“KZ” Festival at Sarno

One week after Superkarts opened the CIK-FIA Championships season at Silverstone, the start will be given near Naples in Italy on the magnificent 1,700-metre track of Sarno for Championships held on short circuits. The course is tailor-made for KZ gearbox karts. This is where they will begin their 2010 CIK-FIA European Championship on 10 and 11 April. The second and last round for KZ1 (the top gearbox category) and KZ2 is scheduled for the French circuit of Varennes-sur-Allier on 26 and 27 June.

2009 European KZ1 Champion, the Dutchman Bas Lammers, who is throwing in his title, has remained faithful to this Intrepid team which makes no bones about its big ambitions and distignuishes itself by entering many Drivers. With the Frenchman Jérémy Iglésias and the quadruple World Champion Alessandro Piccini, but also with the younger Yannick de Brabander, Intrepid will seek to have a stranglehold on a few podiums! However, the team is aware that in order to do so it will have to get the better of some fearsome opponents, in particular France’s Anthony Abbasse, spearhead of the Sodi team, Manuel Renaudie (who now defends the colours of PCR) and Thomas Mich, as well as Britain’s Ben Hanley and Jack Hawksworth. Although he has just switched over from KZ2, Holland’s Jorrit Pex could create a surprise in his very first full season among the elite of KZ Drivers. It will also be interesting to follow the Czech Patrick Hajek, who nearly clinched the European KZ2 title in 2009; the Italian Nicola Nole; the new Formula K formation, which enters a solid duo of Drivers with Antonio Piccioni and Salvatore Gatto; and, finally, the comeback of the 2006 European KZ2 Champion, the German Ernst Behrens.

With no fewer than 82 entries, the European KZ2 Championship could prove to be very indecisive. A major surprise can never be ruled out in that category, even though some well-known experienced Drivers will mostly be tipped. Paolo De Conto, Andreas Fasberg, Marcel Jeleniowski, Eric Ramon, Simon Solgat, Luca Tilloca, Simone Brenna, Jiri Becicka, Gianluca Cane, Marco Zanchetta and Mirco Torsellini are in that number. The international KZ2 débuts of Drivers from KF categories also deserve special attention, in particular the Swedes Joel Johansson and Viktor Öberg, the Czech Martin Doubek and the Dutchwoman Beitske Visser.

With the levelling of weight in KZ1 and KZ2 from this year onwards (175 kg, Driver included), there is now only one technical difference between these categories: tyres. KZ1s will dispose of a softer compound, whereas KZ2s will be fitted with a medium compound, somewhat more hard-wearing. As a reminder, the tyre makes will be Dunlop (KZ1) and Vega (KZ2), designated as official suppliers further to a tender procedure, and the Manufacturers will supply racing tyres on a free basis to all participants!

After non-qualifying practice scheduled for Thursday and Friday 8 and 9 April, Competitors will run for their qualifying practice on Saturday 10 April in the morning. This will be followed by no fewer than 13 qualifying heats as curtain-raisers for the four final phase races, concentrated in the afternoon of Sunday 11 April. The results of the event will be available in real time on www.cikfia.com.

Info CIK / © Photo KSP

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