An excellent overall result

The first thing to note is that the KR chassis was the best represented at South Garda Karting out of the 264 drivers present. The World Champion and European Champion titles won respectively by Paolo Ippolito and Danilo Albanese in KZ in 2023 undoubtedly contributed to the breakthrough in KZ2 for Kart Republic, which remains the most popular in the other categories. And in terms of results, the event ended with a total of ten top-five finishes!

KR still very strong in OK

At Lonato, the top four places in the Final standings went to drivers using the chassis produced in the Padova region. The Prema Racing colours came out on top with the 2023 European OK-Junior Champion, Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev. He beat one of the revelations of the day, Israeli Guy Albag (KR Motorsport). Salim Hanna (Prema Racing) completed the top three ahead of Gerasim Skulanov (DPK Racing).

Schaufler makes the difference in OK-Junior

Already excellent last year, Niklas Schaufler (DPK Racing) got his year off to a winning start after taking the measure of his rivals in this highly competitive category. The French Victory team, which has decided to place its trust in KR-IAME systems this season, began its new collaboration with Kart Republic with some excellent results, including 4th place with Rocco Coronel. Dean Hoogendoorn took 7th place for AKM Motorsport.

Mini performance

As the Finals got underway, a number of drivers equipped with KR chassis were well placed to fight for podium places and even victory in the young driver categories. These included Lucas Palacio and Leon Chelidze in the Mini U10 class, and Oleksandr Legenkyi and Daniel Miron Lorente in the Mini class.

Dmitry Matveev made a remarkable debut in KZ2. After his setbacks in Timed Practice, his comeback did not go unnoticed.

Congratulations also to the drivers who represented the KR brand in OK-N Junior: Valerio Viapiana (pole position, leader after the heats and winner of the Prefinal), Luigi Antonio Cocchianella (P4) and Sara Matsui (P6).

Comments from Dino Chiesa, Head of KR Global Motorsport Company

"This season has started very early, so the rest period was short for everyone, but this WSK Promotion event allowed us to put the oil back in the gears. It was a sort of warm-up lap for the drivers and teams. Things are going to get even more serious with the start of the WSK Super Master Series. 2024 is not a homologation year for either chassis or engines. We know that we have high-performance equipment and we've been able to prove it once again. We're delighted to have won two important categories, OK-Junior and OK, where we secured the entire top four.

"However, I don't want to jump to conclusions. The track was cold and we used tyres that won't be used in FIA Karting events. The rest of the season promises to be very different, but it's always good for morale to start with victories, whether with the KR Motorsport team or with other private teams."

About KR Global Motorsport Company

At the end of the 2017 season Dino Chiesa officially presented the new Kart Republic entity and its characteristic logo. The yellow, orange and red colours reflect the colours of the Serenissima Republic which, from 697 to 1797, marked the history of the Padua region, home of the KR brand. The wing refers to those of the lion of St. Mark, the symbol of Venice, the capital of the Venetian Republic.

On 1st January, the KR chassis received CIK-FIA homologation. The success was immediate! In the very first season, the German Hannes Janker became European OK Champion in 2018. A few weeks later, the Italian Lorenzo Travisanutto (KR-IAME) became FIA Karting World Champion. The KR chassis quickly became a reference in the most important international events, as well as in many countries around the world. The successes in FIA Karting followed one another. At the 2022 World Championship in Campillos, less than four years after its launch, KR was the most represented brand in the paddock.

Over the years, the Kart Republic factory has continued to develop, launching the Alonso Kart brand in 2020 and relaunching the famous DAP name in early 2023. The various activities of the Italian company are now grouped under the "KR Global Motorsport Company". The head of the company, Dino Chiesa, is one of the most influential figures in the world of karting. The Italian engineer is also one of the best talent scouts in the world of karting. He has helped the rise of drivers such as Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Nyck De Vries. Many Formula 1 team academies trust him, including those of Mercedes, Red Bull, Alpine and Sauber. The famous Prema Racing team has just announced its entry to the world of karting, in partnership with Kart Republic.