CRG and Maxter triumph in the Euro WSK: Max Verstappen wins the KF3 championship!

Published on 08 June 2010 by Niels Hendrix

Mission accomplished for the CRG chassis and the Maxter engines in the first edition of the Euro WSK. In the fifth and last event of the "FIA Authorised Series" continental championship on the "International Circuit Napoli" at Sarno, with 190 drivers on the track. CRG-Maxter official team succeeded in two of the four championships to be assigned: in the KZ1 category with the three-time champion of the world Jonathan Thonon and in KF3, the category dedicated to the new talents of international karting, with the young driver Max Verstappen.

Jonathan Thonon – born in Waterloo – was well aware of how to face this last battle of the WSK Euro Series in KZ1, after winning three world championships (...actually almost four) and a European championship.
On the track of Sarno, Thonon made the best of the competitiveness of the perfect couple CRG-Maxter: he made a great performance, annihilating his rivals with two undisputed wins, both in the pre-final and the final. He definitely deserves all the honours for this brand new trophy in the top level international karting.

Very few doubts in KF3 too, where the young Dutch driver Max Verstappen, a bit more than twelve years old, is demonstrating to be on the right path to emulate his father's deeds, the former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, who was karting European champion in the ICA 100 in 1989.
On this occasion, Max Verstappen drove sensibly, administering his advantage in the ranking brilliantly and getting the placing in the pre-final which was what he needed to be certain of the trophy. He eventually managed to get onto the podium, thanks to an outstanding recovery. So, this first edition of the WSK Euro Series is filed away more than positively for CRG-Maxter, with a worthy double trophy which further enrich the already rich CRG's list of trophies.

Giancarlo Tinini, CRG SpA Chairman: "We expected to achieve this great result. Max Verstappen had a tougher day than usual, but despite that he succeeded in getting to the goal and winning the KF3 Championship in the WSK Euro Series. Jonathan Thonon didn't have any problem; since the practice which preceded this event, he demonstrated to be the quickest in KZ1."

Omar Di Gesualdo, CRG Team Manager: "It was a great championship, with five tough events but which gave us great satisfactions. We could count on a great Max Verstappen, who fought till the very end and managed to win the trophy in KF3, while Jonathan Thonon in KZ1 was terrific as usual, confirming to be a great talent, both as a driver and as a person."

Nico Carigiet, Maxter engines responsible: "This WSK Euro series was really hard, I would say we were at the levels of a European Championship of the good old days. We got the championship in KZ1, the most important category for us: we are really satisfied. In KF3 it went better than we expected. Max Verstappen, despite he was at his début, was able to exploit our equipment at its best."

Jonathan Thonon (KZ1): "The race of Sarno was a really gripping one. All the team did a fantastic job, especially Omar, my mechanic. When we win it's all the team that wins: the driver, the technicians, the mechanics, the chassis, the engine. This win of mine is a joy for everybody. I'm really happy. I want to thank Giancarlo Tinini, all CRG, the sponsors and my family which has always supported me. In the last four races I got four wins. The chassis and the engine have been always perfect and we showed everybody that CRG is the undisputed leader in KZ."

Max Verstappen (KF3): "I'm really happy for this trophy. This last race was really hard, but I made it. It was my first international experience at top level and the first experience in KF3 too but I finished with a good success. I must thank my father and CRG for permitting me to achieve this great result, together with my mechanic who helped me a lot. Now there are other important meetings in this season: the WSK World Series and the CIK-FIA Championships with the KF3 European Championship and the World Cup, where I hope to get as good result as this."

Niels Hendrix