CRG To Return To World Championship Level In 2011
CRG will return to World Championship level racing in 2011. The Italian company did not field an official factory team in the 2010 CIK-FIA Championships (though the Zanardi chassis built by them won the title) and instead concentrated on WSK.
“We will continue our racing programme in the WSK International Championships, where our official team will be always present” CRG Group Chairman Giancarlo Tinini said. “In 2011 we will take part in the CIK-FIA races again, in the new five-round World Championship, the KZ World Cups and in the European Championships.”
Above: CRG boss Giancarlo Tinini with a technician in the CRG production factory
“Our priority is once again the participation in the WSK International Championships. As for the CIK-FIA, let’s say that we didn’t like some of the choices made by the International Federation. That’s why we preferred not to take part in the 2010 CIK-FIA International season: we thought it was rather pointless investing on a programme that we considered wrong. Anyway, there have been signals which seem to match our expectations lately, even though we still think there is a lot to do. From Jean Todt’s FIA presidency and, above all, from the new CIK presidency we are all expecting the development of new regulations that will be able to make karting soar again.”
Tinini was satisfied with the results of the CRG Group, both on and off track.
“It was decidedly a demanding year. We managed to operate at full throttle both on the side of production – despite the relocation of our machinery and the technical equipment from the old to the new factory – and on the racing side, where we achieved what we expected to get with our official team. We even managed to assist our clients with the usual attention and care in the competitions all around the world. 2010 was a rather positive year.”
“As for the chassis production, the trend was positive fortunately, with a slightly better performance compared to the previous years. On the other hand, as for the KF engines, the investment has not reached the break-even point yet. But the only reason why is that KF has to face development troubles which didn’t allow the category to spread at world level.”
It seems Tinini has a different view of the future of the KF category, but is hopeful for the future.
“It seems that CIK is willing to meet our requests, but at the moment, in particular from the technical point of view, for me there’s still a lot to do. We all hope that in the future we will be able to optimize the development for the KF category which needs it urgently. The KF category is a rather complex one. That’s why the category needs new regulations which can help to simplify it in order to make it a more popular category.
“Unfortunately I still notice how other constructors do not have the same opinion and seem to prefer to leave the category unchanged. I think that this is the way not to make the category soar in order to preserve the single-brands that these constructors have at their disposal. I’m convinced that the path to follow for karting is the one represented by KF; but instead of keep it at this level, either we stop it and we put all our efforts in the single –brands or we face the situation once for all and we solve the problem.
“Four years have passed since the birth of the KF. We are about to enter the fifth year and we are still treading on the old path without finding a possible solution. It is a negative situation which casts a shadow on the internal market. There’s such a chaos today in the national markets – not only in the Italian one but in all the markets in general – which is caused exclusively by the lack of a reference category.
“Unfortunately today there’s no more a fully fledged national ‘classic’ racing category, where everybody can race and compete with a wide choice of products of different companies. This exists only at international level in the CIK and WSK championships. And today we see how the choice for a single-brand rather than for another one is made only because, after all, is much simpler but also much less interesting both from a technical and competitive point of view. If CIK does not decide to face the problem and put the pieces back together, the situation will never get better. If we don’t change, the future won’t be better.”
Despite his reservations about the technical regulations, he is positive about the company's sales for 2011.
“We have rather positive signals for our range of products that can meet the needs of all our customers. We think we can continue to maintain our market share as for the chassis. Moreover we have just finished the set up of a good chassis for the rental which completes our offer.
“Regarding the Maxter engines, we hope that sooner or later things will get better in the KF category. As CRG we will continue on the Rotax side to promote this single-brand at national level. However, if the economic slump should not end, the Rotax world is the right medicine for those who want to race and get some fun cheaply.”
2010 International Titles - CRG Group
Wsk World Series Kz2 – Jonathan Thonon – Crg-Maxter
Wsk World Series Kf3 – Max Verstappen – Crg-Maxter
Wsk Euro Series Kz2 – Jonathan Thonon – Crg-Maxter
Wsk Euro Series Kf3 – Max Verstappen – Crg-Maxter
Cik-Fia Asia-Pacific Kf3 – Matthew Graham – Crg-Maxter
Cik-Fia Asia-Pacific Kf2 - Kiyoto Fujinami – Crg-Maxter
Cik-Fia Monaco Cup Kz2 – Norman Nato – Crg-Maxter
Cik-Fia World Championship – Nyck De Vries – Zanardi – Team Chiesa Corse
Cik-Fia World Cup Super Kf – Oliver Rowland – Zanardi – Team Chiesa Corse
