22 Oct Another positive weekend for the TBKART Racing Team at the KZ World Championship

The racing division of the Italian company fielded its chassis in all three international gearbox kart categories at the most prestigious event of the season in Portugal, achieving noteworthy results in terms of performance and material development, while narrowly missing the podium in KZ2 Masters.

The second weekend of October marked another significant milestone in the impressive year of the TBKART Racing Team, which showcased its competitiveness in Portimão at the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve. Riding high on the bronze medal secured in the European Championship of the KZ2 Masters category, Kristijan Habulin swiftly reaffirmed his status as a leading contender in the FIA Karting International Masters Super Cup. After kicking off the event in the rain with the sixth best time in his group during qualifying and finishing seventh in the first race of the weekend, the historic TBKART standard bearer demonstrated even greater performance on a dry track. In fact, the Croatian recovered several positions in the following two heats run on slick tyres, finishing both in the top three and setting the fastest lap in the last one. Habulin then maintained second place in Super Heat B and fought for the podium in the final too, ultimately crossing the line fourth after a challenging start from the second row of the grid. The experienced driver of the TBKART Racing Team added another important achievement to an already remarkable season, capitalising on the versatility of his S197M chassis (specifically designed for gearbox classes and entirely manufactured by the Italian company) to stay at the top of the standings on any circuit and in any condition.

TBKART products also confirmed their effectiveness with Luis Laurin Speck in the FIA Karting World Championship KZ. The German made several impressive comebacks throughout the weekend, both on a wet track and on a dry one, notably recovering eight positions to reach the top 15 in the last heat. Furthermore, with strong lap times, Speck completed another promising weekend in the premier category of karting. The TBKART Racing Team enjoyed an encouraging weekend in the FIA Karting World Cup KZ2 as well. After showcasing good potential at the Champions of the Future Shifters, the preparatory race held in Portimão two weeks before the world event, Elie Goldstein once again demonstrated his skills on the Portuguese circuit. Despite being hindered by some setbacks, the Belgian driver managed to rise to the occasion and especially stood out in his final heat on a dry track, finishing in the top 15 thanks to an amazing 14-place comeback and even setting the fastest lap. The young rookie proved his qualities in the most demanding event of his debut season in the gearbox class.

Rodrigo Ferreira also excelled in his first experience at an FIA Karting competition. Following an unfortunate qualifying session, the Portuguese driver recovered several positions in all his races and made great progress throughout the weekend. Ferreira successfully adapted to the entirely new situation, mirroring the efforts of the TBKART Racing Team, which explored various technical solutions during the two weekends in Portugal. Led by team manager Simone Brenna, the racing division of the Italian company took advantage of the development opportunities available in these two events to design and produce a series of chassis to test directly on the racetrack, aimed at finding the ideal setup with the tyres used in Portimão as well as at preparing for the new homologations arriving in 2025. The changes made in view of the upcoming season primarily focused on the braking system, exploiting a fast circuit like the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve to evaluate and test innovations related to the brake discs and the shape of the calipers. The initial data collected is positive and, with an even more intense programme planned for 2025 in the KZ classes, the TBKART Racing Team confidently approaches this long-term project, which is already witnessing a great comeback of TBKART-branded Shifter chassis on the international stage.