CRG MAGAZINE N.1 2020 ENG by KARTCRG

N.1 - JANUARY / MAY 2020

THE OFFICIAL FACTORY HOUSE ORGAN

The Covid-19 emergency stopped the karting world

THE INTERVIEW Giancarlo Tinini RACING TEAM CRG Racing Team 2020 1

THROWBACK Season 2019

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Crg Centurion offers you a superior driving experience. You can drive it in the most important rental tracks or in the most successful endurance events at international level as the «24 Hours Karting of Italy» and the «Rental Kart World Contest»

EDITORIAL / BY GIANCARLO TININI

The world is facing an unexpected emergency,

a new situation of which little was and still is known. After China, the outbreak moved to Europe and the Coronavirus infection went out of control and reached America and a lot of countries in the world. The National Governments had to take drastic measures stopping all production and touristic events, working meetings and sports at all levels. In such a dramatic scenery, my first thought goes to all our fans, drivers and staff, to which I send my best wishes: put safety first and stay safe. People have been forced home in a quarantine we would have never imagined of and, at the moment, we cannot imagine the end of it. We suddenly lost all our certainties and the karting sector has been overwhelmed in a few days. We will get out of this, but we will be hurt and few things will be as before. We will have to find new trust in the team work and overcome strong psychological barriers that this epidemic will leave behind. Financially, it will be difficult to restart a sector like karting that has been suffering a crisis before this emergency due to short-sighted and uneffective policies regarding costs and sporting formats. I hope that, paradoxically, this crisis could eventually produce concrete and useful actions to cut down the costs of races and simplify the offer of categories and events. The Karting sector will have to be united in the future to share the priorities to restart from and the International Federation will have a major role in this. The basic karting and Rental Karts could provide an answer to the amusement needs at the end of this long quarantine. I hope that a lot of youngsters will re-discover the thrill of driving in a real track instead of on their videogames or smartphones. We will have to wait and see how the real economic situation will be and the dimension of the economic downturn ahead. Our company had to stop production for a few weeks and activated all the smart working procedures to limit the danger for our staff, providers and customers. We are cur-

rently working in some departments, trying to look ahead positive together with our sales network. I hope that this epidemic will be behind us soon so that we could look at the future with serenity. Nobody should underestimate the restrictions and respect them to safeguard the own health and that of other people.

Giancarlo Tinini, President of CRG SpA.

CRG Road Rebel is an icon in International karting. This chassis is multiple-World Champion and winner of a lot of National championships in KZ all over the world and for season 2020 it has been updated with several technical interventions on the chassis and accessories to be again the benchmark of the market.

CRG MINI Hero and Black Mirror with International FIA homologation are the big novelties of 2020. The categories reserved to 9-12 years old drivers are an increasingly important market segment, where the drivers of tomorrow move their first steps and CRG has a long and successful technical and sporting tradition in these categories. CRG put all its knowhow and devised specific support programs for teams in the most important Championships for the International season that will get underway in 2020.

The 100% electric kart is going to be the most important rental product for the next 5 years. In some countries, limitations on exhaust and acoustic pollution will make several indoor and outdoor circuits close to inhabited areas switch to electric. CRG addresses this technological and ecological challenge with its new E-Drenaline, one of the most advanced products on the market that has been available for 3 years now and harvested a lot of success in more than 10 different countries around the world.Â

Rain is either loved or hated by Karting drivers. It certainly provides an important training chance to refine race-craft and instinct, features that make the difference in the career of a driver. The strongest motorsport champions like Senna or Verstappen have always seen rain as a chance, rather than as a problem.

COMPANY / THE INTERVIEW

GIANCARLO TININI THE CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY STOPPED PRODUCTION, SPORTING EVENTS AND EVERYTHING THAT COULD HELP THE VIRUS SPREAD, MOTORSPORT FROM F1 TO KARTING HAS MADENO EXCEPTION. IN SUCH SCENERY, THAT IS NEW FOR THE WHOLE WORLD, WE MET CRG’S PRESIDENT

back on all the activities requiring team work. It is very difficult to estimate the economic damages, but when a sector completely stops the financial impact is usually dramatic. At the same time, we cannot underestimate the psychological repercussions. We will certainly have to re-tune our future plans proportionally to the length of this halt and Federations will have to take the right actions to support a restart of this sector». What advice would you give to the International Federation to favour the restart after this emergency? «I think great care has to be put to heal the psychological, physic and economic blow we took and FIA will certainly consider this. I hope in a lighter calendar that will allow us to re-organize for the future. We need to think about the effects of the Coronavirus on all the operators and allow everybody to get back on their feet, including the small teams. It might be helpful if FIA organized a meeting with all the operators of our sector (constructors, teams, organizers and promoters) and mediate the needs of all of them through shared actions».

All FIA Karting and National Championship have been postponed to a later date and a lot

of factories in this sector have shut down. Everything has been stopped and it is difficult to know for how long. In such scenery, we met CRG’s President Giancarlo Tinini to hear his opinion on what are the consequences and how this epidemic will affect karting in the future. In the occasion, we also touched on some general themes of karting, the balance and goals of CRG at the beginning of this new decade and the sporting and commercial challenges ahead. The first question obviously concerns the present and the consequences of the Coronavirus situation on karting: «The karting sector, as many others, will be hit quite badly. We cannot foresee at the moment the time needed to place this emergency behind us and a lot of time will certainly be needed to get some confidence

Some sociologists expect that after the long quarantine and the restrictions all over the world, a recreation and amusement period will be needed, as is happening in China. Do you believe that karting at its basis, like rental karts or promotional championships, will get a boost and a regeneration push stronger than in the recent past? «Karting, especially the Rental offer that has great geographic coverage, with in-door and out-door tracks spread all over the world and reaches out to a huge user-base including kids and adults, certainly provides an immersive amusement chance. Even competitive karting fans cannot wait to practice the sport they love, but costs will be crucial as at the restart

we will have to favour solutions that can meet offer and demand».

interests and focus on the general needs of Karting as a sporting discipline».

Leaving the Coronavirus issue aside for a moment, focusing more in general on the problems of karting, Lewis Hamilton has mentioned several times the excessive cost of racing and the difficulties experienced by talented drivers in their formation as opposed to richer drivers. What is your opinion about this? «Lewis, like a lot of other professional drivers, had to go through a tough path due also to the costs. Currently, if you do not take part in some specific championships you are not considered much as a driver and this does not help the growth and training of drivers. I believe this training should be the focus of national and regional championships. Another weak point is the absence of an entry-level category where potential talents could have the chance to shine. We have often raised up the problem of costs to FIA and national Federations, but nowadays also Mini Kart cannot be considered as a basic category. We proposed a lot of possible solutions, but we need the authority of a Federation that can look past individual

What is the balance of the past decade for CRG? «From a sporting viewpoint this has been a positive decade, we won 9 titles including FIA World Championships and World Cups, 9 FIA European Championships and 7 titles with the Zanardi brand: namely, 5 World Championships and 2 European Championships. We also have been successful in national races all over the world. The balance is positive, despite we missed out on some highs in the past two International seasons. From a commercial viewpoint, our company has always been a market leader in

«WE PROPOSED A LOT OF POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS, BUT WE NEED THE AUTHORITY OF A FEDERATION THAT CAN LOOK PAST INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS»

COMPANY / THE INTERVIEW

Regarding races, how much will CRG miss Paolo De Conto? «De Conto will be missed by the whole world of karting, not only by CRG, but he made his choice and we respect that. His retirement, as that of other drivers of his generation, are further signals that International karting is more focused on young generations and our choices on the medium term are also along these lines».

been trying to make FIA and championship promoters understand that the issue of costs must be addressed concretely. Nothing has been done so far and this is a huge problem. Another point where an intervention is needed is the reduction of International races. A first step would be to introduce at least a 2 months-long winter break and a maximum of 2 International events per month, but at the moment we basically race without stops from December and January. The high number of International races steals space for National Championships and Series, whose survival is very important. The number of races has to be reduced but also the length of exits, entry fees and the cost of tyres and fuel. Moreover, to bring its charm and spectacle back to karting, I have always been in favour of using more performing tyres and less strict rules that can make the strongest drivers shine. Regarding CRG’s future as a company, our challenge will be to structure even more every division. We are reorganizing all the production sectors, commercial offices, customer services and racing team to achieve this».

What are your expectations for the future? «Regarding International karting, we have

What can you tell us about the novelties of 2020 Racing products?

«THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS REGARDING CHASSIS IS THE INTERNATIONAL HOMOLOGATION OF THE MINI CHASSIS»

the Racing but also Rental, Electric Kart and promotional karting sectors. We always put innovation, research and quality at the centre of our projects and this is appreciated by our clients».

«The most important news regarding chassis is the International homologation of the Mini chassis. We introduced two different models: the Hero version that adopted the same design concepts of the previous model and the new Black Mirror, that has a more traditional chassis layout. Both chassis have a completely redesigned braking system. We worked a lot to improve our direct-drive offer and made some changes to the KT2 model and to the KZ chassis. Regarding accessories, we have a lot of novelties like the new magnesium alloys.»

high-quality offer. We always looked at this market trying to meet the needs of track owners that look for reliable and strong karts not affected by contacts in the most sensible parts and the customers of Rental tracks that wish to drive fun and fast karts. Our Rental kart had very positive feedback on both fronts. Our offer includes also one of the best electric karts on the market: the E-drenaline model and this year we also introduced the Mini version. In the past few months, we improved our commercial staff and customer care service for the Rental range, to provide a complete service to our clients, both in terms of sales and post-sale. Let’s not forget our sporting programmes connected to the Rental Karts that have marketing purposes and showcase our products to involve in specific events the customers selected in our partner tracks».

CRG is also one of the most active companies in the Rental Karting sector. «We have been investing in this sector for a long time now and we have a complete and

What message do you feel like sending to all the karting fans in such difficult times? “We need to put safety first at the moment and follow all the indications of the authorities. I believe we will get back to our usual lives, maybe we will even have better values and we will be able to give a better value to important things in life».

«WE ALWAYS LOOKED AT THE RENTAL MARKET TRYING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF TRACK OWNERS AND THE CUSTOMERS OF RENTAL TRACKS»

COMPANY / RACING TEAM

THE PLANS FOR

THE 2020 SEASON The start to season 2020 and the new decade for karting have been the chance to make

International Mini category, which is new to CRG Racing Team as the company is devoting a lot of energies to this category for young drivers. The Coronavirus emergency caused a sudden stop of the racing activity after 3 races that should have kicked off a path of technical preparation ahead of the FIA Karting races and allowed the team to find the best feeling among all departments. The present situation does not allow previsions on the time required to go back on track and, certainly, season 2020 will go through a revolution in its calendar, as will happen in the case of F1. The CRG lineup is still not definitive yet, considering the period of November and December needed to define the new company structure. In particular, the KZ team is still to be defined and a new driver for OK is still to be named. All lineups will be decided before the start to the European Championship. At the moment, CRG Racing Team has signed 15 drivers in the 4 International categories: Mini, OK-Junior, OK and KZ. A new structure is set to be created within CRG Racing Team to support the Iame X30 program and some International events alongside the external partners. Â

some strategic changes in CRGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Racing Team. At the end of 2019, Paolo De Conto announced his retirement from racing after an incredible career and Pedro Hiltbrand did not renew his collaboration with the team. This made us develop new strategies regarding drivers, while, in terms of staff, Arnaud Kozlinski left CRG and Marco Angeletti joined Glenn Keyaert at the lead of the team since January. The choices made are aimed to improve the marketing chances offered by the Racing Team regarding Racing chassis, but also to deliver better customer service and give a more effective general structure to all the competences present within the team. Mariano De Faveri will still be the head of data acquisition with the help of Francesco Parisio, while Jacopo Minelli will lead engine development for OKJunior and OK based on the technical material by Iame. Regarding Mini kart, Mariano De Faveri will be the technical manager, while engine preparation will be followed by MA of Simone Catenacci on the TM technical material. The collaboration with TM has been confirmed also for KZ. Regarding drivers, this is going to be a transition year. The biggest novelty of this season is the introduction of the team dedicated to the new

MINI KART A total of 6 drivers will contest Mini in 2020 for CRG Racing Team. After his debut at the

> Simone Bianco 4th at the WSK Super Master in Lonato <

> CRG headquarters on track house <

OK JUNIOR Four drivers have been confirmed for season 2020. The Dane Mickey Magnussen, who is the cousin of Haas F1 driver. He will contest his maiden full season after making the debut last year. Similarly, the Argentine Francisco Soldavini run a few races in 2019 and joined the official CRG Racing Team for the whole International season. The young Italian Francesco Marenghi (who was among the protagonists of the Italian Mini kart in 2019) and the Spaniard Eric Gene will make their debut in OK-Junio instead.

end of 2019, the Italian Samuele Leopardi took part in several technical tests on the newly homologated chassis and has been confirmed for his last season in Mini before moving on to Junior, as will be the case for his fellow-countryman Simone Bianco, who comes from the Iame X30 Championships. Christian Costoya joined the team from Spain: he is only 9 and signed a 2 year deal with CRG, like the young winner of Mini 2019 in Sweden Scott Lindblom. The Mini lineup will be completed by the Finn Nico Lahnalahti and the Pole Franciszek Lassota.

OK At the moment, 3 drivers make up the team’s lineup in OK, but they should become 4 when the FIA Karting Championships will begin. Following the positive debut with CRG at the Trofeo delle Industrie last year, the Spanish driver Civico Genis has been confirmed, while Rasmus Joutsimies joined the team from Finland after competing in OK Junior with CRG in 2017. The third driver in this category is the Russian Ksenia Phoenix. KZ Two drivers have been confirmed for KZ: the Swede Brandon Nilsson will compete in a complete KZ2 program, while the Italian Paolo Ippolito, will contest KZ.

> Glenn Keyaert <

COMPANY / THE CALENDAR

A SEASON REVOLUTIONIZED As all the sectors of International sports, including F1 and football, karting has to face the

Covid-19 emergency trying to evaluate all the options available to save the season, despite still there are no certainties on the time needed to end this sanitary emergency and all the restrictions imposed by the Governments of all over the globe. FIA is taking conservative actions on calendars and moved only the first races of the European Championship, despite it is now quite obvious that it will be necessary to rethink all the International Championships for season 2020. International karting is suffering the lack of a strong guide that can provide a vision for the future also in this emergency and the current

approach is conservative. At this point of the year it would be necessary to set up a round table on the various concrete actions that need to be taken to save the season and leave specific political interests aside, placing the needs of all involved people at the centre of the discussion. It would be worth a good thought on the sense of traveling around Europe for 6 races of the European Championship for OK and KZ and consider combining the events, optimizing the costs for teams and personnel. Another option could be to try a 3-days race format should too many events need to be compressed in a short period of time. Some support races and championships would naturally be cut by the programs of the teams, but it would be important that the International Federation took some

actions to avoid a too busy schedule in the second part of the season. The World Championship of OK and OK Junior in Brazil is a different story. Considering that the 90% of teams is based in Europe, due to the economic crisis that the sector will have to face, it would probably make sense to postpone such an expensive exit to 2021 as this round requires a transfer by boat of all the equipment and a long exit for personnel. Moreover, the health situation of the country will have to be taken into consideration to avoid unnecessary risks for drivers and staff. One thing is certain: we will have to wait until the end of May to make the point and, by then, FIA should be ready with reasonable and brave solutions at hand. The National championships around the world could be reorganized as well.

THROWBACK: SEASON 2019 Cik-Fia World Championship Cik-Fia European Championship 24th Winter Cup 24 Hours of Italy Rental World Contest 15

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (5-8 SEPTEMBER)

ALAHARMA THE CRG DRIVERS VERY COMPETITIVE BUT UNLUCKY AT THE OK AND OKJ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The wet asphalt betrayed Bortoleto at the start of the OK final (4th in the starting grid). Vieira Galli was immediately out for a contact as well, whilst a double penalty in the heats deprived Hiltbrand of the qualification for the final, so as for Gallo and Hakalehto in OKJ. It was a bitter end for CRG and its drivers at the FIA Karting World Championship for the OK and OK Junior classes in Finland, on the Mika Salo Circuit in Alahärmä, especially in the OK final, where Gabriel Bortoleto had to retire at the start when he could have fought for the podium. The changeable weather, with cold and rain, made the whole weekend very hard to manage

> Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ALAHARMA

> Olin Vieira Galli, OK <

THE INTERVIEWS GABRIEL BORTOLETO (OK): «I am very disappointed about the end of our race, as we had the potential to fight against the best drivers for a place on the podium, as we proved during the whole weekend, both on wet and dry track. The team made an outstanding work and the couple CRG-Iame proved to be extremely competitive». OLIN VIEIRA GALLI (OK): «It’s been an incredible experience and I am very happy with my performances and the great support received both by the CRG Racing Team and by Iame for this important meeting. We had an excellent pace and, without the accident, we could have finished in the first places. It’s been an amazing season for me and for the CRG colours and this experience in the World Championship with the strongest drivers of international karting taught me a lot».

> Paolo Gallo, OKJ <

> Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

> Felipe Massa <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ALAHARMA CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OK

Alaharma (FIN). 5-8 September 2019. Air: 19ยบC, Track: Drying

CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OKJ

Alaharma (FIN). 5-8 September 2019. Air: 19ยบC, Track: Drying

for technicians and drivers, frustrating most of the work done in the pre-race tests. The wet asphalt betrayed Gabriel Bortoleto at the start of the final, after being amongst the major protagonists of the Finnish event, with excellent performances in the qualifying heats that made him achieve the 4th place out of 87 drivers in the starting grid. He sprang very well at the start, but during the first lap Bortoleto went out of a few centimetres of the dry line with the wheels of his kart and, unfortunately, he crashed on the barriers. The stop was inevitable and it frustrated the possibility to fight for a good result, that both driver and team deserved. Bad luck for the other finalist of the CRG official team as well, Olin Vieira Galli. He was also very fast in the practices and heats, where he achieved two victories. At the second lap of the final, Galli had to stop for a race contact. A double penalty in the heats for the front fairing incorrect position, due to some contacts on slippery asphalt, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow Pedro Hiltbrand to qualify for the final, after being very fast during the whole Finnish weekend. Hard race for the young OK Junior drivers as well, Paolo Gallo and Aatu Hakalehto. Despite showing both a good speed in several stages of the event, some race contacts and penalties received for the front fairing didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow them to qualify for the final. Full results on www.cikfia.com

> Aatu Hakalehto, OKJ <

> Olin Vieira Galli, OK <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (19-22 SEPTEMBER)

LONATO CRG ALSO PROTAGONISTS IN THE KZ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND SUPER CUP KZ2 AT LONATO

> Simone Cunati, KZ2 <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPI ONSHIP LONATO

The CRG racing team proved themselves very competitive in both categories at the South Garda Karting circuit in Lonato. The best results coming from Paolo De Conto and Simone Cunati in the KZ and KZ2 categories respectively.

The FIA Karting World Championship came to an end in Lonato del Garda (Brescia, Italy), and showed to be very popular with both the fans and drivers who came in multitudes to the iconic race track, where the CRG racing team took a main role in both racing categories KZ and KZ2. The competition, as usual at the highest level, was particularly tough starting from the time trials all the way through to the qualifying heats. A record number of 47 entrants in the KZ category and a whopping 122 entrants in KZ2, meant exceptionally hard fought championships throughout the weekend. KZ â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Paolo De Conto among the fastest In the KZ category the 2-times world champion Paolo De Conto proved himself as one of the fastest (matching the lap times of the championship winning driver), and displayed his driving class as well as the quality of his CRG equipment. De Conto was the author of a spectacular recovery drive, in which he managed to make up a total of 11 positions, coming all the way from 16th to finish 5th, just outside the podium. Good performance also from the other CRG world champion in the field, Pedro Hiltbrand, who was penalized after the race for a loose front bumper infringement due to a race contact, and ultimately finishing in P28. The other CRG drivers qualifying for the finale were Austin Garrison (P23) and Jan Pokos (P29), with the latter also suffering a loose front bumper penalty. Not qualified for the finale instead were Adam Glear and James Myers.

> Paolo De Conto, KZ <

KZ2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Excellent race by Simone Cunati It was the newly crowned Italian KZ2 champion Simone Cunati > James Myers (33) & Jan Pokos (34), KZ <

> Gabriel Bortoleto, KZ2 <

> Austin Garrison, KZ <

> Paolo Ippolito, KZ2 <

> Fotis Sotiropoulos, KZ2 <

> Zac Zamprogno, KZ2 <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LONATO CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP KZ

Lonato (ITA). 19-22 September 2019. Air: 19ยบC, Track: Dry

CIK-FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP KZ2

Lonato (ITA). 19-22 September 2019. Air: 19ยบC, Track: Dry

THE INTERVIEW PAOLO DE CONTO (KZ): «I was gunning for the outright victory here in Lonato, shooting for my third world championship title. However, due to inconvenient set-up mishaps I was not able to distract the full potential of the equipment in the time trial and qualifying heats, though the team and I tried various solutions to the problems. In the finale I gave it my all and finished in 5th position which does not satisfy me. Now I look forward to relax!».

> Gerard Cebrian, KZ2 <

SIMONE CUNATI (KZ2): «It was an overall positive weekend in which the always worked well as team. I posted the fastest time of my time trial group, but unfortunately the track conditions of my particular series was unfavorable due to the setting sun, which in turn caused for slower lap times overall. That caused me to always having to start from a mid-grid position, but I was able to extract the maximum from my equipment and thus was able to recover nicely in all of my qualifying heats. In the finale I lost positions right at the start and was not able to recover from that. In summary I can say that the year went very positive for us as I was able to conquer the Italian title and fought for the European championship until the final race. Here, at the Super Cup in Lonato I was able to finish 6th out of 122 drivers, so I can say that I am truly happy with how we worked as a unit with the Modena Kart Team».

racing with the Modena Kart Team, who showed to the world why he is worthy of that title by proving himself to be among the fastest throughout the weekend. He posted the fastest time trial effort of his group and finished every qualifying race in the top 5 positions, thus giving him a good starting position for the grand finale on Sunday. Finishing in P6 he proved that he is one of the best in the world in the KZ2 field. Also very competitive was the Italian hopeful Paolo Ippolito finishing in 10th position just ahead of fellow CRG racer Andrea Dalè. The other two finalists in the KZ2 category for CRG were Gerard Cebrian (P23) and Benjamin Tornqvist (P25). Among the CRG drivers who didn’t make it to the finale were Marco Valenti, Fotis Sotiropoulos, Noel Leon, Francisco Sagrera, Zac Zamprogno and Gabriel Bortoleto. The later making his shifter debut and placing his mark on the category by setting lap times equal to the winner.

> Simone Cunati, KZ2 <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (18-21 APRIL)

ANGERVILLE GREAT PERFORMANCE FOR CRG AT THE OPENER OF THE EUROPEAN OK AND OKJ

CRG drivers have been among the protagonists in Angerville (France) at the opener of the FIA Karting European Championship. Hiltbrand shining in OKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s qualifying and heats, Bortoleto sixth in the Final. Trulli among the best of qualifying in OK-Junior. CRG drivers put in a great performance at the circuit of Angerville in France during the opening meeting of the European OK and

OK-Junior Championship. The drivers of the Italian outfit have been very fast in the first event of the FIA Karting season. The final outcome could have been better compared to what highlighted by the classifications, especially for Pedro Hiltbrand, who dominated OK since qualifying practice when he was the quickest of the 66 drivers partaking in the race with the best time

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROP EAN CHAMPIONSHIP ANGERVILLE

THE COMMENTS FROM THE PROTAGONISTS PEDRO HILTBRAND: «Despite the result not matching up to expectations after qualifying, the outcome of the weekend in Angerville is very positive: the chassis has been perfect and we are also very happy with the work done on the engine since the beginning of the season. I believe we can look forward and be positive».

> Pedro Hiltbrand, OK <

GABRIEL BORTOLETO: «The team did a great job for the whole weekend and we had a very good speed. Our chassis-engine package is very competitive and we are close to constantly fight for the podium». > Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

> Enzo Trulli, OKJ <

> Gabriel Bortoleto & Giancarlo Tinini <

of 48.795s. The excellent competitiveness of Hiltbrand on the CRG chassis continued also in the heats as the Spanish driver managed to claim three wins and a positive P2. Unfortunately, when heading toward another win in the third heat, Hiltbrand had to retire due to the failure of the ignition system. This prevented him from securing a front row start in the Final. This was a real shame because the initial stages of the race have been quite problematic for Hiltbrand, who was slowed down by some racing contacts that earned him also a 5s time penalty due to the misplaced front fairing. This made him eventually end 17th in the classification. The overall best result for CRG drivers in Angerville was claimed by the young Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, who was sixth in the Final after displaying a great pace throughout the weekend. He was fifth in Series-2 qualifying and ninth after heats. The speed shown by Bortoleto has been very good which is quite promising ahead of the next rounds of the European Championship.

> Ayrton Fontecha, OK <

> Lucas David Pons, OKJ <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP ANGERVILLE CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OK

Angerville (FRA). 18-21 April 2019. Air: 23ยบC, Track: Dry.

CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OKJ

Angerville (FRA). 18-21 April 2019. Air: 23ยบC, Track: Dry.

> Ayrton Fontecha, OK < > Kas Haverkort OK <

A 5s time penalty affected the performance of Kas Haverkort and Ayton Fontecha in OK. In particular, Haverkort has always been among the quickest for team CRG Keijzer Racing, as he was fourth in Series-2 qualifying and seventh after heats, but a 5s time penalty eventually relegated him to P15 after crossing the finish line in eighth position. Fontecha also had a positive weekend, but he was pushed down to P22 by a penalty. Category OK-Junior had 81 drivers at the start and Enzo Trulli has been particularly competitive among them. Trulli came to the fore in qualifying and posted P3 being just 0.044s shy of the best time of Series-3. He kept his momentum claiming great results in 3 of the 5 heats, but the Italian had to retire early into the Final. Lucas Pons did not manage to go through the qualifying stages in OKJ instead.

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (2-5 MAY)

WACKERSDORF CRG WITH CUNATI ON WACKERSDORFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PODIUM AT THE KZ2 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Simone Cunati conquers the 2nd place in Wackersdorf with the CRG

Modena Kart team and becomes a candidate for the KZ2 European Championship title. In KZ Hiltbrand is 11th for a penalty and De Conto 13th. The first round of the FIA Karting European Championship for the shifter classes KZ and KZ2 in Wackersdorf, Germany, saw the CRG colours on the podium with Simone Cunati, with the Modena Kart team, fantastic protagonist of the KZ2 category where he achieved an excellent second place. The weekend in Germany was quite troubled for an unexpected rain and cold weather in

> Paolo De Conto, KZ <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP WACKERSDORF

> Gerard Cebrian Ariza, KZ2 <

> Valerio Landi, Melchor Barrera (Faluga) & Mari

spring, and the CRG Racing Team drivers faced several problems precisely for the bad weather on a number of occasions, especially on Saturday during the qualifying heats under a heavy rain. The overall balance for the CRG colours was nonetheless positive. In KZ the 2 times World Champion Paolo De Conto (CRG-TM) couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t > Simone Cunati, KZ2 <

perform at his usual level during qualifying practice and heats because of some technical problems, but during the Final he was making an excellent race before a contact between Stan Pex and his teammate Hiltbrand make him lose several positions. A better weekend for Pedro Hiltbrand, > Simone Cunati, KZ2 <

ano De Faveri <

> Paolo De Conto & Pedro Hiltbrand <

racing with Iame engines, that showed a great speed during all the phases of the race, even if a penalty for a contact in the Final threw him out of the top ten. In KZ2 the second place achieved by Simone Cunati with Modena Kart was incredible, very fast since the qualifying

practice with the best time in Series 2 and then 4th overall after the heats. In the Final, Cunati was still very competitive fighting for the victory until the finishing line, where he was at only 62 thousandths from the winner Skaras. In the championship standing, Cunati is in second place with 27 points, at only 7 points from Skaras.

> Marco Valenti, KZ2 <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP WACKERSDORF CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP KZ

Wackersdorf (DEU). 2-5 May 2019. Air: 7ยบC, Track: Dry.

CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP KZ2

Wackersdorf (DEU). 2-5 May 2019. Air: 8ยบC, Track: Dry.

THE COMMENTS FROM THE PROTAGONISTS SIMONE CUNATI (KZ2): «It’s been a perfect weekend: excellent team work (Modena Kart), the performance of our Road Rebel chassis and the TM engines by Galiffa. Now we go to Sarno with the 2nd place in the championship and all the potential to fight for the title». PEDRO HILTBRAND (KZ): «The contact I received a penalty for was a race episode: it’s unthinkable that such an action that penalized my teammate was intentional. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find stewards with instruments and experience to analyse what really happens on track and why. For what concerns our technical balance, instead, we are very satisfied as we had an excellent pace and great speed. Our Road Rebel chassis confirmed to be the top and also our Iame engine proved to have a high potential, if we consider that we are in the first development phases». PAOLO DE CONTO (KZ): «We had some problems to find the performance during this weekend. But we collected a lot of data and we have all the instruments to analyse and try to understand quickly what didn’t allow us to be fast. Moreover, the changeable weather didn’t help, but we have clear in our minds what didn’t work and we’ll be back more competitive in Sarno, even if it will be difficult to fight for the title, after the race contact that didn’t let me finish in top ten».

> Pedro Hiltbrand, KZ <

Among the CRG drivers, Benjamin Tornqvist of CRG Holland was particularly unlucky, 6th in the overall after the heats but forced to retire in the formation lap of the Final for a technical problem. It should be pointed out the performance of the Spanish driver Gerard Cebrian, who ended with a positive 12th place, so as Max Tubben (CRG Holland) 15th. Andrea Dalè made an excellent recovery from the bottom of the grid until finishing 16th, ahead of Jean Luyet that also made a nice recovery. Filippo Berto in the end was 24th for a penalty. Francisco Javier Sagrera, Kas Haverkort (CRG Keijzer Racing) and Marco Valenti couldn’t qualify for the final for a handful of points.

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (16-19 MAY)

GENK UNLUCKY RACE FOR CRG IN BELGIUM AT THE OK AND OKJ EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

On the Genk circuit, Hiltbrand is forced to retire

for a banal technical problem, after starting from the pole position in the Final. Bortoleto 13th after a beautiful recovery. In OK-Junior Pons ends in 19th place. At the second round of the OK and OK-Junior European Championship, on the Genk circuit in Belgium, the opportunity of making a good result in the OK class faded just one step away from the podium, that Pedro Hiltbrand and the Racing Team had been building with a perfect weekend. Unfortunately, a few laps before the end of the Final, Pedro Hiltbrand had to retire unexpectedly, for a banal technical problem to the spark plug. Really a pity, as the CRG Spanish driver could not fight for the podium after being on top during all the heats, until conquering the pole position for the Final. The race week in Belgium was also conditioned by a changeable weather. Among the drivers of the CRG Racing Team, even the young Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto had some bad luck in the OK class, as he had to make a great

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP GENK

THE COMMENTS FROM THE PROTAGONISTS PEDRO HILTBRAND (OK): «We are professionals so we have to analyse the weekend in a rational way, despite the bad luck that stopped us in the Final. Our balance is for sure positive, from the technical point of view: the chassis proved to be competitive under all track conditions and we also improved a lot for what concerns the engines. Podium and results will arrive soon».

> Pedro Hiltbrand, OK <

> Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

> Ayrton Fontecha, OK <

> Enzo Trulli, OKJ <

> Lucas David Pons Preda, OKJ <

> Kas Haverkort, OK <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP GENK CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OK

Genk (BEL). 16-19 May 2019. Air: 22ยบC, Track: Dry.

CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OKJ

Genk (BEL). 16-19 May 2019. Air: 22ยบC, Track: Dry.

> Gabriel Bortoleto (111) & Pedro Hiltbrand (103), OK < > Lucas David Pons Preda, OKJ <

recovery after retiring in one of the heats. In the end, Bortoleto managed to regain 11 positions until conquering a good 13th place. Instead, just for one point, the Spanish Ayrton Fontecha missed the qualification for the Final, as well as the Dutch Kas Haverkort, with the CRG Keijzer Racing, having to start from the bottom of the grid in all the heats, after receiving a penalty in the qualifying practice. In OK-Junior, the Spanish Lucas Pons made a good race, 19th in the Final after recovering eight positions. Two stops in the heats compromised, instead, Enzo Trulliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s qualification for the Final, after reaching a positive and promising 8th place in the qualifying practice.

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (30 MAY-2 JUNE)

KRISTIANSTAD CRG IN EVIDENCE WITH HILTBRAND AND BORTOLETO IN OK IN SWEDEN

Pedro Hiltbrand one of the leaders in the OK class, ending in

top ten together with Gabriel Bortoleto at the third round of the European Championship in Kristianstad. Good performance for Ayrton Fontecha as well. In OKJ bad luck for Enzo Trulli and Lucas Pons, out of the final for a few points. It was a hard-fought weekend, difficult and thrilling at the same time for the drivers of the CRG Racing Team at the FIA Karting European Championship for the OK and OK-Junior categories in Kristianstad, Sweden. Pedro Hiltbrand was one of the protagonists of this third round in the OK class, on CRG-Iame, starting with the 4th time in his qualifying practice group, then always at the forefront in the heats, including one victory,

> Enzo Trulli, OKJ <

> Gabriel Bortoleto (111) & Pedro Hiltbrand (103), OK <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP KRISTIANSTAD

> Pedro Hiltbrand, OK <

> Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

> Lucas David Pons Preda, OKJ <

and in the Final as well, where his determined drive brought to our memories the success achieved in KZ2 in Kristianstad in 2016, when he won the CIK-FIA International Super Cup. In the OK Final, from the 5th place on the starting grid, Hiltbrand managed to get first and lead the race in the first laps, until a drop in the power forced him to give in positions. In the end, Hiltbrand fought to finish in the top ten, with a respectable 9th place ahead of the his team mate Gabriel Bortoleto, protagonist himself of a good performance achieving the 10th place after an excellent recovery of 9 positions, after starting from the 19th place in the grid. Good performance for Ayrton Fontecha as well, unlucky for an accident at the start of one of the heats, but he recovered very well until finishing 17th after the heats. In the Final, the CRG Spanish driver lost some positions during the

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP KRISTIANSTAD CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OK

Kristianstad (SWE). 30 May-2 June 2019. Air: 22ยบC, Track: Dry.

CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OKJ

Kristianstad (SWE). 30 May-2 June 2019. Air: 22ยบC, Track: Dry.

> Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

race fight, ending 24th but confirming a great competitiveness for the whole weekend.

THE COMMENTS FROM THE PROTAGONISTS PEDRO HILTBRAND (OK): «Once again we proved to have the speed and pace of the best drivers. In the qualifying practice and heats we made an excellent work, but unfortunately in the Final something didn’t work as we expected. We started well, but after a couple of laps the feeing wasn’t good and I dirtied the tyres in the scuffle, so I lost some positions, besides the possibility to fight for the podium. We have to analyse well the data in order to understand exactly what didn’t work, in any case the balance of the job done this weekend is still positive».

In OK-Junior the two CRG drivers, Enzo Trulli and Lucas Pons, proved to be competitive in different qualification stages, but unfortunately didn’t manage to qualify for the final for some race problems during the heats, placing out of the Final starting grid for just few points.

GABRIEL BORTOLETO (OK): «I lost the last heat on Saturday so I had to start from the back in the Final, but I recovered well and our pace was good, from the beginning until the end. I managed to end in the top ten and the weekend balance is for sure positive, even if we got less then we deserved as a team». > Ayrton Fontecha & Pedro Hiltbrand <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (12-16 JUNE)

SARNO A HARD WEEKEND FOR CRG AT THE LAST ROUND OF THE KZ-KZ2 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN SARNO

De Conto didn’t start in the KZ final round, Hiltbrand ended in

8th place after a hard-fought race. In KZ2, Tornqvist ended in top ten, whilst Cunati couldn’t repeat the nice performance of Wackersdorf for several unlucky events. The long final weekend of the FIA Karting European Championship for the KZ and KZ2 classes on the Naples International Circuit in Sarno (Salerno, Italy) didn’t start in the best way for the CRG colours. The two-times World Champion Paolo De Conto, after several technical misunderstandings with his engine tuner (TM) during the free practices, preferred not to race. It was a driver’s personal choice, that CRG supported, after the failure of trust and collaboration that always made them winning partners. In this context, it should be pointed out that this decision came from individual factors between the driver and the track technician, and it doesn’t undermine the collaboration between CRG and TM, both regarding sporting and commercial issues. With De Conto out, only Pedro Hiltbrand represented the CRG colours in KZ, but also for the Spanish driver it wasn’t a lucky weekend. Out of the running for the title after the unlucky first round in Wackersdorf, the team decided to collect data in view of the World Championship scheduled in Lonato, Italy, on September 22nd, penalizing the performance. Hiltbrand ended the Final in 8th place after a hard-fought race. Lorenzo Camplese won the race, whilst the Championship title went to Jorrit Pex, ahead of one point, after many

> Pedro Hiltbrand, KZ <

> Filippo Berto, KZ2 <

> Max Tubben, KZ2 <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SARNO CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP KZ

Sarno (ITA). 12-16 June 2019. Air: 30ยบC, Track: Dry

CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP KZ2

Sarno (ITA). 12-16 June 2019. Air: 30ยบC, Track: Dry

> Luigi Di Lorenzo, KZ2 <

unexpected events that kept changing the standing. Bad luck in KZ2 as well, where Simone Cunati, with Modena Kart team, was one of the candidates for the title after the second place in Wackersdorf. But in the qualifying practice, the Italian driver couldn’t make a good performance after the positive timings of the free practices, and this influenced his results in the heats. Cunati managed to qualify for the Final, but a contact with Natalia Balbo slowed him down while he was recovering places. However, at the end of the race, he got a penalty for an infraction in the pre-grid and he was excluded from the race. In KZ2 the best CRG driver was the Swedish Benjamin Tornqvist with CRG Holland, in 10th place. Jean Luyet ended 12th, then: Francisco Sagrera P16, Max Tubben P19, Noel Leon P28, whilst Kas Haverkort with CRG Keijzer had to retire.

> Jean Luyet, KZ2 <

Marco Valenti couldn’t continue the race for an accident in the heats, whilst Filippo Berto and Fotios Sotiropoulos didn’t qualify for the Final. Emilien Denner won the race in Sarno and the Championship title went to Emil Skaras. Full results on www.cikfia.com

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (18-21 JULY)

LE MANS POSITIVE BALANCE FOR CRG IN LE MANS AT THE LAST ROUND OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

In OK Haverkort conquers the 6th place after a long fight

Despite some episodes that compromised the final result, the last meeting of the OK and OK Junior FIA Karting Championship in le Mans, France, ended in a positive way for CRG.

for the podium. Hiltbrand recovered many positions after some problems in the qualifying stages, whilst Bortoleto had to stop for an accident in the final.

The best performance for the CRG colours is the

one of the Dutch Kas Haverkort with the CRG Keijzer Racing team, 6th in the final after a hard-fought race, taking even the lead in the first laps and fighting for the podium, until a contact compromised his race.

retire at the beginning of the final for a contact, after being very fast during all practices and heats. For just one penalty, Ayrton Fontecha missed the qualification for the final, after an accident in the last heat. In any case, the missed qualification for the final doesn’t diminish Fontecha’s good performance and the satisfaction of being fast for the whole weekend. In OK-Junior, Lucas Pons couldn’t qualify, despite several good results, and as a contributing factor a retirement in one heat.

Hard weekend for Pedro Hiltbrand, whose 6th time in the qualifying practice was cancelled for an error in stamping one tyre, so he had to recover in the heats starting always from the last position, but constantly showing a great pace in all the conditions. The results’ regularity allowed the CRG Spanish driver to recover positions until achieving the qualification for the final, where he ended 15th after recovering other 10 places.

The victory in the two finalswent to Gabriele Minì in OK and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in OK-Junior. The titles of the European Championships were achieved by Lorenzo Travisanutto in OK and Marcus Amand in OK-Junior. Full results on www.cikfia.com

Bad luck for Gabriel Bortoleto instead, forced to

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP LE MANS CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OK

Le Mans (FRA). 18-21 July 2019. Air: 27ยบC, Track: Dry

CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OKJ

Le Mans (FRA). 18-21 July 2019. Air: 27ยบC, Track: Dry

> Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

> Lucas David Pons Preda, OKJ <

> Kas Haverkort, OK <

> Ayrton Fontecha, OK <

> Pedro Hiltbrand, OK <

RACING TEAM / CIK-FIA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS AFTER 2 OF 2 ROUND. KZ P. Nr. Driver

WACKERSDORF (DEU) QH F

1 69 Pex, Jorrit 2 15 Camplese, Lorenzo 3 44 Abbasse, Anthony 4 45 Lammers, Bas 5 74 Vigano, Matteo 6 9 Irlando, Alessandro 7 42 Puhakka, Simo 8 3 Kremers, Marijn 9 7 Pex, Stan 10 51 Ardigo, Marco 11 6 Renaudin, Adrien 12 17 Iglesias, Jeremy 13 1 Federer, Fabian 14 36 Celenta, Francesco 15 4 Hiltbrand, Pedro 16 48 Dreezen, Rick 17 31 Milell, Noah 18 2 De Conto, Paolo 19 12 Torsellini, Mirko 20 8 Kuovi, Jan 21 11 Soguel, Yohan

10 11 6 2 9 25 2 13 8 20 7 16 5 9 3 8 0 6 4 10 1 5 0 4 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0

SARNO (ITA) QH F

5 16 8 25 7 0 6 20 4 0 9 0 10 4 0 11 0 13 3 2 2 10 0 7 0 3 0 9 0 8 0 6 0 5 - - 1 1 - - - -

TOT

42 41 41 41 32 32 28 22 19 19 18 11 10 9 8 6 5 3 3 0 0

AFTER 2 OF 2 ROUND. KZ2 P. Nr. Driver

WACKERSDORF (DEU) QH F

1 316 Skaras, Emil 2 302 Denner, Emilien 3 344 Besancenez, Paolo 4 304 Palomba, Giuseppe 5 303 Longhi, Riccardo 6 309 Vidales Ajenjo, David 7 330 Cunati, Simone 8 319 Nomblot, Jean 9 301 Pollini, Giacomo 10 326 Van Walstijn, Senna 11 321 Hall, Philip 12 313 Tornqvist Persson, Benjamin 13 307 Piccini, Alessio 14 308 Schmitz, Alexander 15 317 Van Leeuwen, Martijn 16 312 Dahlberg, Alexander 17 310 Luyet, Jean 18 318 Cebrian Ariza, Gerard 19 333 Fusco, Giuseppe 20 311 Paul, Maximilian 21 305 Loubere, Pierre 22 351 Marseglia, Leonardo 23 332 Tubben, Max

SARNO (ITA) QH F

9 25 4 0 0 11 8 8 0 16 2 13 7 20 0 0 0 10 1 7 6 9 5 0 0 6 10 0 0 - 3 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 1

2 8 6 25 4 20 8 11 5 13 10 7 0 DSQ 7 16 3 10 9 0 0 - 1 6 0 5 0 0 0 9 0 - 0 4 - - 0 3 0 - 0 1 0 2 0 0

24 352 Sagrera Pont, Francisco Javier 0 - 25 342 Dale, Andrea 0 0 26 306 Petit, Hubert 0 0 27 360 Zanchi, Matteo 0 0

0 0 - - 0 0 - -

TOT

44 35 35 35 34 32 27 23 23 17 15 12 11 10 9 8 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0

AFTER 4 OF 4 ROUND. OK P. Nr. Driver

ANGERVILLE (FRA) GENK (BEL) KRISTIANSTAD (SWE) LE MANS (FRA) QH F QH F QH F QH F TOT

1 110 Travisanutto, Lorenzo 0 (9) 2 133 Mini’, Gabriele 8 16 3 104 Patterson, Dexter 10 25 4 113 Barnard, Taylor 6 13 5 120 Vant’hoff, Dilano 7 11 6 125 Beganovic, Dino 3 0 7 105 Valtanen, Juho 9 20 8 103 Hiltbrand, Pedro 5 0 9 112 Coluccio, Luigi 0 0 10 135 Pirttilahti, Nikolas 0 - 11 109 Turney, Joseph 0 0 12 169 Porter, Morgan 0 - 13 111 Bortoleto, Gabriel 2 10 14 116 Haverkort, Kas 4 1 15 134 Pauwels, Kobe 0 0 16 128 Irlando, Alessandro 0 8 17 102 Thompson, Harry 0 0 18 123 Civico Espona, Genis 0 7 19 107 Salonen, Matias 0 5 20 142 Dufek, Joshua 0 2 21 118 Morgatto, Matheus 0 6 22 127 Smal, Kirill 0 0 23 101 Janker, Hannes 0 - 24 131 Montoya, Sebastian 0 0 25 122 Askey, Kai 0 0 26 130 Milell, Noah 0 3 27 119 Ögaard, Sebastian 1 4

9 25 0 (11) (3) 20 0 - 6 6 5 16 0 - 10 0 2 2 7 10 - - 8 13 0 4 0 - 0 - 4 8 0 5 1 9 0 - 0 7 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 3 0 0

9 25 8 20 10 13 4 10 0 - (1) 0 0 0 6 7 5 16 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 6 - - 0 1 0 0 7 2 0 0 3 8 0 5 0 4 2 0 0 9 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0

9 20 7 25 4 0 0 16 0 8 5 5 0 - 0 1 3 0 0 11 1 13 0 3 0 0 6 10 10 9 0 0 0 4 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 2 6 0 7 0 0 0 0

97 84 82 49 38 34 29 29 28 28 25 24 22 21 20 20 18 17 16 14 10 10 9 8 7 6 5

AFTER 4 OF 4 ROUND. OK-JUNIOR P. Nr. Driver

ANGERVILLE (FRA) GENK (BEL) KRISTIANSTAD (SWE) LE MANS (FRA) QH F QH F QH F QH F TOT

1 207 Amand, Marcus 3 (8) 2 217 Antonelli, Andrea Kimi 0 0 3 201 Ten Brinke, Thomas 5 20 4 249 Taponen, Tuukka 10 25 5 204 Bedrin, Nikita 0 (2) 6 210 Day, Jamie 0 16 7 215 Dunne, Alexander 0 9 8 247 Ugochukwu, Ugo 7 11 9 213 Wharton, James 9 0 10 231 Siksnelis, Kajus 0 6 11 223 Kucharczyk, Tymoteusz 8 10 12 221 Spina, Alfio Andrea 0 - 13 248 Stenshorne, Martinius Kleve 0 - 14 225 Lindblad, Arvid 0 0 15 224 De Haan, Robert 0 0 16 226 Victorsson, Philip 0 - 17 208 Marti Sobrepera, Josep Maria 1 13 18 242 Capietto, Maceo 2 0 19 209 Zanfari, Suleiman - - 20 245 Siverholm, William 0 0 21 237 Soldatov, Maksim 0 0 22 214 Scionti, Enzo 0 - 23 216 Briz Llull, Daniel 0 7 24 203 Chaves Camara, Rafael 0 1 25 283 Zilisch, Connor 0 - 26 202 Laursen, Conrad 6 0 27 206 Van Hoepen, Laurens 0 0

7 25 5 20 0 10 8 11 8 16 0 9 0 0 10 4 10 11 9 13 0 - 4 25 9 20 0 5 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 7 0 0 6 16 1 0 2 6 0 0 1 0 0 - 0 - 3 8 0 3 5 13 0 1 - - 7 10 0 2 0 0 4 9 0 - 0 7 0 8 0 4 0 0 0 5 0 - 6 6 0 - 0 3 0 - 0 1 0 0 0 - - - 0 0 0 0 0 - DSQ DSQ

(3) 10 9 25 0 - 1 1 0 8 0 4 0 0 4 16 7 11 0 - 0 0 5 20 10 13 0 9 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 - 6 3 0 7 0 - 0 0 2 6 8 2 0 0 0 5

70 63 58 51 51 49 43 38 34 28 27 26 23 23 19 17 16 15 15 13 12 12 10 10 10 6 5

RACING TEAM / 24ª WINTER CUP 14-17 FEBRUARY

LONATO PODIUM FOR PAOLO DE CONTO IN KZ2 AT THE 24TH WINTER CUP

In Lonato’s the crowded and competitive Winter Cup, Paolo De Conto’s second place

> Paolo De Conto, KZ2 <

stands out once again in KZ2. Good results also for Pedro Hiltbrand and Gabriel Bortoleto in the OK and Enzo Trulli in the OK Junior. First meeting of the year for the CRG Racing Team in Lonato, at the 24th Winter Cup, in the traditional event the opens the season and that had an excellent number of participants, with 310 drivers coming from 43 countries. An excellent testing ground in view of the FIA Karting international activity. In KZ2 it came immediately an excellent result with Paolo De Conto, protagonist of the event since the qualifying heats, then in the Super Heat where he gained the pole position for the hard-fought Final starting grid. In the final race, De Conto confirmed the winning couple CRG Road Rebel – TM, conquering the 2nd place and the first podium of the season. In the final, also Andrea Dalè with the Nuova 3M team defended the CRG colours, P15, as well as Jean Luyet with the DEL Motorsport team in P24. In the OK class, Pedro Hiltbrand made an excellent performance, improving during all the weekend until reaching the 6th place, so as Gabriel Bortoleto, that ended in top ten. For both of them the goal was mainly working on the engine, and the data collected, as well as the performances, are very promising.

> Pedro Hiltbrand, OK <

> Enzo Trulli, OKJ <

THE COMMENTS FROM THE PROTAGONISTS PAOLO DE CONTO (KZ2): «Starting the season with a podium is positive. The new homologated TM engine was immediately competitive, so as our Road Rebel chassis that confirmed to be the best, always efficient with few set up adjustments. About the race, after the first laps we planned to improve more and more, but the “slow” that neutralized the race after 10 laps stopped a bit our action while we were the fastest on track. In any case, we are happy with work done and with the final result».

> Gabriel Bortoleto, OK <

PEDRO HILTBRAND (OK): «Thanks to the good weather for all the race week, we could collect a lot of data and the first feedback from the track about the potential of our technical package chassisengine is positive. Before the start of the FIA Championships, we still have some races to prepare, that we’ll do to continue our tests and introduce some evolutions that are in our plans». > Paolo De Conto, KZ2 < > Pedro Hiltbrand, Gabriel Bortoleto & Paolo De Conto <

In the OK Junior, Enzo Trulli made a positive final, whilst Gregorio Bertocco was more unlucky, as he couldn’t qualify for several contacts during the heats. For the some accidents during the heats, also Filippo Berto and Marco Valenti missed the qualification in KZ2, so as Ayrton Fontecha in the OK. A selection of CRG drivers will be back on the track next weekend for the WSK Super Master Series, always in Lonato.

RACING TEAM / 24ª WINTER CUP LONATO 24ª WINTER CUP KZ2

24ª WINTER CUP OK

South Garda karting (ITA). 14-17 February 2019. Air: 15ºC, Track: Dry.

24ª WINTER CUP OKJ

South Garda karting (ITA). 14-17 February 2019. Air: 15ºC, Track: Dry.

24ª WINTER CUP MINI

South Garda karting (ITA). 14-17 February 2019. Air: 15ºC, Track: Dry.

RENTAL KART / 24 HOURS OF ITALY

ADRIA SPAIN, GERMANY AND FRANCE SHARE THE PODIUM OF THE 24 HOURS

The Spanish team CH-T Gold of Piñeiro, Alcaraz, Garcia and Risitano won a spectacular

edition of the 24 Hours Karting of Italy with 40 teams coming from all over the world. In the Silver category the Italian team Bolza Corse won the race. The 2nd edition of the 24 Hours Karting of Italy ended with emotions and a great show, thanks to the record number of 40 teams and over 250 drivers representing 15 different countries. The drivers parade took place on the finishing straight, after the qualifying practice, giving an incredible view and the same images were broadcasted worldwide, thanks to the live streaming, that followed the whole race until the prizegiving ceremony, on CRG’s web and social channels. Concerning the organization, the event was a great success, favoured by the location of the Adria circuit, unique in the world for its facilities, as masonry boxes, hotel rooms for the teams and several added values, as the incredible lighting system and the video control on track. From the sporting point of view, more than 10 teams were able to fight for the podium in both categories (Pro and Silver) and in the end, strategies made the difference as well as the ability in managing the kart from the technical point of view. The race was spectacular, thanks to the regulation that left the strategies free and, under the chequered flag, the gap between the winner, the Spanish team CH-T Gold of Piñeiro, Alcaraz, Garcia and Risitano, and the German team Schnitzelalm Racing of Kieslich, Schumann, Linke, Seidel, Gruebel e Moelgen, was only 8 seconds.

RENTAL KART / 24 HOURS OF ITALY A 24 Hours decided at fotofinish also for the 3rd place, where the French team Cinecascade by Skof of Hamrouini, Bouvier, Urbani and Delien finished ahead of the Czech team Okkart Blue of Mateju, Burger, Kocka, Pytilk, Chamola and Dorcikova for 50”. Red Racing (winner of the 2018 Rental Kart World Contest) ended in 5th place, first Italian team, that lost the chance to fight for the podium only for a problem while refuelling. The top ten is completed by the Team Nutria in 6th place, PKI and PFV in 7th place, then the Pomposa Dream Team and Lamone Corse, respectively 8th and 9th. In 10th place Bolza Corse with an outstanding race, winner of the Silver Cup category, that had 5 more pit stops than the “pro” category. Then, excellent 11th place for Thunderbolt, that finished ahead of Gas RT after a nice recovery. The Spanish team CH-T Silver ended in 13th place achieving the 2nd place of the Silver Cup, ahead of DMS Motorsport, Titti’s Fuoriserie (3rd in the Silver Cup) and Lhasa-Zena Karting.

THE COMMENTS FROM THE PROTAGONISTS

To be pointed out the performance of the Team Bermuda (one of the teams coming the most far away), ended in 29th place, so as the best of the 3 Chinese teams (China GZ), ended in 31st place.

RAMON PIÑEIRO (TEAM CH-T GOLD): «It was a beautiful race, we had a good strategy, no technical problems with the kart and in the end, we could control the small advantage we had on the Schnitzelalm Racing team, that made an incredible race as well and constantly kept us under pressure. It is a very well-organized event by CRG and especially with karts fun to drive».

Marco Angeletti of CRG’s marketing makes a balance of the 2019 edition: “The feedback received from the teams about the event was incredible, both concerning the technical point of view about our Centurion karts, as well as regarding the organization. The karts have an excellent reliability and drivers like their driving sensation. About the organization, I think we placed this event among the most important ones at international level for this kind of races, both for the contribution provided by the Adria raceway with its excellent facilities, and for our organising committee, that this year added the long live streaming, able to give the event a visibility in over 25 countries in the world, thanks to the drivers’ sharing. The 24 Hours of Adria, as well as the Rental Kart World Contest, is the feather in the cap of the agonistic and promotional activities to support our rental products and we are very happy of the feedback we are receiving, so that in 2020 we are thinking about opening the entry list up to 44 or 46 teams after the great success of this edition. We are already at work to guarantee the teams a further step in reliability, especially for what concerns the engines that, being of industrial origin, require a lot of commitment to offer balance and reliability in terms of performance».

MIKO BOUVIER (TEAM CINECASCADE BY SKOF): «The CRG kart is fantastic to drive, it gives a wonderful driving sensation and it is very fun. Then the race was very well organized, everything was fantastic, including the Adria track and its facilities. Even this year we finished on the podium and we missed the victory for some problems occurred during the first part of the night, but next year we will come back to fight for P1». LUCA BIMBATI (TEAM BOLZA CORSE): «The 24 Hours of Adria this year was definitely our best endurance race ever, we worked perfectly both on track and in the pits, splitting day and night. No mistakes and a good speed paid off on long distance, allowing us to recover from the 4th place to the victory in our category. I guess Bolza Corse couldn’t have a better debut!».

24 HOURS OF ITALY

Adria Karting Raceway (ITA). 30-31 March 2019

Full results on www.youcrono.it

RENTAL KART / WORLD CONTEST 2019

FRANCIACORTA SPAIN AND ITALY PROTAGONISTS OF THE 3RD EDITION OF THE CRG WORLD CONTEST

The Italian factory proved to be amongst the most dynamic and active ones in the Rental Kart market, scoring an organizational and sporting success with this event dedicated to the Rental tracks that use CRG Karts. The titles went to the Spanish team CH-T Gold of Piñero, Alcaraz and García in the PRO category and to the Italian team Chioggia Kart Racing 2 of Favaretto, Varotto and Polauszach in the SILVER category.

With 38 teams coming from 8 different countries and over 180 drivers, the 3rd edition of the Rental Kart World Contest by CRG ended with a very positive organization and sporting balance. The 2019 edition was hosted by the Franciacorta track, in Italy, with an original format that awarded the teams that scored more points during all the stages of the event, for both categories (PRO and SILVER), from the Superpole and 2 Sprint races up to the 8h Endurance race. It’s been a hard and demanding race at all levels, for drivers and team managers, where the most complete teams stood out, both for being the fastest ones in the Superpole and in the Sprint races, and for the most efficient strategies and team work in the Endurance race. The flags of 8 countries, including China, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Romania and Czech Republic, created an amazing show at the Drivers Parade, so as the

paddock, set up with structures of over 400 square metres for pit boxes and Hospitality area, run by the Fratelli Beretta Italian food company, partner of the event. The CRG World Contest became one of the most coveted trophies amongst rental kart fans and it allows teams selected by the CRG tracks and events all over the world to live an amazing challenge on track, where the karts’ supply and all track services are handled directly by CRG, one of the most prestigious brands in

RENTAL KART / WORLD CONTEST 2019 international karting. The organization level of the event was very high, as well as the teams’ value on track. From the sporting point of view, after 2 free practice sessions, the event officially started with the Superpole, a 10’ session that determined the starting grid of Sprint Race 1, but it especially assigned the first points for the overall ranking. In the Pro category, the best lap was made by Chioggia Kart Racing 1, ahead of Gas RT, CH-T Gold, DMS Motorsport and Miout Kart Racing. In the Silver category, instead, Chioggia Kart Racing 2 was the best in front of Titti’s Fuoriserie and Zena Silver. In the 2 Sprint Races run for each category, the challenge between Chioggia Kart Racing 1 and CH-T Gold was immediately evident, with the Italian team achieving a victory and a 3rd place and the Spanish team a victory and a 2nd place. The DMS Motorsport team was between them, closing with a 5th place in Race 1 and with an excellent 2nd place in Race 2. On the spotlight Miout Kart Racing as well, 3rd in Race 1 but only 10th in Race 2 for a contact. In the Silver category, the Sprint races were equally shared by Allianz and Copat Team Ferlito: Allianz won Race 1 and their direct rivals closed in 2nd place, then Race 2 ended in inverted positions. The 3rd step of the podium went to the Spanish CH-T Black in Race 1 and to the German team Arena of Speed II in Race 2. The 8 Hours Endurance race started with a very close provisional overall ranking and many candidate teams to victory, both in Pro category and in the Silver one. And after 8 amazing hours, very balanced on track, different strategies chosen by the teams and also 2 Safety Cars that modified their pit stops’ plan, in the Pro category the Spanish team CH-T Gold won with only 24” gap from the Italian team Chioggia Kart Racing 1. With this success and the points scored in the morning, the Spanish team of Piñero, Alcaraz and García conquered the title of their category ahead of the Italian team managed by the Chioggia circuit (Santi, Brunati and Rossato). The Czech team Steel Ring Gold (Vojtěch, Talaš, Svoboda e Richter) ended in 3rd place after a beautiful race, whilst Miout Kart Racing and DMS Motorsport ended in 4th and 5th place. In the Pro overall ranking, the DMS Motorsport achieved the 3rd place behind the top 2 teams of the event, overtaking Miout only in the last driving stint. Then 5th place for Steel Ring Gold and 6th place for the Ukrainian team Ingul-kart RT.

In the Silver category the success of Chioggia Kart Racing 2 (Favaretto, Varotto e Polauszach) was more evident, crossing the finishing line 3 laps ahead of Copat Team Ferlito (Ferlito S., Ferlito D., Ferlito D. and Ferlito R.) and Bolza Corse (Bimbati, Segato, Mocchiutti, Paganin and Carpenedo). Following the Spanish team CH-T Black and Beretta Racing Team, whilst Allianz was less lucky and ended in 8th place. In the Silver overall ranking the trophy went to Chioggia Kart Racing 2 with 100 points, ahead of Copat Team Ferlito with 96 and Allianz with 71. Then an excellent 4th place for CH-T Black, 5th place for Bolza Corse and 6th place for Beretta Racing Team.

WORLD CONTEST - PRO

WORLD CONTEST - SILVER

Franciacorta (ITA).