The Italian manufacturer LeCont, official FIA Karting tyre supplier for the KZ & KZ2 categories this year, is providing competitors and enthusiasts with a complete guide to the mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ, World Cup FIA Karting - KZ2 and the FIA Karting International Super Cup - KZ2 Masters, in Wackersdorf, Germany from 7th to 10th September.

There is nothing like having the most accurate data to understand and appreciate the 2023 Wackersdorf competition. The wide range of information collected by LeCont is aimed at drivers and technicians, as well as supporters and spectators.

On and off the track, LeCont goes further than just supplying tyres, however good they may be, thanks to a broader vision of service.

With LeCont, racing is more beautiful.

Road to Wackersdorf

246 drivers -like a half battalion of drivers- will battle it out behind the wheel this week along the Prokart Raceland Powered by LeCont circuit in Wackersdoerf, Germany. A number that is indicative of the success the FIA Karting Championships have seen.

Attracting so many contenders to Bavaria is, of course, the prestige of the most prestigious of competitions and the awarding of the most coveted of titles: that of world kart champion, which will see as many as 49 drivers in the premier category, KZ, face off.

There will be as many as 125-the maximum authorized is 126! - to fight for the KZ2 World Cup and the maximum possible allowed by the regulations (72) for the KZ2 Master, which will experience its "mundialito," or international Master's Cup, for the second year in a row.

To host this human tide of competitors will be one of the most prestigious and appreciated circuits on the international calendar, that of Wackersdörf, which just from this year has taken on the name Prokart Raceland Powered by LeCont thanks to the partnership signed between the Italian tyre manufacturer and the Bavarian circuit belonging to the multifaceted and very passionate Stephan Fritsch, a successful entrepreneur and superlative organizer but also an all-around sportsman who as a driver has also proved capable of "follies" such as throwing himself behind the wheel of a kart down a bobsleigh downhill track under the watchful eye of TV cameras.

There will be no shortage of TV cameras this week either to follow and broadcast worldwide an event that promises to be hard-fought, uncertain, passionate, and certainly engaging. Who will belt the then final crown? Answer on Sunday, September 10.

As enlighted by FIA in his communication the flagship event of the gearbox karts season has been particularly well prepared in this occasion thanks to the support of the German ASN, the DMSB. At the end of July in fact, a special event, called the Road to Wackersdörf, was organised to allow all interested competitors to well setup their machines and familiarise themselves with the 1190m Bavarian circuit, which after six years returns in 2023 to host an international race of this scale.

This Road to Wackersdorf race was raced adopting the same LeCont SVC Prime slick tyres with which the competitors of all the three classes will dispute the FIA Karting major event this week. The mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ, the KZ2 World Cup and the 2nd edition of the FIA Karting International Super Cup - KZ2 Masters for drivers aged 35 and over.

As quoted by FIA Karting

"KZ: Gustavsson's succession is open Among the high number of 49 entrants to the mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ, titles abound. In addition to 2022 champion Viktor Gustavsson (SWE), five other former World Champions will be competing this year, as well as a dozen former European Champions, starting with 2023 winner Danilo Albanese (ITA). The list of contenders includes Jérémy Iglesias (FRA), Dutch drivers Senna van Walstijn and Stan Pex, Italians Paolo Ippolito, Matteo Vigano and Riccardo Longhi, French drivers Emilien Denner and Tom Leuillet, and KZ2 World Cup winner Arthur Carbonnel. In this highly professional category, the factories call on their best drivers to defend their colours in an incredibly competitive field that also includes some talented amateurs, attracted by the aura of the World Championship.

KZ2: record World Cup entry with the exception of 2023 prodigy Freddie Slater (Great Britain), all the protagonists of the European Championship - KZ2 will be among the 125 competing in the World Cup. The next generation is well represented, with young talents alternating between KZ2 and OK, such as 2022 European Champion Kean Nakamura-Berta (GBR) and runner-up Alex Powell (JAM), Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA), Maksim Orlov and 2022 OK World Champion Matheus Morgatto (BRA)".

Pro Kart Raceland

• Length: 1190m
• Width: 9 - 10.5m
• Address of the circuit: Industriestraße 8, 92442 Wackersdorf, Germany
• Phone numbers
  • +49 9431 755210
  • +49 9431 75520
• Website: prokart-raceland.com
• Email: info@prokart-raceland.com
• 159 km North of Munich
• GPS: 49°19'38" N / 12°12'53" E
• Position Google Maps
• Airports
  • Nuremberg Albrecht-Dürer - NUE (102 km)
  • Munich Franz-Josef-Strauß - MUC (154 km)
• Railway station
  • Schwandorf (5km)

Current track record: 45.443

Set at the recent international race "Road to Wackersdorf" organized by the DMSB on the Prokart Raceland Powered by LeCont circuit on July 20-23, 2023.

Danilo Albanese (KR-IAME-LeCont) sets 45.443 during the Saturday's warm-up.

It should be noted that his teammate Paolo Ippolito (KR-IAME-LeCont), had taken the pole position in the category, breaking a lap in 45.687 in the qualifying practice of the same event. Both on LeCont SVC CIK Prime tyres of course.

A lap of the "Prokart Raceland powered by LeCont" track

Turns and key points:

• 1 - The start/finish line is immediately followed by a left-hand bend. The karts arrive here in sixth gear at full throttle and stay there to tackle this and the next turn 2 to the right at high speed
• 3 - The karts reach turn number 3 at a top speed of about 140 km/h. Here, the approach to this very fast corner varies according to track conditions and tyres: in fast laps, and especially in qualifying, many will take it at full throttle. In other cases, the driver will stay in sixth gear, content to ease off the throttle a little, ready to give full throttle again as he exits the corner
• 4 - Here we are at the first real braking point. It's not much of a challenge, but it's a sharp braking point where you go from sixth to second gear in quick succession. Turn 4 is taken entyrely in second gear and then, on the exit, you quickly shift into third and fourth and take the slight right-hand bend 5 under full acceleration. Still accelerating, engage fifth gear, more or less corresponding to the open left-hand bend 6
• 6 - Keep the power in fifth gear while accelerating until you come on the brake for the tight right-hand bend 7
• 7 - After downshifting from fifth to second gear, drive through the corner in that gear. Then, on the way out, you quickly shift into third gear, and before you accelerate into the right- hand bend 8, you have already shifted into fourth gear
• 8 - This corner is approached and driven without any particular difficulty in fourth gear, which is maintained until turn 9 and even well beyond... but not always, as we shall see
• 9 - This corner does not present any major difficulties either. However, the section between turns 9 and 10 is quite different. Here the surface is a little bumpy and this makes it difficult to get a good entry into the fast chicane that follows, consisting of turns 10 and 11. One of the key points on the German circuit
• 10 - Here, during the qualifying laps on new tyres, when the driver has maximum confidence in his kart, the combination of the two corners, Turn 10 on the right and the immediately following Turn 11 on the left, can be driven in fourth gear (engaged and maintained since before the start of Turn 8). At the entrance to Turn 10 you might want to ease up a little. At other times, especially in the race, the 10-11 turns chain will instead be run all the way in third gear, or in third for 10, with fourth gear engaged between 10 and 11... At this point it is a matter of balance, feeling and choice of ratios and their management. In third, the engine may be a little "hung up", while in fourth it may be slightly underpowered (low torque) and not perfectly responsive
• 11 - The problem that complicates the management of the chaining of these two turns 10 and 11 is that the stretch between turns 11 and 12 proves to be strategic for gaining or defending position. As the braking in turn 12 is a clear overtaking point, the speed taken out of the turn or the ability to accelerate out of turn 11 proves to be strategically decisive. It is very likely that in qualifying many will try to take these two corners in fourth gear, while in the race perhaps more will take them in third or third at the entrance of Turn 10 and then fourth before Turn 11. Shortly after coming out of Turn 11, the drivers shift into fourth and then into fifth, or directly into fifth if they have already gone through Turn 11 in fourth gear at high speed
• 12 - They continue to accelerate until they reach the brakes of the wide Turn 12. Here they shift down a gear and drive the whole of turn 12 in fourth gear
• 13 - On the straight with constant acceleration between the exit point 13 and the next braking point for turn 14, fifth gear is engaged
• 14 - Before entering hairpin 14, the drivers shift down from fifth to second gear in rapid succession, and drive through the entyre hairpin
• 15 - On paper, it might seem that this hairpin opens on the exit... In fact, also when you are at the steering wheel it gives a slight impression of opening -so that when accelerating at point 15, the driver engages third gear- but not too much. It is still one of the tightest hairpins of the season. There are few as tight as this on international circuits
• 16 - There is a small hump between the exit of turn 15 and the entrance to turn 16, but it is not particularly uncomfortable to drive. Leaving the hairpin in third gear, they continued to accelerate by shifting into fourth and fifth gear in quick succession. Then, as they enter Turn 16 on the right, drivers downshift to fourth
• 17 - They drive through turn 16 and the next, tighter turn 17, calibrating their acceleration in fourth gear as accurately as possible, and then accelerate again hard into the fast turn 18, where they engage fifth gear
• 18 - Fifth gear engaged and full throttle towards the start/finish line. Sixth is engaged at about the height of the yellow line on the grid. And it's off again for another lap... All in all, the Prokart Raceland Powered by LeCont circuit is more challenging than it might seem at first glance. The corners and changes of direction or gear follow each other and there is no room for the drivers to breathe, so it becomes difficult even to find the right moment to raise or lower the radiator curtain. It is not very demanding in terms of braking, but finding the right pace is crucial. To be fast on this type of track, you have to be able to find the right rhythm. If you can't... it can feel like you've done everything right, but in fact you're half a second down without understanding why. The two most difficult points, or the two most important in terms of overall performance, are probably the fast chicane formed by the concatenation of turns 10 and 11, and the complex in variable acceleration of turns 16-17-18. As already explained, the importance of managing chicane 10-11 as well as possible, depending on the phases of the event, is linked to the desire to establish a fast lap (and therefore a higher overall speed of these two turns) as in qualifying or to defend or conquer a position in race, thus focusing on the highest possible exit speed from turn 11, in order to get ahead at the next braking point of turn 12, a clear overtaking point. The complex represented by turns 16-17-18 is equally, if not more, strategic. Here it is crucial to get as much speed out of Turn 18 as possible, as this will determine your speed on the main straight, up to the lifting of throttle (or not) at the Turn 3 or eventually to the braking point at the Turn 4. The quality or otherwise of the lap time is entyrely determined by the execution of this triptych of right turns. To be clear, the pole position is established between turns 16 and 18 at the end of the previous lap

A special trophy for "special" drivers

The mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ will continue the history of LeCont as a supplier of tyres for the FIA KARTING sanctioned events as well as the FIA Karting World Cup - KZ2 and the FIA Karting International Super Cup - KZ2 Masters.

In the same way as at the previous events in Zuera and Sarno, a special trophy will be awarded: the LeCont Pole Position Award, which will be given to the fastest driver in each of the three categories, KZ, KZ2 and KZ2 Masters in the qualifying races.

Who, in each class, will be lucky enough, and above all good and fast enough, to win this coveted trophy, which we believe will become a "must" over time?

Which and how many tyres

The current tyre regulations stipulate the maximum possible use of tyres during a FIA KARTING event. Specifically, for the 2023 mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ, the FIA Karting World Cup - KZ2 and the FIA Karting International Super Cup - KZ2 Masters, competitors in both categories will be able to use the following allocation:

• From the second free practice session on Thursday and throughout free practice on Thursday and Friday:
• 4 sets of slick tyres each, to be registered by the CIK FIA Karting officials and allocated to the respective drivers
• A free number of possible wet tyres and also slicks - not registered - for the first free practice session on Thursday
• From the qualifying session and throughout the race, before the respective finals of the two categories:
  • 1.5 sets (3 front and the same number of rear) of slicks each
  • 2 sets (4 front plus the same number of rear) of wet tyres
• In the final of each category
  • 1 set (2 front and the same number of rear tyres) of new slick tyres, which the drivers must use

This is in addition to the tyres that LeCont will transport to the circuit to cover any additional slick tyre requirements for the first free practice session and wet tyres for all the free practice sessions. In total, a transport truck plus LeCont's race service truck will be mobilized to transport these tyres.

What to do from Wackersdorf

A great holiday destination: from lakes, parks and beer gardens to museums, historic sites and huge shopping malls, Munich offers a lot of attractions.. You are at the best place in the the Bavarian capital for finest beers, most idyllic views, eco-parks, amazing cuisine, stunning art collections.

Marienplatz, the heart of Munich

The world-famous centre of the Bavarian capital, is home to the New City Hall. There's always something going on around the Mariensäule. Situated in the centre of Munich at the intersection of the east-west axis between Isartor and Karlstor and the north-south axis between Schwabing and Sendlinger Tor, Marienplatz is the ideal starting point for exploring the city.

Nymphenburg Palace

Step back in time to the age of the Bavarian monarchy: the extensive park with its pavilions, promenades along the palace canals, enormous fountains, magnificent flower gardens and, of course, the impressive palace buildings, is a source of fascination for Munich residents and tourists alike.

BMW Welt: A masterpiece of modern architecture

With the Future Forum, BMW Welt has opened a platform where experts from various industries and disciplines share their visions of the future with interested visitors. Not only for children and young people, but for everyone who is curious and likes to get creative, there is a lot to discover on the topics of mobility and sustainability at the BMW Welt campus and the BMW Museum: from the vehicle history rich in tradition to the locomotion of the future.

Visit Regensburg

45 km from Wackersdorf, Regensburg is the capital of the Upper Palatinate, a city steeped in history for over 2000 years. Regensburg has 1500 listed buildings, 984 of which comprise the UNESCO World Heritage "Old Town with Stadtamhof" ensemble.

Regensburg's historic city centre is completely intact, due to the city being able to escape bomb damage during World War II.

Regensburg is famous for its many towers and church spires. The city offers a fantastic amount of ancient buildings and churches, some of which are used for retail and some of which are open to the public. The Stone Bridge, the cathedral and the Krauterermarkt square with the Collegiate Church of St. John, the Cathedral Treasury Museum, the patrician town house and the historical Adler Pharmacy count among Regensburg's most significant architectural monuments, but represent just a few of the vast number of outstanding sights.

Wackersdorf

The area around Wackersdorf offers a wealth of opportunities to enjoy lush natural surroundings, with magnificent forests - Durrnschlag, Fuchsschubel, Tannenschlag, Taxolderner Forst - and countless lakes - Jager Weiher, Thundorfer Weiher, Ober-Mark-Weiher, Krummer Weiher - all within a short radius of the town.

The Naturpark Vorderer Bayerischer Wald is also worth a visit.

Wackersdorf town centre, with its lively, typically Bavarian atmosphere, offers a pleasant place to enjoy local specialities.