In summery weather, Birelart Racing shone in the third round of the FIA Karting European Championship - OK at Viterbo. Vladimir Ivannikov took an excellent 2nd place in the Final, while Noah Wolfe and Aston Sharp also put in solid performances throughout the weekend.
 

Vladimir Ivannikov makes it happen

Vladimir Ivannikov, who has already shown great promise this season, went one better in Italy. After finishing 2nd in his group in Qualifying, he climbed to 6th overall. Consistent and incisive, he finished 2nd in each of his Qualifying Heats - including a win on the track - and set the fastest lap in four of them. After a 3rd place in Super Heat B, he started from 3rd on the grid for the Final. An excellent start saw him quickly move up to 2nd, a position he would hold until the chequered flag behind an impregnable leader.
 

Wolfe and Sharp solid throughout the weekend

Racing with VAR by Birel, Noah Wolfe was just as fast. After qualifying in 7th place, he consistently finished in the top three throughout the heats, before finishing 2nd in Super Heat A. Unfortunately, a collision at the start of the Final pushed him to the back of the grid. Despite this, Noah made a fine comeback to finish 17th.
 

For his part, Aston Sharp (CL Racing) scored several top three finishes in the heats and a promising 4th place in Super Heat B. He then ran into difficulties in the Final. Eloi Gonzalez, meanwhile, made impressive progress: qualifying poorly, he made up 32 places during the heats before moving up another eight positions in the Final, despite a penalty.
 

The Juniors never give up

In the OK-Junior category, Ludovico Mazzola showed excellent potential in the heats before a retirement put the brakes on his progress. He made up for it with a 15-position recovery in the Final, just outside the top 10. Gustavo Marques Da Silva also made several encouraging passes.
 

The reaction of team manager Jordon Lennox

"The whole team is pleased with the work done at Viterbo. Vladimir Ivannikov's performance reflects our collective commitment and confirms that he is now a credible contender for victory. Noah Wolfe also showed once again that he can fight at the front, even if he lacked success in the Final. Our technical choices in the 'direct-drive' categories have been validated, and this very hot weekend confirms the effectiveness of our equipment, whatever the conditions."
 

Next event: Sarno

The Birelart Racing team will be back on track from 19th to 22nd June for the second round of the FIA European Karting Championship at Sarno. Pedro Hiltbrand will head the KZ standings, followed by Cristian Bertuca in 2nd place. In KZ2, Juho Valtanen, Corentin Rousseau, Jay Urwin and Noah Wolfe are currently in promising positions.