| KZ | |
| Category: | Kart racing |
| Region: | International |
| Affiliations: | CIK-FIA |
| Champion Driver: |  Paolo Ippolito Lorenzo Travisanutto |
| Champion Team: | Maranello-TM Parolin-TM |
| Website: | FIA Karting |
KZ is a kart racing class for drivers aged 15 and over, sanctioned by the CIK-FIA. KZ is the primary gearbox class in FIA championships.
The class was originally called Formula C (FC), first introduced in 1974 at the European Championship as the first gearbox class in international kart racing. FC was contested at the World Championship from 1983 until 2000. In 2002—after 28 seasons of racing—FC was replaced by Super-ICC (S-ICC) and downgraded to World Cup status. In 2007, Super-ICC was replaced by KZ1 and renamed to KZ in 2013, when it returned to the World Championship.
KZ is currently contested as the primary gearbox class at the Karting World Championship and the Karting European Championship.
In 1974, Formula C (FC) was introduced as a 125 cc gearbox class for the European Championship, the first of its kind. FC was first held at the World Championship in 1983, remaining there until 2000.
In 2002, Super-ICC (S-ICC) regulations replaced FC, being downgraded to World Cup status.
KZ1 replaced S-ICC in 2007. In 2013, KZ1 was renamed to KZ, returning to the World Championship.
There are eight main technical features of the KZ regulations, sharing the same specification as KZ2 except for chassis and brakes, which are open in KZ, as well as minimum weight:[1]
Engines, chassis, bodywork, brakes and tyres are subject to the homologation system put in place by the CIK-FIA. Each year, the tyres and the fuel for each category, as well as the KZ and KZ2 carburettor, are chosen after a call for tenders.
KZ has been contested at the European Championship since 1974 and the World Championship/World Cup since 1983.
Gianluca Beggio holds the record for most KZ World Championships, with five. Notable KZ World Champions include three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Max Verstappen and two-time World Touring Car Champion Gabriele Tarquini. Verstappen is the only driver to win a CIK-FIA gearbox championship and the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
Gianfranco Baroni and Francesco Laudato hold the joint-record for most KZ European Championships, each with four.
| Driver has competed in Formula One | |||
| scope=row width=40px align=center style="background-color:#D0F0C0" | Formula One World Drivers' Champion | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row width=40px align=center style="background-color:#cedff2" | FIA World Champion in an auto racing discipline |
| Year | World Championship | European Championship | Year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Champion | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | European Champion | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | |||
| 1974 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | FC regulations created for the European Championship | 1974 | |||||||
| align=center colspan=4 rowspan=9 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | Not held | Aad van Daalen | Landia | Yamaha | ||||||
| 1975 | Ben van Velzen | Mach1 | Yamaha | 1975 | ||||||
| 1976 | Gianfranco Baroni | All Kart |  BMC | 1976 | ||||||
| 1977 | Gianfranco Baroni (2) | All Kart | BMC | 1977 | ||||||
| 1978 | Gianfranco Baroni (3) | All Kart | BMC | 1978 | ||||||
| 1979 | Giancarlo Vanaria | Kalì Kart | Pavesi | 1979 | ||||||
| 1980 | Frank Leuze | Mach1 | KZH | 1980 | ||||||
| 1981 | Gianfranco Baroni (4) | Birel | BMC | 1981 | ||||||
| 1982 | Alessandro Piccini | All Kart | 1982 | |||||||
| 1983 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | FC mandated at the World Championship and replaced by ICC at the European Championship | 1983 | |||||||
| Gianni Mazzola | Birel | Balen | align=center colspan=4 rowspan=13 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | Not held | ||||||
| 1984 | Gabriele Tarquini | Kalì Kart | Balen | 1984 | ||||||
| 1985 | Piermario Cantoni | Kalì Kart | Balen | 1985 | ||||||
| 1986 | Fabrizio Giovanardi | Tony Kart | 1986 | |||||||
| 1987 | Alessandro Piccini | DAP | Pavesi | VEGA | 1987 | |||||
| 1988 |  Peter Rydell | All Kart | Pavesi | 1988 | ||||||
| 1989 | Gianluca Giorgi | Kalì Kart | 1989 | |||||||
| 1990 | Birel | Pavesi | 1990 | |||||||
| 1991 | Birel | Pavesi | 1991 | |||||||
| 1992 | Danilo Rossi | Kalì Kart | Pavesi | 1992 | ||||||
| 1993 | Kalì Kart | Pavesi | 1993 | |||||||
| 1994 | Jarno Trulli | Tony Kart | Pavesi | 1994 | ||||||
| 1995 | Gianluca Beggio | Biesse | TM | VEGA | 1995 | |||||
| 1996 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | FC mandated at the European Championship | 1996 | |||||||
| Gianluca Beggio (2) | Biesse | TM | Alessandro Piccini (2) | CRG | Pavesi | |||||
| 1997 | Gianluca Beggio (3) | Birel | TM | Gianluca Beggio | Birel | TM | 1997 | |||
| 1998 | Gianluca Beggio (4) | Birel | TM | Gianluca Beggio (2) | Birel | TM | 1998 | |||
| 1999 | Francesco Laudato | Birel | TM | Ronnie Quintarelli | Tony Kart | Vortex | 1999 | |||
| 2000 | Gianluca Beggio (5) | Birel | TM | Francesco Laudato | Birel | TM | 2000 | |||
| 2001 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | FC removed from the World Championship | 2001 | |||||||
| align=center colspan=4 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | Not held | Alessandro Piccini (3) | CRG | TM | ||||||
| 2002 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | FC replaced by S-ICC | 2002 | |||||||
| align=center colspan=4 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | Not held | Sauro Cesetti | Birel Kosmic | TM Vortex | ||||||
| 2003 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | S-ICC mandated at the World Cup | 2003 | |||||||
| Robert Dirks | Birel | TM | VEGA | CRG | ||||||
| 2004 | Ennio Gandolfi | Birel | TM | VEGA | Francesco Laudato (3) | Birel | TM | VEGA | 2004 | |
| 2005 | Francesco Laudato | Birel | TM | VEGA | Birel | TM | VEGA | 2005 | ||
| 2006 | Davide Forè | Tony Kart | Vortex | VEGA | Roberto Toninelli | BRM | TM | VEGA | 2006 | |
| 2007 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | S-ICC replaced by KZ1 | 2007 | |||||||
 Jonathan Thonon | CRG | Maxter | Intrepid | TM | ||||||
| 2008 | Jonathan Thonon (2) | CRG | Maxter | Jonathan Thonon | CRG | Maxter | 2008 | |||
| 2009 | Jonathan Thonon (3) | CRG | Maxter | Bas Lammers | Intrepid | TM | 2009 | |||
| 2010 | Bas Lammers | Intrepid | TM | Bas Lammers (2) | Intrepid | TM | 2010 | |||
| 2011 | CRG | Maxter | Paolo De Conto | TM | 2011 | |||||
| 2012 | Bas Lammers (2) |  Praga | Parilla | Jorrit Pex | CRG | TM | 2012 | |||
| 2013 | align=center colspan=8 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | KZ1 renamed to KZ and upgraded to World Championship status | 2013 | |||||||
| Max Verstappen | CRG | TM | Max Verstappen | CRG | TM | |||||
| 2014 | Marco Ardigò | Tony Kart | Vortex | Rick Dreezen | Zanardi | Parilla | 2014 | |||
| 2015 | Jorrit Pex | CRG | TM | Flavio Camponeschi | Tony Kart | Vortex | 2015 | |||
| 2016 | Paolo De Conto | CRG | TM | VEGA | Marco Ardigò | Tony Kart | TM | VEGA | 2016 | |
| 2017 | CRG | TM | VEGA | Paolo De Conto (2) | CRG | TM | 2017 | |||
| 2018 | Patrik Hájek | Kosmic | Vortex | LC | Jorrit Pex (2) | CRG | TM | LC | 2018 | |
| 2019 | Marijn Kremers | Birel ART | TM | Jorrit Pex (3) | TM | 2019 | ||||
| 2020 |  Jérémy Iglesias | Formula K | TM | VEGA | Marijn Kremers | Ricciardo | TM | VEGA | 2020 | |
| 2021 | Noah Milell | Tony Kart | Vortex | MG | Riccardo Longhi | Birel ART | TM | MG | 2021 | |
| 2022 | Viktor Gustafsson | CRG | TM | LC | Paolo Ippolito | Kart Republic | IAME | LC | 2022 | |
| 2023 | Paolo Ippolito | IAME | LC | Danilo Albanese | IAME | LC | 2023 | |||
| 2024 | Giuseppe Palomba | Sodi | TM | Parolin | TM | 2024 | ||||
| Year | World Champion | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | European Champion | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Year | |
| World Championship | European Championship | |||||||||
| Source:[2] [3] [4] [5] | ||||||||||
table