Birel ART: Strong performances in all categories at Val Vibrata
Last weekend saw the second and final round of the European KZ, KZ2 and KZ2 Masters Championship at Kartodromo Val Vibrata. Birel ART was the most represented chassis brand with almost a quarter of the field.
Pedro Hiltbrand finished in the top five of the KZ Final, Daniel Vasile and Matheus Morgatto finished 4th and 5th in KZ2 and Andrea Spagni was on the KZ2 Masters podium. Vasile became European KZ2 Vice-Champion, with Davide Foré taking 4th place in KZ2 Masters.
The Birel ART / TM Karts showed excellent speed throughout the European meeting, which took place in very hot weather. The overall level of performance of the Lissone karts has improved considerably since the opening event in Spain, as demonstrated by the presence of five Birel ARTs in the KZ2 top 10. However, the retirements of Davide Foré and Riccardo Longhi in the Final caused a shortfall in results.
In KZ, Pedro Hiltbrand made steady progress to 3rd place in the Super Heat with the second fastest time before fighting for a place on the podium in the Final, finishing 5th and moving up to 6th in the Championship. CL Racing driver Matteo Viganò continued to gain ground by breaking into the top 10.
In KZ2, Daniel Vasile put in four solid runs to move back up to 8th in the intermediate rankings before finishing 4th in the Final, which meant he retained his 2nd place in the Championship. Matheus Morgatto had secured pole position in Qualifying and set the fastest time in 4th place in his Super Heat. He confirmed his position in 5th place in the Final to make up more than 25 places to 6th place in the Championship. Kirill Kutskov climbed from 23rd to 12th place in the heats, before finishing 8th in the Final. Similarly, Samuele Leopardi climbed from 27th to 9th place. Cristian Bertuca was very fast in the heats to finish in the Final top 10. Corentin Rousseau (CL Kart) put in some very good performances throughout the meeting, reaching the Final, while Zoe Florescu Potolea put in an extraordinary performance, starting from her superb 11th place in Qualifying and moving up to 12th in the Final before losing a few places.
In the KZ2 Masters, Davide Foré was well on his way to the Championship after finishing 3rd in timyed Qualifying and winning the Super Heat with the fastest lap. Unfortunately, a collision on the first lap of the Final forced him to retire. He nevertheless finished 4th in the Championship. Andrea Spagni, driving for the KCS Di Mancino Antonio team, finished on the category podium.
The programme now turns to the OK and OK-Junior categories with the Champions of the Future and then the World Championship in England on the PF International circuit.