All the details (and secrets) of the CRG KT2 winner of the 2024 Fia Karting World Championship OK at PFI (UK)

Those who know the world of karting know it well: CRG is one of the most famous and successful manufacturers/brands in the industry. Throughout its history, the Italian company has won numerous world and European titles, especially in the Shifter classes. In 2024, the CRG Racing Team added to its collection the most prestigious title for Direct Drive categories: the OK FIA Karting World Championship. The 2024 edition of the world championship reserved for the OK and OKJ classes was held in a single round over the weekend of September 13-15 at the PF International Kart Track in the United Kingdom. This track has a varied layout, with tight, slow turns alternating with faster sections. The weather conditions made the competition even more challenging, with temperatures consistently below 20°C and variable weather: slightly cloudy skies on Friday-Saturday and rain on Sunday during the Super Heat and Finals. The decisive race gave a close duel between Ethan Jeff-Hall, official CRG team driver, and Joe Turney (Kart Republic/IAME). The CRG driver took the victory with an overtaking move on the last lap, also favored by a mistake by his opponent.

To celebrate a triumph that had been missing since 2016 (when Pedro Hiltbrand Aguilar won in Bahrain, the very year the OK and OKJ categories were established), CRG opened the doors of its headquarters in Lonato del Garda (Italy) to us. Exclusively, we analyzed in detail every part of the CRG KT2 chassis, equipped with the IAME Reedster V engine, which allowed Ethan Jeff-Hall to win his first world title.

CRG Racing Team's Ethan Jeff-Hall crosses the finish line at the end of the FIA Karting World Championship OK final.

The CRG KT2 OK World Champion. The model that CRG allowed us to analyze is the one that was used in dry conditions. However, the Italian company provided us with all the material used in wet conditions.

The analysis of the world champion kart starts with the frame used, or rather, the frames, since each team had the option of punching two chassis per driver. The CRG team took advantage of this option to test different setup configurations, taking advantage of the dual availability in the most logical way: one chassis prepared for the dry and one for the wet. This strategy proved crucial, considering the variable weather conditions of the weekend. Despite the differences in setup, only one model was used: the KT2, a chromium molybdenum chassis with 30 mm tubes, designed specifically for the OK and OKJ single-gear categories. While sharing the name with the chassis sold to the public, however, we emphasize that the KT2 employed for competition by the Racing Team represents a specific evolution, developed on the basis of data collected during the Champions of the Future, held precisely at PFI the weekend before the world championship. From the early stages of the race weekend, regardless of the weather conditions, the focus in tuning the setup was on one element: the search for grip. The low temperatures, combined with the driver's feeling and the type of tire used (the Maxxis MAPs in dry track conditions and the MW11-MW12s on a wet track), led the CRG Racing Team to look for solutions that could increase the kart's grip, which was generally quite low throughout the weekend.

Editors' Note
A curiosity: the KT2 chassis, although designed to best meet the needs of Direct Drive categories, has shown great versatility in recent years, even managing to win the world title in the KZ category in 2022. This success represents the ninth World Shifter title won by CRG since the KZ category was established in 2007. For an in-depth review, read “Under Review | Complete analysis of the CRG's that came 1st and 3rd at the 2022 FIA KZ karting World Championship in Le Mans”

FULL ANALYSIS OF CRG KT2 WINNER OF 2024 FIA KARTING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OK AT PFI (UK)