Max dominates the First round of the KZ European Championship in Wackersdorf
Published on 21 May 2013 by Niels Hendrix
Overwhelming victory for CRG in KZ with Max Verstappen in Wackersdorf in the first round of the CIK-FIA European championship. It was a weekend literally dominated by the Italian manufacturer which, thanks to his Dutch driver, won all in the top category.
The competitors were no match for Verstappen, who achieved an impressive winning streak beginning with the qualifying heats and finishing with the victories in the prefinal and in the final. He even set the fastest time in both the final races.
Verstappen's only weak point remains the start: it is not perfect yet, given that he is at his first year in the gearbox category, and also on the track of Wackersdorf this lack of experience at the start was the only hope left for his competitors. However, after a few laps the young and talented CRG driver pulled away, also thanks to a super chassis such as the Road Rebel KZ and to the TM engine prepared by a top technician like his father, the former F1 driver Jos Verstappen.
The second and last round of the KZ European Championship is on 30th June in Genk (Belgium)
Bas Lammers (2nd), Max Verstappen (1st) en Marco Ardiog (3rd)
Euan Jeffery, CRG team manager: "In KZ Max Verstappen was fantastic. His winning attitude is amazing as well as it is amazing how a 15-year-old guy like him can manage a race the way he does. However, we are happy for the performance of all our drivers: they were all very competitive. Unfortunately, Pex's tyres gotdirty with only one lap to go in the final: he had some troubles when he tried to regain the ideal grip. Without this problem, we would have had another CRG driver on the podium, as we expected after the first results of the racing weekend."
Max Verstappen, KZ: "The prefinal was good and the final went even better. I was able to control the gap and to manage my tyres. A 24-lap final is really long for the tyres, but I'm satisfied. The key to be so fast? Everything must be perfect: the chassis and the engine must be a perfect match. I'm sorry for what happened to Pex, he was unlucky. At the second lap there was a corner of the track which was really slippery. Both I and Pex risked to get off the track and he dropped back. It must have been disappointing for him, and I'm sorry for how things went. All the weekend was perfect for me. I have to say thank you to CRG, my father and TM engines. Next appointment of the European Championship will be in Belgium, in Genk. For me that's the home circuit. We will see what we can do."
