PRESS RELEASE - TKART - The Birel ART group made its official European debut at the 20th edition of the Winter Cup at Lonato’s South Garda Karting circuit on February 18-­22. And what a debut it was! Birel ART Racing and Ricciardo Kart Racing topped the standings from start to finish.

The Birel ART Racing team conquered its first ever podium in KZ2 with Menno Paauwe, who placed third in the Final. The Dutch driver was author of a fantastic rebound run from eleventh on grid to fourth at the finish line. The great result then turned fantastic as he was promoted to third, following Lammers’ disqualification.

Sadly, the weekend did not go the same way for KZ2 teammate Jordon Lennox-­‐Lamb, who was forced to withdraw from the Final after a race contact on lap four. The end result unfortunately does not account for how well the Brit raced all weekend, proving he had what it takes to contend the top spots in both the qualifyings and the heats.

In KF it was Ben Barnicoat who did a phenomenal job of representing the Birel ART name. Fast and steady all weekend, the English driver was the absolute star of the qualifyings, where he scored the overall second best time, and then of Saturday’s wet heats, claiming a race victory in the rain. Barnicoat then ran into some bad luck in the Prefinal, where his front bumper detached due to a slight contact, relegating him to fourteenth place for the main event. In the Final, the Brit fired back and charged up the field, one fast lap after another, to claim a great fifth place finish. Finally, in KFJ Birel ART Racing claimed a nice eleventh place finish with Lucas Légeret, quick and constant the whole weekend. Ulysse De Pauw and Tom Leuillet also did well, but struggled in the final stages of the event, after contacts in the Prefinal conditioned their results. At his debut with the team, Timothy Peisselon also gave an encouraging performance, despite his tough time in the rain throughout the qualifcation heats.

Ricciardo Kart Racing, the other team of the Birel ART group debuting in Lonato, celebrated an excellent premiere in KFJ with Rasmus Lindh. After scoring pole position in his qualifying group, the Swede proved the quality of his Ricciardo kart the whole way through, from great heats and a top 10 result in the Prefinal to his seventh place finish in the Final.

The Ricciardo Kart team also debuted in style in KZ2, where Mirko Torsellini wrapped up the weekend in tenth place, after putting in some excellent racing in the heats and the Prefinal. Promising signs also came from Diego Bertonelli, who made the Final’s top 20.

Birel ART President Ronni Sala:
“The Birel ART group’s Winter Cup debut was absolutely positive in terms of performance, since the new Birel ART and Ricciardo Kart chassis demonstrated how strongly competitive they are in every category. Unfortunately, in several cases, final results were compromised by race contacts and other factors, like changing weather conditions and the many penalties caused by the front bumper system mandated by the CIK-­‐FIA. This said, our drivers are all very satisfied with their new karts and this gives me great confidence for the remainder of the season.”

Next race event: Florida Winter Tour, Rotax Series, February 27-­‐ March 1.