Heavy rain at the start of the competition

Held two weeks earlier in Portimao, the Champions of the Future Shifter had given the KR-IAME packages a great deal to look forward to, and they were particularly competitive in the dry Final. But during the week of the World Championship, the skies proved to be highly capricious, with a lot of rain, leading to incessant updates to the set-up.

The Qualifying rankings left KR Motorsport justifiably disappointed. The expected symbiosis between the drivers and their equipment did not develop as the technical staff had hoped. Stan Pex fared best, finishing 12th just ahead of Paolo Ippolito, but Danilo Albanese was frustrated by his 18th place. From then on, it was going to be a difficult race for the drivers defending the colours of the Italian factory on the Portimao circuit, which doesn't make overtaking easy in KZ, but there are no doubt other possible explanations...

Excellent lap times and significant comebacks

Pex, Ippolito and Albanese spared no effort to get back to the front of the pack. The Dutchman proved to be both inspired and efficient: P5 in the Super Heat, P7 on the grid for the Final and P4 under the chequered flag, before a drop to 7th position due to a five-second penalty. Forced to retire in Heat 2, Ippolito had to start from the back of the grid in Heat 3. Constantly having to chase lost time, he managed to secure his place in the top 10 in the Final. Just ahead of him in 9th position, Danilo Albanese gained 13 places. He set the fastest lap in the warm-up and was also 3rd fastest in the race. KR congratulates Jorrit Pex (SP Motorsport) on his 13th place.

In the other categories, Gianni Andrisani (TB Racing Team) finished 10th with his KR chassis in the KZ2 World Cup and Rasmus Haugard came 6th in KZ2 Master.

A comment from Dino Chiesa, Head of KR Global Motorsport Company

"Of course, it's not the result we were hoping for, even though we were very competitive on Sunday. As I said after the Champions of the Future, this is a World Championship where you have to qualify in the top places. Unfortunately, in the rain on Friday, we didn't achieve our objectives. The team worked hard to find excellent solutions to enable our drivers to move up, but the best positions were unfortunately out of reach."

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.