PRESS RELEASE - TKART - In the opening round of the CIK-FIA European Championship in Sarno, Birel ART proved its competitive force, rounding off the top 5 of the KZ2 with Marijn Kremers and placing seventh overall in KZ with Jordon Lennox-Lamb and sixteenth with Menno Paauwe.

In the KZ2 Final, Marijn Kremers kept an excellent pace and battled for the top spots: after leading half the race, he battled to make the podium and crossed the chequered flag in fifth place. In the top 5 all throughout the weekend, Kremers’ results include the fifth fastest qualifying time, excellent heat placements - second, twice third and fourth – and a fourth place finish in the Prefinal. Instead, things didn’t go as planned for new entry Giorgio Mandozzi, at his absolute debut with Birel ART, as contacts forced him to withdraw from two of the heats and kept him from qualifying for the final phase.

In KZ, despite Birel ART struggled to find an ideal engine configuration for the Sarno track, the team managed to make the Final top 7 with Jordon Lennox-Lamb. Thanks to an excellent start from twelfth on the grid, Jordon joined the front runners in the first laps and from here battled for the top spots all race, closing with precious points towards the title hunt. Despite some engine problems, Birel ART also achieved a great recovery with Menno Paauwe after a difficult start, climbing from twenty-second on lap 8 to sixteenth at the finish.

Jordon Lennox-Lamb: “This was a tough weekend for us. Yet, despite several problems, we managed to wrap up the Final in the top 7 and conquer important points towards the championship.”

Menno Paauwe: “It was a very difficult weekend. I am disappointed, because we had great speed through free practice, but then we lost ground due to some technical problems. We need to keep working hard and push for the next race in Zuera.”

Marijn Kremers: “I am happy about our Sarno debut: we were very fast, competitive, and up front in every session. Unfortunately, we missed the Final podium by a few tenths, but the chassis was very fast all weekend. I think that if we keep up the hard work, we’ll be able to make the podium next round.”

Giorgio Mandozzi: “Considering my limited experience and that I was a bit unlucky, I think we did well. We improved a lot compared to the first kilometers and I am sure that we’ll do much better in coming rounds. I’m very satisfied about my first weekend with Birel ART.”

Gianluca Beggio, General Manager: “Birel ART did a good debut in the KZ2 Europeans. Our chassis battled for victory all weekend long and the points we collected in Sarno have us standing fourth in the Championship: I am sure we’ll do even better in Zuera. In KZ we had several issues throughout the event, but the team managed to collect important points in the title hunt: I’m optimistic we will be on the podium in Zuera”.

Next event on schedule: WSK Super Master Series, 23-26 April, Sarno - Italy

Next round of the CIK-FIA KZ - KZ2 European Championships: 21-24 May, Zuera - Spain.


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