Birel ART: a World Championship with a bitter taste

There was undeniable potential for the Birel ART / TM Kart drivers at Franciacorta during the 2023 OK and OK-Junior World Championship. The previous events had shown a positive evolution, but the course of the FIA Karting event was not favourable to the Birel ART Racing team.

"We didn't manage to find our way through the many incidents in this competition," said Ronni Sala. "Several of our drivers had the potential to achieve honourable results, but the very special circumstances of the event too often turned to their disadvantage. To begin with, 2022 World Champion Matheus Morgatto was placed 69th in OK Qualifying because of a shortened session. Mired in the second half of the pack in the heats, he was unable to catch up with the leaders. Emanuele Olivieri was forced to retire on the first lap of the OK Final. Unusually, only 14 of the 36 finalists were able to cross the finish line - that's a lot of crashes. Ean Eyckmans of the Leclerc by Lennox Racing team, who had regained 15 places during the heats, started from the third row of the Final grid with a solid chance, but he was forced to retire on the last lap. Noah Wolfe had managed to make up nine places in the OK-Junior heats. Starting 11th in the Final, he was down to 34th because of an incident on the first lap before coming back to 21st at the finish line.

“We're going to take a step back to analyse this disappointing weekend. However, the factory and the Racing Team must be thanked for their tireless efforts throughout the season. We were delighted to see several of our drivers step up a gear, and we are as motivated as ever to continue our work to ensure that the 2024 season brings us even greater satisfaction in competition, in keeping with the DNA of Birel ART."