CRG Racing Team prepares for a new season
The 2026 International Karting season has already begun. Next week, with the first tests at the Muro Leccese track, engines will officially fire up for a new and exciting season of racing. The CRG colours will once again be represented across every category by the CRG Racing Team, the racing squad which — in the company’s 40th anniversary year — aims to further enrich its prestigious palmarès, which currently boasts 27 World titles and 25 FIA World Cups.
The team, led by Team Principal Jeremy Iglesias with the support of Brandon Nilsson, will manage official drivers competing in the direct-drive OKJ and OK categories, as well as the Shifter categories KZ2 and KZ. The racing program will include a selection of WSK events, the Champions of the Future, the FIA European Championship and the FIA World Championship. Some drivers have already been announced and others will be confirmed in the coming days, until a pool of approximately 10–12 drivers is assembled to be managed across the International categories.
With regard to the National categories, and in particular MINI, CRG has confirmed a dedicated structure that will take part in WSK events and in the Italian ACI Championship with around 8–10 drivers. Again, some announcements have already been made, and others will follow up to the eve of the first official race scheduled for the weekend of January 25 on the Muro Leccese track. The MINI team, coordinated by Carlo Pacitto, will also take care of the OKN categories under the CRG colours.
On the technical side, CRG has confirmed a close partnership with TM for engine supply across all categories. Specifically, on-track engine supply and assistance will be handled by Machac Motors for the OK and OKJ classes, by Galiffa Kart for the KZ and KZ2 categories, and by Salemi Racing for the MINI classes. It should also be noted that alongside CRG’s sporting activities, the Tinini Group will field the Lenovo Kalì Kart Team on track in both International and National races. This team, coordinated by Mariano De Faveri, will manage the drivers of the programme in partnership with Lenovo for the MINI, OKN, OK and OKJ classes.
On the eve of the first official tests, Team Principal Jeremy Iglesias speaks to us about the team’s objectives and strategies: “We are very pleased with the driver line-up we are finalising, and we believe we can aim for strong results in every category. Within the next 10 days, we will make all the driver announcements official and, above all, we will begin the technical work to best prepare for the FIA Karting championships. We will start with the OK and OKJ categories at Muro Leccese with the 1st Round of the WSK Master this month, because the Apulian circuit will also host the first round of the FIA European Championship in April. Then we will do a shakedown for the KZ categories at Sarno during the 2nd round of the Master in order to prepare the Euro KZ race that will be held at that circuit in July. We have already received excellent feedback on the 2026 technical material, we have an outstanding staff in every role within the racing team and a solid partnership with TM. I believe these are major strengths for our team and allow us to look at the coming season with great ambition. This year, we will also have a close collaboration with Lenovo and the Kalì Kart team, as well as with our MINI team, within which we train young drivers in view of their subsequent move to CRG’s official team. It will be a long and demanding season, and we are ready to aim for some prestigious results that will allow us to celebrate CRG’s 40th anniversary in the best possible way.”