Potential confirmed for Pizzi, great progress for Nepveu
The WSK Super Master Series moved to Naples one week ahead of the original schedule to replace the Lonato event canceled because of the snow. Although this event was not scheduled in the programme, Birel ART Racing took the opportunity to continue to develop the equipment and drivers. Good performances rewarded everyone's efforts, especially in OK-Junior with Francesco Pizzi's 7th place. The first steps in European competition for Thomas Nepveu were also more than encouraging with an incredible 15th position in the Final.
"We proved in Sarno that our potential in OK-Junior is very real," said Davide Foré, the Birel ART Racing team manager. "Yet the Qualifying sessions did not go very well, especially after our very good free practice performances. Our drivers completed strong heats to put themselves in better positions. I am disappointed for Thomas Dijkstra who failed to qualify in the Prefinal, his progress having been weighed down by several penalties. But the qualification of Francesco Pizzi and the rise of Tomas Nepveu were remarkable.”
Starting from 26th in Qualifying, Francesco Pizzi was able to reduce his handicap to reach 7th place in the Final by posting very convincing times. Undoubtedly the work by Birel ART Racing has paid off and with Pizzi the team has a great asset for the European Championship. The performance from the Canadian Thomas Nepveu deserves to be highlighted. While discovering the category, the tyres, the track and his opponents, he managed to recover from his 56th time in Qualifying to 15th place among the 81 participants, a feat that augurs well for the future.
"In KZ2, Riccardo Longhi was confronted with engine set-up problems before completing a difficult Prefinal in mixed conditions," continued Davide Foré. "He was able to catch up and move up to 7th position in the Final with very competitive times. Alexander Dahlberg moved closer to the top 10, but an accident in the Final forced him to retire. "
Marijn Kremers and Luigi Coluccio raced in the event with the handicap of starting far back in the heats following a bad Qualifying. Despite their very good pace, the fact of starting in the pack did not make their recovery easy, especially because of many contacts. Kremers was stopped by a mechanical problem in the Final, while Coluccio regained 11 places after being penalised for his spoiler in the Prefinal. He was very going well and back to 15th place in the Final before a collision dropped him to 23rd place.
The last meeting of the WSK Super Master Series looks very interesting, next weekend at the same circuit of Sarno where the CIK-FIA European Championships for the OK and OK-Junior categories will begin two weeks later. Birel ART Racing is taking advantage of the opportunity to continue to build on the great potential revealed at the start of the season.