From Podium to Podium

Last 22 February, all the eyes were on the Italian track of Lonato, where the best drivers of international karting gathered for the 14th edition of the Winter Cup. The CRG headquarters are only a few kilometres away from the track, so it was a sort of “home” race for the team members, who were determined not to miss this special appointment.

Already in timed qualifying, four out of five CRG drivers racing in the Super KF were in the top 15. These good performances were confirmed in the heats, with an overall 4th rank for Jonathan Thonon and a victory for Kozlinski. In the pre-final, it was Davide Forè’s turn to show his talent, with a third place, just ahead of Kozlinski. “It is just my second race with CRG, but I am already in full control of my chassis”, said the new recruit of the Italian team. “In the final, I was about to take the lead of the race, when I was touched by Catt and lost several places. My recovery up to the 5th place shows that we have a great potential. Really encouraging.”

Kozlinski took the relay and offered the public an intense shoulder-to-shoulder race. “I gave it all, but my opponent made no mistakes and he deserves his victory. However, I am back on the podium for the second time in two races in 2009 and this confirms that the other teams will have to watch out for CRG and Maxter this season”.
Protagonists of the pack, Andrea Dale and Eddy Tinini did not make a bad impression, while Jonathan Thonon was struck by bad luck in the final phase. In KF2, the VDK Racing Team did its best again and allowed young Clemente Picariello to reach the 6th place in the final with his CRG-Maxter.

Maxter: Performances and Reliability

Used by many drivers in the three categories (Super KF, KF2 and KF3), Maxter engines conquered two podiums at the Winter Cup as well as several places of honour. “On the track of Lonato, which is very demanding for engines, it was important to show our competitiveness in the three KF categories, but also our reliability”, said the technical team with pride. “At the Winter Cup, CRG official drivers were not the only ones to achieve good performances. This is a collective result that makes us very happy and stimulates us to continue in this direction, that is offering a fast and reliable product to all the drivers who want it”.
Arnaud Kozlinski and Davide Forè finished the Super KF final in 2nd and 5th place, while Oliver Rowland (LH) slipped in 4th place, whereas the two Maranello-Maxter karts driven by Ben Hanley and Aaro Vainio emerged as potential winners. Vainio achieved the pole position, while car driver Hanley ended his pre-final in second position.
Drivers like Eduard Frolenkov (Maranello) and Nicolas Beer (Maddox) showed the superb qualities of Maxter in KF3, but the powerful Italian engine gained a wonderful collective success in the KF2, with four drivers in the top 8: Max Goff (Maranello) finished 2nd, Clemente Picariello (CRG) conquered the 6th place just ahead of Sami Luka (DR) and Michelle Gatting (Maddox).