ProKart Racer Perspective

“Things have been going very well so far, without a doubt,” he said in summarizing the opening month of the campaign. “We’ve had wins at both the Winter Tour and at CKI, and poles in both as well, from different classes and chassis. Now we just have to keep the momentum and development going forward.”

The plural reference to chassis is notable, as Cruttenden wants to make it clear to the karting community that Supertune engines and support are available to all karters and teams, not just those under the DeFrancesco Racing team tent where his operation is based. “That’s definitely the case,” Cruttenden said. “As the understanding has spread, we’ve definitely grown and are now getting quite a few drivers from a variety of teams. We now have people on all types of karts, and are working more closely with other teams such as J3 Competition.”

That working relationship brought fantastic results at the CKI Florida Cup opening weekend, as Rotax Junior driver Alessandra Madrigal was second on Saturday and scored a win on Sunday to assume the championship lead. J3 senior driver Richard Benitez was also impressive with Supertune power, taking pole position in ultra-competitive Rotax Senior both Saturday and Sunday before claiming a podium spot. Running the same unit at Orlando, Madrigal was a force to be reckoned with in Rotax Junior. She qualified on the front row both days, including pole position on Sunday when she eventually took second on the day.

DeFrancesco Racing / Alonso Kart USA drivers obviously run Supertune power and have also led the field and topped the podium. Rotax Mini-Max and Vortex TaG Cadet driver Kyle Kirkwood has been very impressive in the opening weeks of the season, including a Florida Winter Tour Mini-Max win at Orlando with a fastest lap adding icing to the cake. Kirkwood also recorded a pole and podium in Cadet at Orlando, and added two more podium finishes at the Florida Cup last weekend. Teammate Dore Chaponick Jr. joined him in racing three weekends during the month and was on the podium at Homestead. Arrow Kart racer Patricio O’Ward did the same, and scored third-place finishes at both FWT weekends.

“It’s very rewarding to see hard work pay off across a variety of classes and from multiple people,” Cruttenden said. “Strong results are very motivating, and speak to our level of professionalism. Alessandra has been running very well, and we have other top drivers coming for future rounds as well. We have European KZ2 Champion Tony Lavanant coming for Rotax Senior, and European junior star Matthew Parry will be running Supertune in February as well.”

While Supertune also manages Vortex TaG Cadet engines in America, its focus is Rotax power and has been for quite some time. “Supertune UK is my dad and he’s been building engines for over 30 years, and had five European Champions,” Ben said of his father. “I worked with him back home and in the European Rotax Championships, and we still work closely today, despite having an ocean between us. I’m working to create the same kind of record with Supertune USA that he has in Europe.”

Toward that goal, he’s well on his way. Supertune had a Florida Winter Tour Champion with Nick Neri in Rotax Junior last season and nearly pulled off a junior-senior double when Victor Pedrosa was vice-champion. Supertune added a Canadian National Championship with Devlin DeFrancesco in Micro-Max in August, and had a strong field of Supertune drivers at the US Grands. With the month of January having past, an even better season looks to be ahead.

Things will begin to get serious a few kilometres away from CRG’s stronghold, in Lonato, with the opening of the international season at the South Garda Karting. The Winter Cup – already conquered several times by CRG’s drivers – will celebrate its 15th edition from 19 to 21 February 2010 and all the “Men In Black” will be there.

World Champion and winner of the WSK in 2009, Arnaud Kozlinski is ready for a new season with CRG-Maxter’s colours, with Davide Forè on his side in Super KF. “In even years I always do great things and I expect a lot from this 2010 season”, Fore’ pointed out. “After the winter tests, I really feel confident”.

In this category, the team will be completed by Eddy Tinini, who is making excellent progress, and by Felice Tiene, who has decided to return to CRG. Jonathan Thonon will race in Super KF in the Winter Cup, then the winner of the World Cup 2009 will enter the KZ1/KZ2 for the WSK. “Our goal is clear: victory!” the talented Belgian driver declared. As announced, CRG and Maxter will intensify their efforts in KF2 and KF3 with young drivers such as Martinez, Curia, Verstappen, Ziletti and Gerard.