Max Verstappen is the new CIK-FIA World Champion KZ!

Published on 23 September 2013 by Niels Hendrix

Before the race, if you wanted to place a sure bet you just had to bet on a hard-fought race. To be crowned World Champion, today's winner had to fight bend after bend: that' why we can now say that the 2013 World KZ title went to the best driver of the pack. In fact, Max Verstappen (CRG-TM-Bridgestone) - the new World Champion - arrived at the first bend only in third position. In Varennes (France) there were at least six drivers who, in a close quarters combat, battled until the end to lay their hands on the World title.

The Italian Marco Ardigò (Tony Kart-Vortex-Bridgestone) had a magnificent start, followed by Charles Leclerc (Art GP-TM-Bridgestone) - the driver from Monaco -, who stole second position immediately after the leader and ahead of Verstappen. These are the first, crucial moments of a race which exalted also the great skill of the British driver Jordon Lennox-Lamb (CRG-Parilla-Briodgestone), who attacked Ardigò immediately after the Italian had got overtaken both by Verstappen and Leclerc. Without forgetting the attempt of Davide Forè (CRG-TM-Bridgestone), who had reached the fourth place aiming at stepping on the podium. Unfortunately, Forè got involved in a contact in the tussle and dropped back irremediably. Also the Italian Paolo De Conto (Birel-TM) came close to the podium, but had to pull over during the last laps after a race in the top positions.

The first driver to pull away from the tussle was Verstappen: he gained ground over his pursuers after overtaking Ardigò. A race in which first he attacked and that he then controlled easily until the end, when he crossed the finishing line with a remarkable lead over his opponents. Eventually, from the tussle for the second place, it was Leclerc who managed to emerge unscathed: he was the runner-up by a hair's breadth, beating Lennox-Lamb in 3rd position. After them, excellent 4th position for the English Ben Hanley (Art-GP-TM) - he had started form the 8th row. Good performance also for the Italian Mirko Torsellini (Tony Kart-Vortex), 5th after a good recovery from the seventh row on the starting grid. Behind him, the Dutch Bas Lammers, who had started from the 9th row.

Niels Hendrix