Young Maltese driver Jacques Mizzi is participating in the 125cc KF2 class race in the international Winter Cup at the South Garda Circuit in Lonato del Garda, Brescia, on the weekend of February 19-21. This is the very first time that a Maltese driver is taking part in this event, and the Maltese flag will be flying for the first time among more than 24, representing drivers of other participating nations. It is remarkable that although Mizzi is only 17 years of age, he has already gained some experience in kart racing events in Italy over the past two years, in addition to those in Malta.

The Winter Cup, now in its 15th edition, is a very prestigious race with all karting teams and manufacturers fielding their best drivers. Maranello Kart, for example, is fielding no fewer than five drivers from five different countries - Italy, Germany, Finland, Spain and Denmark - in the KF2 class. Mizzi happens to have been assigned the next racing number - no.22 - on the entry list, possibly because he is racing a Maranello kart. There is no doubt that this is going to be a very difficult race weekend for Mizzi, but it should also be an excellent educational experience. In the absence of a karting school, the best next thing for young drivers is to learn the hard way by actually racing.

Mizzi has been racing with an Italian licence because he found it easier to try and get some assistance from Italian racing clubs. In this particular race he is being supported by the Iscaro Racing Team. The Winter Cup has attracted 251 drivers in all and more than 2,000 spectators will be watching from the grandstand. In the KF2 class alone, there are drivers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, and the US, over and above those from Europe. Only 34 of the 109 KF2 drivers participate in the final 28-lap race on Sunday week following a complex, but fair, system of qualifying.

The South Garda Circuit is 1.010km long and has a series of different bends - both right- and left-hand corners. In some of the curves there is a double apex. Drivers race in a clockwise direction and in each 10-lap heat they have to cover a distance of 10.100 kms. The distance of the semi-final is 14.140 kms, while the final race is 28.280 kms long.

By TOM

F1 drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, who used to race together for CRG and Dino Chiesa’s team a few years ago, went back on a kart last Friday, both to get some fun and for a small training session for next F1 season. The two drivers met on the ‘South Garda Karting Circuit’, welcomed by their former team manager Dino Chiesa, for a full immersion day in karting.

Both Hamilton and Rosberg, before their debut in car-racing, used to race together for the MBM team (acronym of Mercedes Benz McLaren) in 2000 and 2001, with CRG chassis; in those years they even took part in the Italian Championship Open Masters. With Dino Chiesa and CRG, Hamilton became Formula A European Champion in 2000, with Rosberg crossing the line for second. Hamilton, who turned 25 few days ago and is about to race for McLaren for the 4th season, could test the ‘LH’ chassis, recently developed by CRG thanks to 2008 F1 World Champion’s advice and technical specs.

Rosberg, who is racing for Mercedes this year, raced on a ‘Zanardi’ chassis; he already had the occasion to appreciate it last November, on the very same circuit of Lonato together with Michael Schumacher and the young Dutch star Nyck De Vries. De Vries, who was together with the two F1 drivers on this occasion too, has recently been included in the McLaren young driver development programme. Also Lewis Hamilton’s brother, Nicholas, got on a kart: he had lot of fun testing a CRG-Rotax Max.

Lewis Hamilton concentrated on the driving of his ‘LH’, both in the KF and KZ version with gears and Maxter engine. "I really had lot of fun said Hamilton after racing for almost a whole day. Above all, I enjoyed the kart with gears, which I had never tried before. I’ve always raced on a 100cc without gears, and it’s been hard for me to adjust to the driving style the KZ requires. I need to get the knack of it, but I’ve already seen that it’s total fun. I obviously felt at ease with the KF, quite similar to my old 100cc. Anyway, it was wonderful to meet again with my old team, my brother and all my Italian friends."

Dino Chiesa was very satisfied too: "Meeting again on a track after almost ten years was a great experience. First of all, both Hamilton and Rosberg wanted to have fun, without trying to get first rate performances, even though they raced at full throttle. Nicholas Hamilton had lots of fun too: he didn’t want to get down of the kart. I think he completed almost 200 laps… I hope to repeat this experience in a few months."

By MotorSport

Russian driving sensation Daniil Kvyat has put his stamp on the European Karting Scene by winning the prestigious Winter Cup in Italy. The Russian contingent were out in full force on the circuit of the world famous Garda track, which shares its name with the renowned Italian lake nearby.

The event itself featured three international categories – with Yury Grigorenko producing the 57th best qualifying time out of 112 in the KF-2 category.

His compatriots fared much better in the KF-3 class – with four Russians cracking the top 20. Daniil Kvyat was best out of that bunch, finishing second in qualifying.

The racers were then split into groups and sub-groups, with only the best out of the selection surviving the many heats to meet in the final race.

The complex format, which essentially features several competitions in one, is due to a large number of participants wanting to try their hand on the track.

Russian favorite Kvyat was pinned back to 10th place at the start of the group semi-final.

That didn’t stop the up and coming driver from finishing first to secure pole position in the final, recovering from a collision with teammate Eduard Fralenkov in the earlier heats.

And Kvyat led from start to finish in the ultimate race of that class – with Rafaelli Marchiello the only challenger coming close during those 28 laps, the same speedster who finished ahead of the Russian back in qualifying.

It was Kvyat however who raised the winter cup in Lonato, one of the most prestigious European race events.

“The fact that a Russian kid groomed in the local driving system won the Winter Cup is huge for Russian karting as a whole,” said Pyotr Aleshin from the Russian Karting Association.

Karting is often seen as a gateway to bigger and faster competitions, such as Formula One.

And with the Daniil Kvyat-led Russian contingent making a strong showing the lane could eventually be wide open into the higher echelons of motorsport.

By RussiaToday