KZ Drivers Boycott over Dunlop tyres while Travisanutto highlights further frustrations!

Over the past few days, a number of top kart drivers have begun to find their voice. I hadn’t planned to write about it, such is my growing disinterest in contemporary karting and lack of chutzpah, but perhaps, at long last, the drivers are beginning to wake up.

At the unfortunately named "Champions of the Future" championship - essentially a warm-up series to the European Championship, held on the same circuits - a group of roughly a dozen KZ drivers staged a boycott over tyres.

There had been murmurs of discontent since Dunlop entered the scene last year, but it now appears something has finally pushed the drivers to act. The livestream from the event was a stark embarrassment for the organisers, with only 11 karts lining up to race. Commentators avoided the elephant in the room. Throughout the race several more drivers seemingly ‘retired’ leaving just 4 drivers taking the chequered flag.

The boycott was announced on Instagram, where Danilo Albanese published a signed letter and a statement that read:

“We would like to highlight to the FIA the unacceptable performance and consistency of the Dunlop tyres.

“We request the FIA to change tyres manufacturer to either Le Cont or Vega for the FIA competitions, starting from Round 1, which could be postponed or cancelled according to the time it takes to supply tyres.

“If our demands are not met by Saturday, May 10th, 11 AM, we will not take part in any competitions using Dunlop tyres, starting from tomorrow’s COTF final.”

Albanese further elaborated in his own statement in a following ‘story’:

“We, the drivers of the KZ category, are unhappy with the tyre situation we find ourselves in. We are being forced to drive on a tyre that does not provide grip and is very inconsistent. It is unacceptable that at the level of the KZ European championship we are going slower than any junior category goes on this same race track and we as drivers are afraid to attempt overtakes as we fear sliding and crashing into one and other. It is unacceptable that drivers go from top 3 to bottom 3 simply by changing a set of tyres.

“Out of protest many of us are refusing to drive in the final later today. We hope this does not reflect poorly on the RGMMC as they are doing their best to put on a professional race weekend but we feel this is impossible with these tyres. This is a decision made by us drivers. We feel the FIA need to change tyre supplier for it to be safe to race each other.”

Reigning European Champion Lorenzo Travisanutto took the issue a step further, revealing a deeper frustration within the sport. While he acknowledged that international grids are holding steady (though I want to note we once had FSA, FA, and ICA for senior drivers, not just one grid) the regional and national scenes are crumbling. And the so-called "professional" tier? A handful of races a year, with no exposure. Teams aren’t investing, because there’s no return.

“When people speak about the “health” of karting/motorsport, instead of patting each other’s back because of the increasing numbers in international level due to it becoming a trend among extremely wealthy families, we should look more at national/regional level, which is dead, or to the numbers of “professional” karting drivers, racing 4/5 races per season and working extra jobs as teams see no returns in visibility and therefore sales to invest more into it.

“Most teams and drivers are doing it mainly out of passion, don’t kill even the passion.”

The tyre controversy appears to have lit a fuse under broader dissatisfaction, especially for someone like Travisanutto, a multiple-time World and European Champion. A driver of his caliber should be a global motorsport icon. Instead, he’s juggling second jobs just to sustain his career. As I’ve previously written: he should be a superstar.

The FIA’s own 2025 Season Presentation Dossier (pages 8–9) devotes space to highlighting F1 drivers, not karters. Despite the many legends who’ve won world championships in karting, the FIA chooses to spotlight drivers who, bar the odd exception, often never reached the top in karting. It’s a telling signal of where the governing body's priorities lie.

There are drivers dedicating their lives to this sport, and they are right to begin asking difficult questions of the FIA.

Meanwhile, Gus Lawrence has joined Caden McQueen and Joe Turney in seeking opportunities in the United States. In an interview with KartChaser, he spoke candidly about the appeal of the American scene - where prize money makes the pursuit financially viable.

"Where I’m from, there’s no prize money. So to come here and have a chance to win, up to the winner’s winnings, it’s amazing. Like, to come all this way, race and whatnot, and walk away with money in your pocket, it’s almost like a weekend’s work. So it’s great. Not much more to say, really. I think you guys here make karting a sport of its own, not just a stepping stone… so you can stay in karting and race, and it’s great."

One can only hope this latest wave of dissent compels drivers to keep asking the hard questions - of race organisers, of tyre suppliers, and of those who continue to turn over significant revenue while the lifeblood of karting bleeds out, one passionate driver at a time.