This news is a “bomb”, considering the names involved.

On one hand, Birel, one of the oldest and most winning brands in karting history; on the other, Art Grand Prix, an emergent name in the karting industry, but already a well established brand in the motorsport world (active in F. Renault 2.0, GP3, GP2 and GT) headed by Nicolas Todt, manager of Formula 1 drivers Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado and others, and son of FIA President Jean Todt.

Well, it seems that these two brands, that until now only shared the color of their chassis, have sealed a serious agreement, serious enough for the Art GP management to change the company name from “Art Grand Prix S.r.l.” to “Birel Art S.r.l.”.

For now it's just a "grapevine" rumor that has in no way been confirmed and it should be taken as such.

Neither of the two companies has released official statements on the matter, in print or in person. The change of name, however, suggests the beginning of a deep partnership between Birel and Art GP. So stay tuned on TKART to find out about official confirmations.

PS - The image is a photo-montage fruit of TKART's imagination