CIK Best-of 2014: First international title for Rick Dreezen

While he was not yet 24 years old, the Belgian Rick Dreezen won the 2014 CIK-FIA European Championship for KZ, his first international title and the first European success in the 125cc gearbox category for a Zanardi chassis equipped an IAME Parilla engine.

Rick, what can you tell us about the 2014 CIK-FIA European Championship for KZ?
– The KZ has for several years brought together the best drivers and the best teams in the world. The standard is extremely high, and everybody is at the limit everywhere. A dozen drivers are good enough to win every race, so it is very difficult to win. You need to be on the pace in a variety of circumstances, avoid accidents, and have no mechanical problems.

How did the Championship conclude?
– I was a few points ahead arriving in Sweden, but I could not complete Qualifying satisfactorily. It was more difficult than expected and I had to push to get back in to the lead group while saving my tyres. There was quite a lot of tension. I managed to climb up to second place in the Prefinal, which allowed me to manage the Finals to win the Championship. De Conto was very fast, as was Hajek. As they were not racing for the title their strategy was different and I did not try to resist them too much. I knew that by finishing 3rd, the title was assured.

How important is it to you to be European Champion?
– This is my first international title and it is of course very important to finally achieve this goal, especially in a prestigious category. In the past, I have had several international victories, but never a Championship. I have had my fair share of bad luck in the form of technical problems or incidents on the track, but I also probably made some mistakes under pressure. I have now gained the necessary maturity and everything went well in the race. I am very pleased to join the list of big names on this list of karting champions.

(Extract from CIK-FIA 2014 Best-of)

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