The Junior Academy and Gearbox categories take the stage in Spain
The move from two to three competitions in the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship for the KZ and KZ2 categories has been requested by many drivers and teams for this season. With their powerful 125cc engines with gearboxes and Dunlop 'prime' tyres, they offer very high performance and should guarantee the maximum spectacle for the opening event on the Lucas Guerrero international circuit, located at Chiva near Valencia. It will also be the first of three competitions for the Junior Academy Trophy, which will be celebrating its 16th season!
KZ: A specialist affair
This FIA Karting category brings together some of the most talented and experienced drivers on the international scene. A number of World and European Championship and World Cup winners come together for races that are always explosive. Reigning champion Lorenzo Travisanutto (ITA) and the Parolin Motorsport team are putting their crown back on the line. His compatriot Giuseppe Palomba, World Champion in 2024, has changed teams, moving from Sodikart to Maranello Kart. Sodikart will still be able to count on the fast Senna Van Walstijn (NED), who will be supported by two Frenchmen moving up from KZ2, Jean Nomblot and Mattéo Spirgel, last year's KZ2 European Champion.
David Trefilov (GER) and Emilien Denner (FRA) will make their debut in their new Formula K colours with the IPK group, while Matteo Vigano (ITA) has chosen to continue his career with the Parolin Motorsport team. Tom Leuillet (FRA), Marijn Kremers (NLD) and Francesco Celenta (ITA) will continue to spearhead the Tony Kart Racing Team. Viktor Gustafsson (SWE) and Paolo Ippolito (ITA), crowned World Champion in 2022 and 2023 respectively, have retained the confidence of their teams: CRG for the Swede, KR Motorsport for the Italian, who will be joined by his usual team-mate Danilo Albanese (ITA), European Champion in 2023. Cristian Bertuca (ITA), winner of the KZ2 World Cup last October, has been promoted to KZ, as has Daniel Vasile (ROU). They will be joined again this season by Pedro Hiltbrand (ESP) at Birel Art Racing, but this time in the higher echelon. Among the 23 entrants, several privateer drivers will complete the KZ line-up, led by the formidable Stan Pex (NED).
KZ2: 68 drivers chasing the title
Once again this season, the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - KZ2 offers a top-quality field. The top two finishers from the 2024 edition are now racing in KZ, and there will be plenty of them vying to follow in their footsteps. The drivers will have to adapt to new parameters, in particular the use of Dunlop slick DHM 'Prime' tyres and the discovery of Valencia, which will host the gearbox categories for the first time in an FIA Karting competition.
Winner of last year's closing event, Maxim Orlov, will be among the favourites, as will Kasper Schormans (NED), who joined him on the podium on that occasion. Marek Skrivan (CZE), Markus Kajak (EST) and Timo Jüngling (GBR) are the rising stars to watch out for, while Italians Matteo Zanchi and Alessio Piccini will be looking to make the most of their vast experience in this category, where surprises cannot be ruled out.
Junior Academy: A battle of equals
The FIA Karting Academy Trophy is a unique formula, designed to find and train young talent aged between 12 and 14 during the year, from 51 different nationalities and five continents this season. They compete with identical equipment, made available by the CIK-FIA thanks to the participation of OTK Kart Group (Exprit chassis and Vortex engines). The strictly identical karts are drawn at the start of the season and the engines are exchanged several times per meeting. The national federations are heavily involved in this commitment. They are responsible for selecting the driver who will represent them at the three competitions organised during the season. After Valencia, the Trophy will be contested in Mülsen in Germany and Cremona in Italy. The manufacturer LeCont will be supplying the drivers with exclusive 'Option' tyres.
The 52-strong field includes a number of female drivers, including South African Emma Rose Dowling, nominated by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission. Since the ban on combining participation in the Academy Trophy with an entry in an FIA Karting competition in OK-Junior during the same season, the participants rarely benefit from much international experience, often making the race results uncertain. The ability to adapt quickly will be vital if they are to be among the front runners...
You can follow the Valencia event from 15th to 18th May on www.fiakarting.com.