The FIA World KZ Championship at Le Mans saw CRG claim its 28th World Title, in a landmark year celebrating the 40th anniversary of the brand’s foundation. Viktor Gustafsson delivered a perfect weekend for the CRG Racing Team, starting with an outstanding pole position in qualifying, setting the fastest time in all three sectors.
His pace was then confirmed across the three Heats, where he secured one win and two second-place finishes. This earned him pole position for Sunday morning’s Super Heat, which he went on to win, securing pole once again for the Final. The Final provided the perfect conclusion to an outstanding weekend. Gustafsson led from lights to flag, consistently setting fast lap times and eventually crossing the finish line with a winning margin of more than four seconds over the runner-up.
A dominant performance that further confirms the Road Rebel chassis as a benchmark in the KZ categories, while adding another prestigious achievement to CRG’s record in the year of the company’s 40th anniversary, founded back in 1986.
Gustafsson’s victory was supported by a strong overall team performance, further highlighting the competitiveness of the CRG-TM package. In KZ, Arthur Carbonnel also enjoyed a very positive weekend, finishing 8th after maintaining front-running race pace throughout the Final. Olin Galli was also among the frontrunners throughout qualifying and the Heats, but unfortunately his Final came to an early end after a first-lap racing incident. The top class also saw Daniel Vasile finish 3rd with Maranello, a team with which CRG shares a close technical partnership.
CRG colours were also represented on the podium in the KZ2 World Cup, with Aloïs Girardet claiming an impressive P3. One of the youngest drivers on the grid, the Frenchman delivered a very solid weekend, making no mistakes and consistently showing the pace and race performance needed to fight at the front. Daniel Maciá (Kalì Kart) also secured a top-ten finish in KZ2, bringing home a solid 8th place after a consistent Final. Jean Luyet was less fortunate, retiring following a racing incident during the early stages of the Final. The outstanding Le Mans weekend was completed by Alessio La Martina’s 4th place in KZ2 Master, the category reserved for drivers aged over 35, with Julien Guéant also securing a positive 11th-place finish.
This is how CRG Team Principal Jeremy Iglesias commented on the outstanding weekend at Le Mans: “This success is the result of all the work carried out by the entire team throughout the year at the track, together with the work of our factory staff. The basis of our Road Rebel chassis is continuously developed and updated every year, and remaining at the front for so many years is certainly not down to chance. It is the result of the expertise and dedication of our technical staff. Of course, an important part of the credit must also go to TM and Gianfranco Galiffa, who is perfectly integrated into our working processes and always knows how to make the difference when it matters most.
As for Viktor, I have to say a few special words. He once again showed his speed, but above all his ability to read the different stages of the weekend and use every opportunity to improve our overall package. From a driving perspective, he produced a perfect qualifying lap, which we knew would be a crucial moment of the weekend. But his real class came through in the Final, when he immediately responded to the attack at the start and then set a race pace that was simply unreachable for everyone else. It was a spectacular weekend, but not only because of the KZ title.
We were competitive across all three categories, and I am also very pleased with Arthur Carbonnel’s strong race in KZ, Aloïs Girardet’s podium in KZ2 and Alessio La Martina’s 4th place in KZ2 Master. These are collective results that highlight the quality of the CRG-TM package, as well as the work carried out by the team throughout the weekend. We were unlucky in the European Championship and perhaps made some mistakes as a team during that event, but with this weekend we have closed that chapter and celebrated CRG’s 40 years of history in the best possible way.”
This is how 2026 World Champion Viktor Gustafsson commented on the weekend: “We dominated this weekend, and a result as important as this can only come from the perfect work of the entire team. For this reason, I want to thank Jeremy for leading the team to victory, as well as TM and Gianfranco Galiffa for the engines. This is my second World Championship title with CRG, and it is incredible to win it in the company’s 40th anniversary year. I am proud to have contributed, throughout our five years of collaboration, to adding to the achievements of such a prestigious brand in the world of karting.”
Full results available at www.fiakarting.com