KZ (karting)

KZ
CategoryKart racing
RegionInternational
Inaugural season1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Drivers' championItaly Paolo Ippolito
(World, 2023)
Italy Lorenzo Travisanutto
(European, 2024)
Teams' championItaly Maranello-TM
(World, 2023)
Italy Parolin-TM
(European, 2024)
Official websiteFIA 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.