Freddie Slater, Daniel Vasile and Cristian Bertuca put Birel ART's colours to the test on the podium of the KZ2 Final at Sarno, while Slater, aged 14 in his first season, clinched the European KZ2 title and Vasile followed him to 2nd place in the Championship.

The conditions were exceptionally hot at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, with 36° in the air and over 60° on the track. This did not prevent Slater from exploiting the potential of his Birel ART / TM Kart throughout the meeting, from pole position in Qualifying, through four heat wins, then P1 in the Super Heat and the undisputed Final victory. Daniel Vasile didn't get off to such a good start with 21st place in Qualifying, but he made up nine places during the heats and finished 2nd in the Final with a gain of five places. Finally, Bertuca showed his mastery of the sport by taking the lead after the Qualifying Heats, regaining 5 places thanks to his 4 wins and then securing 3rd place in the Final on a 100% Birel ART Racing podium. He thus regained five places in the championship with his 4th position. Maxim Rehm, driving for the Leclerc by Lennox Racing team, enjoyed a string of top-three finishes before retiring prematurely from the Final stage while racing close to the top five. Alessio Piccini finished with a Final gain of seven places, while Angelo Lombardo made up 14 places.

In KZ, Pedro Hiltbrand had the Final podium in his sights when he was forced to retire with four laps to go. Giuseppe Palomba and Riccardo Longhi rejoined the top 10 in 7th and 9th positions respec-tively after an ascending run, while Mattéo Vigano of the Leclerc by Lennox Racing team climbed to 10th place.

28 Birel ART chassis, more than a quarter of the field, took part in the Sarno competition in both categories, with almost a third of the KZ2s. The brand from Lissone continues to be the most popu-lar for gearbox karts. It has more than doubled its lead at the top of the KZ2 team rankings. Bertuca took 1st place across all categories in the FIA International Karting Ranking (IKR), while Slater moved up 21 places. They monopolise the top two positions in KZ2.

Ronni Sala, President of Birel ART, made no secret of his satisfaction: "The Final result of this Eu-ropean Championship is a superb reward for the work done by the team and the factory. A 100% Birel ART podium finish is a real highlight. Since 2020, we have won a European KZ or KZ2 Champi-onship every year. We're determined to keep up this momentum and offer the best equipment to all our customers. Preparations for the two World Championships in Wackersdorf and Franciacorta will keep us busy throughout the summer. Before that, I'd like to congratulate Freddie Slater, the youngest European KZ2 Champion to date, on his prowess in his first season at this level. At the other end of the scale, I'm delighted that we've been able to give Daniel Vasile the chance to finally make his mark among the best."

Press Release © Birel ART