Triumph in OK-Junior

In Lonato, the OK-Junior Final ended with a landslide victory for the KR-IAME karts. Among the top nine, only the driver who finished 6th did not use the famous Italian combination. Will Green (Prema Racing), who took pole position in the rain and was just as fast in the dry, was one of the favourites, but Valerio Viapana (Team Driver Racing Kart) made a brilliant start to the race and sped to victory ahead of Daniel Miron Lorente (Fusion Motorsport).

Green secured 3rd place on the podium ahead of his two Prema Racing team-mates, Dean Hoogendoorn and Noah Baglin, who took the crown in 2024. However, the latter two suffered from jet lag after racing back-to-back in Las Vegas and Lonato. In addition to this top five, Zack Zhu (RLS Compétition), Antoine Sylva Venant (VDK Racing) and Santiago Diaz de la Vega (Prema Racing) rounded out the top ten. Michael McGaughy (Koski Motorsport) was 9th before retiring on the last lap. In the overall standings, in addition to Baglin's title, there are four other KR-IAME drivers in the top seven: Green P3, Viapana P5, Hoogendoorn P6 and McGaughy P7!

Titles in OK-N, Mini Gr.3 and Mini U10

Leading the OK-N series on arrival at Lonato after his victory at Franciacorta and his 2nd place at Cremona, Nicolas Marchesi (Team Driver Racing Kart) celebrated his title with another win... Great work! Peter Stiller (King Racing Team) took 3rd place in the Final. In Mini 60 "Group 3", Niccolo Perico (Team Driver Racing Kart) won everything: pole position, three heats, Super Heat, Final and overall classification. A sensational clean sweep! His team-mate Giuseppe Noviello took 3rd place on the podium and finished 4th in the WSK Final Cup, with the same number of points as the 3rd-placed driver! In Mini U10, Wynn Godschalk (Kidix Driver Performance) had a turbulent Final, but the American had scored enough points to take the crown ahead of another KR-IAME, Platon Kovtunenko (Borsch Racing).

In OK, the event started with six KR-IAME karts in the top seven of the Qualifying sessions. Unfortunately, things proved more difficult thereafter. Zak Drummond (Fusion Motorsport) fared best, which allowed him to finish as runner-up in the championship. Lucas Palacio (KR Motorsport) achieved the same result in OK-N Junior. Finishing 2nd in the Final, he was just two points short of winning the title. Danilo Albanese joined the Dörr Motorsport team in KZ2 for this event. Consistently in the leading group, the Italian European Champion crossed the finish line in 4th place, just 69 thousandths of a second behind his rival!

A nod to Hoogendoorn and Baglin for their victory in Las Vegas

A week before Lonato, the Kart Republic factory had made a name for itself at the prestigious Supernationals, which brought together 584 drivers in the United States. Dean Hoogendoorn triumphed in style in X30 Pro Senior, after completing the KR chassis hat-trick in KA100 Junior behind Noah Baglin and Michael McGaughy. There were also podium finishes in X30 Pro Senior with Iacopo Martinese in 3rd place and in KA100 Senior with Joe Turney in 2nd place. Congratulations to the local teams who contributed to this sensational result.

Comment from Dino Chiesa, head of KR Global Motorsport Company

"The WSK Final Cup ended with a magnificent overall result for our equipment, and it is always satisfying to see the joy of the drivers on the various podiums. We know that at this time of year, temperatures are always quite low, and these are not the most favourable conditions for us. So we won despite the difficulties, but this proves that we must remain determined and continue to work hard. WSK Promotion continues to offer top-level events, and it is always rewarding to win titles in the series it organises. Its impact could be even greater in the OK and OK-Junior categories if it chose the same tyres and fuel that we use in FIA Karting events. I also think, and I'm not alone in this, that it would make sense to remove one day of Free Practice from the race week, which many people consider too long."

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.