The 1st Round of the FIA European Championship for the KZ and KZ2 classes is scheduled for this weekend in Wackersdorf, from the 17th to the 20th of June. The 2021 Continental Championship will be awarded over 2 races and after the opening round in Germany it will end in August on the Adria racetrack, in Italy.
26 drivers will fight for the title in the premier class (KZ) and 102 in KZ2. The CRG Racing Team will take part in the event in both categories, but in the last few hours it had to formalize Jaime Alguersuari’s forfeit due to the persistence of the after-effects of a cracked rib, during the Spanish Championship race, the former F1 driver took part in two weeks ago, to better prepare his return to international karting. Alguersuari was certainly one of the most awaited drivers among the 26 in KZ, but he will have to postpone his return with the CRG official team for the 2nd round of the Championship scheduled in Adria. First he will have to resume his training in 2 weeks and most probably he will be at the start of the Spanish Championship race on the 4th of July in Valencia.
In the top category, CRG will therefore line-up Jeremy Iglesias and Alex Irlando, who will be powered by TM, with the direct support of the Pesaro Factory, as well as Paolo Ippolito, who will always be in the race with TM engines, but supplied by the French tuner Cedric. In KZ2 there will be 4 standard bearers of the CRG official team: Jorge Pescador, Paavo Tonteri, Lorenzo Giannoni and Brandon Nilsson.
There are very high expectations for this important international meeting at CRG and the high profile team set up for the KZ classes does not hide the ambitions of the Italian Factory, as confirmed by its Marketing Manager Marco Angeletti: “In the Racing sector, the market segment of KZ is very important for CRG, representing a high share of our sales; consequently the role of our Racing Team, both from a promotional point of view and for the contribution it offers in terms of research and development, is fundamental. We wanted a highly experienced team for this season to start a new CRG cycle in these categories and obviously our ambitions are very high from a sporting point of view. We have excellent drivers in both categories and a solid partnership with TM regarding engines, from which we expect an important added value in the FIA Championships. In the first part of the season we concentrated on some technical developments and on allowing drivers and technicians to find the right feeling, refining the working methods, considering that 6 out of 8 drivers joined the team only last winter. The format of the Championship in two rounds will not allow mistakes and the level of our opponents is very high, but we are sure that we have excellent potential and that we have started a path that will take us very high. I am very sorry that Jaime ws not able to recover after his rib injury and we look forward to having him back with the team soon”.
The program of the event includes the first free practice on Thursday and then qualifying on Friday. Saturday will be dedicated to the qualifying phases and the two Finals are scheduled for Sunday afternoon; both will be streamed on the official website of the event.
Drivers’ expectations:
Jeremy Iglesias (KZ): “The initial part of the season for us was characterized by some ups and downs, but for me it was really all new: the team, the technical staff, the chassis and the engines. I think we have done a good job, but on some points we still need to improve and we tried to speed up all the work processes to get ready for an important event like the European Championship. With only two races scheduled it will be mandatory to do well here in Germany, to have the chance to play our chances at Adria and therefore the first goal will be to score points and fight for the podium. The uncertainty about the tires to be used in the FIA races this year has for sure slowed down our preparation work a bit, but CRG’s know-how and resources are really high and we will soon be at the top. From this point of view, I am also thrilled to have started a direct collaboration relationship with TM and Franco Drudi, who certainly represent a guarantee in a category as competitive as KZ”.
Jorge Pescador (KZ2): “This year I returned to international karting with a lot of motivation, after a stop due to my injury and in CRG I have found my same determination. The challenge on the track will be demanding, but we have great potential and we are working to achieve ambitious results. For CRG, 2021 was a year of great changes with new drivers and also for what concerns some management and organizational aspects of the team, so it is also normal to suffer a bit of “running in”. I think we will be prepared for this race; we still don’t have the potential to win, but we can bring home an excellent result and then we can go on working on the next steps for the second half of the season”.
Live Timing and Live Streaming: www.fiakarting.com
