, Maxter engine is working very well."

Giovanni Martinez (KF2): "It has been a very unlucky weekend, we had problems since the beginning because we had not the proper time to test due to the bad weather conditions. For this reason we had problems in finding the right set-up in the qualifying heats, so it was difficult to recover positions during the manches due to the several contacts. In the repechage race I have been collided by a competitor and that ended over my last opportunity to join the final stage."

Niccolò Schirò (KF2): "I had some problems since the beginning of the weekend, therefore everything has been quite difficult. I have finished all the manches but I was not very satisfied with the results. Then I have been involved in an accident during the repechage race so I had to leave the race."

RESULTS

KZ2 - Final: 1. Thonon (B) (CRG-Maxter) 17 laps; 2. Ardigò (I) + 3.056; 3. Iglesias (F) +5.971; 4. Lammers (B) +8.355; 5. Dreezen (B) (CRG-Maxter) +8.746; 6. Renaudie (F) +9.437; 7. Puhakka (FIN) +9.907; 8. Catt (GB) +10.927; 9. Piccioni (I) +11.396; 10. Convers (F) +11.696.
KZ2 Championship: 1. Ardigò (I) points 131; 2. Lammers (B) 107; 3. Thonon (B) (CRG-Maxter) 69; 4. Renaudie (F) 63; 5. Dreezen (B) (CRG-Maxter) 45; 6. Iglesias (F) 40; 7. Laudato (I) 35; 8. Puhakka (FIN) 34; 9. Forè (I) (CRG-Maxter) 32; 10. Mich (F) e Hawksworth (GB) 30.

KF2 - Final: 1. Johansson (S) 17 rounds; 2. Cooper (GB) +0.626; 3. Beretta (I) +1.587; 4. Lock (GB) +2.528; 5. Hauke (D) +2.748; 6. Basz (PL) +4.972; 7. Da Luz (P) +5.391; 8. Grenhagen (S) +6.223; 9. Luka (B) +7.288; 10. Giovinazzi (I) +7.865.
KF2 Championship: 1. Cooper (GB) points 195; 2. Viganò (I) 111; 3. Johansson (S) 100; 4. Grenhagen (S) 96; 5. Lock (GB) 95; 6. Basz (PL) 70; 7. Beretta (I) 68; 8. Smarrazzo (I) 57; 9. Tiene (I) 50; 10. Luka (B) 44.

KF3 - Final: 1. De Vries (NL) 14 rounds; 2. Sainz (E) +1.479; 3. Hoevenaars (NL) +2.325; 4. Walsh (GB) +2.862; 5. Marciello (I) + 3.630; 6. Dennis (GB) +4.761; 7. Davey (NL) +8.194; 8. Albon (GB) +8.506; 9. Kvyat (RUS) +9.191; 10. Hoshino (J) +9.379.
KF3 Championship: 1. De Vries (NL) points 188; 2. Kvyat (RUS) 167; 3. Sainz (E) 140; 4. Hoevenaars (NL) 88; 5. Marciello (I) 87; 6. King (GB) 82; 7. Silva (BR) 71; 8. Albon (GB) 66; 9. Jaminet (F) 45; 10. Dennis (GB) e Barrabeig (E) 41.

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Salbris (France), July 26th 2009




 

 
NEWS 16/07/2009
 

PSL KARTING FINDS SUCCESS IN THREE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OVER THREE-WEEK PERIOD

Victories and podium finishes for Canadian CRG importer at Championship Karting International, Caribbean Karting Carnival and Grand Prix of Shawinigan
.


 


TROIS-RIVIERES, QC (July 16, 2009) – PSL Karting had a busy three weeks to end the month of June and begin the month of July. A trip to New Jersey for the second round of the Championship Karting International series was followed quickly by a long journey down to the island of Jamaica for the running of the Caribbean Karting Carnival. The three week stint completed with a trip north of the PSL Karting base in Trois-Rivieres to the Grand Prix of Shawinigan. The PSL/CRG combination visited the podium at all three events with numerous drivers taking home the hardware.

At the CKI Grand Prix of New Jersey at the New Jersey Motorsports Park, Leesmann was joined by Critical Zone Racing’s Sabre Cook from Grand Junction, Colorado under the PSL tent. Leesmann was contesting his first race since the end of the Florida Winter Tour in March and spent most of the practice days shaking the rust off. Posting the third quickest lap in qualifying, Leesmann stepped up his game in the heat races to run second in each of the three runs. Starting outside row one for the Prefinal, Leesmann pressured the leader early but would lose ground in the closing stages. Again putting the pressure on, Leesmann looked stronger in the feature however fatigue would set in and would have to settle for the runner-up spot in his CKI debut.


Cook was like Leesmann, visiting the NJMP facility for the first time in her CKI debut. Most of her practice was spent learning and adjusting to the very technical 1.03-mile circuit. Toward the end of the heat races, her lap times were improving despite engine issues however a mechanical problem forced her out of the third heat early. Starting near the tail of the field in the Prefinal, Cook stepped up the pace once again and was battling just outside the top-10, finishing 11th. Avoiding the early carnage of the main event, Cook would run her best laps of the weekend toward a solid ninth place finish.


The following weekend, PSL Karting shipped a number of karts to the island of Jamaica for the Caribbean Karting Carnival with the Jamaica Karting Association at the Palisadoes International Raceway in Kingston. Leesmann dominated the ICC category, taking home victory in both feature events while Canadian Oliver Sirois recorded finishes of second and third. Florida PSL driver Jesus Rios Jr. also took home two wins contesting the Rotax Junior division. Homestead Karting and CRG Road Rebel driver Carlos Duenas scored victory in the Rotax Senior division. Local driver Thomas Issa and Dominican Diego Barkhausen represented the PSL squad in the Mini Max division aboard the new CRG ‘Big Al’ Cadet chassis. Issa took home victory while Barkhausen endured a tough event but enjoyed the event.


This past weekend, PSL Karting geared up for the upcoming Monaco de Trois-Rivières with the fourth round of the Coupe de Quebec at the Grand Prix of Shawinigan. PSL Karting scored four victories, led by Sirois and Rios Jr. Both returning from a successful trip to Jamaica, Sirois led a PSL/CRG sweep in the Rotax Senior division as he was joined by Elie Arsenault and Etienne Lasalle on the podium. Rios took the Rotax Junior victory by nine-seconds, noted as probably the best performance of the event. Daniel Nadeau posted the fast lap in Rotax Masters en route to victory, joined by Michel Legrand on the podium in the third position. Alexandre Gauthier matched Nadeau’s performance in the Honda division with the fast lap and win in the main event. Vincent Roy and Alexandre Fortin added more podium finishes for PSL in the Cadet and Min Max categories while many others recorded top-10 finishes.

The PSL crew will now gear toward the upcoming Monaco de Trois-Rivières, set for July 24-26 in the streets of the major city. Many of the United States drivers and other pilots of other nationalities will be joining the CRG team for what is becoming the largest and most popular street race in Canada.

 


 

 
NEWS 12/07/2009
 

GOOD SATISFACTION FOR CRG AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN ZUERA

THE DUTCH DE VRIES WINS THE EUROPEAN TITLE IN KF3 WITH THE ZANARDI CHASSIS. ROWLAND WAS AN EXCELLENT PROTAGONIST IN SUPER KF WITH LH CHASSIS AND MAXTER ENGINE. GREAT RESULT FOR THE FINNISH VAINIO ON MARANELLO-MAXTER.


 


Zuera (Spain), July 12th 2009. The KF3 European Championship Final took place on the Spanish circuit of Zuera during the super hot weekend of July 11th-12th together with the second race of the Super KF European Championship. In this last category there was no official participation of CRG and the other major manufacturers as it already happened in the race of Muro Leccese.
CRG-Maxter took part in KF3 with its two drivers qualified in the selection of Sosnova (CZ), the Polish Jakub Dalewski and the Rumanian Robert Visoiu, while the young Finnish Matias Koykka obtained his qualification during the North European selection of Genk, Belgium. It was Koykka who reached then the best result for the CRG colours.


After the qualification heats, Koykka was able to obtain the 11th position in the Prefinal recovering from a starting 31st position, and he got the same good result in the Final fighting with the best "top ten" from the first half of the race. The young Finnish driver reached therefore a good level of competitiveness at his first race with the CRG official team.


Dalewski and Visoiu had some problems in the qualification heats that prevented them from making the final, the fastest between them was Visoiu who always finished from the 16th to the 18th position in the four heats, always starting from the back rows due to a performance not at the top in the qualifications.
The very fast driver Nyck De Vries conquered the KF3 championship with full merit, dominating the whole weekend and bringing therefore to victory the Zanardi chassis produced by CRG and marketed by Chiesa Corse which with Dino Chiesa also provided the track support to the new KF3 European Champion.


In Super KF we can note the excellent competitive growth of the new LH Lewis Hamilton chassis, produced and marketed by CRG. The British Oliver Rowland, who also had the assistance on the track of Dino Chiesa, made in fact a great performance. Starting from the official tests Rowland was close to the pole position with just one thousand of second from the French Renaudie, then in the qualification heats the British driver was able to conquer his first victory of the season.


In the first of the two Finals he confirmed his competitiveness gaining the third step of the podium and recording also the fastest lap during the race. In the Final Rowland was leading the group since half race but in the last lap he lost his leadership in favour of the Finnish Vainio (Maranello-Maxter).
With his third place in race-1 and the second place in race-2 Rowland has anyway the chance to fight for the Championship, being now at only 23 points from the top of the classification.
The third and last round of the Super KF which will take place in Essay, France, on the 2nd of August together with the KF2 Final, will also decide for the European Title of this category.

THE INTERVIEW

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: "The KF3 European Final was very positive with the Dutch De Vries who won the title with our Zanardi chassis. He showed his value during the whole season with the support of Chiesa Corse and he confirmed himself to be the driver to beat in this category. With regards to CRG the technical result was quite good, the timings on the lap were OK and only the lack of experience of our drivers prevented us from getting good results for the classification. Visoiu made a good performance, and in particular Koykka really impressed us, he was the real surprise of the weekend. Only some tactical race errors in the Final have not allowed him go over the 11th place. Rowland was one of the protagonists of the Super KF weekend which confirmed the excellent work done with the LH chassis. We have made a good development both on the chassis and on the Maxter engine, so we have obtained the result that we were looking for".

Press Office C.R.G. S.p.A.
Zuera (Spain), July 12th 2009


 

 
NEWS 28/06/2009
 

CRG WINS THE PODIUM WITH THONON IN THE EUROPEAN KZ1 CHAMPIONSHIP IN GERMANY

THE RACE OF WACKERSDORF HAS CONFIRMED CRG ON TOP LEVEL OF THE CATEGORY WITH EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES OF THONON WHO WAS THIRD AND FORÈ ON FIFTH PLACE. CRG GAINS THE PODIUM ALSO IN KZ2 WITH THE YOUNG DUTCH DRIVER JORRIT PEX OF CRG HOLLAND. THIS AWAY-RACE WAS QUITE UNLUCKY FOR TILLOCA.


 

Wackersdorf (Germany), 28th June 2009. Jonathan Thonon's smile on the podium of Wachersdorf was a beautiful reward for the whole CRG official team which was a real protagonist of the important race in Germany for the European KZ1 Championship. CRG-Maxter got in fact an excellent performance on the whole during the international event of the last 28th of June which was a single-race after the cancellation of the first one in Mariembourg. Once more the Team could prove the winning quality of its own chassis and the competitiveness of Maxter motors, especially in view of the KZ1 World Championship of September 6 in Sarno.

The "three diamond points" of CRG - the 2008 European Champion and twice World Champion of KZ1 Jonathan Thonon, the five times World Champion Davide Forè and the 2006 World Cup winner "Koko" - showed to be very fast at any occasion fighting for victory until the end. The three official CRG drivers were in great evidence since the qualification heats reaching in fact the first five positions being also grouped in just 2 tenths of seconds, with Thonon at only 14 thnds. from the pole. Thonon was in great shape indeed and was an absolute protagonist of the weekend during which he could win a well deserved third place without giving up fighting till the end, as it was in his fiery duel with Nato, wheel against wheel.

Forè was in great evidence too: he has run a good race in the Final getting a fifth place after a progression from the 11th position in the Prefinal. Kozlinski loitered a little bit claiming a problem at the gearbox when the race was about to finish. The French driver ended on 11th position after having been among the leaders on the head in the first part of the race.

Disappointing in its development was, on the contrary, Luca Tilloca's weekend where the CRG official driver in this European Championship was a candidate for the KZ2 title after the podium he had got in the previous race of Muro Leccese. He had the best time in the qualifying practice but some problems have penalized the driver from Alghero either in the official race as in the first qualification heat. He could anyway get the qualification for the final phase with a series of excellent comebacks in the other heats but his dream of yearning for the title was broken in the Prefinal, where he was involved in an accident. He was then definitively out of the race after another accident while he was recovering in the Final.

Mirko Torsellini with LH Lewis Hamilton chassis assisted by Elto Racing team and Leonardo Fuoco of Montera Racing team didn't get the qualification for the KZ2 final phase. These two drivers have anyway the comfort of having acquired the right to participate to the KZ1 World Cup of Sarno which is in programme next September.
As for CRG private teams' drivers, in KZ1 there were excellent performances by CRG Holland, with the Dutch Arjan Kievitsbosch on 9th position and the Belgian Rick Dreezen tenth, whereas the latter made also the fastest lap in Prefinal.
Much in evidence were CRG colours also in KZ2 in the second and decisive trial for the European Championship of the junior category. It was CRG Holland to prevail here with two very young drivers, the Dutch brothers Pex, in growth and particularly competitive in this crucial part of the season. It was Jorrit Pex, 16 years old, the youngest of them, to jump on the podium in both Finals: he was third in race-1 then very good second in race-2. Yard Pex was a protagonist in the first trial in Muro Leccese last 19th of April but here in Wackersdorf he was 7th in race-1 and 6th in race-2.

Nice performance too by Daniele Delli Compagni from Teramo assisted by Galiffa Team who was good fifth in the second Final after his progression from the 14th position of race-1 and mainly from the qualification heats where he only ended 32nd due to a series of mishaps.
The Croatian Kristijan Habulin of KK1 Team also ran well finishing 7th and 9th in the two Finals.

Classifications. European KZ1 & KZ2 Championships, Wackersdorf (D), 25th-28th June 2009
KZ1 Final: 1. Lammers (NL) 25 laps; 2. Iglesias (E) +0.367; 3. Thonon (B) (CRG-Maxter) +4.281; 5. Ardigò (I) +4.876; 5. Forè (I) (CRG-Maxter) +5.922; 6. Knopper (NL) +6.300; 7. Piccini (I) +6.633; 8. Nato (F) +7.192; 9. Kievitsbosch (NL) (CRG-Tm) +7.664; 10. Dreezen (B) (CRG-Maxter) +8.477; 11. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) +10.055; 12. Renaudie (F) +10.357; 13. Cesetti (I) +12.137; 14. Geurts (NL) +12.409; 15. Convers (F) +15.222.
KZ2 Final-1: 1. Lombardo (I) 21 laps; 2. De Luchi (I) +3.977; 3. Pex Jorrit (NL) (CRG-Tm) +4.109; 4. Piccoli (I) +4.233; 5. Meindorfer (D) +5.745; 6. Pex Yard (NL) (CRG-Tm) + 6.129; 7. Habulin (HR) +6.264; 8. Van Asseldonk (NL) +8.896; 9. Zanchetta (I) +9.431; 10. Ferri (I) +10.463.
KZ2 Final-2: 1. Lombardo (I) 21 laps; 2. Pex Jorrit (NL) (CRG-Tm) +2.861; 3. De Luchi (I) +3.750; 4. Piccoli (I) +7.722; 5. Delli Compagni (CRG-Tm) +9.751; 6. Zanchetta (I) +10.456; 7. Pex Yard (NL) (CRG-Tm) +10.995; 8. Meindorfer (D) +11.384; 9. Habulin (HR) (CRG-Maxter) +11.688; 10. Hauenstein (D) +12.295.
KZ2 Championship: 1. Lombardo (I) points 63; 2. Hayek (CZ) p. 53; 3. Piccoli (I) p. 53; 4. De Luchi (I) p. 44; 5. Pex Jorrit (NL) (CRG-Tm) p. 36; 6. Pex Yard (NL) (CRG-Tm) p. 28; 7. Ferri (I) p. 26; 8. Cane (I) p. 22; 9. De Conto (I) p. 21; 10. Hawksworth (GB) p. 19; 11. Meindorfer (D) p. 19; 12. Zanchetta (I) p. 17; 13. Tilloca (I) (CRG-Maxter) p. 16; 14. Habulin (HR) (CRG-Maxter) p. 16; 15. Delli Compagni (I) (CRG-Tm) p. 14.

THE INTERVIEWS

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "In KZ1 we have had a great Thonon who was fighting till the end. In fact he was great in several occasions so that he deserved the podium. Forè made an excellent race too. Unfortunately he was slowed down by some contacts during the race itself, both in the heats and in the Final, otherwise he could also get the podium. Kozlinski claimed a technical problem at the gearbox and that's why he wasn't able to do his best when the race was about to end. We are sorry for Tilloca in KZ2 where he was penalized by human error, otherwise thanks to his strong competitiveness he could yearn to a good position in classification. In both Finals he was penalized by a series of accidents in which he was involved against his will."

Jonathan Thonon, driver: "I am really very happy for this result because a podium at the European Championship, although in a single race, is a good thing indeed. I could probably do better running the first round in Mariembourg, my home circuit, but it was not so it's okay anyway. This was a fantastic result for me, it was important to get the podium and that's what I did. Now we need to work harder if we want to win a World Championship."

Davide Forè, driver: "I think I have run a good race in the Final. It was a pity for the tyre problem in the Prefinal compromising therefore my position. I made an excellent comeback in the Final, overtaking many drivers in the middle of the bends where the chassis was super. I wish to thank CRG and my mechanics as well as the whole technical staff, Maxter and the preparer Mr Patrick Savard for all the assistance provided. We have had a great result and I think this year too we will be up to the situation for the World Cup in Sarno: another little progress will do."

Arnaud Kozlinski, driver: "I was coming back up to place eight but the gear jumped away ten laps from the finish. It was difficult then to keep the pace of the leaders. I could probably recover some other position without this problem."

Luca Tilloca, driver: "My weekend started very well driving fast in the qualifying practice. Then I had several mishaps that forced me to start from the back-line in the heats. It was hard to climb up again but at the end I was able to get the qualification for the final phase. Then I was hit by some other competitors either in the Prefinal as in the Final so my European Championship ended this way. A real pity because I had the right step to win. Now I hope to do better in the World Cup."

Press Office
CRG SpA
Wackersdorf (Germany), 28th June 2009

 

 

 
NEWS 24/06/2009
 

AVAILABLE NEW TROLLEY CRG '09


 

Trolley travelling bag: two main spaces with "U" shaped upper opening and foldaway handle, reinforced handle and shoulder belt, black colour, Nylon 840D fabric. Measures: 75x48x33cm

 

 

 
NEWS 23/06/2009
 

THE CRG TEAM IS IN GERMANY FOR THE KZ1 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

CRG-MAXTER, HOLDER OF THE EUROPEAN KZ1 TITLE, WILL TAKE PART IN THE SINGLE RACE OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP ON JUNE 28TH IN WACKERSDORF WITH ALL ITS DRIVERS TO RENEW ITS LEADERSHIP IN THIS CATEGORY. TILLOCA WILL ALSO COMPETE IN THE DECISIVE ROUND OF THE EUROPEAN KZ2 CHAMPIONSHIP.


 

Desenzano del Garda (Italy), June 23rd 2009. The appointment with the international karting will be back on stage this weekend with the European Championship KZ1 and KZ2, the 125cc shifter classes.
The race, which is particularly important as it will award the European title in both classes, will take place on the "Prokart Raceland" Circuit of Wackersdorf, Germany, 160 km north from Munich.
It will be a single event for the "top class" KZ1 with 47 pilots on the starting grid representing the major manufacturers, while the second appointment with the KZ2 after the race in Muro Leccese of April 19th will see the participation of 101 drivers.

The CRG official team, holder of the KZ1 European title won last year by the Belgian Jonathan Thonon, will take part to this event with all its technical and sporting potential to be able to confirm its leadership in this category. The 2008 champion Thonon will defend the colours of the Italian factory in KZ1 , as usual with the number 1, together with the several times world champion Davide Forè and the French "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski who is also looking for another prestigious victory to be added to his 2006 World Cup Title in Formula A.

The CRG Holland team will also compete with the fast Belgian driver Rick Dreezen, together with the other specialist of the shifter category, the Dutch Arjan Kievitsbosch.
In KZ2 the CRG-Maxter efforts will be focused on the fast driver from Sardinia Luca Tilloca, who was a great protagonist in the first round of the championship in Muro Leccese and among the major pretenders to the title. In that occasion the driver from Sardinia, assisted by CRG and by the official team for Sardinia "Team Erebus" with its president Giuseppe Saro, ran a marvellous first final reaching the podium with a good third place, but in the second final he was forced to withdraw for a technical problem just while he was about to get a certain victory.
In spite of this mishap, Tilloca has the potential to fight for the European title and to win it in Wackersdorf.
In fact according to the regulations, the final classification will be determined by the 80% of the best results obtained in the four races of the championship. So nothing is barred for him, on the contrary the CRG pilot is strongly determined to reach this great result.

Mirko Torsellini will race in KZ2 with his LH Lewis Hamilton chassis, produced and marketed by CRG. The young pilot from Siena was not very lucky in the European Championship round in Muro Leccese but he was the protagonist of a good qualification heat. His aim is first of all to make experience but also to take part in the finals and to obtain a prestigious place.
As to the private teams, lots of drivers will race with the CRG chassis in KZ2. The Dutch Jorrit and Yard Pex and Symen Wiggers with CRG Holland as well as Georg Vann from Estonia and the Italians Leonardo Fuoco (Montera Racing), Maurizio Giacchetti, Andrea Tonoli and Giacomo Superti (BTR), the French William Benedetti, Kristijan Habulin (KK1) from Croatia, the German Kevin Illgen (DMV), the Spanish Antonio Garcia and the Swiss Heinz Fröhlich.


The race program of Wackersdorf foresees free practices on Thursday June 25th, qualifying on Friday June 26th from 2.25 p.m., 15 qualifying heats for KZ1 and KZ2 on Saturday the 27th with a further repechage in KZ1. Three qualifying heats will take place on Sunday June 28th, then Pre-finals and Finals on the same day starting from 1.15 p.m.
The results will be published live on the web site www.cikfia.it


CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL DRIVERS participating in the European KZ1 & KZ2 Karting Championship, Wackersdorf (D), June 25th-28th 2009.

KZ1
1 - Jonathan Thonon (B) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
3 - Davide Forè (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
4 - Arnaud Kozlinski (F) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop

KZ2
140 - Luca Tilloca (I) - CRG-Maxter-Dunlop

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Desenzano del Garda (BS), June 23rd 2009

 

 

 
NEWS 16/06/2009
 

ED TAKES DOUBLE VICTORIES AND BRITISH CHAMPS LEAD


 

Ed Brand produced two superb performances to win the latest round of the British Super 1 kart championship and put himself at the top of the leaderboard. The Coles Racing star scored a brace of victories at the demanding Buckmore Park circuit in Kent last weekend (13/14 June) to propel him from fifth position into the overall championship points lead, with three rounds remaining. Timed qualifying went satisfactorily enough for Ed after he recorded the fifth fastest time - just nine hundredths of a second down on the pole-position setting time. In his first heat, a crash dropped him from fourth to twenty fourth and needed a great recovery drive to carve his way back up the order to a creditable eighth place at the finish.

In the following encounter, he settled for second place to secure fourth place on the grid for the first of Sunday's two points-scoring finals. By the end of the first lap of the final, Ed was up to second and pressing for the lead. Two laps later, he moved to the front and began to edge away from the chasing pack. "I got up to the leader, passed him and away I went," he commented afterwards. "It was hard work though. To lead for 21 laps, keep my concentration and not make any mistakes wasn't easy."

This approach saw him win by over seven seconds from his closest pursuer, team-mate Spencer Barrow - although Ed modestly acknowledged that he was helped when the drivers, then in second and third place, collided. Leading the field from pole position for the grand final, he benefited from having clear air ahead of him and made an excellent start. "I got through the first few corners and then got my head down and chased my own shadow all the way to the chequered flag." He added, "Winning is the best way I can thank all the people who support me and make my racing possible. To take two victories over a quality field and at such a tough circuit is always special and I'd like to thank Mike and Adrian at Coles and Tristram and Nigel at HRS Motorsport for their fantastic help and efforts throughout the weekend


 
NEWS 15/06/2009
 

CRG IS PROTAGONIST IN KZ2 IN THE "LOTTERY" OF WSK IN GENK - BELGIUM - UNDER THE SUN AND THE RAIN



DAVIDE FORÈ WINS THE 6TH PLACE AT THE FOURTH ROUND OF WSK DESPITE THE BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS. THONON AND KOZLINSKI WERE FORCED TO WITHDRAW WHILE FIGHTING FOR THE LEADING POSITIONS. THE RESULTS OF THE DRIVERS IN KF2 AND KF3 HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY ACCIDENTS.

 

Genk (Belgium), June 14th 2009. The fourth round of the WSK International Series, run on the Genk circuit on June 14th 2009, was also the first race abroad after the three ones held in Italy in Muro Leccese, Sarno and Castelletto. It was a hard but productive race especially considering the technical development of CRG-Maxter before the next international events. The Belgian race was particularly difficult because of the track conditions, which was rather slippery due to the dust coming from the cross-track nearby but also to the strange weather conditions which suddenly passed from very hot Friday and Saturday to a cold and rainy Sunday of the finals.

In this fourth round together with the KF2 and KF3 categories there was also the professional KZ2 class and the official CRG-Maxter team was on track with its best top drivers such as the Belgian Jonathan Thonon, the French "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski and the several times world champion Davide Forè.
They were all extremely motivated and gave every time their best, enhancing this way the quality of CRG chassis and Maxter engines but the rain transformed the final phase in a real "lottery".

The best result for the CRG colours was reached by Forè who obtained a 6th place both in the Prefinal and in the Final at the end of a series of great duels.
The difficult race conditions have also been confirmed by the home driver, the Belgian Rick Dreezen of CRG-Holland, who was the most favourite driver after having won all the three qualification heats on a dry track but he was then forced to withdraw in the final after his 12th position in the pre-final.

Thonon was also a leading player in the qualification heats coming close to the pole at only 50 hundredths of seconds from the best time. In the heats he could easily get a victory in two races becoming one of the most important candidates for the final success.
Unfortunately the Prefinal was characterized by several accidents and track going-outs so that the Belgian pilot ended only 17th. Thonon made a great progression in the Final while the track was getting dry, but at only three laps from the finishing line he was forced to withdraw for a technical problem when he was in 5th position. Bad luck also for Kozlinski in the Final, although the French driver was able to gain a good 7th place in the Prefinal despite the difficult track conditions. The other CRG private teams' pilots, the Dutch Yard and Jorrit Pex of CRG-Holland finished respectively 10th and 13th.

In KF2 both the CRG-Maxter drivers Niccolò Schirò and Giovanni Martinez did not manage to qualify. Schirò had and accident problem as well as Martinez who was penalized for a going-out on track during a qualification heat. He got then an 11th place in the repechage while Schirò ran up against another accident. It was an unlucky race also for Rick Nadin of the private team VDK Racing from Luxembourg who had to give up in both KF2 finals after some good qualifying heats.
Very positive debut in KF2 for the 16-year-old Brandon Maisano from Cannes with the LH Lewis Hamilton chassis. The young French promising driver was driving for the first time a CRG chassis with the assistance on track of Dino Chiesa team and he was immediately a protagonist in the official heats reaching the second best time at only 10 hundredths from the pole. He got then a third and 5th place in the heats but in the final phase he had to start from a back row because of an accident during another heat. He recovered up to the 17th place in the Final. On the whole it was an excellent performance for Maisano which also confirmed the competitiveness of LH chassis and Maxter engines.
Mirko Torsellini raced in KZ2 with the LH colours too but he was assisted by the team of Elto Racing. A series of problems in the heats forced the driver from Siena to run the repechage race. Here he was greatly recovering but an accident definitively stopped him from an access into the final phase.
The KF3 class was here represented by the official CRG team drivers, the Polish Jakub Dalewski and the Rumenian Robert Visoiu: this Belgian race was anyway very difficult for them because of the many and continuous accidents which characterized the races of this youngsters category. In fact both drivers have been several times involved in the accidents of the qualification heats having then to run the dangerous repechage.
They then had further problems in this race so Dalewski wasn't able to get a better place than his 12th while Visoiu was forced to withdraw for an accident.

THE INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: "On the whole the performances of our karts and drivers were very satisfying as to KF2 on Saturday, both in the trials and in the qualification heats. Unfortunately the rain on Sunday changed the values on the field and certainly we could have obtained different results if the weather conditions would have been the same as the day before. The slippery asphalt caused several troubles too with a lot of contacts during the race. I would like to underline the good performance of Brandon Maisano in KF2 who was immediately able to run at his best since the beginning of the race with the LH chassis and Maxter engine. This WSK round in Genk was anyway very useful for us for a further development of our equipment in view of the European KZ1 and KZ2 of Wackersdorf at the end of June and the Final of the European Championship KF3 in Zuera in mid July".

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "In KF3 and KF2 our pilots ran into several accidents and couldn't therefore get the results they were fighting for. Visoiu made a good progress in KF3 and was more aggressive than in the past. Dalewski was involved in accidents after two good heats and the same happened to Schirò and Martinez in KF2. Now the drivers have acquired enough experience to face as best as possible the rest of the season. In KZ2 we were the protagonists in the trial and in the qualification heats but we were penalized in the final phase because of the changing weather conditions and a technical problem for Thonon. Forè was the only one to reach a good result even if the track was drying up while he was running the Final with a wet ready chassis instead of a dry one, as it should have been in that particular moment".

Classifications

KZ2: 1. Ardigò (I); 2. Laudato (I) + 8.101; 3. Mich (F) + 8.215; 4. Cesetti (Birel) + 9.977; 5. Renaudie (F) + 10.844; 6. Forè (I) (CRG-Maxter) + 12.286; 7. Puhakka (FIN) + 13.603; 8. Bressan (I) + 16.979; 9. Hawksworth (GB) + 20.901; 10. Pex Yard (NL) (CRG-Tm) + 21.465; 11. Piccini (Intrepid) + 23.099; 12. De Conto (I) + 24.423; 13. Pex Jorrit (NL) (CRG-Tm) + 26.109; 14. Geurts (NL) + 28.138; 15. Schoonderwaldt (D) + 32.959 … 18. Thonon (B) (CRG-Maxter) + 3 laps; 28. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) + 14 laps; 30. Dreezen (B) (CRG-Maxter) + 17 laps; 33. Habulin (HR) (CRG-Maxter) + 19 laps.
KZ2 Championship: 1. Lammers (B) points 85; 2. Ardigò (I) 81; 3. Renaudie (F) 50; 4. Laudato (I) 35; 5. Hawksworth (GB) 30; 6. Dreezen (B) 28; 7. Mich (F) e Cesetti (I) 25; 9. Forè (I) 24; 10. Puhakka (FIN) 21.

KF2: 1. Cooper (GB); 2. Rossler (S) + 2.100; 3. Moller (DK) + 2.919; 4. Lock (GB) + 4.655; 5. Grenhagen (S) + 5.713; 6. Johansson (S) + 6.622; 7. De Ridder (F) + 10.113; 8. Giovinazzi (I) + 12.535; 9. Beretta (I) + 12.801; 10. Goff (GB) + 13.420; 11. Taylor (GB) + 14.783; 12. Hauke (D) + 19.051; 13. Smarrazzo (I) + 19.269; 14. Lynn (GB) + 21.072; 15. Zimin (RUS) + 23.305.
KF2 Championship: 1. Cooper (GB) points 155; 2. Viganò (I) 109; 3. Grenhagen (S) 84; 4. Lock (GB) 72; 5. Smarrazzo 57; 6. Basz (PL) 54; 7. Tiene (I) 48; 8. Rossler (S) 43; 9.Taylor (GB) 37; 10. Goff (GB) 36.

KF3: 1. Hoevenaars (NL); 2. Silva (BR) + 2.631; 3. King (GB) + 3.644; 4. Abreu (P) + 7.038; 5. Sirotkin (RUS) + 7.757; 6. Barrabeig (E) + 8.607; 7. Albon (GB) + 9.945; 8. Sainz (E) +10.826; 9. Walsh (GB) + 14.542; 10. Helias (F) + 16.192; 11. Dennis (GB) + 16.289; 12. Pakari (FIN) + 19.884; 13. Kvyat (RUS) + 24.401; 14. Elkerbout (NL) + 25.345; 15. Fioravanti (I) + 26.019.
KF3 Championship: 1. Kvyat (RUS) points 150; 2. De Vries (NL) 135; 3. Sainz (E) 95; 4. King (GB) 82; 5. Marciello (I) 72; 6. Hoevenaars (NL) 67; 7. Albon (GB) 57; 8. Silva (BR) 48; 9. Barrabeig (E) 41; 10. Jaminet (F) 35.

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Genk (Belgium), June 14th 2009

 

 
NEWS 10/06/2009
 

CRG IS READY TO FIGHT IN THE 4th ROUND OF THE WSK INTERNATIONAL SERIES IN BELGIUM



CRG WILL TAKE PART IN THE BELGIAN APPOINTMENT OF THE WSK INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH ITS WHOLE OFFICIAL TEAM. THONON, KOZLINSKI AND FORÈ WILL BE CHASING A VICTORY IN KZ2. THE FRENCH BRANDON MAISANO WILL MAKE HIS DEBUT WITH THE LH CHASSIS, THE NEW CRG BRAND. SCHIRÒ AND MARTINEZ ARE ALSO FORECASTED AS PROTAGONISTS IN KF2, DALEWSKI AND VISIOU IN KF3.

 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), June 10th 2009. The fourth WSK International Series race will be run next weekend in Genk, Belgium. After the first three rounds held in Italy, in Muro Leccese, Sarno and Castelletto, the most representative international championship of the European scene is just starting its series of European races that will also be run in France and Spain.

The whole CRG-Maxter official team will take part in all the three categories run on the circuit of Genk, which is about 90 km. East-way from Bruxelles. Together with the main class, the KZ2, the Belgian appointment of the series will see the KF2 and KF3 drivers fighting for the victory. CRG will take part in this important appointment with its fantastic “trident” of drivers: the Belgian Jonathan Thonon, the French “Koko” Arnaud Kozlinski and the Italian Davide Forè. These three pilots have just returned from the World Cup race in Suzuka, Japan, where the Italian team achieved a good podium with Kozlinski. Now, in full season, the CRG - Maxter team will line up its drivers who are totally motivated to carry on the positive trend aiming at the victory.

Other private pilots will compete with the CRG colours: the CRG-Holland team with its excellent Belgian driver Rick Dreezen, together with the Dutch Yard and Jorrit Pex, the Spanish Fulgencio Garcia will with the team Jamkart of Tenerife and Krisijan Habulin from Croatia with the KK1 Team.

This race is also the comeback for the 15-years-old Mirko Torsellini after his brilliant debut in Formula Azzurra with his second place in Vallelunga, where he was assisted by Elto Racing Team. In Genk Mirko will race with his LH “Lewis Hamilton” chassis, the new CRG brand. With the brand new LH chassis, we should also point out the debut of the talented young French driver Brandon Maisano in the KF2 category, who will use from now on the new chassis for the team managed by Dino Chiesa.

Niccolò Schirò from Milan, who is in a strong agonistic growth at the moment, will also take part in KF2 with the CRG colours together with Giovanni Martinez from Sardinia, who wants to redeem his unlucky race in the qualifications of the European Championship in Sosnova. The two Belgian Damien Dupont and Stoffel Vandoorne are also enrolled with the VDK Team together with Rick Nadin from Luxemburg. The French Vincent Fraisse with Jamkart Team will be racing too.

Some young drivers such as the polish Jakub Dalewski, who recently made excellent performances, and the Rumenian Robert Visiou will also join the KF3 category with the CRG race team, whereas the VDK Team will line up the Belgian Laloux Bryan.

CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL DRIVERS racing the fourth round of the “WSK International Series”.

Genk (Belgium), June 11th-14th 2009.

KZ2

101 - Jonathan Thonon (B) - CRG-Maxter-Vega

102 - Arnaud Kozlinski (F) - CRG-Maxter-Vega

103 - Davide Forè (I) - CRG-Maxter-Vega

KF2

232 - Niccolò Schirò (I) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone

233 - Giovanni Martinez (I) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone

KF3

309 - Robert Visoiu (RO) - CRG-Maxter-Dunlop

310 - Jakub Dalewski (PL) - CRG-Maxter-Dunlop

Press Office

C.R.G. S.p.A.

Desenzano del Garda (BS), June 10th 2009

 

 
NEWS 24/05/2009
 

CRG CELEBRATES THE PODIUM WITH KOZLINSKI
AT HIS COMEBACK TO THE WORLD CUP IN SUZUKA


AFTER SOME YEARS OF ABSENCE, THE CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL TEAM HAS RETURNED TO JAPAN AS A PROTAGONIST. ARNAUD KOZLINSKI WAS ABOUT TO WIN AND JONATHAN THONON IS AMONG THE LEADING DRIVERS. DAVIDE FORÈ AND EDDY TININI DO NOT MEET THEIR EXPECTATIONS.

 

Suzuka (Japan), May 24th 2009. The CRG official team obtained an excellent result in Suzuka, Japan, on the occasion of the first international competition of the current 2009 season, the Super KF World Cup. The comeback after some years ob absence to this competition was for CRG-Maxter of great satisfaction with the podium conquered by "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski, an absolute protagonist who fought till the end for victory, and with the KZ1-world champion in charge Jonathan Thonon who was on the spotlight with an excellent performance. It was definitely a positive weekend, considering also the great performance of Davide Forè who was unfortunately quite unlucky during the race. Eddy Tinini got his qualification for the final after the second chance heat.


"Koko" was unfortunately forced to withdraw due to an high kerb which drove him out of the track after a bit uncertain start at the beginning of the 2nd heat. At the end of a very aggressive pre-final the driver was able to recover from the 21st to the 8th position and in the final he reached the 2nd place even attacking the race leader De Brabander, but the tyres showed the bad effects, as usual, after so many frantic laps so he preferred to manage the race finishing then third.
After his 9th position of the pre-final, Jonathan Thonon was also able to recover to the 5th place, while there was quite a different ending for Davide Forè who was racing with a new engine-development which didn't gave the expected results in this race.
Eddy Tinini, the fourth CRG driver, lived the thrill of the repechage following the qualification heats and just because of a single penalty. The Italian driver has anyway had the merit of reacting as best as possible winning at the repechage the sixth position and therefore the entry to the final. Tinini ran a good pre-final race even starting from the last position then he had to withdraw in the final for a technical problem.


Another great but unlucky leader of this race was the British 2008 KF2 World Champion Oliver Rowland, who got a final 9th place driving a "LH Lewis Hamilton" chassis produced and marketed by CRG with the track assistance by Dino Chiesa. After an excellent third place at the end of the qualification heats Rowland was immediately forced to withdraw in the pre-final. The final proved that the British driver is in a very good shape being able to perform a real masterpiece with a progression from the last to the 9th final position. A fantastic result for a talented and fast driver which also confirms the quality of the LH chassis with Maxter engine.

Among the private pilots running with CRG chassis the Japanese driver Takeharu Nakamori of Kart Club Musashino obtained a 22nd place in the final, while Kazushi Sano of team Strega was forced out of the race.

The Asia-Pacific KF2 Championship has taken place at the same time and it was won by Felice Tiene while the best among the CRG private drivers participating in the race was the Japanese Ryuya Fujie of CRG Japan Team who made also the best time in the final. His team-mate Fumiya Nakayama finished the race in 17th position as the first Bridgestone-tyred driver. The other Japanese Hayato Kurosawa of Silking Racing Team placed 20th.


THE INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of C.R.G. S.p.A.: "We are very glad about our comeback to the World Cup here in Suzuka and mainly because we turned to be among the protagonists in this very important international event. We have been greatly welcomed by everyone, especially by the organizer of the Suzuka circuit who was very grateful to us for our decision of taking part in this race after some years of absence. Our Road Rebel chassis performed great during the event and we have been very close to the victory with Kozlinski but unfortunately he lost several positions in one of the heats. His performance was anyway of a very high level as well as the one of Thonon who made a beautiful final. Forè had some problems with his engine performance especially at low rates and he couldn't therefore do his best. Referring to the situation of the karting market in Japan, which has been really quite critical in these last periods, it seems to get better and a lot of people are forecasting a significant recover of the whole sector; this is of great importance for the sale of our products".

CIK-FIA WORLD CUP SUPER KF & KF1, May 24th 2009:
Final: 1. De Brabander (B); 2. Renaudie (F) +0.917; 3. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) + 1.153; 4. Ardigò (I) +2.786; 5. Thonon (B) (CRG-Maxter) +3.911; 6. Vainio (FIN) +4.784; 7. Sasaki (J) +4.870; 8. Parrott (GB) +6.761; 9. Rowland (GB) (LH-Maxter) + 6.955; 10. Convers (F) +7.348.

Photo: Kozlinski on the podium of Suzuka (photo by Tada Takano).

Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.
Suzuka (Japan), 24th May 2009

 

 
NEWS 15/05/2009
 

CRG READY TO CONQUEST THE EAST FOR THE SUPER KF WORLD CUP IN SUZUKA


CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL TEAM WILL BE TAKING PART IN THE WORLD CUP ON THE 24TH OF MAY IN JAPAN WITH ITS CHAMPION IN CHARGE DAVIDE FORÈ AND ARNAUD KOZLINSKI, JONATHAN THONON AND EDDY TININI. THE TITLE WAS ALSO WON IN THE PAST BY THE CRG DRIVERS HAMILTON AND LIUZZI.

 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), May 15th 2009. One of the most important events of the international karting season is the one at Suzuka, Japan, on the 24th of May with the World Cup races of "Super KF" professional category where CRG will take part with lots of its best drivers. In fact the CRG-Maxter Team for Japan is made up by the champion in charge Davide Forè, by the winner of the 2006 edition Arnaud Kozlinski, by the holder of the KZ1 World Cup Jonathan Thonon from Belgium and by the fighting and fast driver Eddy Tinini.
This CRG-Maxter participation is therefore in grand style, a return to this competition after some years of absence.


The last success of CRG in this race dates back to 1999 with the victory in the corresponding category "Formula Super A" of Vitantonio Liuzzi who is nowadays a F1 pilot. The edition of the year 2000 was run in Japan but in that occasion in Motegi the title of "Formula A" was won by the present F1 World champion Lewis Hamilton and his Racing Team Chiesa, while Davide Forè won the "Formula Super A" inserting for the first time his name in the Golden Roll of the category. Earlier before it was Danilo Rossi to win for CRG in 1992 the "Formula K" and in 1994 it was Luca Casazza in "Formula A".

CRG-Maxter will be taking part this year with all its credentials to be able to fight for the victory after a very positive start in both the WSK International Series and the European Championships raced up to now. In the WSK Kozlinski proved to be a serious candidate to win the title in Super KF while Thonon and Forè were absolute leaders in KZ2. Their target is anyway to win the European Championship and the World Cup starting from the event in Suzuka.

In Japan another protagonist who will draw great attention is the British Oliver Rowland who will be assisted during the race by the Team Chiesa Corse with a LH-Lewis Hamilton chassis produced and marketed by CRG.
Two Japanese drivers will also be present in Suzuka with CRG chassis in "Super KF", they are Takeharu Nakamori of Kart Club Musashino and Kazushi Sano of Strega Team. Both Super KF and KF1 categories will be run here with the Japanese Masaki Mori of Sugiyama Racing using CRG chassis.
Apart from the Super KF World Cup also the Asia Pacific Championship will be taking place in Suzuka together with the KF2 category where the "CRG Team Japan" will be run with the drivers Fumiya Nakayama and Ryuya Fujie. Also other CRG drivers will join this event: Kazumi Osada of Team Hirano, Rintaro Kubo of Sugiyama Racing and Hatayo Kurosawa of Silkroad Racing Team.


OFFICIAL DRIVERS CRG-MAXTER
2009 CIK-FIA WORLD CUP FOR SKF & KF1 & ASIA-PACIFIC KF2 CHAMPIONSHIP
21-24.05.2009 - SUZUKA (J)
5 - Davide Forè (I) - CRG-Maxter- Bridgestone
23 - Arnaud Kozlinski (F) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone
24 - Jonathan Thonon (B) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone
25 - Eddy Tinini (I) - CRG-Maxter-Bridgestone

Press Office
CRG SpA
Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), 15th May 2009

 

 

 
NEWS 11/05/2009
 

SATISFACTION IN CRG-MAXTER FOR THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN KF2 AND KF3


EXCELLENT RESULTS GOT BY THE ITALIAN COMPANY WITH ITS OFFICIAL DRIVERS DURING THE SELECTION IN SOSNOVA. SCHIRÒ AND VANTINI REACH THE QUALIFICATION IN KF2 AS WELL AS DALEWSKI AND VISOIU IN KF3.

 

Sosnova - Ceska Lipa (CZ), the 3rd of May 2009. CRG-Maxter hit the target with an excellent performance during the European Qualifications of KF2 and KF3 categories. On the kart-track of Ceska Lipa in Sosnova (Czek Republic) the official CRG drivers could reach the qualification for the Finals which will respectively take place in Zuera (Spain) as to KF3 in July, 12 and in Essay (France) in August, 2. Winning was also the quality of the equipment used for the race and the fact that "Road Rebel" chassis proved to be very competitive together with the reliability of Maxter engines. But the greatest satisfaction for the Italian company was to note how great was the competitive growth of two very young drivers like Niccolò Schirò in KF2 and Jakub Dalewski in KF3. There was also the further discover of a leading driver like Alessandro Vantini at his start in KF2 and immediately competitive with his CRG chassis.

In KF2 Niccolò Schirò showed to be in great shape since the beginning in Sosnova. The driver from Milan had had a definitely superior step compared to his seasonal start since his extempore race the week before at the Open Masters in Siena. His performance continued here in Sosnova at a higher level which means new confidence and great hopes for this young driver. He was placed fourth in the official trials, then third in one of the four heats and got the fastest lap of all at the end of the first of the two Finals so he is fully expressing his qualities right in the middle of the season. Finally he was placed 20th due to some troubles happened in the two finals but he would deserve much more indeed.

Alessandro Vantini showed his certain potentials in KF2. At his start in CRG the International Champion 2008 of the SuperRok was immediately able to draw attention on himself catching good results both in trial and qualification heats with a 5th and two 7th places plus a withdrawal due to accident. He reached the 12th position in the first of the two Finals which also meant the certain qualification for the Final in France. In the second Final, while he was producing his attack and was in 9th position, he found right in the middle of the speed chicane a kerb which had come off from the side of the track and made Vantini literally take off. This was of course the end of a marvellous race in crescendo up to then. Apart from that, we have the confirmation of a very competitive pilot who has already been showing his talent. He was placed 18th in the final classification.

Among the KF2 drivers no qualification came for the pilot from Sardinia Giovanni Martinez at his start in the European after beginning in WSK. He was forced to withdraw after an accident during the last heat so he couldn't even try to cut a good figure. It was a real pity because Martinez would certainly deserve to reach the Final in France considering what he was able to show us this round.

DALEWSKI, NEW TALENT IN KF3

Nice satisfactions for the official CRG team came also from the KF3 category, where both its very young drivers, the Polish Jakub Dalewski (photo on the side) and the Rumenian Robert Visoiu fully hit the Final in Spain without any problem. At CRG home Dalewski was a real revelation proving to be competitive and ready to hit great results. After a 12th time in qualification he was able then to performance excellent progressions almost fighting for victory which he skimmed over in several occasions. His heats results with a second, third, fourth and fifth place clearly say how he is one of the leaders at the moment. With a 7th and 13th place in the two Finals he was at the end classified 10th.

Very interesting is also the growth-trend of the Rumenian Robert Visoiu who had to suffer a bit more to reach the qualification because of a bad timing session which then penalized him during the heats. Nevertheless he could enter the final phase racing two good rounds placing 22nd and a good safety edge for the Final in Spain.

CRG was running at the same time in Sosnova and in Angerville (France) for the drivers' selection of Western Europe with its Spanish pilot Antonio Alarcon. Quite disappointing were the races of the Spanish driver here. He first quite easily reached the final with a 2nd, 4th and 7th place then was forced to withdraw for troubles in the first final. So he started his second final with a result which penalized him of course not being able then to do better than the 23rd place that leaves him out from the 24 finalists.

In Genk (Belgium) as to the Northern Europe third selection in KF2 the Danish Jacob Nortoft (Team J.S.Racing) got the qualification as well as the three Belgian of Team VDK Racing Stoffel Vandoorne (23th), Clemente Picariello (24th) and Damien Dupont (25th). The same was for the Danish Kean Kristensen (26th) and the Belgian Luca Stolz (27th) of Team MM Racing Kart in KF3.

THE INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of CRG SpA: "The one in Sosnova was a positive weekend. Of course I am sorry for Martinez who unfortunately had to start with quite bad qualifying timings also because he couldn't participate to the pre-race test due to school duties so at the end he was the only one not able to get the qualification. As to the others, very good races for Schirò and Vantini in KF2 as well as Dalewski and Visoiu in KF3. Particularly Schirò is showing a progressive growth and his best time in Final-1 was a good sign. He hasn't got much experience as a pilot but considering his first season in KF2 we can note much progress indeed. We hope the best for the future, he's an aggressive and plucky pilot who will be able to give us lots of satisfactions. Vantini showed good potentials for the whole week having a good approach to the race. Dalewski raced well this weekend but made a mistake in the second final otherwise he could aim at a better result. Visoiu has got too less experience but showed excellent progress. When I am thinking at his debut at WSK in Muro Leccese it seems to me almost not true what I see him doing today. Now the next important event will be for World Cup of Super KF in Suzuka and just after that the fourth trial of WSK".

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "There is a general satisfaction in our Team this time. We aimed at qualification and we got it with Schirò and Vantini in KF2 although the second had had an incredible accident against a kerb of the track. We are sorry for Martinez as he missed qualification. In KF3 Visoiu had some problems at the beginning for lack of experience then had a good recover, while Dalewski got a good qualification willing to draw attention on himself and that means he will reach excellent results. Unfortunately as to the other European selection in Angerville, Alarcon was doing well at the beginning then he couldn't get the qualification because of a silly technical ignition problem at the start of the first of the two finals".

Niccolò Schirò - Driver - KF2: "It was a good start of my weekend which was then quite negative because of troubles in some heats but at the end I got the qualification for the finals anyway. I had an accident at the start of the first final so I could only try to gain a useful position in the second final which could bring me to the Final in France and I managed that. I could have better results but I am happy anyway also because I recorded the fastest lap in race-1 during my progression after the accident".

Alessandro Vantini - Driver - KF2: "I was unfortunately forced to withdraw in the second final as I bumped against a kerb right in the middle of the track at just a few laps from the end otherwise I could aim at the first positions. The CRG Road Rebel chassi was excellent as well as the Maxter engine and on the whole it was a very positive weekend. The main target was the qualification for the Final in France but the podium would have been a nice award. I wish to thank everybody for the work they've done for me and for their help. A special thank goes to Alessandro Marrapese whom I owe my debut in CRG".

Giovanni Martinez - Driver - KF2: "It wasn't a very lucky weekend for me due to some technical problems at the beginning durinf the trials and I couldn't go round much so to know better the track. Then I had an accident in the last heat of the first round otherwise I could get the qualification. Furthermore we have been trying a new set-up in the third heat but we failed. On the whole it was good experience for me . My next event will be in Genk for the fourth trial of WSK. I will also run the World Cup in September and I hope to do better then".

Jakub Dalewski - Driver - KF3: "It was a perfect weekend for me as well as for the whole team and the chassi and the engine too. I had some problems with the tyres and with the track which was very slippery. I must say here in Sosnova there were lots of accidents, I like the track but there are spots where it is easy to have accidents. This was my best race of the season anyway and I am very happy indeed".


CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL DRIVERS qualified for CIK-FIA European KF2-KF3 Championships:

FINAL KF2 - ESSAY (F), 2nd August 2009
Niccolò Schirò (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
Alessandro Vantini (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop

FINAL KF3 - ZUERA (E), 12nd July 2009
Jakub Dalewski (PL) - CRG-Maxter-Vega
Robert Visoiu (RO) - CRG-Maxter-Vega

Press Office
CRG SpA
Sosnova - Ceska Lipa (CZ), 3rd May 2009


 
NEWS 05/05/2009
 

BRAND VALUE RISES WITH ANOTHER WIN


COLES RACING'S JUNIOR MAX STAR TAKES SECOND BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY

 

Just two rounds in to this year's British Super 1 Championship, and already Ed Brand is shaping up to be a serious contender for overall honours at the end of the season. The CRG Dark Knight driver took his second victory at the spectacular Rowrah circuit in Cumbria last weekend (25/26 April).

Brand was too hot to handle in Timed Qualifying and duly posted the fastest lap to secure pole position for his two eliminatory heats. The first of which he won comfortably, crossing the line over two seconds ahead of his closest rival. A tougher second heat saw Ed just pip the third-placed driver by four one-hundredths of a second - but it was enough to secure the number one position on the grid for the first of Sunday's two finals. "The circuit has been resurfaced recently, making it much smoother and faster - but almost impossible to set the kart up perfectly for prior to racing. I was fortunate that my kart felt very good from the word 'go' and again in the final, it was ballistic," Ed explained. Although he was chased hard, Ed romped to a dominant win - his second of the campaign. "Once I'd survived the opening corners, I was quickly able to get my head down and open a gap. With everyone fighting hard behind me, that gave me the opportunity I needed to make the break."

However, there is a phlegmatic saying in the sport to sum up the unexpected lows, 'that's motor racing.' As the field streamed out of the pits and onto the undulating Cumbrian circuit, Ed discovered that his engine had developed a mystery gremlin. "It just wouldn't run properly at all. I think something in the carburetor had broken and I had to quickly return to the pits to see if my team could fix it. Unfortunately, in the few seconds they had available before the start, nothing could be done and I had to get out of the kart and become a spectator." He added, "I sulked for a few minutes, but then got over it. I've had three podiums out of four, so we're going quite well - but I'm 5th in the points now and this shows that consistency will be crucial over the rest of the season." The Super 1 Championship next visits Buckmore Park, in Kent (13/14 June) where Ed will be hoping that another strong performance will put him top of the table.

 
NEWS 01/05/2009
 

DOUBLE APPOINTMENT OF CRG FOR THE QUALIFICATION TRIALS IN THE EUROPEAN KF2 AND KF3 RACES.


THE ITALIAN FACTORY AND ITS DRIVERS WILL BE PRESENT AT THE SAME TIME IN SOSNOVA - CZECH REPUBLIC - AND IN ANGERVILLE - FRANCE - FOR THE KF2 AND KF3 RACES.

 

Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), the 30th of April 2009. After the start of the European Championship with the Super KF and KZ2 categories which took place in Muro Leccese, CRG and its official pilots will be facing the very important international CIK-FIA lap for the KF2 and KF3 European qualifications racing this weekend. On this purpose Europe was divided into three areas where the three appointments will take place at the same time from the first to the third May next: these will be in Sosnova near Lipa in the Czeck Republic as to Central Europe, in Genk Belgium as to North Europe and in Angerville - France - as to West Europe. CRG will run the KF2 category in Sosnova with the Italian drivers Giovanni Martinez, Niccolò Schirò and Alessandro Vantini while the Polish Jakub Dalewski and the Rumanian Robert Visoiu will run in KF3.


In the same date CRG will also stand the French KF2- race in Angerville with the Spanish driver from Mallorca Antonio Alarcon.
Something like 400 pilots will run the three rounds of the European KF2 and KF3 qualifications. Those who will be reaching the finals will take part to the KF3-Final in Zuera (near Saragozza) -Spain - on the 12th of July and to the KF2-Final in Essay (Normandie) - France - on the 2nd of August.
From the round in Sosnova the first 31 drivers will be qualified in KF2 and 28 in KF3, 24 drivers in KF2 and 25 in KF3 from Angerville and 26 in KF2 plus 28 in KF3 from Genk.

OFFICIAL DRIVERS CRG-MAXTER
CIK-FIA European KF2 & KF3 Championships, 1st-3rd of May 2009:

Autodrom Sosnova, Ceska Lipa (CZ)

KF2
82 - Giovanni Martinez (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
85 - Niccolò Schirò (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop
86 - Alessandro Vantini (I) - CRG-Maxter- Dunlop

KF3
133 - Jakub Dalewski (PL) - CRG-Maxter-Vega
150 - Robert Visoiu (RO) - CRG-Maxter-Vega

Circuit International Gabriel Thirouin, Angerville (F)

KF2
62 - Antonio Alarcon A. (E) - CRG-Maxter-Dunlop


Press Office
CRG SpA
Desenzano del Garda (Brescia), 30th April 2009

 

 
NEWS 19/04/2009
 

CRG-MAXTER WINS THE PODIUM WITH LUCA TILLOCA AT THE OPENING OF THE KZ2 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE OF THE SARDINIAN DRIVER IN KZ2 FOR HIS FIRST INTERNATIONAL RACE. THERE WAS NO OFFICIAL PARTECIPATION OF THE FACTORIES IN THE OTHER CATEGORY OF THE CONTINENTAL SERIES, THE SUPER KF, BECAUSE OF DISAGREEMENTS WITH CIK-FIA.

 

Muro Leccese (Lecce), the 19th of April 2009. The international season of CIK-FIA Championships was started with the first round of the Super KF and KZ2 European Championships in Muro Leccese, although the big factories like "CRG" had decided not to participate officially to the Super KF continental series. The rule of this category does in fact not correspond to the real requirements of constru-ctors who would on the contrary use it as a real lab to be able to test during the race the technical deve-lopments of both the engines and chassis which should then be applied for production.


Between the two categories which have been racing on the Circuit La Conca in Muro Leccese it was the KZ2 the one to draw the greater competitive interest, with the presence of something like 96 drivers from 18 countries racing top level competitions since the qualification heats that counted then 34 finalists.
CRG was a protagonist in this category with lots of its drivers, also new ones like Luca Tilloca, a young driver from Alghero who lived his first international experience and was the real revelation of the day.
He was assisted by CRG and by the CRG official "Team Erebus" for Sardinia together with its president Giuseppe Soro and proved to be one of the major protagonist at all since the beginning (one heat victory, three second places and a fourth one) and certainly among the candidates for the end-victory.
First he got the podium in Final-1 with a surprising and well-deserved third place, then he immediately attacked in Final-2 being able to carry out his performance in lap nine inning the head of the race. The big disappointment came 5 laps from the end, when he was about to reach a triumph, and this was due to a sudden, unusual technical engine-problem. It was a pity indeed as Tilloca was proving to have a superior pace over all the others and would therefore maybe crown his excellent weekend with the highest step of the podium.

Among the other CRG protagonists there was also the calabrian Leonardo Fuoco, winner of two heats but unlucky in the two Finals and Daniele Delli Compagni, who was able to make a good progression up to place 15 in Final-2 with the comfort of one point for the championship. Nice performance also for the Dutch Yard Pex of CRG Holland, with a 7th position in both the Finals.

It was a first European debut also for the 15-years-old siennese Mirko Torsellini driving the new LH Lewis Hamilton chassis which is produced and marketed by CRG. He was quite unlucky at the beginning of the qualification heats after being involved in an accident at the start, but Torsellini redeemed himself in the last heat winning with obstinacy a very good 5th place and anyway missing the Final phase of the race for less than nothing.
Winner of both KZ2 Finals was the Czech Patrick Hajek, each time ahead of Riccardo Piccoli.

In Super KF, among the drivers with CRG chassis, the one who got the best result was Andrea Dalè, who was placed 5th in the first Final but was out of the race after an accident during the second Final when he was about to be placed very well. Also the Belgian Rick Dreezen wasn't this time able to shine as usual especially after his withdraw in Final-1 but could anyway recover positions in Final-2 up to place nine.

The most unlucky was anyway the very fast British Oliver Rowland with LH Lewis Hamilton chassis assisted by "Chiesa Corse". He was in fact forced to start from the back-lines being involved in a few accidents during the qualification heats but then stood out for his fantastic progressions and finally never passed the finish anyway because of several technical mishaps.
The Finnish Simo Puhakka won the first Super KF Final and the British Jason Parrott won the second.


THE INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of CRG SpA: "Apart from the technical problem happened to Tilloca, the result on the whole was anyway positive. We would deserve a success in the second Final for sure, considering that our driver was the fastest in the head-group. Unfortunately we had to withdraw 5 laps from the end of the race and couldn't bring home an almost certain victory. Now we need to check what happened. We discovered a good driver, I met him in Sardinia, saw how well he could he could drive and offered him this opportunity. He accepted the challenge and I must say that he's doing very well at the moment. But now his road is going uphill as he shall try to repeat the good performances in the future, in view also of the World Cup to which he could participate".

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "This was Tilloca's first International race and he realized a good performance proving to be a winning driver. Unfortunatelly a technical problem which still shall be checked stopped him in Final-2. We are anyway very satisfied because it's a pleasure to see that a driver who uses for the first time one of our karts - a Road Rebel chassis in this occasion - becomes quite immediately a winner at his debut in the European Championship".

Luca Tilloca: "It was a marvelous weekend for me and I'm very happy for what I could get. Our aim was the qualification, but a heat-victory and some other good placings during the other races let me point to a full result. Especially satisfying was already the third place in Final-1, then also a victory could come out in Final-2 when I was in the lead and was gaining ground over my opponents. A technical problem stopped me from an almost certain victory. There's anyway a second championship round in Germany and I'm still running for the title".

Classifications

Super KF: Final-1. Puhakka (FIN); 2. De Brabander (B) +0.501; 3. Foster-Jones (GB) +0.932; 4. Vainio (FIN) +1.981; 5. Dalè (CRG-TM) +2.206.
Final-2. 1. Parrott (GB); 2. Kunranta (FIN) +1.096; 3. Groman (CZ) +1.751; 4. Renaudie (F) +1.943; 5. Bradley (GB) +5.306.
Super KF Championship: 1. Parrott (GB) points 32; 2. Puhakka (FIN) 29; 3. Renaudie (F) 23; 4. De Brabander (B) e Kunranta (FIN) 20; 6. Groman (CZ) and Gromanova (CZ) 18; 8. Foster-Jones (GB) 16; 9. Giacomello (I) 15; 10. Vainio (FIN) 14.

KZ2: Final-1. 1. Hajek (CZ); 2. Piccoli (I) +0.755; 3. Tilloca (CRG-Maxter) +0.859; 4. Hawksworth (GB) +1.527; 5. Cane (I) +5.481.
Final-2. 1. Hajek (CZ); 2. Piccoli (I) +0.583; 3. De Conto (I) +1.155; 4. Lombardo (I) +1.943; 5. Cane (I) +3.690.
KZ2 Championship: 1. Hajek (CZ) points 50; 2. Piccoli (I) 40; 3. Cane (I) 22; 4. De Conto (I) 21; 5. Ferri (I) 20; 6. Wawksworth (GB) and Pex (NL) 18; 8. Tilloca (I) 16; 9. De Luchi (I) 15; 10. Lombardo (I) 14.


Press Office
CRG SpA
Muro Leccese (Lecce), 19th April 2009


 

 
NEWS 09/04/2009
 

EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES OF THE NEW CRG CHASSIS AND MAXTER ENGINES IN THE THIRD ROUND OF "WSK"

POSITIVE START FOR THE NEW TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY CRG AND MAXTER AT THE WSK IN CASTELLETTO. KOZLINSKI CONFIRMS TO BE CLASSED SECOND. THONON HAS THE POLE IN THE FINAL BUT UNDERGOES A DISQUALIFICATION. FORE' IS ONE OF THE FASTEST DRIVERS AT ALL.

 

Castelletto di Branduzzo (Pavia), the 5th of April 2009. It was a productive weekend full of satisfactions for CRG the one which took place on the beautiful track of "Pista 7 Laghi" in Castelletto di Branduzzo (Pavia) for the third round of WSK International Series FIA Authorised. The chassis of new generation "Road Rebel", tested for the first time during this interna-tional event and the new evolutions of Maxter engines gave a renewed confidence to all the team and drivers. The results were evident mainly in the "top class", the professional Super KF, where the three champions "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski, Jonathan Thonon and Davide Forè expressed super high performances showing to be among the major protagonists at any similar predicament of the event.

Even if the results of the final in Super KF do not render justice to the colours of CRG-Maxter, the checking of the whole weekend of work was absolutely positive for the official team of the "All Blacks". Moreover, the strange weather conditions forced the team to an incredible series of technical interventions, influencing therefore some sports values,as it happened to Thonon when a shower prevented him from doing his time in the Superpole just as the Belgian driver was about to enter the track for his timed lap.

Misfortune also influenced Kozlinski's performance who won at the beginning the first of the two heats then was forced to withdraw in the second for a clay-breaking of the candle. These setbacks didn't anyway prevent from appreciating the capacity of the new technical equipment used during the race, all the more because Forè also signed the best time at all in the warm-up before the final.


At the end the tough Kozlinski and Forè got the 5th and 6th places both with fantastic progressions. Forè was also involved in a spectacular accident during the first lap but could then get out very well.

On the contrary, Thonon had first won the pole position in the final with two excellent heats (second and third), but was then really unlucky because of a problem at the beginning of the race. He first started late in the line-up lap, then recovered his grid-position with a pole in a part not allowed by the rule (between the red line and the starting line). At the first turn Thonon also touched other drivers, immediately recovered but after the finish (7th) he was disqualified for his initial infraction.

Kozlinski has confirmed his second position in the championship at only 20 points from the leader. Thonon and Forè were left behind, coupled in the 12th position, with 55 points of delay from the top.

As to the other CRG pilots in Super KF, Andrea Dalè was placed 15th and Eddy Tinini 25th at full laps, both protagonists of great duels. The Dutch Rick Dreezen of CRG Holland, who recently got the podium at KZ2 in Sarno, was forced to withdraw at half race. The British Oliver Rowland had also to slow down for problems after winning a good qualification (22th on the finish). He was racing with the new "LH Lewis Hamilton" chassis which is produced and marketed by CRG and on track assisted by Dino Chiesa.


GOOD HEATS BY SCHIRO' IN KF2 AND QUITE UNLUCKY DALEWSKI IN KF3

Good race in KF2 for Niccolò Schirò and Giovanni Martinez who both could reach the final round. Schirò raced some good heats but placed 26th in the final. Martinez entered the final after the repechage trial and was 27th at the end.
The Spanish from Mallorca Antonio Alarcon couldn't manage to qualify due to a series of problems in the preliminary heats.

In KF3 the unlucky Polish Jakub Dalewski was involved in a heat-accident which forced him to start from the back in the pre-final. Nevertheless, he raced very well in the final placing at the end 23th. The Rumanian Robert Visoiu wasn't able to enter the final round.

INTERVIEWS

Giancarlo Tinini, President of CRG SpA: "in Super KF we have been using some new equipment, that is a new Road Rebel frame which gives a higher grip on the back. The checking was already positive during the test of last week so we have decided to use it here too. This technical solution was appreciated by everyone and the reply in the race was excellent. WSK is proving to be a valid test stand in order to match as best as possible our engagements in the international championships. We have been preparing some technical evolutions in KF2 and KF3 too. Our very young drivers are meanwhile improving race after race and we are already remarking some progress. As to the motors, we are making two different lines of motors and have already positive and valid indications."

Nico Carigiet, Maxter Engine manager: "We are properly preparing several news, with suitable kits that we successfully propose to our clients after having tested the development of some parts. We've been reaching a very good level in Super KF and KF2 and in KF3 we're developing some devices to render the motor even more competitive."


Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "in Super KF the performances of Kozlinski and Forè were excellent indeed and showed the validity of our chassis in such a long final. We are also very happy as regards the new Maxter motors. Thonon's unlucky start from the pole was really a pity otherwise we could get a beautiful result. In KF2 Schirò is doing his very best and he will soon show to be of great value. Martinez also made a good performance, considering his first year in this category. In KF3 Dalewski is racing very good and above all he is learning what to do in the most difficult moments. Visoiu is building his own experience that he's still lacking of."

"Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski: "My strategy have been very different if in a heat I was not forced to withdraw for a breaking of the candle-clay. Then at the beginning of the final I lost some positions after an accident which happened just in front of me. That is the reason why I had to attack immediately without carefully running my kart anymore. At the end I had no chance to attack the leading positions. I could anyway save my second place in the championship and I am therefore very confident for the future also because we own an excellent technical equipment."

Davide Forè: "It was a difficult weekend to manage because of the weather condition which continuously changed. In the final I ran against Groman's accident and was out of track losing therefore many positions. Then I was able to recover and I am really happy. We've been very fast and the new chassis is perfect, as well as the new evolution of Maxter motor. I am sure victory will soon arrive."

Classifications

Super KF: 1. Toman (CZ); 2. Vainio (FIN) +1.265; 3. Cesetti (I) +3.333; 4. Renaudie (F) +3.506; 5. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) +4.447; 6. Forè (I) (CRG-MAxter) +6.158; 7. Grice (GB) +7.496; 8. Piccioni (I) +8.125; 9. Bradley (GB) +9.752; 10. Puhakka (FIN) +10.835; 11. Foster-Jones (GB) +11.338; 12. Litchfield (GB) +11.495; 13. Gaggianesi (I) +12.472; 14. Parrot (GB) +13.442; 15. Dalè (I) (CRG-Maxter) +15.573.
Super KF Championship: 1. Cesetti (I) points 65; 2. Kozlinski (F) and Toman (CZ) 45; 4. Vainio (FIN) 35; 5. Convers (F) 21; 6. Puhakka (FIN) 18; 7. Parrot (GB) and Piccioni (I) 17; 9. Renaudie (F) 15; 10. Foster-Jones (GB) 13; 11. Grice (GB) 11; 12. Thonon (B) e Forè (I) 10; 14. Litchfield (GB) 9; 15. Ardigò (I) 8; 16. Bradley (GB) and Catt (GB) 7; 18. Dalè (I) (CRG-Maxter) and Gromanova (CZ) 4.

KF2: 1. Grenhagen (S); 2. Smarrazzo (I) +1.491; 3. Maisano (F) +1.794; 4. Cooper (GB) +2.985; 5. Lock (GB) +3.909; 6. Lennox-Lamb (GB) +5.609; 7. Luka (B) +7.112; 8. Beretta (I) +7.322; 9. Rossler (S) +7.823; 10. Catting (DK) +8.733; 11. Johansson (S) +9.294; 12. Viganò (I) +9.884; 13. Tiene (I) +11.993; 14. Zimin (RUS) +12.170; 15. Wright (GB) +12.263.
KF2 Championship: 1. Viganò (I) points 109; 2. Cooper (GB) 90; 3. Grenhagen (S) 65; 4. Maisano (F) 56; 5. Basz and Smarrazzo 54; 7. Lock (GB) 49; 8. Tiene (I) 48; 9. Taylor (GB) 32; 10. Luka (B) and Goff 30; 12. Beretta (I) 24; 13. Stoffel (B) 23; 14. D'Agosto (I) 17; 15. Johansson (S) 16.

KF3: 1. De Vries (NL); 2. Sainz (E) +0.747; 3. King (GB) +1.062; 4. Kvyat (RUS) +2.683; 5. Fioravanti (I) +3.009; 6. Marciello (I) +4.176; 7. Dennis (GB) +4.451; 8. Menezes (USA) +5.487; 9. Hoevenaars (NL) +5.707; 10. Barrabeig (E) +6.533; 11. Agostini (I) +6.679; 12. Frolenkov (RUS) +6.931; 13. Silva (BR) +9.286; 14. Abreu (P) +11.916; 15. Jaminet (F) +12.459.
KF3 Championship: 1. Kvyat (RUS) points 140; 2. De Vries (NL) 115; 3. Sainz (E) 87; 4. Marciello (I) 70; 5. King (GB) 54; 6. Albon (GB) 39; 7. Wolf (D) 32; 8. Barrabeig (E) 31; 9. Jaminet (F) 29; 10. Agostini (I) 26; 11. Dennis (GB) 24; 12. Wernersson (S) 21; 13. Silva (BR) 18; 14. Fioravanti (I) and Menezes (USA) 14.

Press Office
CRG SpA
Castelletto di Branduzzo (Pavia), 5th April 2009


 
NEWS 08/04/2009
 

A KNIGHT'S TALE…

Jenner and Brand take superb victories to give new CRG chassis dream start

 

Do fairytales come true? We believe they do. Especially after seeing our self-designed CRG Dark Knight kart take stunning victories at Whilton Mill last weekend (4/5 April). In Junior Max, Coles Racing's Ed Brand was in brilliant form - fastest in Timed Qualifying before winning the heat and first final. After leading much of the second race, he sensibly opted for points over the possibility of crashing out, to finish as runner-up and leave the Northamptonshire circuit with the series lead in his pocket. Commenting on the Dark Knight chassis, the Hertfordshire driver said, "It feels really good to drive. The kart is very well balanced and did me proud. It's given us a great start to the season and is clearly fast. Lee (Jenner) and I have proved that."

Despite nursing injured tendons in his arm, HRS works driver, Lee was able to run at the front and cope with the furious pace set in the Senior class.

Second quickest in qualifying, he also crossed the line in second place in the heat. Pushed wide at the start of the first final, Lee fought back to take a strong 3rd at the chequered flag - giving himself that all-important inside line for the first corner for the start of the following final.

An excellent start saw him survive the opening-lap dramas to join a thrilling dice for the lead. The race had the crowds thronging the barriers, as the spectators tried not to miss the drama unfolding in front of them. Making his move at precisely the right moment, Lee seized the lead.

"The start had been a bit edgy but I got my head down and worked my way into second. With four minutes to go, I thought 'Give it a go' - and went for it." After holding his advantage to take a popular victory, he added, "This is a great Super 1 debut for the Dark Knight. It's easier to set up than other karts, the tyre wear is fantastic and it's so easy to drive."

HRS boss, Tristram couldn't contain his delight, "We couldn't ask anymore from Lee and Ed, I'm ecstatic". "We designed the chassis specifically for the Rotax classes," he explained, "And I'm over the moon to leave Whilton leading the (Junior and Senior) points tables."

"Can we maintain our form? I think so. We've worked for a long time to have a kart that is strong both at the beginning and the end of a race and we've got that."


 
NEWS 07/04/2009
 

PSL KARTING ENDS FLORIDA WINTER TOUR WITH THREE VICTORIES

Canadian CRG importer completes Ocala event on top

 

OCALA, FLORIDA (March 23, 2009) - A three month escape from the cold temperatures of Quebec, Canada ended for the PSL Karting squad as the third and final round of the 2009 Florida Winter Tour went into the books March 14-15 and March 21-22. The fifth and sixth weekends of the series were the Rotax division and the 'Formula Kart' weekend finales at the Ocala Gran Prix in central Florida. Though championships eluded the team in the '09 edition, the PSL name was atop the podium numerous times throughout the three months. Jesus Rios Jr. and Jimmy Cabrera put PSL on top of the podium at the Rotax finale while defending ProShifter champion Fritz Leesmann scored the last victory of the Tour.

Entering the weekend, Rios was among the contenders in the Rotax Junior championship following his victory at the final Homestead event. The Ocala finale did not start off the way Rios had hoped, qualifying on day one in 11th. The Florida pilot and the PSL technical support team worked together throughout the day to help get his CRG up to speed. Rios made up four spots in the Prefinal to start seventh for the feature. In the main event, Rios was the man on the move as he eventually worked himself up to second by lap 12 of the 24-lap event. Holding the spot until the white flag, an ill-advised pass attempt from the third place kart resulted in hard contact during the final circuit and put Rios back to eighth place as the checkered flag waved. Non-related penalties to drivers ahead of him moved him up to sixth in the final classification however the result was still disappointing considering the circumstances.

Putting the first day's action behind him, Rios was focused on taking care of what he needed for a chance in the championship. A better qualifying effort for day two put him outside row two for the Prefinal. Just five laps into the Prefinal, the CRG driver had found his way to the front, where he would stay until the checkered flag. Lined up directly behind him for the start of the main event would be the championship leader. At the drop of the green flag, the two began a clean and professional race-long battle. In the end, Rios took his second victory in Rotax competition but would come up short in the championship chase, ending the year as the runner-up.

For Cabrera, the second half of the Florida Winter Tour has been a successful one. Though not in the hunt for the Micro Max championship, Cabrera came to Ocala in search of victories. A third place in Qualifying got the weekend started off in the right path as he would hold the spot through the Prefinal race. Soon after receiving the green flag to start the feature, Cabrera made his move to the front of the field and by the second lap was showing the way. Running consistent laps, Cabrera went on to take the win by over four-seconds for his first taste of victory in Rotax competition.

The 'Formula Kart' weekend event began strong for Leesmann as the Californian put his CRG/Maxter entry at the top of the time sheets in Qualifying on Saturday to edge out his championship rival. Leesmann then went on to lead all 16 laps of the Prefinal to start the main event from the pole position. The 24-lap race would be a dual between Fritz and his championship rival. Leesmann led the majority of the laps however lost the position in the second half of the race, settling for the runner-up finish. Sunday saw Leesmann in the same spot in Qualifying, posting the second quickest lap of the session to start the Prefinal from outside row one. Getting away cleanly, Leesmann slotted in behind the championship leader to run second. Saving the best for last, Leesmann got the hole shot to begin the feature race. As they came around for the first lap, Leesmann showed the way and he would continue on until the checkered flag waved to take the victory by nearly a second. The victory, his first of the season, was not enough to slide into the lead in the point standings however as Leesmann would earn the vice-championship honor.

Making only his second start in KF3, Rios used the notes from the Rotax weekend to help secure the top position in qualifying session. His fast lap led to Rios showing the way in all 16 laps of the Prefinal to start the feature from the P1 position. The main event would not go as smooth as the previous race as after leading the opening lap, Rios was shuffled back to third. After regaining his composure, he muscled his way back to second and cut into the leader's advantage however it would not be enough as Rios settled for the runner-up spot, his second podium visit in three races.



Heading into the weekend, PSL Karting Cadet driver Cabrera had a chance to steal the championship away from the defending class champion. The event began in the right direction with Cabrera putting his CRG on top in the Saturday qualifying session. After a tough battle in the Prefinal, Cabrera crossed the line second but was penalized five positions per the race director. After his appeal was denied, Cabrera chose to sit out the feature race. Putting the day's action behind him, Cabrera set out to perform well on the final day. A fourth in Sunday's qualifying put him in outside row two for the start of the Prefinal. In the opening corner however contact sent the entire outside line off track. Cabrera rejoined the track in seventh and managed to climb back up to fourth. Once again, Cabrera was shuffled back at the start, falling to sixth however was able to advance back up to third to stand on the podium in the final race and second in the championship standings in his first year at the Tour.

 
NEWS 16/03/2009
 

NEW SEASON, NEW PARTNERSHIP, OUTSTANDING RESULTS

SSC East and Cameron Motorsports join forces to compete in the 2009 Snap-On Stars of Karting Championship

 

Ocala, FL - Canadian-based Cameron Motorsports/CRG and US-based SSC East/CRG will combine resources to campaign the 2009 Snap-On Stars of Karting Championship. Both camps are proven racing winning CRG teams with experience in both North America and Europe.

The stated goal of this new strategic partnership is to combine the talents, resources and knowledge of both teams. Bringing together some of North America's most talented drivers and experienced tuners will benefit the performance of both organizations. This past weekend was the first event of this new partnership and things went extremely well. With 8 drivers under the tent and great results on track this winning formula will certainly lead to great results.

KF3
Phil De La O (SSC East/ CRG) was the only driver from either squad to enter into Stars newest CIK class, KF3. The only way to describe his KF3 performance this past weekend is near perfect. A second in Heat two was the only blemish in a string of firsts that started in pre-qualifying. DeLaO was able to top the charts on three straight days, making him the man to beat in this new class.

Junior National
One of only a handful of drivers to do double duty, Phil De La O (SSC East/ CRG) became the only double winner on the weekend. He took the Junior National final setting fast lap time in the process. Phil continues to build on his stellar results for 2009 and will head to Europe in June to compete in the WSK.

Joining De La O was 2008 Canadian National Honda Junior Champion Reid Arnold (Cameron Motorsports/CRG). Arnold had a strong run all weekend with consistent top 10's including a 3rd in Heat 2. In the feature the racing gods did not shine his way and a Lap 5 incident while running in 5th put him back to 16th. He is certainly deserving of the hard luck award.


KZ2
A total of five drivers competed in the renamed KZ2 class including two of North Americas best. Canadian Michael Vincec (Cameron Motorsports/CRG) led the way finishing 2nd in the Final. Vincec was fast all weekend, qualifying on the pole on Friday. Next to cross the stripe was Cody Jolly (Cameron Motorsports/CRG) coming in 4th after a string of solid runs. Jolly was very competitive all weekend with a strong finish as a reward. Arie Ouimet (SSC East/ CRG) crossed just behind Jolly taking the 5th spot. Ouimet had to brush off the cobwebs, as the last time he raced a shifter kart was in mid-2008. By the end of the weekend Arie was as fast as the leaders and took home the Hard Charger award. Next through was Alex Manglass (SSC East/ CRG) tucking in right behind his teammate to finish 6th. Manglass' hard work this winter paid off with a very competitive weekend. Getting the hard luck prize in KZ2 might be the always fast Gary Carlton (SSC East/ CRG) who ended a tough weekend in 8th. After three straight wins in the heats put him on pole for the Pre-Final, his luck ran out. A DNF from contact in the pre-final and a DNF for a broken chain left the perennial favorite looking for better things to come when Stars of Karting hit the track at Infineon Raceway in April.

Tag ICC
The lone TAG ICC pilot was Canadian Eric Simon (Cameron Motorsports/CRG). Simon was almost able to turn his Stars of Karting debut into a podium finish. Crossing the line in third, it looked a podium finish, but a 3-position penalty for a jump start moved him back to 6th. The Rookie shifter pilot looked impressive and will be factor through out the season.


Trevor Wickens, Team Manager for Cameron Motorsports/CRG.
"We are very pleased with the results from this past weekend, but we are even more excited about the rest of the season."


Dave Davies, of SSC East/CRG.
"New Castle is only a couple of months away and this will allow us time to add drivers to the new KF2 class as well as National Senior."



 
NEWS 10/03/2009
 

IN THE 2nd WSK RACE, THONON AND FORE' WERE AMONG THE BEST DRIVERS. DREEZEN CONQUERS THE PODIUM.

VERY BAD LUCK FOR KOZLINSKI, OBLIGED TO THE SECOND CHANCE HEAT AND THEN FORCED TO LEAVE THE RACE. IN KF2 AND KF3 OUR DRIVERS HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS.

 

Sarno (Salerno), March 8th 2009. A really challenging and difficult weekend for the second race of the WSK International Series, that took place at the International Circuit of Sarno, Naples. This was the first race for the "queen" class, the KZ2, and the second appointment for KF2 and KF3.
A real challenge with 200 drivers on the starting grid and very uncertain weather conditions that created many difficulties for the karts set-up. The free practices on Friday have been made with rain and cold, while the weather gradually improved until the hot temperatures of Sunday. As if to say, all wiped out in terms of chassis and engines set-up. Under these conditions, the work of the CRG-Maxter technicians was at the highest level, with the continuous development of the race material in view of the KZ1 and KF3 World Cup, that will be run in Sarno on September 6th.

In KZ2, the most important class for this WSK appointment, there have been several situations of great tension but in the end the result was positive. The "All Blacks" have been represented on the podium by the CRG Holland driver Rick Dreezen, after a thrilling final where he conquered a great third place after an heroic resistance to the repeated attacks of Marco Ardigò. The two drivers have crossed the finishing line very close, with Dreezen winning with 13 thousandths of a second. The winner of the KZ2 final was the Dutch Bas Lammers, followed by Manuel Renaudie.

Difficult race for the CRG official drivers, who started the weekend "in uphill" due to various problems in the tests or in the qualification heats. In the end, however, Jonathan Thonon and Davide Foré made great performances, both of them with the new homologated "Bad Boy" chassis. Outstanding race for the Belgian Thonon who gained a seventh place starting from the 17th position in the pre-final, as it should be considered a very good result the 9th place obtained by David Forè, who started 22nd after an incredible series of misfortunes, including the heavy disqualification for an underweight of only 200 grams at the end of the qualifying heats where he had obtained the fifth place.

Weekend to forget for the fast CRG driver "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski, who was forced to leave the race in the second chance heat (where he had come due to an unfortunate series of coincidences) when he had left behind all the competitors with half-track of advantage.
In the final, good result also for the standard bearer of CRG Holland, the Dutch Jorrit Pex, who finished eleventh.


First KZ2 race for the LH Lewis Hamilton chassis(produced and marketed by CRG) with the young and promising driver Mirko Torsellini, assisted by Elto Racing. Mirko was penalized at the beginning of the weekend for not being able to take part in the qualification heats - together with other competitors - due to a supposed delay at the track gate, so he had to run the qualification heats always starting from the last rows. At the end of this "ordeal" the 15 years old driver from Siena crossed the finishing line of the second chance heat with a good 10th place, but this result was not able to allow him to take part in the final stages of the race. In any case, this was an important experience for him, as it was important to start the development of the new chassis in KZ2 together with the Super KF development made by the world champion Rowland.

The accidents in the qualification heats of KF2 and KF3 have created many problems to the CRG drivers but fortunately they have not suffered serious consequences. In KF2 Niccolò Schirò was the driver most damaged by the accidents, he got injured in the leg after an overturn in one of the heats, while in KF3 the Pole Jakub Dalewski has been involved in a violent accident where he has reported several contusions. Unfortunate race also for the Sardinian Giovanni Martinez and the Spanish Antonio Alarcon, who failed the qualification for the KF2 final.

In KF2, the best CRG driver was the Belgian Clemente Picariello of the team VDK, with a very good 14th place in the final after a comeback from the last position, where he was forced due to some problems in the pre-final start that obliged him to leave the race.


The winner of the KF2 race was Matteo Viganò, followed by Felice Tiene and the English Max Goff.
In KF3 the Romanian driver Robert Visoiu was forced to leave the race at the start of the second chance heat. The KF3 winner was the Russian Daniil Kvyat, after an hard fight with the Spanish Carlos Sainz and Raffaele Marciello.

Interviews

Giancarlo Tinini, President of CRG: "We had not the chance to develop the new solutions in the best way. All things considered, the weekend was positive. From a technical point of view, we have made some engine evolutions and we are carrying on the development of the new chassis. Above all we are trying to help the growth of the young drivers, who still have only a little experience, but we see improvements race after race. We will certainly have good results very soon."

Eng. Jan Witteveen, Maxter general director: "We are working very hard, but the track has not yet shown the outcomes of our hard work. From a technical point of view we are growing, it will take some time, but we will for sure collect good results. We are currently working on very interesting projects. I arrived in Maxter last October, with a medium and a long term program, but I think we will have several improvements starting from this season. "

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "The weekend has been influenced by the very unsettled weather between the heats and the race. We have not been able to do the tests as we would have liked, although we have noticed with great pleasure that our new "Bad Boy" chassis is very performing on the wet track, offering a very good grip. In KF2 and KF3 we had problems in the second chance heats due to the accidents caused by other competitors, that have influenced the evolution of the whole weekend. In KZ2 our drivers performances have improved during the weekend so that we have obtained good results. "

Eng. Marco Urbinati, CRG responsible of telemetry: "The changes in the weather situation have created several problems in the chassis set-up with dry conditions after the heats made on the wet track. All the drivers had to fight hard to find the best set-up. With the help of telemetry we have been able to develop some guidelines for a better running of the engine power, and even the driving styles had to change several times over this weekend. "

Jonathan Thonon: "During this race we have tested different chassis set-ups and various ratios, especially in view of the World Cup that will be disputed on this track in September. I had a technical problem in the third heat, after having won the first two heats, and this made me start a little back in the pre-final rows, then it was very difficult to recover positions. In the final I have recovered another ten positions, and I have crossed the finishing line in the seventh place so it was definitely a good result. "

David Forè: "With the penalty that I had in the official heats, it was certainly impossible for me to have the chance to get a better result. I could have been in the leading group both in the pre-final and in the final. From a technical point of view I am very happy because starting from the half of the race the chassis was extremely performing. In the first laps I had some difficulties to leave behind the group of competitors, then in the second part of the race I was very fast, so that I was able to obtain the second best time overall. I want to thank all the CRG and Maxter staff, their assistance has been very helpful. I am sure that the next race will be much better. "

Classifications:

KZ2: 1. Lammers (NL); 2. Renaudie (F) +1.606; 3. Dreezen (B) (CRG-Maxter) +2.971; 4. Ardigò (I) +2.984; 5. Puhakka (FIN) +3.549; 6. Piccini +4.186; 7. Thonon (CRG-Maxter) + 5.286; 8. Toninelli +6.103; 9. Forè (I) (CRG-Maxter) +6.240; 10. Catt (GB) + 6.827; 11. Pex (CRG-Tm) + 8.236; 12. Frasnelli + 9.939; 13. Annunziata + 13.250; 14. Verdi (NL) +14.141; 15. Knopper (NL) + 14.373.
KZ2 Championship: 1. Lammers 65; 2. Renaudie 38; 3. Dreezen 27; 4. Ardigò 21; 5. Hawksworth 15; 6. Puhakka and Piccini 12; 8. Iglesias 10; 9. Thonon and Manetti 9.

KF2: 1. Viganò (I); 2. Tiene (I) +2.058; 3. Goff (GB) +4.455; 4. Taylor (GB) +4.722; 5. Cooper (GB) +5.761; 6. Maisano (F) + 9.360; 7. Suvanto (FIN) +9.730; 8. Lock (GB) +10.522; 9. Smarrazzo (I) +10.651; 10. Ghirelli (I) +11.784; 11. D'Agosto (I) +14.819; 12. Beretta (I) +15.290; 13. Luka (B) +15.551; 14. Picariello (B) (CRG-Maxter) +17.207; 15. Szczerbinski (PL) + 17.473.
KF2 Championship: 1. Viganò 105; 2. Cooper 66; 3. Basz 54; 4. Tiene 40; 5. Taylor 32; 6. Goff 30; 7. Maisano 26; 8. Stoffel 23; 9. Lock 22; 10. Luka 18.

KF3: 1. Kvyat (RUS); 2. Sainz (E) +0.679; 3. Marciello (I) +1.092; 4. Barrabeig (E) +2.076; 5. Silva (BR) +2.234; 6. Schmidt (CH) +2.619; 7. King (GB) +2.779; 8. Agostini (I) +6.480; 9. Wernersson (S) +6.672; 10. Albon (GB) +7.454; 11. Mark (H) +8.542; 12. Adrian (E) +9.333; 13. Walsh (GB) +9.588; 14. Wolf (D) +11.585; 15. Jaminet (F) +11.709.
KF3 Championship: 1. Kvyat 105; 2. De Vries 60; 3. Marciello 51; 4. Sainz 42; 5. Wolf 32; 6. Albon 31; 7. King 29; 8. Jaminet 28; 9. Barrabeig 25; 10. Agostini and Wernersson 21.


Press Office
C.R.G. S.p.A.

 
NEWS 06/03/2009
 

PSL KARTING SCORES THREE VICTORIES IN ROUND TWO OF FLORIDA WINTER TOUR

Canadian CRG importer continues strong in return to Homestead facility

 

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA (February 22, 2009) - Reaching the halfway point of the 2009 Florida Winter Tour, the PSL Karting squad is off to a solid start after collecting a ton of trophy hardware following round two at the Homestead Karting facility. The Rotax divisions competed on February 13-15 while the 'Formula Kart' divisions, including KZ and KF action, ran February 20-22. Despite a newly repaved 7/10-mile circuit and racing in the reverse (clockwise) direction, the PSL team was on top of their game to make the right setup changes for the 'new' course so the CRG brand was found up front. Jesus Rios Jr. put his PSL entry up front twice in two different divisions while the rest of the squad added multiple trips to the podium ceremonies.

 

 

For Jesus Rios Jr., a Florida native and no stranger to the Homestead facility, it was a victory for each weekend. The Junior Rotax weekend began with Rios putting his CRG up front on Saturday however an opening lap incident collected Rios and damaged his kart severely. After making repairs, he was forced to restart the race from the tail of the field. With strong determination, Rios muscled through to ninth. Sunday would be Rios' day to shine. Putting in the third fastest lap of qualifying, he endured a 15-lap battle in the Prefinal that resulted in him sliding through for the victory on the final lap. From there, Rios would go untouched in the feature to pull out to a four-second victory in the 20-lap main event.

 

 

The following weekend he made his KF3 debut aboard a CRG/Maxter package for PSL and did not disappoint. After he qualified second in his first official session, Rios assumed the lead after lap two of the Prefinal to score the win and the pole for the main event. After battling for the lead in the first half of the race, Rios controlled the top spot to go on to win in his KF debut. On Sunday, Rios was second in qualifying which led to a third place in the Prefinal. A good start in the final put Rios in the second spot for the majority of the race until he was shuffled back to sixth in the final laps. It was a dazzling debut for the young PSL-backed competitor.

Fellow Floridian Doug Cox was among the quickest in the Masters Shifter category. Running a solid third in qualifying and the Prefinal on Saturday, Cox found the extra speed needed to move up to the second step of the podium in the main event. Continuing to improve his lap times, Cox put his CRG Road Rebel/Maxter package on top in the Sunday qualifying session. A slow start to begin the Prefinal dropped him to second, but he would assume the top spot with two laps to remaining and would hold the position for the win. The feature would be a repeat of the heat race as Cox slid back to the second spot, waiting to pounce on the leader. With three laps to go, Cox retook the lead and went on to earn his first victory of the 2009 season.

 

 

Former Rotax DD2 World Champion Pier-Luc Ouellette came into the weekend with the target on his back, leading the championship after the opening rounds. Starting Saturday's Prefinal in 11th, he was involved in contact on the opening lap and would not continue, classified 34th in the final tally. In world championship form, Ouellette battled back to place 12th in the feature. Ouellette would put the first day behind him and come out strongly on Sunday as the driver to beat , putting down the quickest lap in the qualifying session. After leading the first seven laps of the Prefinal despite an obvious issue with his PSL entry, Ouellette would settle for third. Making the necessary change for the main event, Ouellette came back to finish second for another trip to the podium.

Mexican star Rodolfo Camarillo was seventh in Rotax Senior qualifying, putting himself in the lead fight in his 2009 Florida Winter Tour debut. Camarillo put his skills to work, advancing to second in the Prefinal, which led to a hard-fought third place podium run in the main event. Camarillo look poised to challenge on day two after qualifying tenth, however, contact in the early stages of the Prefinal dropped him to the tail of the field. In the remaining laps, he advanced back up to 19th. That would all be for not as contact again in the feature put him in chase mode, ending the day in 20th.

Riding on his win last month in the Cadet division, Jimmy Cabrera looked to turn the victory in success on the Rotax side in the Micro Max division. Cabrera ran inside the top-five throughout day one events until he was involved in an opening lap incident in the feature that put him on the sidelines before completing a lap. The youngster returned to the front of the field on day two, recording a third place finish in the feature for his second podium of the short season. Cabrera returned the following weekend with two more trips to the rostrum in the Cadet division. Cabrera had his New CRG Cadet package running in the top-five all weekend, stepping up his game when needed in the Finals. After falling back as far as fifth, Cabrera muscled his way up to second in the main event on day one. Cabrera followed that up with another second place finish after running in the position for most of the 12-lap feature.

 

 

Rotax Masters driver Rene Martinelli put himself into the championship fight with a strong performance on day one. Following a seventh in qualifying, the Florida resident advanced up through the Prefinal and eventually leading 13 of the first 15 laps of the race until getting shuffled back to fourth on lap 16. He would hold that position, gaining valuable points on the championship leader. The next day, however, he would lose the points that he had gained. Showing his racing skills are far sharper than his qualifying prowess, Martinelli went from 11th to first in the Prefinal to start on the pole position for the main event. The new starting procedure for the Florida Winter Tour would hurt Martinelli at the start of the feature as while he tried to remain below the enforced starting speed limit, he was constantly being pushed from behind as he tried to slow the field down. After the flagman threw the green flag, Martinelli fell back to third as they crossed the line and was later taken out by more drivers behind him into the opening corner. This put him at the back of the field and he would recover to finish 18th.

Defending Pro Shifter series champion Fritz Leesmann and new PSL recruit Matt Lee added to the success of the PSL squad. Leesmann ran second in Saturday's action while Lee finished third. On Sunday, however, Lee would have trouble in the Prefinal and retired early to start the main event from 12th. Leesmann started the feature from second, although he would have to take evasive action to avoid a dead kart in front of him, falling to the sixth spot after regrouping. Lee took advantage and moved up to third during the first time by the scoring loop. Lee would go on to finish second while Leesmann battling back to fourth. Colorado's Ben Schermerhorn returned for his second event on the Tour, placing sixth both days and gaining valuable experience running with Leesmann and Lee.

 

Victor Cabrera is equally as fast and he ran his second weekend aboard a CRG/Iame KF2 package for PSL Karting. Still adjusting to the new chassis and engine combination, the reigning Stars of Karting TaG National Champion ran just outside the top-five, finishing sixth in both Finals.

The Florida Winter Tour will close out the 2009 season at the Ocala Gran Prix, just north of Orlando, on March 13-15 with the Rotax divisions and March 20-22 with the FKP classes. PSL Karting will be there in full force, contending for the series championships during both weekends.

 

 

NEWS 24/02/2009
 

THE CRG-MAXTER DRIVERS PLAYED A LEADING ROLE IN THE 14TH WINTER CUP

GREAT PERFORMANCES FOR THE CRG DRIVERS WITH THE "ROAD REBEL" AND THE "BADBOY" CHASSIS.
OUTSTANDING RACE FOR KOZLINSKI WHO MISSED THE VICTORY BY AN HAIR'S BREADTH.
FORE' IS NOW CLOSE TO THE FIRST SUCCESS OF THE YEAR WITH CRG.
ROWLAND VERY CLOSE TO THE PODIUM WITH THE "LEWIS HAMILTON" CHASSIS.

 

Lonato (Brescia). The CRG-Maxter drivers have been once again the absolute protagonists of the second international event of the year, the 14th Winter Cup held on the South Garda Karting track in Lonato. The classic event of the beginning of the season saw the presence of 242 pilots and the participation of the most important manufacturers. CRG came to the track with all of its best drivers, starting from the Super KF, the new professional category of international karting.
The CRG-Maxter champions have tested the best technical solutions with the new Bad Boy and the Road Rebel chassis, together with the development of the Maxter engines, to deal with great determination with the next big appointments of the season.



The French CRG driver "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski, who had already made a great performance in the last WSK race in Muro Leccese making the Superpole and nearly winning the final, has been once again one of the main protagonists. After winning one of the qualification heats he has been involved in an hard fight for the victory until the last meters. Thanks to an exciting race and a growing performance, "Koko" was able to reach the race leader, the English driver Gary Catt, after only 14 of the 28 scheduled laps. The final part of the race was an hard fight between the two drivers, with Kozlinski crossing the finishing line in the wake of the leader with a gap of only 299 thousandths of a second.

 

 

The other major protagonist of the 14th Winter Cup was the 5 times world champion Davide Forè. After an unlucky start where he lost twelve positions because of a slight touch with Gary Catt in the first round of the final, Foré then made an excellent recovery to the fifth place.
The young English driver Oliver Rowland, with the new chassis "LH" Lewis Hamilton produced and marketed by CRG, made a great recovery crossing the finishing line on the 4th place after a difficult weekend due to an accident in one of the heats.


 

The other CRG-Maxter standard bearer, the Belgian Jonathan Thonon, had a very unfortunate weekend being forced to retire because of a technical problem. Among the other CRG-Maxter drivers, Andrea Dalé finished at the 13th place, while Eddy Tinini was forced to leave the race in the last laps after having easily reached the half of the group.

 

 

Super KF classification: 1. Catt (GB); 2. Kozlinski (F) (CRG-Maxter) +0.299; 3.Ardigò (I) +2.648; 4. Rowland (GB) (LH-Maxter) +5.415; 5. Forè (I) (CRG-Maxter) +7.457; 6. Renaudie (CH) +9.212; 7. Bressan (I) +9.855; 8. Foster-Jones (GB) +12.197; 9. Gaggianesi (I) +13.693; 10. Moretti (I) +14.406; 11. Weckstrom (FIN) +15.156; 12. Alfano (F) +15.760; 13. Dalè (I) (CRG-Maxter) +20.370; 14. Hamppi (FIN) +21.127; 15. Gromanova (CZ) +21.402; 16. Litchfield (GB) +22.739; 17. Van Der Raad (I) +26.439; 18. Gazzurelli (F) +28.750; 19. Kuranta (FIN) +1 lap; 20. Tinini (CRG-Maxter) +3 laps.

Interviews

Giancarlo Tinini, President of CRG SpA: "The participation in the Winter Cup was a very important test for us, even if the temperatures so low were not able to provide us many information, as well as the use of the tires. We tested both the "Bad Boy" and the "Road Rebel" chassis, but we are waiting for the good weather to have better information. The development of the new "Bad Boy" is very interesting, this chassis is particularly suggested for the national races, where you use slightly harder tires. "

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Sporting Director: "We had some technical problems in the first stages of the competition, mainly due to the cold temperature, but we have solved them very soon. Kozlinski made an excellent performance in Super KF, he has been really great. Forè is showing himself to be the great pilot that we all know, he displayed all of his peculiarities: fighting spirit, determination and fairness. In KF2 Schirò has made some mistakes, but he confirmed to have a lot of grit, so we expect good results from him. In KF3 unfortunately Dalewski has not been very lucky."

Eng. Marco Urbinati, CRG responsible for telemetry: "The use of telemetry is giving us interesting results, as well as the parameters that we are collecting with the use of two different chassis, the new "Bad Boy" and the already tested " Road Rebel". The two chassis have a different structural behaviour, so the drivers deal with the track in a different way. We also had important information about the different parameters of the engine, the temperatures and carburations."

Arnaud Kozlinski: "In the early laps of the final I had to run in the new engine because of an accident in the warm-up, otherwise I could have started my attack earlier. I gave one hundred percent in the final, I tried my best until the last lap, but then it was too risky to make the overtake for the victory. Now I look forward to gain the first victory of the season."

Oliver Rowland: "Unfortunately, I had an accident in one of the heats, but I was lucky not to have hurt myself and I had the possibility to go on with the race. I had to catch up a lot of positions, in the final I think I made a beautiful race. The Maxter engine has allowed me to finish the race successfully, and the LH Lewis Hamilton chassis was perfect. If I had a better start, I could have tried to conquer the third place."

David Forè: "I am very happy with my results of this weekend. We have made massive improvements in the engine development. In the final I could have won if I had not had that little accident at the beginning. The chassis was perfect, I used the "Rebel Road" with an absolutely standard set-up, as normally provided by the factory. I really want to thank everyone, starting with Maxter, who is doing a great effort with the engine development, and Giancarlo Tinini who is giving me a great trust. "

ENCOURAGING RESULTS FOR THE BELGIAN PICARIELLO AND SCHIRO' IN KF2

In the KF2 class, the young Niccolò Schirò fought like a lion in the qualification heats driving the new CRG "Bad Boy" chassis, after having lost some important occasions due to some mistakes in the race scrimmage. He then made a good final, arriving 21st.
The CRG colours were well represented by the fifteen years old Belgian driver Clemente Picariello, VDK Racing Team, who gained an excellent sixth place in the final after a race consistently in the top positions with the new "Bad Boy" chassis.
The other VDK Racing driver, the Belgian Damien Dupont, unfortunately was unable to arrive in the final despite a good comeback from the last row in the semifinal.
The final has been won by the French Brandon Maisano, followed by the English Max Goff (with Maxter engine) and Matteo Viganò.

KF2 classification: 1. Maisano (F); 2. Goff (GB) +2.448; 3. Viganò (I) +5.052; 4. Cooper (GB) +5.667; 5. D'Agosto (I) +6.127; 6. Picariello (B) (CRG-Maxter) +7.367; 7. Sami (B) +8.380; 8. Gatting (DK) +8.474; 9. Lennox-Lamb (GB) + 9.842; 10. Tiene (I) +10.310; 11. Grenhagen (S) +11.135; 12. Nortof (DK) +13.233; 13. Oberg (S) + 17.376; 14. Ghirelli V. (I) +19.209; 15. Torri (I) +19.829; 16. Antunes (CH) +20.031; 17. Nadin (L) +21.029; 18. Beretta (I) +21.466; 19. Lindsay (GB) + 23.337; 20. Moller (DK) + 24.884; 21. Schirò (I) (CRG-Maxter) + 25.574.

WEEKEND WITH NO MANY SATISFACTIONS IN KF3

In KF3, the Pole driver Jakub Dalewski was unable to qualify for the final concluding the semifinal in 28th position, as Fabio Cavallaro, forced to leave the semifinal together with the Finnish Marko Helistekangas. Even for Andrea Boffo the semifinal was not rich in good results and he could not qualify for the final. This was a real pity because he had made a good repechage arriving at the 3rd place. The KF3 final has been won by the Russian Danil Kvyat followed by Raffaele Marciello and the Spanish Gerard Barraberg.

KF3 classification: 1. Kvyat (RUS); 2. Marciello (I) +0.452; 3. Barraberg (E) +4.437; 4. Walsh (GB) +4.592; 5. Sainz (E) +4.712; 6. Heche (CH) +5.276: 7. Tunnio (I) +5.488; 8. Jaminet (F) +6.831; 9. Beer (DK) +7.884; 10. Menezes (USA) +8.403; 11. Mannozzi (I) +10.572; 12. Wernerson (S) +44.909; 13. Spinelli (I) +13.189; 14. Frolenkov (RUS) +13.327; 15. Guibbert (F) +15.467; 16. Sirotkin (RUS) +16.449; 17. Schmidt (CH) +17.022; 18. Wolf (D) +18.149; 19. Flygenring (DK) +20.962; 20. Tihonen (FIN) +21.331.

Press Office
CRG SpA


 

NEWS 23/02/2009
 

BRAND VALUE INCREASED BY ROTAX WINTER CUP VICTORY

Coles Racing's Ed Brand scored his first international victory in last Sunday's (15 February) Rotax Winter Cup after a nail-biting Junior final in Spain.

 

Created as a curtain-raiser to the 2009 Rotax Euro Challenge series, the event had attracted twenty five of Europe's top junior drivers (from thirteen different countries) and from the outset the young Englishman faced a stern challenge."I was second fastest after timed qualifying with just two one-hundredths between me and pole position. The rest of the field was separated by little more than two tenths of a second."Despite his front row starting position for the three heats, Ed was in a potentially vulnerable position for his three heats. He explains, "The first corner at Campillos is a tight right-hander followed by a short straight and then a series of tricky bends. At the start they're pretty densely packed with karts. There was quite a bit of wheel-banging."

 


Two 3rd-places and an 8th gave the 14-year old fifth place on the grid for the pre-final. He was up to 3rd place but, as the chequered flag was readied, the driver ahead - Aavo Talvar - suddenly slowed.
"Talvar knew if he finished in second place that would be his starting position for the main final. He didn't want to do that, so slowed right down, hoping that I would pass him. I was thinking the same thing, so I tucked up onto his rear bumper. He was zig-zagging and brake-testing me as we approached the finishing line, but I was so close behind him that I had nowhere to go clouted him across."

Further drama followed. During the final's rolling-up lap the pole-sitter, Mark Megens' coil failed, leaving Ed having to maintain his third spot but with an open gap ahead of him. This played into the hands of Talvar, who needed no prompting and swept across from the left to lead the pack into the first corner. "We'd put brand new tyres on for the final and they had virtually no grip at the start. It took me a lap to put enough temperature into them before I could challenge for the lead. I managed to get through and then tried to pull away."

 

 

He succeeded but a slight mistake midway through the fourteen-lap encounter saw his pursuers close in on the CRG pilot, "The chasing group caught me but fortunately a scrap broke out for second place. This handed the advantage back to me, although my winning margin was just half a second at the end."Greeted in Parc Ferme by rapturous applause from the Coles team, Ed was equally delighted, "I'm on a high right now. This (victory) means a lot. I've won something before the main season has begun (both at home and internationally). I hope that we can build on this and challenge for the British and European titles."

He added, "The KT1 chassis felt fantastic and was perfectly suited to the track and conditions. I'll be getting the Dark Knight for this weekend's club race at Whilton. I expect it to be perfect there and when we go to the other Super 1 circuits. I must thank Tristram (Oman) at HRS for giving me a great kart, everyone at Coles Racing and of course, Neil McKernan, my mechanic."

 

NEWS 12/02/2009
 

GREAT PERFORMANCE OF THE CRG-MAXTER DRIVERS AT THE FIRST WSK RACE IN MURO LECCESE

KOZLINSKI VERY CLOSE TO THE VICTORY IN SUPER KF WITH AN EXCITING FINAL

 

Muro Leccese, February 8th 2009. Great season start for CRG-Maxter at the first International appointment of the year. The first round of the "WSK International series" held in Muro Leccese on February 8th saw the Italian team collecting an amazing series of good results with drivers showing a very high level of professionalism.
In the main class, the Super KF, the French driver "Koko" Arnaud Kozlinski (CRG-Maxter) showed his great potential starting from the practices and winning the Superpole overcoming the Finn Aaro Vainio. The Superpole has been won by Kozlinski with the new homologated chassis manufactured by CRG, the "Bad Boy". Koko maintained his fast times also in the qualification heats, where he was involved in several fights with the 2008 WSK champion Cesetti and the French driver Convers, offering a great show to the public at the track.

 


In the final the CRG driver made an impressive performance controlling the attacks of his competitors and he finally was able to catch up Cesetti, who had left behind the rest of the group. In the last laps Koko arrived very close to Cesetti and he could have tried the winning overtaking, but the CRG driver preferred to maintain his second place remaining very close to the race leader until they crossed the finishing line, so that to avoid useless risks that could have made the good work of the whole weekend fruitless.
If Kozlinski has been the CRG driver most in evidence, conquering an important result with the new Bad Boy chassis, also the Belgian driver of the "All Blacks" Jonathan Thonon achieved a very good result (driving - as his other team mates - the traditional Road Rebel chassis). Jonathan was tenth on the final starting grid but he was able to recover several positions and he finished sixth.
Good performance also for the young Andrea Dalè, thirteenth, and for the English driver Tom Grice, who made a fantastic recovery from the last position to the 14th place, that made him gaining 2 precious points for the championship. Very bad luck for the first race of the season of the several times world champion Davide Forè, at his debut with the CRG colours, who after some set-up problems was forced to abandon his run-up to the first positions for a flat tyre in the final.


Also the Belgian driver Rick Dreezen, racing with the CRG Holland team, had a very unfortunate race and he has been forced to drop out.

 

 

The first WSK race in Muro Leccese saw also the début in Super KF of the brand new LH chassis of the F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, manufactured by CRG and having Dino Chiesa as team manager.
The driver of the new chassis was the winner of the KF2 2008 World Cup, the English Oliver Rowland, who had the task to "wean" the new chassis equipped with Maxter engine.

 

 

The début at the end was more than satisfactory, so that the English driver could have easily crossed the finishing line in the first few positions, but he has been stopped by the sudden breaking of the sprocket. "Although I have been forced to withdraw because of a technical problem - said a smiling Rowland at the end of the race - I can say that our weekend was good. I was in a good position, I was sixth, and I was very fast. I could have fought for the podium. The chassis was perfect and we still have margin for improvement. Now I will do everything possible to obtain a victory with this wonderful new chassis."

Interviews

Tinini Giancarlo, President of CRG SpA: "During the opening race of the WSK series we had a good result in Super KF, because in this category we have a team of drivers with great experience and this helps a lot to achieve results. As for the other two classes, KF2 and KF3, we have young people at their first experience and whatever result we obtained we are satisfied with their performance. I think that in a couple of months we will see good improvements also in these two categories, the lap times that they made give us good expectations. My final opinion about the results of this first race of the season is very positive. We did a good work also with the new chassis, the "Bad Boy", driven by Kozlinski, where we noticed a continuous improvement of the lap times, so we will carry on the development of this new product."

Omar Di Gesualdo, Sporting Director CRG: "We made a very good performance in Super KF. Arnaud Kozlinski was able to manage the final in the proper way and successfully. We obtained a good result and we expect a bright future. I'm sorry for David Forè, a flat tyre forced him to leave the race. Jonathan Thonon, who started from the back rows, achieved a good sixth place. We expect to receive good satisfactions also from Andrea Dale, who unfortunately had some problems in this race."

Arnaud Kozlinski: "With a final so long, 32 laps, I think I have done a good tactical race, then I made a small mistake in the last laps when I could have tried to pass Cesetti. I had a great engine and a very performing chassis, I was fast, but then I preferred not to take risks. After the accident that I had in Las Vegas where I broke my collarbone, I started again with the tests only last week and I was afraid not to have the good physical condition, but everything was ok. I am very happy with my result.

Jonathan Thonon: "I'm glad of this race result because I had some problems during this weekend, especially in the qualifying heats. I was tenth on the final starting grid, then I have recovered up to the sixth place. I think it is a good result. The race was very long, but we showed a great reliability. I have made the heats with the same engine of the final, and we have found no problem. I am also happy for the team, with the result of Kozlinski and my fifth place, we had a good result. "


David Forè: "It has been a quite difficult weekend for me, but I'm sure I will take my revenge soon. Surely we need to be a bit patient, we had many new things to test, and certainly there will be
improvements very soon. In the final I had problems with a flat tyre and I could not express my potential. We have in any case a great will to do well and we are certainly very motivated, for sure a bad race can not bring me down. "

 

KF1 classification: 1. Cesetti (I); 2. Kozlinski (F); 3. Convers (F); 4. Parrot (GB); 5. Puhakka (FIN); 6. Thonon (B); 7. Piccioni (I); 8. Foster-Jones (GB); 9. Catt (GB); 10. Ardigò (I); 11. Litchfield (GB); 12. Gromanova (CZ); 13. Dalè (I); 14. Grice (GB); 15. Antonucci (I).

KF1 WSK Championship classification: 1. Cesetti (I) 45; 2. Kozlinski (F) 33; 3. Convers (F) 21; 4. Parrot (GB) 15; 5. Puhakka (FIN) 12; 6. Thonon (B) 10; 7. Piccioni (I) 9; 8. Foster-Jones (GB) 8; 9. Catt (GB) 7; 10. Ardigò (I) 6; 11. Litchfield (GB) 5; 12. Gromanova (CZ) 4; 13. Dalè (I) 3; 14. Grice (GB) and Vainio (FIN) 2; 16. Antonucci (I).

 

GREAT RECOVER FOR SCHIRO' IN KF2

In KF2, the young Niccolò Schirò was able to achieve the final after the second chance heats, while the Spanish Antonio Alarcon Auguero missed the qualification by an hair's breadth due to some accidents in the qualifying heats. They made however an excellent recovery in the second chance heat, Schirò arrived 5th starting from the 22nd place and Alarcon was 7th starting from the 25th place. A race definitely positive, even if it was not enough for the Spanish driver to qualify for the final. Unfortunate race for Giovanni Martinez, only 20th in the second chance heat. In the prefinal Schirò was forced to leave the race but then he made a good performance in the final with a great comeback that brought him to the 19th place.
The Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne (CRG-Maxter), racing with the colours of the VDK Racing team, crossed the finishing line in fourth place, while his team mate, the Belgian Clemente Picariello, has retired.
The victory was obtained by the Pole Karol Basz while the English driver Ben Cooper was second and Matteo Viganò third.


 

Omar Di Gesualdo, said: "Overall, the performance of Schirò was positive. He arrives from one season in KF3 and this is his first experience in KF2. He is very aggressive in the race and he will have a good future. "

KF2 classification: 1. Basz (PL); 2. Cooper (GB); 3. Viganò (I); 4. Vandoorne (B); 5. Kanamaru (J); 6. Taylor (GB); 7. Smarrazzo (I); 8. Lock (GB); 9. Brandon (F); 10. Wright (GB); 11. Johansson (S); 12. Lynn (GB); 13. Giovinazzi (I); 14. D'Agosto (I); 15. Zimin (RUS).

KF2 WSK Championship classification: 1. Basz (PL) 54; 2. Cooper (GB) 45; 3. Viganò (I) 40; 4. Vandoorne (B) 23; 5. Taylor (GB) 14; 7. Brandon (F) 14; 8. D'Agosto (I) and Kanamaru (J) 12; 9. Johansson (S) 11; 10. Smarrazzo (I) 9: 11. Lock (GB) 8; 12. Wright (GB) 6; 13. Beretta (I) 5; 14. Lynn (GB) 4; 15. Tiene (I) and Giovinazzi (I) 3; 17. Ceccon (I) 2; 18. Butcher (GB) and Zimin (RUS) 1.

KF3, DALEWSKI AND VISOIU WANT A CHANCE OF REVENGE

In the KF3 class, the two CRG drivers, the Pole Jakub Dalewski and the Romanian Robert Visoiu, have not had much luck, because they have been involved in accidents in the qualification heats. In the second chance heats, the entrance to the final stage was only for the first 6 classified. Dalewski, although starting from the fourth row, finished the race only 11th because of some bad luck during the fight with the competitors, while Visoiu finished twentieth. For these two very young pilots, who have yet to mature and develop the right experience, the appointment with the results will certainly arrive soon.
The Dutch Nyck De Vries was the winner of the KF3 race, followed by the Russian Daniil Kvyat and the German Lucas Wolf. The driver of VDK Racing, the Belgian Laloux Bryan (CRG-Maxter), finished the race at the 28th place.


KF3 classification: 1. De Vries (NL); 2. Kvyat (RUS); 3. Wolf (D); 4. Albon (GB); 5. Wernersson (S); 6. Jaminet (F); 7. Marciello (I); 8. Dennis (GB); 9. Belmaaziz (F); 10. Sainz (E); 11. Agostini (I); 12. Abreu (P); 13. Barrabeig (E); 14. Adrian (E); 15. Spinelli (I).

KF3 WSK Championship classification: 1. De Vries (NL) 60; 2. Kvyat (RUS) 50; 3. Albon (GB) 25; 4. Wolf (D) 24; 5. Jaminet (F) 19; 6. Marciello (I) 16; 7. Wernersson (S) 14; 8. Agostini (I) 13; 9. Sainz (E) 12; 10. Dennis (GB) 11; 11. Belmaaziz (F) 7; 12. Spinelli (I) 6; 13. Abreu (P) 4; 14. Barrabeig (E) 3; 15. Adrian (E) 2; 16. Walsh 1.

Press Office
CRG SpA

 

NEWS 04/02/2009
 

PSL KARTING REACHES FLORIDA WINTER TOUR PODIUM TO BEGIN 2009 SEASON

A win and eight podiums finishes give Canadian CRG importer successful start to new year in Homestead

 

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA (January 18, 2009) - The 2009 season kicked off for the Quebec-based PSL Karting in the sunshine state during the opening double weekends of the Florida Winter Tour (FWT), which was held at the Homestead Karting facility, just south of Miami. The first event of a double-weekend in Homestead featured the Rotax Max program and PSL was busy supporting 17 drivers racing in four different categories. Newly-acquired Rotax World champion Pier-Luc Ouellette and FWT veteran Rene Martinelli each debuted with the team by standing on the podium while Florida's Jesus Rios Jr. added a top-three run of his own. The 'Formula Kart Racing' weekend classes took to the 7/10-mile course, a dance card that included PSL Karting's CRG/Maxter packages running in the Pro Shifter and Masters Shifter categories, while the KF2, TaG Junior and Cadet drivers were aboard PSL Karting-prepped CRG machines. Cadet driver Jimmy Cabrera earned PSL its first victory of the 2009 season, while five others added podium runs of their own.

Ouellette led the way for PSL in the Rotax Senior category in his first event with the Canadian CRG importer. A sixth in Qualifying on Saturday put him on row three for the first wheel-to-wheel action. A tough start, however, put Ouellette back to 10th after the opening lap. Putting his world championship talent to good use, he climbed his way up to the top five and eventually to third place when the checkered fell after 15 laps. Ouellette's results put him on top of the championship standings by a five-point margin with four races to decide the chase.

The four drivers flying the PSL colors in the Masters category put in impressive results during the opening weekend. Martinelli led the way on Saturday in qualifying by grabbing with the pole position, which he would turn into a Prefinal victory. A 20-lap battle for the feature win would ensue between Martinelli and Paul Montopoli. After multiple lead changes, Martinelli would have to settle for the second step of the podium despite clocking his fastest time on the final lap. FWT Rotax Masters vice-champion Denis Lachance put himself in the title chase with a solid opening weekend. Lachance ran in the top-five for the majority of the event, placing fourth on both days.

Rios Jr. used his experience from the 2008 Rotax Grand Finals in LaConca, Italy and home track expertise at Homestead to secure the Junior pole position on the opening day. A runner-up in the Prefinal set him in good position to challenge for the win in the feature. After a fierce 20-lap battle, Rios would settle for third. On Sunday, Rios would remedy the engine issues and return back to the front of the field, battling within the top-three. When the final checkered fell, Rios edged out the competition for the second spot in the final order.

Cabrera was the lone Cadet driver for PSL Karting, coming off an up-and-down weekend in the Micro Max category during the Rotax outing. The pilot from the Dominican Republic began the weekend by posting the fifth fastest time in Qualifying on Saturday and he would hold the position in the Prefinal. At the drop of the main event green, Cabrera jumped ahead to battle in the top-three and would remain there for the majority of 12-lap feature. Coming to the checkered flag, Cabrera was pressuring for second, who in turn was all over the leader. As they came through the final corner, the front two karts made contact and slid off-course, allowing Cabrera to drive through on the inside to take the victory.



The team's Masters Shifter squad recorded exceptional results on the weekend with all five PSL-backed pilots finishing in the top-10 on Saturday. Florida pilot Doug Cox led the way for PSL, pacing the entire field as he put his PSL-CRG on the pole position in qualifying. Cox followed it up with a Prefinal victory to line up in the P1 slot for the main event. After leading the first half of the 18-lap race, Cox relinquished the position, although he would not go quietly. Cox kept his CRG nose on the tail of the leader, but he would fall short in his bid to retake the position and settled for the runner-up spot on the rostrum. The rest of the PSL squad crossed the line behind him as Denis Lachance placed third to join Cox on the podium. Michel Legrand was fourth while Martin Lachance and Mike Cunningham finished sixth and tenth, respectively.

Sunday would bode well for three of the Masters Shifter drivers as Legrand earned himself a podium spot with a third place run in the final. Denis and Martin Lachance placed fifth and ninth. After earning top honors again in qualifying, Cox would get off the line slow in the Prefinal, falling back to fourth on the opening lap. Looking to regain the positions that he lost, Cox would spin and retire from the race.

Newly-acquired driver Pier-Luc Ouellette made his debut with PSL the weekend prior in the Rotax Senior division, and the quick Canadian traded in his single-speed machine for a Maxter ICC engine to compete alongside defending Pro Shifter champion Fritz Leesmann. Ouellette, no stranger to the ICC package, was fifth fastest in the Qualifying session while Leesmann had transponder issues and would not record an official timed lap.
Leesmann was able to work out and run to third place finishes in the Prefinal and Final despite a bent steering component in the feature. Ouellette was fourth fastest in the timed session, however, he had a driver run over the back of his CRG which broke the radiator on the opening lap of the Prefinal to put him at the tail of the starting order for the feature. Thanks to a great start and early passing maneuvers, Ouellette ran into the top-five, where he would finish fifth in the final tally.

Also new to the PSL Karting Florida Winter Tour team is the defending Stars of Karting TaG champion Victor Cabrera. Making the switch over to KF2, it was a solid debut for Cabrera aboard a CRG. After placing fourth in both Qualifying and the Prefinal, Cabrera ran to a third place podium finish .

The crew at PSL Karting will now take the next four weeks to prepare for the second double-weekend round of the Florida Winter Tour, set to begin on February 13-15 with the Rotax program and February 20-22 for the 'Formula Kart Racing' classes. The event will be held again at the Homestead Karting facility, however, the course will be run in the opposite (clockwise) direction for the first time in series history.


NEWS 30/01/2009
 

NEW LADY CLOTHING LINE 2009


 

Now available in the CRG clothing line two new lady sweatshirts with "diamond" effect logo on the chest and a precious print of a stylized kart with a silver fluo embroidery on the back.


The lady line is completed by a technical "hydro" jacket able to offer a total protection against rain thanks to a special fabric. It is equipped with front zip and it is characterized by the CRG logo on the chest and the back.

 

 

NEWS 22/01/2009
 

AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT


 

Finally a good occasion to carefully watch the whole range of the CRG "All Blacks"! The "Kart and Race" exhibition took place last weekend in Montichiari, just a few kilometres from the CRG factory.
This is the first event of its kind organized in the area and it saw a very good attendance of interested people who visited the various stands of the major manufacturers displaying their products. We had the fortune of meeting several persons who were new to the karting world and we have been proud to communicate our passion to them.


CRG was present at the event with the hospitality truck normally used for the main races and this was a fantastic occasion for the visitors to live the real racing atmosphere, even more emphasized by the presence of the official drivers.
CRG would like to thank all the persons who visited our stand during this weekend of great karting passion.
We would like to remind you that you can find information about all the new CRG products visiting our web site.

 

 

NEWS 12/12/2008
 

SKUSA SUPERNATIONALS XII: JONATHAN THONON CLAIMS THE VICTORY THAT HE HAD ROBBED OF THE LAST YEAR DUE TO A MECHANICAL PROBLEM


 

Jonathan Thonon thanks to an outstanding performance was able to conquer the victory of the Super Pro class, adding another success to a great season, while his US team mate Gary Carlton obtained the third step of the podium after an hard fight with his competitors and the Canadian Michael Vincec was fifth. Unfortunate race for Arnaud Kozlinski, also very fast on the track, who has been involved in a serious collision that caused him the breaking of a collarbone.

In the S3 class we had the honour of having the Nascar champion Jamie McMurray running with our colours. He improved constantly his performance with good results in the qualification heats that allowed him to start the final from the 8th position and conquer the second step of the podium.

Wonderful race for Jacob Neal in the S1 class. The young Californian driver, at his first year in the shifter class, conquered two second places in the heats and the third step of the podium after a great final.

CRG conquered another victory in the Tag Masters class, thanks to the great talent of Billy Cleavelin.

We would like to thank all the drivers and the teams who worked together with us and allowed us to reach these amazing results, in particular PCH with his Manager Randy Neal, PSL, Cameron Motorsports, Genesis Racing, SSC East and SSC Racing for their incredible support and continuous efforts able to make CRG the number one brand also overseas and Swedetech with Mr. Reine Persson for the great work made with the Maxter engines tuning, able to bring three drivers on the podium.

 

NEWS 25/11/2008
 

CRG AND MAXTER WIN IN LAS VEGAS
CASINO ROYALE!


 

Thanks to its growing presence in America, CRG enjoyed great visibility at the final of the 12th "Skusa SuperNationals", held on the huge parking area of the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. "This race is a major event in North America", said one of CRG team members, who was on the spot. "In addition to the "American style show" and a very professional organization, the level of the meeting was very high. For us, racing in Las Vegas has been a very exciting challenge". The Super Pro, i.e. the top category of the meeting, saw intense competition between American drivers and some of the best European ones.

 

 

The race start-ed under the best auspices for CRG, when Jonathan Thonon conquered the pole position. Recent winner of the World Cup and European Champion, he kept his momentum in the qualifying phase. "I won two out of three heats" the Belgian driver said, "but I had a problem at the start of one heat, so I was fifth on the starting grid of the final". Despite this handicap, Thonon doubled all his oppo-nents and won with an advantage of more than two seconds. "This non-perma-nent circuit lacked grip, but our chassis adjusted itself perfectly to the conditions and the tyres we found here in Vegas". Definitely unfortunate this season, though very fast on the track, Arnaud Kozlin-ski had a serious collision just when he was catching up. Due to a broken col-larbone, the French driver will have to rest for one month. All the CRG team wish him a speedy recovery. Gary Carlton and Michaël Vincec, third and fifth respectively in the final, as well as Billy Cleavelin, who won the final in the TAG Masters category, contributed to CRG's triumph in North America. Congratulations to all CRG teams, importers and distributors who have made this success possible in Las Vegas.

 

MAXTER: A 2008 SEASON BLESSED BY SUCCESS

The past season was very successful for Maxter. In addition to celebrating its first successes in KF1 (winner of the World Cup), KF2 (one victory in the WSK) and KF3 (European Champion), the Italian engine manufacturer conquered a few more titles with its MX model, especially designed for the 125cc gearbox category. Recent winner of the World Cup and European Champion in 2008, Jonathan Thonon showed once again the potential of his vehicle in Las Vegas, at one of the most important races held on the other side of the Atlantic.

"Maxter and my performance tuner Patrick Savard have done a great job to allow me to set the best times in timed qualifying, and then to win the final. My engine proved to be very powerful, but also extremely easy to use, thanks to a very smooth gearbox, which is extremely important on a circuit set in the heart of the city". With 12 Maxters among the finalists, 5 in the top 10 and 2 on the podium (including the winner), Maxter achieved an extraordinary collective success in the US, with its European, American and Canadian drivers. "The company reorganisation, with the arrival of a new engineer, is proving very
successful, said Nico Carigiet, one of Maxter's technical managers. "This certainly stimulates us to face new challenges and to be optimistic about our future".


 
 
 
 
 
NEWS 03/11/2008
 

EKN Constructors’ Championship - 2008 Finale

 

 

Gary Carlton and Michael Vincec helped CRG earn the third straight EKN CC title
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series completed the 2008 season at the National Finals event, held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There, five drivers earned the national championships for their outstanding performances on the year. Now, eKartingNews.com honors the top chassis in the Constructors’ Championship. For the third straight year, the CRG brand has won the honor of top constructor in the Stars of Karting program.

With the second best weekend total of their season, the CRG teams scored 64 points combined in the two final races in Vegas. Leading the way was the ICC duo of Gary Carlton (PCH Motorsports) and Michael Vincec (Cameron Motorsports). Carlton took home both victories with Vincec running third twice - earning himself the national championship. Aussie Scott Saunders (Cameron Motorsports) was fifth in both TaG finals to wrap up a solid debut year in the States. Joey Licata Jr. (TNR Motorsports) and Miles Maroney (Cameron Motorsports) each added a podium finish, Licata in TaG and Maroney in JICA.

Top Kart had all their eggs in two baskets - TaG and JICA - throughout the year and it paid off, finishing second overall and second at the Stars finale. Just five points back on the weekend total of CRG, Top Kart ended the season 31 points behind in the final standings. Double 1-2 finishes in TaG helped the blue stay up front with Team Top Kart USA/Kartel Motorsports’ Neil Alberico and Chris Scribner each taking home a win while Kyle Wiegand (Team Top Kart USA) was runner-up in both finals. New JICA national champion Brendan Phinny (Team Top Kart USA/Kartel Motorsports) used a fifth and a fourth to clinch the title and help Top Kart in the CC standings along with a podium run by Taylor Miinch (Team Top Kart USA).

Beside CRG, Tony Kart was the only other chassis to score points in each of the three divisions, thanks in part to their new additions. Alex Speed (ICC) and Will Martindale (TaG) moved to the Tony Kart brand last month and their runner-up and ninth place finishes respectively helped the ‘mean green’ score the third highest total on the weekend. In JICA, Gustavo Menezes was first and fifth while Tatiana Calderon was sixth twice, bring the weekend total to 48 and keeping Tony Kart fourth in the overall standings.

Fourth on the weekend was the Kosmic make with J3 Competition’s Victor Cabrera, Angel Caban, and Tristan DeGrand earning points. Cabrera was eighth and seventh, enough to crown him the Stars TaG national champion. Caban ran second in the opening final and earned his first Stars victory in the second, where DeGrand was a close second. Their weekend total was enough to hold on to the fifth position to end the season.

Intrepid completed the weekend top-five with five different drivers contributing to their 18 points. Cody Jolly (Champion Racing) ran tenth in the opening ICC final while Joey Wimsett (Champion Racing) finished in the same spot in the second TaG final. Mason Marotta (Leading Edge Motorsports) scored the seventh spot in both JICA finals with Brett Felkins (Leading Edge Motorsports) running fourth in the opening race and Timmy Bachman (Leading Edge Motorsports) muscling up to tenth in the second race. Finishing second last year, Intrepid will settle for third in 2008 overall.

GP had great performances from Ron White in ICC and Jason Toft in TaG to place sixth on the weekend that moved them from tenth overall to ninth. Italkart was seventh on the weekend with 15 points, the same position in the overall standings. Sodi Kart was eighth in Vegas but held to sixth in the final rankings. Completing the top-ten were Energy with nine points and Birel with five, moving them to 11th and 12th in the total behind First Kart - who did not field a kart at the National Finals.

Inside the Numbers

0
Points earned on the year by 25 different chassis makes

1
Point scored by Vemee for their first ever point in the EKN CC in their Stars debut

40
Highest single round point total on the year (CRG-National Finals #2)

73
Highest weekend point total on the year (Intrepid-Seattle Grand Prix)

EKN Constructors’ Championship - Stars of Karting


The EKN Constructors' Championship is calculated using only top ten finishes in the ICC, Stars TaG and JICA divisions. Each constructor will count their top two finishes in each class. Points will be awarded with a first place finish earning 10 points, down to a single point for a tenth place result.

Pos. Prev. Chassis Total T.East T.West East #1 West#1 RoA East#3 West#3 Final#1 Final#2
1 1 CRG 336 176 165 58 34 69 49 62 24 40
2 2 Top Kart 305 152 144 42 40 50 60 54 33 26
3 3 Intrepid 251 109 159 35 51 35 39 73 12 6
4 4 Tony Kart 199 83 102 37 38 34 12 30 26 22
5 5 Kosmic 150 89 50 18 14 23 48 13 11 23
6 6 Sodi Kart 119 31 79 17 48 1 13 30 9 1
7 7 Italkart 84 59 42 17 0 32 10 10 10 5
8 8 Maranello 53 50 19 19 3 16 15 0 0 0
9 10 GP 49 10 32 0 7 10 0 15 7 10
10 9 First Kart 43 25 20 23 18 2 0 0 0 0
11 12 Energy 35 14 16 10 0 4 0 12 5 4
12 13 Birel 29 21 4 11 3 1 9 0 3 2
13 11 Trackmagic 28 21 28 0 7 21 0 0 0 0
14 14 Margay 10 0 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0
15 15 Gillard 9 3 4 0 4 0 3 0 2 0
16 16 Arrow 5 5 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
17 17 Parolin 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 18 Zanardi 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
19 - Vemee 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0


Source: Ekartingnews.com

 

NEWS 7/10/2008
 

MICHAEL VINCEC - CAMERON MOTORSPORTS-CRG
Canadian earns the Stars of Karting ICC Championship in Las Vegas

 

 

One week ago, Michael Vincec was hunkering down with veteran tuner Trevor Wickens at Las Vegas Motor Speedway looking to dial in a Cameron Motorsports Swedetech/CRG. The task at hand - becoming the first Canadian in history to capture the Snap-on Stars of Karting ICC National Championship. Practice had gone well, but a few tenths needed to be found prior to entering the hot pit Saturday for prime time qualifying and the pair were intent of finding it.

A short night later, the third-year senior had the first pole position of his Stars career and was set for three heat races starting from P1. "Qualifying was a big boost," Vincec said of the timed session. "After struggling all year in qualifying, it was great to finally get the pole." Struggling may be a stretch, as the seventeen-year-old was never far from the front row - if not on it - but still, starting from the top of the grid heading to three heat races was just what the situation called for. Vincec entered the National final weekend leading the ICC National Championship with 450 points and was being chased by fellow Canadian Jordy Vorrath at 430, and back-to-back defending National Champion Gary Carlton at 419.

Usually one to manage the heat races in a matter-of-fact way, Vincec knew the stakes were raised in Vegas. "This time I knew I had to get good results and start on the first two rows," he said upon his return to Canada. "The Championship depended on it." The trio then raced up front through the heats, joined by former National Champion Alex Speed, and no other kart in the field would manage a top-four on Saturday. Vincec finished a strong second in heat one, and worked toward his goal from there. "In heat two I finished third," he said. "Jordy made a pass into corner one and then I stuck behind him the rest of the race. In heat three Speed got by when I was trying to make a move on Jordy for second, so I ended up fourth. It led to Q3 overall, and I was happy as I met my goal with starting on the first two rows."

Sunday dawned with twin mains on the bill and all the scenarios having been calculated. If Carlton were to win both, his total would be 619. If Vincec ran to the podium twice, his total would be 620, and Vorrath would be out of the Championship picture altogether. Vincec takes the story from there: "In the first final I was in third behind Jordy after the start and I made a pass on him going into corner one in the opening laps," he said. "I made the pass stick, and was running second behind Gary when Speed made a pass on me and I fell into third. I stuck there for the rest of the race."

With one race to run, and Carlton looking strong at the front with a Swedetech/CRG of his own, Vincec knew he must finish third in the last run of the Stars season. "I tried not to think about it and let it get to me," he said. "But it did add some extra pressure. I fell back to fourth at the start but with Jordy falling out of the race near the start I moved into third, and I had breathing room." The rest is history. Vorrath had retired with an ignition problem, and Vincec cruised 24 laps to third - all it took to claim the National Championship by a single marker over Carlton.

Besides bragging rights and the option on the National #1 plate, winning the Stars Championship also earned the Ontario driver an incredible career building award from Snap-on Stars of Karting presented the Indy Racing League - a full season sponsorship in the 2009 Skip Barber National Championship. Vincec will run a full campaign next year in open-wheel racing, but there is little doubt where his heart will be. "Kart racing will always be my favourite thing to do on this earth," he said this week. "And there is still a lot to achieve in karting, both here and overseas. The support I have received in the sport is just incredible and I have to thank them: the staff at Cameron Motorsports with Bob and Danielle; Trevor for being a great mechanic and help to me; Mike Roth for all his help and support; CRG/Maxter for its support both in North America and Europe; Mattia Madami for his support at races; Swedetech racing engines for great engines and race weekend support; it's simply incredible, overwhelming really."

The Championship wraps up a decorated four-year run for Vincec at Stars. After finishing third in the 2005 80cc National Championship, he debuted in ICC in 2006 and finished 13th overall, scoring an impressive win at Lowe's Motor Speedway that led to being named the Stars of Karting Rookie-of-the-Year for the season. 2007 brought fourth in the final standings and the ekartingnews.com Rising Star Award, but nothing can compare to the season just concluded: In seven point-scoring drives in 2009, Vincec never missed the podium in Stars competition. It speaks volumes of Cameron/CRG, Swedetech, and the man at the wheel - Michael Vincec, Eastern Division Champion, Western Division Champion and 2008 Stars of Karting ICC National Champion.

Photo credit: M. Vincec

 

NEWS 7/10/2008
 

VALTTERI SEMI DOMINATED THE 60cc CLASS IN FINLAND

 

Valtteri Semi won all six races in KF6 with maximum points. During the season 2008 the 11-year-old Valtteri took part in 28 races in classes Junior Mini, KF6 and MiniSwift reaching the podium 20 times.

 

NEWS 18/09/2008
 

THE SURVEY CARRIED OUT BY THE INFLUENTIAL GERMAN MAGAZINE MOTORSPORT XL APPOINTS CRG THE BEST KART OF THE YEAR

THE CHOICE OF THE MOTORSPORT XL 2008 READERS: THE BEST KART OF THE YEAR

 

Karting can be very simple. The first one crossing the finishing line is the winner (usually) and if you are not the winner, the competitor had the best kart...These are the facts that everyone can read every Sunday on the various classifications and in any case the current about forty manufacturers and more than fifty brands that report these facts are not enough for us, we wanted to have more detailed information. A survey should be able to throw light on this subject and this time it doesn't matter only the timer and the set-up, but all the personal opinions about every detail. Our readers found the survey very interesting and the feedback was very positive. Today we publish some quite surprising results.


QUESTION 1: WHICH ARE THE BEST BRANDS ACCORDING TO THEIR RACE RESULTS?

Brand % Score
1. Tonykart 79,3 20
2. CRG 71,2 17
3. Birel 67,2 15
4. Intrepid 35,6 12
5. Gillard 35,1 11
6. Mach1 32,7 10
7. Maranello 23,8 9
8. Zanardi 20,0 8
9. Swiss Hut. 18,7 7
10. Spirit 16,2 6
11. Energy 15,4 5
12. Monza 15,1 4
13. Sodi 14,5 3
14. Topkart 13,1 2
15. PCR 12,9 1

QUESTION 2: WHICH BRANDS STAND OUT FOR THEIR GOOD QUALITY, INNOVATION AND DETAILED TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS?

Brand % Score
1. CRG 65,1 20
2. Tonykart 61,7 17
3. Birel 58,7 15
4. Mach1 39,8 12
5. Intrepid 31,9 11
6. Zanardi 30,0 10
7. Maranello 25,9 9
8. Sodi 25,2 8
9. Swiss Hut. 21,3 7
10. Gillard 20,9 6
11. Energy 16,8 5
12. Kombikart 15,4 4
13. Spirit 14,9 3
14. PCR 13,7 2
15. Vanspeed 13,3 1

QUESTION 3: WHICH ARE THE BRANDS MARKED OUT BY THE BEST DESIGN?

Brand % Score
1. CRG 62,4 20
2. Intrepid 54,5 17
3. Birel 48,5 15
4. Tonykart 42,0 12
5. Maranello 34,7 11
6. Zanardi 30,7 10
7. Spirit 29,7 9
8. Energy 28,0 8
9. Wildkart 26,1 7
10. Sodi 24,4 6
11. Mach1 19,4 5
12. Monza 18,9 4
13. BRM 15,6 3
14. Alonso 14,4 2
15. Kombikart 14,3 1

QUESTION 4: WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE BEST RATIO BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND PRICE?

Brand % Score
1. Mach1 46,9 20
2. Intrepid 40,8 17
3. CRG 34,9 15
4. Birel 32,8 12
5. VRK 29,6 11
6. Spirit 28,4 10
7. Monza 28,3 9
8. Energy 25,2 8
9. MS 23,5 7
10. M-Tec 23,4 6
11. Tonykart 23,3 5
12. Maranello 22,4 4
13. Wildkart 21,6 3
14. Zanardi 21,4 2
15. PCR 21,0 1

QUESTION 5: WHICH BRANDS HAVE A WELL STRUCTURED SALES NETWORK AND OFFER A GOOD LOCAL ASSISTANCE SERVICE?

Brand % Score
1. Birel 69,4 20
2. CRG 67,2 17
3. Tonykart 63,2 15
4. Mach1 51,0 12
5. Intrepid 36,6 11
6. Maranello 25,9 10
7. Spirit 20,3 9
8. Gillard 19,4 8
9. Zanardi 18,6 7
10. Monza 17,0 6
11. PCR 16,1 5
12. Sodi 16,0 4
13. Swiss Hut. 16,0 3
14. M-Tec 13,7 2
15. VRK 12,2 1

QUESTION 6: WHICH BRANDS MAKE A GOOD COMMUNICATION (WEB SITE, TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS, ADVERTISING)?

Brand % Score
1. CRG 68,1 20
2. Birel 61,7 17
3. Tonykart 53,9 15
4. Mach1 50,5 12
5. Intrepid 35,6 11
6. Maranello 25,9 10
7. Swiss Hut. 24,7 9
8. Sodi 22,1 8
9. VRK 19,4 7
10. Zanardi 18,6 6
11. M-Tec 18,5 5
12. Energy 18,2 4
13. Spirit 17,6 3
14. Gillard 17,2 2
15. Monza 17,0 1

THE TOP 15 AMONG THE 55 KNOWN BRANDS

Brand % Score
1. Birel 70,1 20
2. CRG 68,4 17
3. Mach1 58,5 15
4. Tonykart 57,6 12
5. Intrepid 57,0 11
6. Swiss Hut. 44,8 10
7. Maranello 43,9 9
8. Energy 42,7 8
9. Zanardi 41,8 7
10. Gillard 40,0 6
11. Sodi 39,1 5
12. Alonso 37,3 4
13. M-Tec 37,0 3
14. PCR 37,0 2
15. Jesolo 33,4 1

GLOBAL EVALUATION: THE TOP 15 AMONG THE 55 BRANDS

Brand Score Total score
1. CRG 17, 20, 20, 15, 17, 20 109
2. Birel 15, 15, 15, 12, 20, 17 94
3. Tonykart 20, 17, 12, 5, 15, 15 84
4. Intrepid 12, 11, 17, 17, 11, 11 79
5. Mach1 10, 12, 5, 20, 12, 12 71
6. Maranello 9, 9, 11, 4, 10, 10 53
7. Zanardi 8, 10, 10, 2, 7, 6 43
8. Spirit 6, 3, 9, 10, 9, 3 40
9. Energy 5, 5, 8, 8, 0, 4 30
10. Sodi 3, 8, 6, 0, 4, 8 29
11. Gillard 11, 6, 0, 0, 8, 2 27
12. Swiss Hut. 7, 7, 0, 0, 3, 9 26
13. Monza 4, 0, 4, 9, 6, 1 24
14. VRK 0, 0, 0, 11, 1, 7 19
15. M-Tec 0, 0, 0, 6, 2, 5 13


WHICH ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR PURCHASING CHOICE?

Quality / Innovation 35%
Success 34%
Price / Performance 23%
Sales network 6%
Design 2%
Internet / Advertising 1%

335 readers took part in the survey. The most part of them with the 55% of share has a licence for a two strokes engine, the 22% are club drivers, the 17% are hobby drivers and the 6% are four strokes engine drivers.
On an average they answered to know 15 karts. We were surprised to know that the club and hobby drivers know about 16 to 18 karts. The two strokes engine drivers "would like" to know only 14 brands while the four strokes engine drivers have some problems due to the fact that they come from one-brand scenarios so they know about 10 karts. According to the survey the most important purchasing criteria are the quality and the race results, the third place goes to the quality - price ratio, then we can find sales network, design and communication / internet.
The main difference between these two groups of clients is that the drivers owing a licence give most importance to the race results while according to the club drivers the most important elements are the quality - price ratio and the sales network.
The readers chose 55 brands and we have identified the top 15...


CONCLUSION:

To have a global evaluation was not easy but we wanted to be able to award this Oscar, so our winner is CRG with 109 points, then we can find Birel (94 points) and Tony Kart (84 points). As we are sure you can understand this is not a commercial promotion because everyone has his own needs about karting and you need to choose according to your requests and to define what is most important for you...

 

NEWS 17/09/2008

 

SSC EAST: USA ROTAX REVIEW

 

Shawano, Wisconsin - September 16, 2008 - SSC East had a full tent and another weekend of great results at this past weekend's Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals held at the USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. Two team pilots scored qualifying results and will now travel to the Rotax Max Challenge World Finals that will take place at the La Conca International Circuit in Muro, Leccese, Italy in late November.

Leading the charge were Rotax Senior competitors Arie Ouimet and Garrison Masters. After progressing nicely through the heat races and setting up good starting positions for the final, both Ouimet and Masters put on a wet weather driving clinic as they finished first and third. Along with the win and all expense paid trip to Italy, Ouimet also claimed the second quickest lap time of the 19 lap main event while on cruise control ensuring he hit his marks and avoiding any mechanical failures.

Ouimet was dominant in the Rotax Senior class as his SSC East's prepared CRG chassis led all but two laps the entire weekend. After qualifying on pole and winning all three heat races, Ouimet claimed the prefinal victory by eight seconds before claiming the final win by eleven seconds.

"Heading to Wisconsin, we were extremely excited," claimed SSC East's Dave Davies. "We went there with several drivers and were looking to do well in all of our classes as well as have fun. I think we attained our goals and now will be heading to Italy with two drivers."

Senior competitor Anthony Llopiz had an impressive run in Senior Max as he finished eighth in the prefinal after starting 30th. Looking to move forward again in the final, Llopiz did so and while running in the top five ran into some engine issues that hindered any chances of a podium result.

Two combinations of brothers were in competition under the SSC East tent with Mike and Salvie Zaccaria and Brian and John Moody. The Zaccaria duo garnered the better results with Mike and Salvie both making the final. Mike began his run in the 11th position but was involved in the large first corner incident that took out several serious contenders. Salvie was also involved with minimal damage and was able to carry on for a few laps before being forced to retire from the event.

Brian Moody had a rough start to his week as a major engine failure forced him to run on a borrowed powerplant. Missing some on track sessions, Brian was forced to run the last chance event and while in position to transfer to the final, spun taking himself out of contention. If it were not for bad luck the Moody brothers would not have had any luck, as a rib injury earlier in the event eliminated John from seeing any competition during Friday and Saturday's racing action.

Massachusetts resident Thomas Young competed in his first Rotax Nationals with mixed results. With a client's business operation less than 30 miles away, Young was taken away from the track to tend to business needs providing little time for practice and testing. With the limited track time, Young withdrew from the main event as he did not want to affect the outcome of the feature. Thomas Young vowed that he will be back next year.

Masters competitors Russ Hamel and Gary Hattersley were in competition and looking to score the win in Rotax Masters. Though both drivers qualified in the front half of the pack, Hamel's weekend was interfered with by charging racers. After being involved in incidents that were no fault of his own, Hamel finished the weekend with some uncharacteristic results. Hattersley steadily improved through out the race weekend getting quicker with each passing session. Looking for a solid top ten result, Hattersley's day ended on the opening lap of the final with an unexpected engine failure.

The second largest class contingent under the SSC East tent was the Junior Max category. Two time champion Jarvis Gennari was strong all week and ran upfront in each and every heat race. Staring fourth in the final, Gennari was involved in a corner three incident that resulted in his chain coming off in his quest for his third trip to the Rotax World Finals.

Another strong competitor emerged from the SSC East squad as Mark Pellegrini was on the move. After a clutch failure in parc ferme before the prefinal, Pellegrini and crew were allowed to fix the problem but would be forced to start from the tail of the field. Advancing forward nicely, Mark scored a solid 11th place result in his first Rotax finals.

Harrison Bird returned from last years Grand Nationals with another year of karting under his belt. It was a tough week for Harrison as a crash earlier in the week resulted in a totaled chassis, but that didn't get Harrison down. The talented junior prepared a new chassis and kept working on his setup for the rest of the week. Starting in 22nd for the final and hoping to finish in the top 20, contact with another kart resulted in a 27th finishing position.

Kristina Vorndran was another first timer at the Rotax Grand Nationals as she has only been racing competition karts for less than a year. With a goal to finish in the top 20, Kristina started the feature in 21st position. Running in 20th late in the race, Kristina spun in the tricky wet conditions ending her day.

 

 

NEWS 08/09/2008
 

THONON WINS KZ1 WORLD CUP

 

Jonathan Thonon, for the second year running, wins the KZ World Cup.
After a weekend plagued by rain, with numerous accidents penalizing our drivers throughout the qualifying heats, a phenomenal CRG-MAXTER combination was witnessed by all.
Thonon started the prefinal in 13th and preceeded to put on an amazing performance concluding in 1st place for the final.After sliding into 3rd at turn 1 of the final, by lap 4 he eased into the lead where he remained unchallenged until the chequred flag.
Solid performances were put in by our other drivers Kozlinski, Dreezen, Savard..after big come backs throughout the heats.Manetti failed to qualify after being beaten around consistently after his promising second time in qualifying.

A difficult weekend too was experienced by our American driver Carlton who suffered a number of technical problems.A strong performance was seen from Nolè who, not withstanding excellent results in the heats, was forced to retire in the prefinal whilst occupying 3rd place.
Sincere thanks goes out to everybody at MARANELLO after an amazing 3rd place on the podium for Forè eho started at the back of the grid.

KF3 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Good performance were seen by our drivers in this category too.
Excellent Picariello, powered by Maxter, after his 2nd in qualifying he finished 3rd after the heats. Fighting back and forth for the lead in the final, contact was made with another driver, firing him way back into the pack.
After an impressive fight back, in seemingly record time, a solid 4th place was achieved even though a podium finish was easily on the cards.
Optimal results again for the MARANELLO-MAXTER outfit coming home with a One-Two in the European Championship with Vainio and Wiman.

 

NEWS 05/09/2008

VINCEC CAPTURES STARS WEST DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL UP NEXT

Stouffville, Ontario (September 03, 2008): In his quest for a national championship, seventeen-year-old Mike Vincec fought through some tough battles at the recent Stars of Karting West Division finals in Kent, Washington. After taking the East Division title in July, Mike would come to the temporary circuit in Kent and record two top-five results. These results created a tie in the points standings but Mike would be awarded the championship based on his win at the East / West races at Shawano.

Driving a CRG/Maxter ICC for Hamilton, Ontario-based Cameron Motorsports Vincec was in for a battle in the west as the points chase was closer. Competition was fierce through the heat races and Vincec ended more than one in the barriers. He would make it up in the finals however and fight to a fourth-place finish in race one but lose points to his main rival in the championship. The last race started in the rain and Mike put in a good run to second place where he finished. This resulted in a tie for points but based on his win at the race in July, the Stouffville, Ontario native would take the division championship.

 

NEWS 26/08/2008
 

PSL KARTING DRIVERS EARN THREE CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Trio of PSL CRG drivers earn nation's best, another three heading to Rotax Worlds as part of Team Canada

 

TROIS-RIVIERES, QUEBEC (August 20, 2008) - It was a sea of black and yellow at the 2008 edition of the ASN Canadian National Championships, held at the Karting Grand-Mère facility in Grand-Mère, Quebec over the August 8-10 weekend. Thirty-six drivers represented the Canadian powerhouse PSL Karting/CRG team with the core PSL Karting hauler on-site to help support their satellite dealer teams - PSL Quebec and PSL Atlantic. With PSL/CRG represented in seven classes, the squad was able to bring home three national titles with two vice-champion awards as well, also putting three drivers on Team
Canada for the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.

Rotax Max Senior was considered by many as the elite class of the event with nearly 50 drivers competing on the weekend. PSL/CRG put seven drivers in the top-10 during qualifying, led by Olivier Sirois and Massimo Scotti, who were second in their respective groups. Once the green flag racing commenced with the Prefinal, Sirois charged to the front for the win to edge the competition by under two-tenths of a second. Jean-Francois Valour was third with Scotti fourth, as Alexandre Laboissonniere made it four PSL/CRG drivers in the top-five.

Christopher Ernst was ninth while Benoit-Phillipe Rondeau and Etienne La Salle - who finished first and second in the Last Chance Qualifier to transfer into the Prefinal - also ran very well with Rondeau advancing to 12th as La Salle finished 23rd. After some brief exchanges for the top spot to begin the 22-lap Final, Sirois paced the field with Laboissonniere crossing the line behind him for a PSL/CRG 1-2 finish, putting both drivers on Team Canada. Valour would finish fifth with Scotti running to eighth. Ernst and Rondeau ended the race in ninth and tenth to put six PSL/CRG drivers in the top-ten. Considering the fact that they needed to come through the LCQ, these were very impressive performances.

Joining Sirois and Laboissonniere on Team Canada will be Kevin King. After qualifying ninth in his Rotax Max Junior group, King charged to third in the Prefinal. King would go on to lead 21 of the 22 laps in the Final to earn the national crown and the spot on Team Canada. Fellow PSL/CRG pilot Tommy Beshro could have possibly joined King on the podium, however, a crash in the Prefinal put him back to 28th on the main event starting grid. Running times that matched the leader, Beshro was able to climb up to fifth after 22 laps. Joining them in the top-10 was Nicholas Martin, who finished seventh.

The third national title earned by PSL/CRG came via an American visitor, ICC driver Fritz Leesmann. After qualifying second in Formula Senior, the defending Florida Winter Tour champion went on to win the Prefinal and Final with little challenge. This is the second year in a row that an American with PSL Karting has won the title as transplanted Brit Jake Rosenzweig earning the title in '07. PSL teammate Tom Cadieux was also quick on the weekend, coming just one spot short of the podium in fourth.

Another American under the PSL/CRG tent during the weekend was Micro Max driver Santino Ferrucci. From the opening sessions on, the New York resident was at the front of the field. After qualifying second, Ferrucci edged the competition after 10 laps for the Prefinal win by just 0.048-seconds. Continuing on with a close fight in the Final, Ferrucci came up just short of the victory and settled for second. It was a strong Canadian debut for the young pilot, who many expect to be a major player in Senior karting in a few years.

Kyle Stevens was the lone driver to fly the PSL/CRG colors in the Rotax DD2 divisions. Utilizing the two-speed Rotax engine aboard a CRG chassis, Stevens ran in the top-10 all weekend long. Qualifying sixth, Stevens fell back two positions in the Prefinal, but was able to make up one of those spots to finish seventh in the 22-lap feature event.

PSL Karting would like to thank all of the drivers, crews, friends and families for a successful 2008 Canadian National Championships event. Up next for the PSL squad will be the attack on the United States title as Fritz Leesmann and Jess Peterson will battle at the upcoming Stars of Karting Western Division Finale in Seattle, Washington on August 22-24, with support from the PSL Karting's engine and chassis specialists.

 

 

NEWS 25/07/2008
 

TEAM NEWS: CAMERON MOTORSPORTS - STARS OF KARTING


The Cameron Motorsports/CRG National team returned from the Snap-on Stars of Karting Eastern Division finale a week ago with its first-ever Championship. Michael Vincec was the man to achieve it as the third-year ICC driver captured the tally with back-to-back runs to second on Sunday. The performance led a six-man Cameron/CRG effort in Wisconsin, one that produced six top-ten finishes at USA International Raceway.

As is his standard process, Vincec managed his nose after qualifying third and came through three heat races with finishes of 3-2-2 to solidify off-pole position for twin Sunday mains. Entering with a slim ten-point lead on fellow Canadian Jordy Vorrath for the Eastern Title, it was as much a head-to-head battle for the Cameron/CRG driver as it was a run for a win. In the first main, Vincec went green-to-checker in second to take his fourth Eastern podium finish and set the quickest lap of the race in the process. Vorrath crossed third to keep a mathematical shot at the Eastern Championship alive, but it was a long one at best. Not only did JV need Vincec to drop outside of the top five in race two, he needed to overhaul a trio of CRG's on his way to scoring a win - neither of which transpired. For a second time on the afternoon Vincec went flag-to-flag P2 and this time he was much more hungry for an outright win. An intense battle with Gary Carlton was waged before the pair of Euro-pilots repeated the order from race one. After Vincec took fast lap in feature one by just one-hundredth of a second, Carlton took quick lap in the second feature by just one-thousandth!

Vincec's finishes were two among five in the top ten of the ICC class for Cameron CRG as David Carmendy had a pair and Curtis Fox nearly did as well. After qualifying ninth in the field and battling around the top ten in each of three heats, Carmendy was sixth in the first run after coming forward from eleventh after the first flying lap. "I was happy with the result but it definitely would have been exciting to produce a top five," the third-year shifter pilot said following the event. "My speed earlier in the weekend showed that it was possible. I just do the best I can with very little seat time," continued the Ohio State University sophomore, "Stars is the only time I'm in the kart. Its hard, so right now I'm just trying to end each weekend with a smile on my face!" Carmendy followed with a tenth in the late start, one of three Cameron/CRG drivers in the top ten as back on the ICC grid at USAIR following a late decision to race was veteran Curtis Fox.

With no testing prior and having just a handful of Rotax DD2 starts in Ontario Regional action, Fox put down an impressive weekend as he qualified sixth sitting in a shifter for the first time in over eight months. "Because I am racing SKUSA SuperNationals it made sense for me to qualify for the Stars Finale as well because the Cameron/CRG trailer is staying in Vegas between the two events," Fox said of his decision to race. "If you don't run at least three Stars finals you get a fifteen-position at the finale after qualifying, so I decided to race Shawano and Seattle."

After contact led to a retirement in the first heat, Fox then produced runs to sixth in the second heat and an impressive third in the final heat as CRG swept the top three positions. He was finding time as he returned to the swing of things as well, posting a 58.5 quick lap in the first heat, a 58.3 in the second and a 58.2 in the third. Feature one proved a disaster when the clutch failed, but in the second start Fox went wire-to-wire in seventh and posted a best lap of 58-flat. "I was happy with my results but the time away from shifter definitely hurt me a bit," he said following the event. "I really started to get in a good groove at the SuperNats last year and then walked away after it. I think I'm going to make a full run at ICC next year doing winter tour and Stars East and West."

JICA pilot Miles Maroney headed to Wisconsin with a shot at the Eastern Championship but had plans seriously derailed after a heavy Friday practice incident. Getting up to speed on a new mount with aches and pains thrown in took Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, and when Maroney was back on pace, he then had to deal with a wild JICA field. After qualifying in twelfth and dicing to P13 in heat one, Maroney matched the speed of the leaders at 1:01.5 in heat two but was mired in traffic. After finishing eleventh, the story got worse in heat three when the young Californian was knocked to the back of the pack on lap one and could only recover to twentieth. It made for a lot of work Sunday afternoon, but in the first main Maroney worked his way as high as tenth before crossing thirteenth. In race two Maroney came forward once again, never taking a backward step in running to tenth and staying there.


Canadian Jeffrey May was also in the JICA field and after qualifying P20 he consistently came forward to cross 19-18-16 in the heat races. The trend continued in the first main as May quickly worked to eighteenth in the opening stages before working to fourteenth in the closing laps. Looking for more speed in race two May actually lost time and fought his way to hold twentieth. Scott Saunders rounded the Cameron/CRG lineup in Wisconsin but just never came to grips with USAIR. After qualifying sixteenth, Saunders ran to 20-14-15 in the heats and 14-13 in Sunday mains. Saunders was much more active in the second as he worked to tenth early before dropping spots headed to the flag.

The Cameron Motorsports National Team returns to action this coming weekend as the Ontario Regional Karting Championship races its fourth event at Mosport International Raceway. For more information visit www.cameronmotorsports.com

 

NEWS 24/07/2008
 

SSC EAST: SHAWANO REVIEW

 

Shawano, Wisconsin – July 20, 2008 – SSC East had another great event this past weekend at the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series Eastern division finale held at USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. Finding victory lane was Californian Gary Carlton who was back in winning form after a disappointing Race of the Americas.

Turning only one flying lap in qualifying, Gary Carlton claimed the Intercontinental C (ICC) pole position. The talented driver went on to score all three heat race victories as well as the checkers in both finals. Showing the engine problems from New Castle were behind him, Carlton drove flawlessly on his way to victory. Gary will now shift his focus to the Snap-on Stars of Karting West division for the remainder of the 2008 season and the pursuit of his third consecutive ICC National Championship. Gary will rejoin the SSC East team for the PRI Race in December as well as the 2009 season.

Massachusetts pilot Arie Ouimet qualified his CRG in the fifth position and rounded out the heat races with a fifth and two seventh place results. Due to his consistency, Ouimet found himself outside row three for the start of both main events and would look to capitalize on a top five finish. Ouimet’s first final did not go as planned as early race contact sent him off the racing circuit where he eventually rejoined in last. Showing his never give up attitude, Ouimet battled back to a solid 11th place result. The second of two finals went a lot better for the SSC pilot as Ouimet managed to score a strong fourth place finish.

Anthony Llopiz looked to keep SSC drivers in the top ten and he did so with a good tenth place qualifying run. After a slight width error in the first heat, Llopiz bounced back for a 12th and eighth place finishes in the remaining heat races. Anthony was able to crack the top ten in final one with a seventh place result before finishing the second final in P12 with a bent chassis.

Alex Manglass continues to show tremendous improvement. Two years into kart racing, the New Jersey area driver had his best qualifying run to date with a 14th place result setting him up for a row seven starting position for all three heats. Manglass ran hard in the first two heat races resulting in a 13th and 16th place runs before mechanical difficulties in heat race three classified him in the 22nd position. Alex finished the weekend with a 15th and 17th in the feature races

This topped off a great weekend for CRG in the ICC division. Both finals had seven CRG drivers in the top ten culminating with a CRG 1,2,3,4 in the second feature.

Junior Intercontinental A (JICA) pilot Jarvis Gennari had a week end of highs and lows. After qualifying 15th, the Florida driver had heat race finishes of eighth, 13th and 11th. In the feature races Jarvis had an uncharacteristic 16th finish in the first feature but managed to bounce back in normal Gennari fashion with a solid fifth place finish in the weekend’s second feature.

Joining the SSC East in Cadet was Columbian driver Juan Garcia. This was the young drivers first time driving at USA International Raceway but he managed to qualify strong and would use the heat races as a learning experience. After learning the characteristics of the track, Juan entered the first feature race on a roll and scored an incredible top ten result. Unfortunately, Juan’s good fortune was a short lived, with a 17th finish in the second feature. Juan will be joining SSC East in Las Vegas for the Stars Finale aboard the new CRG Cadet chassis due out shortly.

SSC East is eagerly awaiting the Stars Finale in Las Vegas where they will be joining forces with PCH Motorsports in the quest for more podium finishes.

 

 

 

NEWS 17/07/2008
 

CRG/MAXTER SWEEPS STARS PODIUM

 

At the final round of the Snap-on Stars of Karting Eastern Division Championship last weekend CRG/Maxter swept the podium in the final ICC race. Gary Carlton, Michael Vincec and Jacob Neal were the pilots as the trio dominated Sunday afternoon. While Carlton took the win for PCH Motorsports/SSC East, Vincec captured the Eastern Division Championship for Cameron Motorsports and Neal was top rookie in the field racing for PCH Motorsports/PSL Karting. The three CRG/Maxter pilots had the podium positions by lap three of the feature event and controlled the race the rest of the way.

 

 

NEWS 17/07/2008
 

DOUBLE PODIUM WEEKEND IN STARS OF KARTING EVENT

VINCEC captures East Division Championship

 

(July 14, 2008): There was a specific goal this season for seventeen-year-old Mike Vincec and this past weekend at USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin, he completed the first step by taking the East Division championship in the Snap-on Stars of Karting series presented by Indy Racing League.

Mike, who drives for Hamilton, Ontario-based Cameron Motorsports was quick from first practice in his CRG/Maxter ICC. Saturday morning he would qualify third for the series of heat races that would follow throughout the day. Positions in the heat races would then determine the starting grid for the two divisional points races on Sunday. Mike would come away from the three heat races with a third and two second-place results putting him on the front row alongside last year's champion. Mike's 71-point lead going into the weekend gave him a bit of breathing room but anything can happen so the focus was to reach the podium.

In the first race, Mike had a clean start and although the leader pulled out a bit of a gap, Mike kept a clear gap back to second, conserving tires for the final, to bring home the first podium on the day. In race two he made a charge early and battled with the leader. After losing some ground mid-race, he brought the gap down to a kart length and settle in to take his second podium of the day. The combination of the two second-place results was enough to clinch the East Division championship.

"I feel pretty good now,” commented a very happy Vincec. "We came pretty close last year which made us want to come back and get the deal done. Trevor Wickens, Mattia from CRG and the Cameron Motorsports crew have done a fantastic job all season. The CRG chassis and SwedeTech Maxter engines have been awesome and I have also learned quite a bit in the two races we did in the European Championships this year." He continued, "Now we’ll focus on trying to wrap up the West Division title in Seattle on August 22-24 and bring it all to the series finals in October."

 

NEWS 09/07/2008
 

JONATHAN THONON EUROPEAN CHAMPION 2008 CLASS KZ1

 

The last race of the European Championship KZ1, that took place on the Belgian track of Mariembourg, saw the undisputed domination of the CRG - Maxter standard-bearers, crowned by the title won by Jonathan Thonon.
Our drivers conquered all the three steps of the podium in both finals, showing the supremacy of our material.

 

Jonathan Thonon proved himself once again a great champion: thanks to the winning of both the qualification heats he started Final 1 from the pole and he won the race making also the best lap. In Final 2 our driver keeps the lead of the group until two laps before the finishing line, when due to the leak of pressure of one tire he is forced to give way to his team mate Rick Dreezen, who conquers the second place on the overall KZ1 European Championship scoreboard thanks to the second place obtained in Final 1.
Outstanding results also for Alessandro Manetti: after making the pole in the qualification heats he gains the third step of the podium in both finals.

 

In the KF1 class all is still to play for, with a minimum difference of points among the first three drivers of the overall scoreboard. Our French driver Arnaud Kozlinski made an impressive recovery after being forced to start Final 1 from the 25th position by a technical problem. Thanks to a performance worthy of a real champion he is able to recover even nineteen positions conquering the 6th place. This obliged him to struggle hard in the group of Final 2, achieving in any case a seventh place that allows him to continue his fight for the title with the 3rd position on the overall KF1 European Championship scoreboard.


 

NEWS 25/05/2008
 

REYES LOOKS TO TAKE WINNING MOMENTUM TO SANTA MARIA

 

June 25, 2008 (Palm Springs, Calif.) - SSC Racing and the Reyes family got to celebrate a huge milestone last month at the IKF Region 7 weekend at the CalSpeed Karting Center when cadet driver Riley Reyes took his first win of the season in a hotly-contested HPV-1 class.

Reyes win was proof to SSC Racing that they made the right driver choice when it came to launching a full development program on the CRG cadet chassis over the past winter. While Reyes has thus far in 2008 competed in IKF Region 7, Gatorz Challenge of the Americas, and Snap-On Stars of Karting events this season, he has also been the driver chiefly responsible for the development of the latest CRG Cadet RC-1. Each race has brought chassis revisions, new parts, and more speed.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that Riley was able to celebrate his first win at Fontana," said Joe Ramos, President of SSC Racing. "He is a talented youngster, and we know he has been working hard to get his first win. It wasn't easy and he's suffered some setbacks, but now that he's won his first race we're sure many more are going to come. Everyone at SSC and CRG thanks Riley for his dedication to the development of the cadet chassis."

With the first win out of the way, Reyes is now looking ahead to this weekend's IKF Region 7 race at Santa Maria. For the first time this season, Reyes will be running in three classes: HPV-1, Rookie Sportsman, and Junior 1. It will be the first visit to the central California facility for Reyes, but he's proven a quick study at the other new venues he has visited this season - including one very wet race at Infineon Raceway in the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas.

Running three karts this weekend will not only will this enable the SSC Racing team to continue development on the Cadet RC-1, but gives Reyes valuable seat time ahead of the IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals, which will be held at Santa Maria July 30 - August 3.

Competition this weekend kicks off with practice on Friday at Santa Maria.

For more information, visit www.sscracing.com.

 

NEWS 13/06/2008
 

" FM0.01991 New pentagonal radiator CRG complete"

 

 

NEWS 09/06/2008

 

TEAM NEWS: CAMERON/CRG - MAZDA RACE OF THE AMERICAS


 

As the top karting teams in North America rolled out of New Castle early this week, none could match the success of Cameron Motorsports/CRG. The Canadian-based squad had wins in each of the Stars of Karting premier classes, and five trips to the podium all told on Sunday. It had drivers on the front row in three of five Stars classes to begin the day, and each delivered before the sun went down in Indiana.

Leading the Cameron/CRG charge at the Mazda Race of the Americas was Michael Vincec in headlining ICC. When Saturday dawned and trips around New Castle Motorsports Park began to count for real, Vincec was never outside of the top three and started all five sessions from the front row. He showed veteran savvy in heat racing on his way to posting 2-2-3, and maintained off-pole position headed to twin mains Sunday afternoon.

“Heading into the heat races the goal is always to finish, and to finish well,” Vincec said of his approach to heat racing that has been perfected in Rotax Max and Euro competition. “Maturity has a lot to do with it as well. You just have to be patient and be smart about the moves you make, and you get a good starting position for the final race.”

Vincec had a good starting position indeed, and capitalized as he slotted second behind reigning National Champion Gary Carlton when the flags waved on the first main. Once again patience was the word for the Canadian teenager. “Heading in I knew I had the speed to be with Gary and fight for the lead, but overall I just wanted to podium,” he said in recalling his goal for the first final - a goal that was headed to the top step when Carlton retired working lap seven. Vincec lost the lead for three laps in the second half, but took it back with two laps to run and secured his first ICC win of the season shortly after. The win also boosted him into the point lead for the National Championship, a tally he extended in the second main when he returned to the podium, this time in third.

 

“Final two was a good result but I felt that I had the speed to win,” Vincec said upon his return home this week. “I didn’t have a good start and fell back a bit, but I managed to catch up. Battling with Speed just allowed Jurca to pull away.” His instincts dead on, Vincec turned the quickest lap of the main event by the slimmest of margins, and as the lead trio fought it out Vincec took third to close the weekend.

Adding to the incredible atmosphere around the Cameron/CRG pit on Sunday was the performance of Australian recruit Scott Saunders. In what began as a field near fifty, the TaG pilot punched his star card when he delivered a win and a runner-up finish in double mains. It was an impressive feat that began with a win and second in heat runs, and started features from off-pole. Victor Cabrera was on the point in a field that could certainly turn boys to men.

“I was really nervous sitting on the front row next to Cabrera and having so many talented drivers behind me,” Saunders noted in replaying the first run. “Yet I knew in my mind that if I got a good start and made it through turn one and into the draft, I could make a race of it.” A great plan to be sure, but it was abruptly halted when Stars officials moved the Australian back to row two after a pair of false starts. “I was not trying to jump the start at all,” Saunders said afterward. “I was just trying to keep even, but I was being pushed from behind. It actually helped because I wasn’t as nervous afterward, and I was more determined than ever to win!”

As if to justify the statement, a third attempt was also waved off before the field finally took the green. Saunders then worked to the point in short order, taking a spot on each of the first three laps to go from third to first. Afterwards he stretched a lead to nearly a second as war waged behind, and took his first career Stars win after fifteen laps. Icing on the cake came with a runner-up finish in race two, a run that had similar characteristics. This time slotting fifth from the first lap, Saunders worked his way to second by lap five but the leader was already leaving the compound. Still, Cameron/CRG had it’s second win and fourth podium of the day, and all were brimming.

“I am so proud of myself and the Cameron Motorsports Team,” Saunders said in reliving his finest moment in karting. “I could not have asked for a better mechanic than Brian Bettencourt, and my parents back home in Australia are equally pleased with the way the weekend went.” The event was the second National for Saunders with the team, while its fifth podium came from a driver making his team debut.


Miles Maroney is a much more known entity in North America, and as a National #4 making his return to CRG much was expected of him in Indiana last weekend. The young star didn’t disappoint, and after going 2-4 in a pair of heats he was on JICA pole Sunday afternoon. He held it at the start of the first main, and after leading the first pair, ran to lap fourteen in second position. The podium slipped from his grasp on the final lap as the top four crossed within a second, but Maroney made amends in the late start. Leading once again through the first lap, he was knocked to second and was as low as fourth before firmly establishing himself in third. It was a brilliant debut that promised more to come.

Four other Cameron/CRG drivers were in action in Indiana in three different classes. Joining Vincec in ICC, David Carmendy celebrated his 19th birthday by qualifying a matching P19. In the first final he took just seven laps to carve his way to 12th, a position he would keep in the first final. In the late start he sliced toward the top ten once again, reaching it on lap nine before problems dropped him backward and out in the second half. Chad Grunow and Jeffrey May were in JICA, and both ended up in a Sunday morning Last Chance Qualifier. May escaped it in taking the sixth and final transfer position, and ultimately crossed 29th and 21st as he continued to find his way in Stars competition. Kurtis DeBoer continued his on-track education in Cadet, and finished 17th in the first start and 16th in the final.

It was a banner weekend for the crew from Hamilton, Ontario, yet one that began in the worst possible way. Tornado warnings on Friday night delivered enough wind and rain to collapse and tear the canopy from the Cameron/CRG hauler, and the team arrived to a devastating scene on Saturday morning. “Things looked grim when we all showed up in the morning, but the amazing group of drivers and families instantly began to clear it away,” said Danielle Duffy, Cameron/CRG Team President. “The drivers were concerned for out setup and property more so than the day’s events and within an hour you just thought we were all there to catch some rays! I am so proud of each and every one of them - and once they hit the asphalt they excelled beyond expectations. I can’t thank everyone enough for their efforts over the weekend. Not just on our team, but F1 Boston and SSC East for their concern as well, and for helping us store everything safely after the storm.”

 

(Photos courtesy of: On Track Promotions)

 

NEWS 09/06/2008

 

SSC EAST: RACE OF THE AMERICA’S REVIEW

 

 

New Castle, Indiana – June 5, 2008 – SSC East had a tough outing this past weekend at the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series Mazda Race of the Americas at New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, Indiana. The high profile squad rolled through the heat races but ran into some trouble during both feature events.

SSC East had four entries in the ultra competitive Intercontinental C (ICC) led by two time defending national champion Gary Carlton. Carlton was fast all weekend and rolled through the heat races to claim the pole position for both finals. Disaster would strike in both finals as Carlton’s first feature ended with an engine seizure while a mechanical failure ended hopes of victory in final two. The factory CRG pilot will now travel to Belgium for the next event.

Rookie pilot Arie Ouimet progressed nicely through the three mandatory heat races to solidify a 16th place starting position for both feature events. Looking to stay out of trouble and progress forward, Ouimet did just that as he managed to finish sixth and fifth respectively.


ICC pilot Alex Manglass continued his rapid improvement from last year. The talented pilot along with his new tuner Chris Rock finished both finals in the top twenty as he claimed 17th and 14th place positions after starting from inside row thirteen in the 25th position.

After joining the SSC East ICC program for the remainder of the 2008 season, Anthony Llopiz was looking for some solid results in his debut with the team. Starting from the 26th position, Llopiz finished 16th in feature one and 23rd in feature two after contact ended his promising run after only nine laps.

Defending Junior Intercontinental (JICA) national champion Jarvis Gennari was fast but had another tough weekend in regards to results. If the Floridian didn’t have any bad luck, he would have no luck at all. After qualifying in P20, Gennari stormed through the field in the first heat race to finish seventh. Looking for the same result in his second of two heat races, Gennari was involved in a serious first corner incident that saw his kart flip through the air. With only a few minor injuries, Gennari would be back on task Sunday and would claim two top ten results in both feature events.

(Photos courtesy of: On Track Promotions)

 

 

NEWS 29/05/2008

 

BACK ON HOME SOIL, CARLTON LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SWEEP

 

May 29, 2008 (Palm Springs, Calif.) - If anyone thought that Gary Carlton's DNF at the Snap-On Stars of Karting presented by the Indy Racing League's Eastern Division season opener at Ocala Grand Prix was a sign of things to come, they have probably rethought that by now.

Carlton, the two-time and defending ICC National Champion, responded by winning the second feature at Ocala, and then by winning both races at the Western Division season-opener at Miller Motorsports Park. He now sits as points leader in the ICC Western Division, and seventh in the Eastern Division.

Carlton has also been keeping busy since the Western Division opener at Miller Motorsports Park. After that event, Carlton traveled to Angerville, France to race as part of the CRG factory squad in the European Championship season opener.

In his first event in the headlining KZ1 class (Carlton competed in KZ2 last season) Carlton grabbed an eighteenth in the weekend's first final, before finishing a strong eighth in the second final. It was a strong debut in the class for the lone American in the field, and puts him twelfth in the season points standings.

Carlton now heads to a track that he is extremely comfortable at; Carlton swept both Stars of Karting rounds at New Castle last year.

For the second time, Carlton will be joined by PCH Motorsports teammate Jacob Neal. Neal will be making his second start in the headlining ICC class, after an impressive first event at Miller Motorsports Park where, despite battling the flu, he stormed from last to fifth in the second ICC final of the weekend. The result puts Neal fifth in the Western Division ICC points standings. Neal finished fourth in both ICA races at New Castle last season.

Carlton and Neal both hit the track for practice Friday morning.



 

 

NEWS 21/05/2008
 

TEAM NEWS: CAMERON MOTORSPORTS SIGNS MILES MARONEY

 

 

 

Cameron Motorsports is proud to announce the signing of standout junior driver Miles Maroney, effectively immediately. After a brief spell away, the 14-year-old from Topanga Canyon, California, will make his return to CRG at the upcoming Stars of Karting Mazda Race of the Americas. The East/West combined event will see the National #4 continue in JICA while joining forces with Cameron Motorsports senior tuner Mike Roth. Both are familiar with the CRG product line, and very excited about beginning their racing partnership.

"I'm really excited to be teaming up with Cameron Motorsports and returning to CRG," Maroney reported from the paddock area at Laguna Seca where he met up with his new tuner last weekend. "I can't wait to work with Mike and get myself and CRG up front again."

For his part, Roth is equally optimistic about the new partnership that will see action in both the East and West Divisions of Stars. "I'm so excited to work with Miles," said Roth, a veteran tuner and driver development coach. "I have followed him since he moved up to JICA on a KRT kart and even more so last year when he was on a CRG. He's always fast, just had some bad luck. I'm excited he's back on Black and am looking forward to Newcastle!"

Maroney swept the Stars of Karting round at Moran Raceway last season as an independent entry and the wins carried him to the National #4. He is also a former Stars of Karting Cadet Champion, International Karting Federation Regional and Grand National Champion, World Karting Association Grand National Champion and Two-time California State Champion. After earning sixth in the Florida Winter Tour JICA Championship this season, Maroney has already scored three top-ten finishes in four Stars of Karting starts. Back in Black for Newcastle in two weeks, Maroney will be looking for more.

(Photo Credit: www.milesmaroney.com)


 

NEWS 12/05/2008

 
 

WSK INTERNATIONAL SERIES ROUND 3: STUNNING VICTORY FOR CRG-MAXTER IN KF1!

 

 

The CRG - Maxter champion Arnaud Kozlinski conquers the first step of the podium in the major class KF1 at the South Garda Karting track in Lonato, thanks to an impressive performance showing his great driving abilities.

 

 

After some problems in the qualification heats, that force him to start from the 21st position on the prefinal starting grid, the French driver made an incredible recovery to the 6th place. Starting the final in the leading group together with his team mates Thonon and Guignet, Kozlinski is able to reach the first place after just a few laps and to keep it until he crosses the finishing line.

 

Great performance also for Jean Philippe Guignet, who run the final at the top levels fighting with Kozlinski for the lead of the group and finishing the race at the 3rd position. Thanks to this great result Guignet is now at the 4th place of the general classification.

 

Unfortunate Sunday for our Belgian champion Jonathan Thonon. After missing by an hair's breadth the superpole on Saturday and finishing respectively 3rd and 1st in the two qualification heats, Jonathan starts the prefinal from the second place and he keeps his position until he crosses the finishing line. Starting second in the final, he is forced to stop after just a few laps when he was still in the second position fighting for the head of the group.

 

In KF2 Andrea Dalé made a good performance, obtaining respectively a first, a third and a ninth place in the qualification heats, then starting from the fourth row in the prefinal, where unfortunately he had to leave the race after just a few laps due to a collision, irreparably compromising the race.

 

Good race also for the other Italian driver Giovanni Venturini: after a few problems in the qualification heats he is forced to take part in the second chance heats to be qualified, but after that he is able to recover from the last row to the 18th place in the prefinal. Thanks to his fast laps he then misses by an hair's breadth the top ten recovering further positions in the final and finishing 12th.

 

 
NEWS 04/05/2008
 
 

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - ANGERVILLE: DOMINATION CRG-MAXTER

 

 

Angerville– May 4, 2008 – Arnaud Kozlinski stands out starting from race 1 of the European Championship KF1 - first round in Angerville, France and he seals the domination CRG - Maxter with the best lap.


Our French driver started building his success since the qualification heats, where he was one of the major protagonists with two second places that allowed him to start race 1 from the first row.

 

 

In race 2 Kozlinski suffered a 10 seconds penalty because he crossed the starting line too fast, according to the new CIK-FIA regulations, then due to a lack of understanding with his team mate Guignet he is forced to stop fighting for the victory just a few laps before the end of the race.


Jean-Philippe Guignet in any case thanks to a great and aggressive performance conquered the third step of the podium.

 

Arnaud Kozlinski is now at the third place of the general classification with 25 points.

The KZ1 has been ruled by Thonon-CRG-Maxter starting with the best qualification. After the great performance of the qualification heats, Jonathan starts from the first row in race 1 with his team mate Alessandro Manetti.

 

After fighting with Manetti during the first laps Jonathan gains the head of the group and wins the first final with an impressive performance that leaves the second classified Lammers more than two seconds behind him.

In race 2 Thonon suffers a problem during the start that makes him go back to the 7th position, but thanks to his aggressive drive he succeeds in recovering five positions and gaining the second place just a few tenths behind Lammers.

 

Thonon now leads the general classification with 45 points.

(Photos CIK-FIA)

 

 
NEWS 02/05/2008
 

PANAMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP, CRG DOMINATE ICC-SUDAM CLASS

 

 

(El Pinar, Uruguay) Maximiliano Vivot and Rodrigo Bodetto dominate the Panamerican Championship with a great succesfull and aggressive race.
For technical problems they started in 16th and last position but the finished 1st (Vivot) and 2nd (Bodetto).
They work hard and did a really good job taking advantage of the exellent material they had.
CRG is really proud of the important result of these young guys.


 

NEWS 30/04/2008
 

CARLTON DOMINANT AGAIN FOR CRG AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK

 

April 30, 2008 (Palm Springs, Calif.) It looked for a moment that Gary Carlton may have a tough time winning the Snap-On Stars of Karting presented by the Indy Racing League's ICC finals at Miller Motorsports Park, as a DNF in the weekend's first heat race meant he would likely not start the weekend's two final races on the front row.


Indeed, Carlton wound up starting the finals from the second row, in fourth position after taking the win in the second of three heat races. The first final saw Carlton's CRG, from fourth, move into third at the start and then into second after banging wheels a few times with Alex Speed. It was only a few short laps later that Carlton caught and passed polesitter Jordy Vorrath to take the first final.


In the second final, Carlton jumped into second from fourth at the start before passing Vorrath five laps in and racing off to his third win of the year.
Impressively, teammate Jacob Neal, who sat out all of the Saturday competition because of the flu, started last in both finals before running his CRG up to ninth in the first one and fifth in the second. It was good progress, especially considering it was Neal's ICC debut after competing in ICA last season.


Riley Reyes, SSC Racing's youngest member, made his Stars of Karting debut at Miller Motorsports Park in the Cadet class. After qualifying an impressive sixth aboard a CRG Cadet New Age-2, Reyes learned the ropes of Stars competition as he carded a fifth and an eleventh on Saturday. Sunday, however, Reyes broke through to win the day's heat race his first victory of the year. This bumped him up the grid and meant he would start the mains in fourth place.The mains saw Reyes finish fourth and sixth, capping an impressive weekend of racing for the SSC Racing squad.

 

 

 
NEWS 14/04/2008
 

CAMERON MOTORSPORTS CLAIMS THREE TOP FIVES AT STARS OPENER

 

Hamilton, Ontario – April 12, 2008 – The Cameron Motorsports (CMI) elite karting team had another successful weekend in Florida as the squad competed in the opening round of the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series. With the first event taking place at the Ocala Gran Prix facility in Ocala, Florida, CMI drivers were looking to start their national title chase off right.

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Leading the charge were Intercontinental C (ICC) pilots Mike Vincec and Cody Jolly. After progressing nicely through the heat races, Vincec would claim CMI’s first podium in 2008 Stars of Karting competition with a solid third place result. Proving it was no fluke, Vincec continued his success in final two as he claimed another top five result to wrap up his weekend. Texan pilot Cody Jolly had some problems in final one but still managed to secure a solid seventh place finish against North America’s best shifter pilots. Improving in final two, Jolly battled the weather and wet conditions to score his first podium result as he crossed the strip in the third position.

 

Ohio pilot David Carmendy was looking for two top ten results but fell just short on this weekend. After a disappointing non-finish in final one, Carmendy turned up the wick in final two and claimed the 11th position. Carmendy will be back with the CMI team at the New Castle Motorsports Park event in late May where he has always been fast and should challenge for the win. (You say he fell short of two top tens, but he didn’t get any!)

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The Junior Intercontinental A (JICA) pilot and reigning F1K Junior Canadian National Champion was successful in his first start in national competition. Competing against national champions, race winners and some of the country’s best is challenging but Canadian Jeffery May rose to the challenge. May qualified his CRG in the 13th position just over .200 off the pole. After being punted off in the first two heat races, May battled hard in heat race three to score a solid tenth place result. Due to not finishing two heat races, May was forced to start way down the running order for both feature events. With very little experience in the rain, May had an early departure from final one as an incident in front of him left him no chance to avoid it. In final two, May was progressing through the field nicely and was running in P13 before a spin relegated him down to a 17th place result.

Cadet pilot Kurtis De Boer garnered a 27th and 23rd place results in only his fourth national event. The young Canadian has proven to be fast and can fight with some of the top Cadet drivers. De Boer will take some time to complete an intensive test program before the next event.

“We had some good results but were hoping for more,” explained Cameron Motorsports Danielle Duffy. “Nobody goes to a race hoping to finish tenth, everyone wants to win. We will be back at the next event bigger and better and I am confident we will be atop the podium.

 

 

NEWS 09/04/2008
 
 

SSC EAST: STARS OF KARTING OCALA REVIEW

“Team continues to roll along in 2008”

Ocala, Florida – April 8, 2008 – SSC East had another very strong outing at the opening round of the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series event at the Ocala Gran Prix facility just north of Orlando, Florida. Looking to get the season started off right, SSC East drivers and tuners were prepped and ready for the big event.

Competing in the headline Intercontinental C (ICC) division was two-time defending national champion Gary Carlton, rookie pilot Arie Ouimet and sophomore driver Alex Manglass. As expected, Carlton led the trio of SSC East competitors as he was fast in each and every session. In qualifying, Carlton sat in the pits and waited until the very end to turn his flying lap and steal the pole position. Through the heat races, Carlton was dominant leading every single lap, taking three victories and the pole position for both feature events.

 

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Looking to start his march towards a third national title, Carlton lead the first feature only to retire midway through the event with a stuck powerplant, leaving him dejected but determined to make up for it in final two. After another terrific start, the California resident led every single lap to take the checkers ahead of some of the country’s best.

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Looking to gain experience in ICC in ’08, Ouimet would consistently run inside the top ten. Looking to challenge for a top five result, the young Arie had an eighth place finish in feature one but failed to finish the second final after being shoved off the circuit and through a pool of water that had gathered on the side of the track.

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Manglass, who partnered with tuner Joe White Jr., ran fast and consistent laps throughout the weekend. With the goal to make progress and complete every race lap, Manglass did just that and is looking forward to the next event.

 

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Junior Intercontinental A (JICA) pilot Jarvis Gennari struggled through Friday’s practice sessions but turned up the wick when it mattered on Saturday and Sunday. The talented Floridian pilot and reigning JICA national champion powered through the field to claim a second and third place podium results and left the first event in a familiar spot, on top the point standings.


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A fantastic weekend for SSC East’s racing team. The National ICC Champion shows his domination. The National JICA Champion shows his never give up attitude. An ICC rookie nipping on the heels of the big boys and a sophomore driver teaming with one of the sports legends and making a run for ‘08. SSC East would like to thank all of its drivers for great results as well as their tuners Diego Val Verde, Tom Buckley, Joe White Jr. and Enzo Chiovitti Jr.

 

 

 

PODIUM FOR HRS MOTORPSORT IN SEASON OPENER

 

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HRS Motorsport is one of the most successful racing teams in the World of Rotax Max Racing. The English-based CRG Team is led by former European champion Tristram Oman and has many victories and titles to their name in the Rotax Euro Challenge. This year, the team's star driver Ben Cooper is defending his title as the Senior Max champion from 2007.

The first round of the Rotax Euro Challenge was hosted last weekend by the Sologne Karting circuit in Salbris, France. Similar to previous years, the venue being one of the best CIK-homologated tracks in Europe, allowed some great racing, although the predicted wet weather arrived just in time for the finals.

Former Senior Max World Finals champion Cristiano Morgado again joined the HRS squad to compete in the Rotax DD2 class. He came close to a podium position in France, finishing 4th in Sunday's final.

Ben Cooper took the final podium position finishing 3rd in the Euro final for HRS, setting the 2nd best time in the race just behind the winner. After dominating all four of his qualifying heats, Cooper was unlucky to be caught out by the weather in the pre-final but came through well in the last race.

Ben Cooper, defending champion Rotax Max:
"The weekend went well throughout testing, as we were making good progress with the kart and engine. Qualifying also went okay but the weather conditions didn't help, especially as I was in the first session when the track was at its wettest. The heats were even better as I won all four races, with some more difficult than others. The pre-final started off well as we had initially opted for the correct tyre choice, choosing slicks, but then three laps into the race the rain started coming down and I knew that the drivers that had chosen wet tyres were going to come through, so it was then all about staying on track and getting a reasonable finish. The final started off tricky but I knew that I had the pace to come through, which is what happened. I ended up in 3rd place which was a good finished from 16th on the grid and we picked up some good points."

HRS Senior Max driver Curtis Roberts also reached the final, having qualified through the repecharge to then produce a fine drive and finish 15th in the final. Team-mate Rodolpho Camarillo from Mexico unfortunately missed out on a place in the main finals, but drove well over the weekend, gaining some valuable knowledge driving in wet conditions and learning more about the European style of racing. Britain's Mark Thompson secured a respectable 6th place driving in the Max Masters.

Ryuya Fujie of Japan was the 'new kid on the block' in the HRS team in Junior Max. The talented Japanese driver was in the leading group of drivers in practice, qualifying and all the heats races, but some bad luck in the pre-final relegated him back to start grid 33 for the final, when he broke a chain. Passing many competitors, Fujie drove a great race to finish the final in 8th position.

Tristram Oman; team boss of the successful HRS Motorsport:
"An extremely mixed race meeting. With great weather on Saturday, we really got our teeth into getting everything right. At the end of our first race day, we had Ben Cooper pole in Seniors, Ryuya Fujie 3rd in Juniors and Cristiano Morgado 3rd in DD2. However with the weather changing from race to race in Sundays first finals, we found ourselves leading on the wrong side of it. A little bit of luck is always needed! Thankfully we had constant rain so our drivers were able to get the most out of our equipment and set-up. Good results, but we will be working hard between now and the next round."

 


NEWS 25/03/2008
 

CODY JOLLY IMPRESSES AT FLORIDA WINTER TOUR

 

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“Strong outing for Texan pilot in Ocala” March 21, 2008 – The Cameron Motorsports (CMI) elite karting team and Cody Jolly had an excellent outing this past weekend at the final round of the Formula Kart Production’s Florida Winter Tour. Jolly, who moved full time to the shifter ranks, came home with two very strong runs and podium results at the Ocala Gran Prix facility in Ocala, Florida.

Looking to start the weekend off right, Jolly was fast during Friday’s practice sessions and was looking to turn that speed into a strong run in qualifying on Saturday morning. Teamed with Cameron Motorsports Trevor Wickens, Jolly circuited the Ocala Gran Prix (OGP) facility with the third quickest time that would see him line up just inside row two. The pre-final would see a follow the leader format as Jolly would remain in the third position.

Looking to attack early in the final, the CMI driver moved forward into P2 early and began to press for the lead. Turning the third quickest lap time of the event, the talented Texan finished on the second step of the podium in between the two championship contenders.

Sunday would prove to be a little different for the Intercontinental C (ICC) rookie as he managed to qualify his Maxter powered CRG on the front row. Looking to get the jump early and challenge for the lead, Jolly was forced to settle for P2 as they entered the first corner. The second position would be all that the Texan could garner on this weekend as he eventually finished the pre-final and final in the runner’s up spot as the CRG manufacturer managed to sweep Sunday’s podium.

“Cody did a great job this weekend,” stated CMI’s Trevor Wickens. “He is really coming into his own. He should be a force at the national level this season in Stars.”

With the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series national championship set to begin in two weeks, Jolly hopes to continue the momentum into that series and a shot at the divisional and national championships. Jolly will also travel overseas this season as the senior level pilot will compete in several International races throughout Europe.

 

NEWS 19/03/2008
 

FLORIDA WINTER TOUR: PSL TEAM TAKES FOUR VICTORIES AND TWO SHIFTER KART TITLES WITH LEESMANN AND VIDAL

 

Ocala, FL (March 19, 2008) –PSL Karting wrapped up the 2008 edition of the Florida Winter Tour at the sixth and final weekend of the two-group program. The third double-header weekend of the schedule took the Quebec-based CRG importer to the Ocala Gran Prix facility in Ocala, Florida on March 14-16. The weather was not typical Florida condition as strong storms cut practice short on Friday, the PSL shifter drivers scored four victories and two championships this time out, led by Californian Fritz Leesmann and Virginia’s Gus Vidal.

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Since January, Leesmann has been the most dominant shifter kart driver on the FWT. Earning the Saturday pole by five-hundredths of a second, Fritz tucked into second at the drop of the green flag for the Prefinal. He waited until lap seven to make his move and then cruised to a five-second victory. The Final would be all Leesmann as he turned laps a full second quicker than his qualifying time to earn the win, putting the PSL logo on the top of the podium.

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Sunday was no different as Fritz was in command all day. A blistering lap in qualifying earned him the pole and a clean start in the Prefinal allowed him to cruise to the win. After slotting into second at the start of the main event, he did not wait long to regain the top spot. Leesmann would go on unchallenged to a three-second victory, successfully clinching the FWT Pro Shifter championship. In total, Leesmann took home an impressive $7500 for his four victories and the overall crown.

Adding to the success for PSL Karting was Masters Shifter driver Gus Vidal. A regular on the road racing scene, Vidal was in the spotlight in his class on the weekend. After putting the CRG on the pole in Saturday qualifying, Vidal put in two dominant performances in the Prefinal and Final, winning both by over five seconds. With the championship fight coming down to Sunday, a winner-take-all situation, Vidal found himself in a tight battle with his primary challenger, Jason Lee. Running second to Lee in Qualifying and the Prefinal, the duo started the main event from the front row. At the start, Vidal slipped back but began to reel in the leader after getting himself situated. Once he caught the leader on lap 13, he only needed one more lap before taking over the top spot, checking out once he was presented with open track. Vidal would race unchallenged to the checkered flag with a two-second advantage and a 20-point championship victory.


 

NEWS 12/03/2008
 

SSC EAST -WKA REVIEW

TEAM CONTINUES TO ROLL ALONG IN 2008

 

Concord, North Carolina – March 4, 2008 – SSC East had another very strong outing at the World Karting Association (WKA) Manufacturers Cup event at Charlotte Motor Speedway located in Concord, North Carolina. Racing out of the SSC garage was TaG pilot Arie Ouimet and junior competitor Michael Johnson. Looking for strong results, both drivers hit the track Friday morning in preparation for the weekend’s racing action.

The young Arie Ouimet had the strongest SSC East results of the weekend as he managed to take his Vortex Rok powered CRG Road Rebel to two top ten results. Ouimet claimed the eighth position in Sundays racing action but managed a solid fourth place finish in Saturdays final.

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“Racing inside the confines of Charlotte Motor Speedway is a great experience for all the drivers,” explained SSC representative Mark Ouimet. “The WKA provides an excellent platform for racing and the competition is very tough. We had a very good weekend and represented the CRG product line very well.”

HPV and Yamaha Junior Lite and Heavy competitor Michael Johnson made his national level debut in North Carolina and faired very well. Michael lost the use of his legs in a motocross accident and he started racing karts last year. Utilizing the CRG hand controls, Michael faired well but did not have the strong results that he hoped for.

“The SSC East/CRG Nationals is a tough chore for the nations best,” commented Johnson after the weekend. “I was happy to be out there competing and showing other drivers that I can still drive.”

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NEWS 06/03/2008
 

IMPRESSIVE TEST SESSION FOR CARLTON, VINCEC AND LEESMANN AT THE SOUTH GARDA KARTING TRACK

 

The CRG North American top drivers Gary Carlton, Fritz Leesmann and Michael Vincec have been invited to Italy by CRG and Maxter for a test session at the South Garda Karting track.

 

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Our three drivers arrived on Tuesday February 26th to start the three days session on the famous circuit, where several world championships took place.

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Since the first day of tests they run really fast and achieved impressive results, confirming once again their great talent. The work at the track