Birel ART Racing Team makes a successful comeback to competition: podium Riccardo Longhi
Eighteen weeks after the last WSK in Lonato, the Birel ART Racing Team was back in competition at Adria for an intense week bringing together the third and fourth rounds of the Super Master Series. The team from Lissome resumed the work of preparing the equipment as soon as possible while the drivers took care of their physical condition. The result of this return to racing highly satisfying regarding the performance on track despite the heat and the unusual length of this double race meeting.
“There was plenty of satisfaction throughout the long week in Adria,” said Ronni Sala, President of the Birel ART Group. “First of all, we have to salute the work of WSK Promotion for this first double race and also to be delighted with a large and very competitive international line-up. Of course we would have preferred Palomba to have won the WSK Super Master Series in KZ2, but a blister on one of his tyres prevented him from defending his chances in the final on Sunday. Our drivers fought well as we finished 2nd with three of them in the top five. In the Junior class, Kucharczyk had a very good run and it was not long before he reached the podium of the series. The development work continues in the other categories with interesting progress especially in OK
We are also proud to see our chassis are also very performant in the official Charles Leclerc by Lennox Racing team. This double event was demanding for everyone and I would like to congratulate all the team members for their courage and determination.”In KZ2, the KZ World Champion brand lived up to its reputation by keeping its drivers at the forefront throughout the meeting. The competition was not easy on a track known to be difficult to overtake and it was pleasing to see the Birel ART brand in the top five of each race day with remarkable consistency. Giuseppe Palomba finished 5th in the Final on Saturday after his 3rd fastest time and 2nd place in the Round 3 heats. Qualifying in Round 4 was less favourable, but that didn’t prevent Riccardo Longhi from winning his Prefinal and mounting the podium in the Final on Sunday. His team-mates Palomba and Irlando followed him in 4th and 5th places for a great team result.
Leonardo Marseglia was unlucky and forced to retire in both Finals after he had put in some good performances in the Prefinals. In the official team Charles Leclerc by Lennox Racing, the performance of the chassis produced by Birel ART enabled Matteo Vigano and Viktor Gustafsson to achieve exceptional results. They totalled 6 victories in the heats, Gustafsson signed the two pole positions, the leader of the heats Vigano won his pre-final on Saturday and finished 3rd in the final.
Tymoteusz Kucharczyk once again put in a very good performance at the wheel of his Robert Kubica Kart chassis, coming straight from Lissone. Consistently in the top three of the heats, twice setting the fastest lap in the race, he always fought hard to stay in the leading group and took two 4th places in the Finals to conclude the Championship in 6th place. Cristian Bertuca did not spare his efforts in the heats. A spoiler penalty deprived him of a top 10 finish in the first Final, but that didn’t prevent him from finishing 15th in the series. Keanu Al Azhari’s adaptation to the Junior category was delayed by the long break, but his performance should improve in the coming races.
Clayton Ravenscroft continued the development of the OK. Despite difficulties during the quallifying, he climbed up to 20th and then 18th in the finals.The two drivers of the official Charles Leclerc by Lennox Racing team confirmed the potential of their Birel ART chassis by finishing in the top ten of qualifying. Jamie Day climbed from 33rd to 6th place in the final phase on Saturday and earned a superb 2nd place in the final on Sunday, which allowed him to take 6th place in the championship, while Gray finished 9th in the final.For his part, Emanuele Olivieri was able to progress in the Mini’s strong field where he achieved a top 10 in the Prefinal and a 22nd position in Final 3. The Birel ART Racing Team will continue its racing commitment from next weekend at Sarno for the start of the WSK Euro Series.