With due proportions, the latest news from the “drivers market” for international karting weighs the same as, in the world of European soccer, that  Javier Zanetti has left Inter Milan. Indeed, the (consensual) divorce between Jonathan Thonon and CRG and the announcement of a new “wedding” between the multiple title holder and the Praga Kart Racing team puts an end to one of the longest and (successful) collaborations in karting history...

For the past 12 seasons the Belgian driver has tied his personal fates to those of the Desenzano-based factory, racing with its material first through the VDK team and then as official CRG team driver. His long list of successes is topped by four CIK-FIA World Cups in KZ1 (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011), the 2001 podium at the Paris Bercy and his CIK-FIA European Championship wins in 2002 (ICA) and 2008 (KZ1), plus his WSK triumphs, which include both the Euro Series (KZ1) and the World Series (KZ2) in 2010 and the WSK International Series (KZ2) in 2007. In an official press release, CRG expressed inevitable, but heart-felt, gratitude for its now ex-driver, wishing him a future rich with just as many successes as the years spent together.
And this future – it’s official – will see Thonon race as an official Praga Kart Racing driver. The Italian team that uses IPK material has just announced the collaboration, which will see the Belgian driver race with Praga colors for the entire 2014 calendar, representing the team in all major KZ events, as well as in the last important events of the current season: the WSK Final Cup and the SKUSA Supernationals in Las Vegas.