2015 CIK-FIA Best-Of : Johansson crowned following suspense

The CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championship was not lacking twists this year, although the number of entries didn’t always achieve the expected level. The title fight was marked by some race incidents in Italy before the new fairings came into operation, then continued with exciting sporting uncertainty, the stewards sometimes correcting the verdict from the track. The Competition had three successive leaders up until its conclusion and the title was decided in the final laps of the Final at Genk. The Swede Joel Johansson eventually won the championship at the finish by three points ahead of the Spaniard Pedro Hiltbrand, while the Dane Andreas Fasberg took 3rd place.

Fasberg highlighted at Sarno (ITA)
After pole position from Maik Siebecke (CRG-Engines-LeCont Modena), Luca Corberi (Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont) stood out by winning five Qualifying Heats. Alberto Cavalieri (Righetti Ridolfi-Modena Engines-LeCont) then won the Prefinal after putting new tyres on early. Andreas Fasberg (Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont) was in the lead of the Final by mid-race and win ahead of Pedro Hiltbrand (CRGSPA-LeCont-Maxter), who made a great recovery, and Felice Tiene (CRGSPA-Maxter-LeCont ), slowed by an overheating engine.

Hiltbrand wins at Zuera (ESP)
Although it was Francesco Celenta (Parolin-TM-LeCont Racing) who had crossed the finish line as the winner of the Final on the fast Spanish track after his victory in the Prefinal, a penalty for a jumped start gave victory to Pedro Hiltbrand who had previously showed excellent performance. Thomas Laurent (Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont) had initially set the fastest time in Qualifying Practice. Then his team-mate Paolo Besancenez (Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont) took the lead at the end of the Qualifying Heats before finishing 3rd behind Joel Johansson (Energy-TM-LeCont Racing). Luca Corberi and Jorge Pescador (Praga-Parilla-LeCont) completed the top five and Hiltbrand took control of the Championship.

Genk (BEL): Schmitz wins and Johansson takes the title
Pedro Hiltbrand encountered too many obstacles on his way to defending his lead in Belgium. Delayed during Qualifying Practice, the victim of an incident and penalised in the Qualifying Heats, he finally came back to 9th position, unable to compete for the title. Again, the hierarchy constantly evolved from the pole of Stan Pex (Intrepid-TM-LeCont Racing). Joel Johansson then dominated the Qualifying Heats while Stan Pex and Alexander Schmitz (Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont) clashed in the final stages. Pex won the Prefinal, but Schmitz was the strongest in the Final. Johansson secured 3rd place, enough to win the Championship.

Faithful to the Energy Corse team, the Swede Joel Johansson waited 25 years to finally win the CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championship that had eluded him in 2011 and 2013. Dividing his time between professional activity outside of karting and management of a team in Sweden, Joel is determined to continue his career as a Driver for as long as possible.

Joel, was 2015 your best season?
Yes definitely! Finally wining the CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championship after coming close twice is a great satisfaction, as you can imagine! For once, nothing was in my way, the equipment was the best and I was able to get the title I have long coveted. Finishing 2nd in the CIK-FIA International Super Cup in KZ2 was also fantastic, especially after starting with a disappointing time during Qualifying Practice, only 47th out of 96 participants. I was able to win Prefinal 1 on a slippery track and take the second step of the podium. No matter what, you should never give up!

Can you tell us about the Final at Genk where everything was decided?
The track was tricky and I did not take any risks to maintain a place at the front on the starting grid. There I really gave everything to reach the podium. I knew that both Drivers ahead of me could not be champion, but I had to watch what was going on behind. The strategy implemented with the team worked perfectly and competitiveness of the equipment was impeccable! It is a great satisfaction for me, having failed to take the title by a point in 2013.

How do you see the future?
After winning the title of KZ2 European Champion, one can only think of moving to the next level and facing the leaders in the KZ category, where most are professionals with a long record. Of course, this is now my goal, but we must also succeed in establishing such a programme. Anyway, kart racing is my life and I’m not about to stop!