“We had a weekend of contrasts between hot and cold in sporting terms. We were there to fight for victory, but we’re delighted with our two podium finishes after some very turbulent Finals,” explained Riccardo Longhi, Team Manager of Birel ART Racing and KZ driver. “The final KZ2 heats were difficult for us to manage because of tyre wear. It has to be said that each driver had to complete seven heats. Alessio Piccini was very fast during the weekend. We were hoping for a better result for him, but he came up a little short in the Final. Cristian Bertuca had put in some good runs, but he wasn’t quite so successful on Sunday. Daniel Vasile was the most consistent.

“Matteo Vigano of the Leclerc by Lennox Racing team put in the best Birel ART performance in KZ. Delayed at the start of his Super Heat, he managed to come back to 4th position (+6 places) in a superb Final. As for me, I had to retire after making contact in the last heat. I had a good rhythm on Sunday. I was able to make up five places in the Super Heat, then 14 places to 9th in the Final despite the traffic. I finished 14th because of a badly positioned front fairing. It’s unfortunate that Pedro Hiltbrand and Giuseppe Palomba had to retire when they were up to 7th and 8th.

“Birel ART’s victory in the KZ2 team rankings is a great reward for all the team’s hard work this season.”

Birel ART’s sporting programme now focuses on the OK and OK-Junior categories, with the Champions of the Future Euro Series at Franciacorta next weekend and the FIA Karting World Championship two weeks later, from October 6th-8th, at the same circuit.

Excellent in the heats, he lost a lot in the last heat where he was in 2nd place when he was hooked by an opponent. However, he came back 4th in the Super Heat and made up another three places in the Final to finish on the podium. Matheus Morgatto (Leclerc by Lennox Racing) came close to the top 10 after a good start to the meeting, followed by a few setbacks.

“Thomas Mich returned to international competition after a long absence. A former official Birel ART driver and one of our brand’s long standing distributors in France, he gradually built up his power in the KZ2 Masters and finished 3rd behind two karting legends. Alessio La Martina followed in the top five.