Birelart travelled to Denmark this weekend for the fourth of five rounds of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, held at the Rødby circuit, which appeared on the international calendar for the first time in 2023. From Thursday's Qualifying sessions to Saturday's Finals, the team had to fight relentlessly, but failed to secure a podium finish in OK despite some impressive performances.
 

Noah Wolfe (VAR by Birelart) got his weekend off to a perfect start by setting the 3rd fastest time in his group during the Timed Qualifying sessions in the OK category, which was the 9th fastest time overall. He confirmed this performance in the heats with several top-three finishes. Unfortunately, an incident in the Super Heat compromised his chances, relegating him to 19th place on the starting grid for the Final. He then made a remarkable comeback, gaining numerous positions by avoiding collisions at the start and then steadily progressing to 7th place (+11), without however being able to catch up with the group fighting for 3rd place.
 

Vladimir Ivannikov had an even better start to Qualifying, with a very close 2nd place in his group and 4th place overall. His progress was then hampered by incidents in the heats and Super Heat, although he demonstrated his speed by taking 2nd place in his first heat on Thursday afternoon. Starting from 26th position in the Final, he managed his race well, gaining places from the start and avoiding the pitfalls of the pack to finish 11th, having gained 15 positions.
 

Toby Gale, back in competition after a break, arrived in Rødby highly motivated. He finished 5th in his group in Qualifying, placing him 13th overall. Fighting hard in the heats, he was involved in an accident on the first lap of his Super Heat, which eliminated nearly half the field. Determined to bounce back in the Final, he gained 11 positions to finish 19th.
 

Another source of satisfaction for Birelart was Joel Pohjola, who returned to international competition this season and managed to qualify for the Final despite a long absence, a promising performance for the future. Other drivers such as Aston Sharp, Vilmer Svahn, Skye Parker and Austin Gale failed to qualify despite their efforts.
 

Jordon Lennox, head of the Junior and Senior programme, commented:

"This circuit differs from the tracks in Southern Europe in that it has a much smoother surface, but we think the team adapted very well. There were frequent incidents in the early laps and, without that, we believe that both Wolfe and Ivannikov had every chance of aiming for the podium. In any case, we are leaving with a lot of valuable data to prepare for the final round of the European Championship next weekend."
 

Birelart Racing will be back on track this weekend in Rødby for the FIA Karting European Championship final in the OK and OK-Junior categories.