CRG's Report From CIK-FIA European Championship
Tweetpress release
KZ1 is currently the most challenging karting formula from a technical viewpoint and it was indeed in this class that CRG took a fantastic double victory thanks to Jorrit Pex and Davide Forè at the European Championship held at Wackersdorf. In Germany, several CRG chassis also showed up in the lead positions in KF2 and KZ2, but extremely variable weather conditions did not always favour the "black boys"!
KZ1: Europe Belongs to Them
Three pole positions and one victory in the WSK Master Series, followed by another success in the WSK Euro Series, and today the European Champion title! In Germany, Jorrit Pex (CRG Holland) proved to be the most constant among title candidates. He posted the third fastest time in timed qualifying and was the leader at the end of the heats with two victories and a second place in the pre-final; then he drove a flawless race in the final and concluded by climbing onto the top step of the European podium. The Dutch driver and his CRG chassis perfectly adjusted to intermittent rain and dry weather conditions that KZ1 drivers experienced on Sunday.
A bit further back, after a race on the attack Davide Forè (CRG-Maxter/Tecsav) finished second, thus completing the triumph of the Italian brand. Jonathan Thonon climbed up to fifth in the final with the fastest lap time in the race and perhaps could have fought for the title if his pre-final had gone better. As for Fabian Federer, he hoped for much better results after his second time in timed qualifying and his 3rd place at the end of the heats.
KZ2: Lennox-Lamb in the Top 10
Regardless of whether they belonged to an official or a private team, many of the drivers equipped with CRG chassis made themselves noticed. Jordon Lennox-Lamb (CRG Racing Team), Chantal Van Haandel (CRG Holland), Marcel Müller, and Alessandro Fabiani conquered their place in the final phase. With 111 drivers on the grid, it can already be considered a sort of victory for these drivers. Fourth after the heats with two victories, Lennox-Lamb (CRG-Maxter) lost a few places during the pre-final. In the final race, he moved up to 9th, but with some regrets considering his fast pace in the race (2nd fastest time). Hats off to all the drivers equipped with CRG chassis, like Laurent Marchandise who has set excellent times in the race, but to no avail.
KF2: Poor Reward for Excellent Performance
Before the race, excellent times set by Felice Tiene and Tom Joyner (LH) had raised high hopes in their respective teams. CRG chassis proved to be highly effective on the tricky circuit of Wackersdorf. Unfortunately the rain that kept falling in Bavaria during the weekend caused an escalation of incidents. Tiene won the qualifying heats, but was not lucky in the two finals, while Joyner put up a fight in the lead pack during the first final and concluded with a convincing 4th place. The LH Racing Team demonstrated again its know-how, as did KVS as far as engines are concerned. It was a pity that Tom was forced to withdraw in Final 2. A few girls only were racing and one of them on a CRG. Ingrid Girard set an admirable 29th time in timed qualifying out of a total of 108 drivers. She has often kept her position in the heats, but she had to give up on some occasions, thus losing her chance to get her ticket for the final.
THE INTERVIEWS
Euan Jeffery, CRG team manager: “With such unpredictable weather conditions here in Wackersdorf, the end of the week was really hard as well as it was hard to decide the most suitable technical solutions for each category. The conditions of the track changed continuously from wet to dry. Anyway, we are really happy for the results achieved in KZ1, with Jorrit Pex European champion and Davide Forè runner-up. I'd say that the Pexes deservesuch a good result for their commitment to this sport. Thonon did really well in the final, but he wasted time trying to overtake some of his rivals. In KZ2, Lennox and several other CRG drivers went really fast throughout the week, as well as Christian Hostert and, in KF2, Ingrid Girard. But in the final phase, with the tough conditions of the track the situation got a bit complicated.Luke Varley, too, paid dear for this situation. In KF2 Joyner, on the otherhand, performed quite well thanks to a good result in Final-1, while Tiene,unfortunately, got involved in several accidents and did not manage to end in the top positions. In this category we think we can do much better in the last round in England.”
Jorrit Pex (KZ1): “Winning this European championship is a great satisfaction for me. I'm really very happy. I've started anothergood season with CRG. After the recent victory in the WSK Euro Series in Val d’Argenton, now we've got this success. It gives me lots of pleasure. It is the most wonderful day of my life and an awesome present for my 19th birthday which I celebrated just a week ago."
Davide Forè (KZ1): “I'm really happy, of course. But I really went close to something even better. We had been fast throughout the whole weekend and, fortunately, my final result was notmuch affected by the accident I got involved in during one of the heats. Under the rain of the Pre-final I managed to conquer a good position and so I entered the final among those who could aim for victory. I struggled until the end for a good result. I want to say thank you to CRG because once again they put me in the best possible conditions to express myself at my top level. I'm also really happy for Pex's result: he has been fast since the beginning of the season and this is a title he deserved. I want o say thank you to my mechanic Mansel, to my team manager Euan and to Tec-Sav for the whole assistance. After the third place in Genk of last year's World Cup and this second place in the European championship, I do hope to do even better in the World Cup of Sarno."