After a season start concentrated on the Lonato track, the second round of the WSK Super Master Series allowed the Birel ART Racing team to enrich its database on a less commonly-used track, that of Franciacorta, where the FIA Karting World Championships will take place next October. The “Red Power” KZ2s once again shone in the face of strong competition. Cristian Bertuca took a good 2nd place and kept his leadership in the championship while four Birel ART drivers finished in the top 10. Kirill Kutskov in OK and Gerasim Skulanov in OK-Junior also performed well on a demanding track.
"We learned a lot during this weekend in Franciacorta," said Riccardo Longhi, Team Manager, and Birel ART Racing KZ2 driver. "It wasn't always easy because of the record participation in this WSK Super Master Series with some tough on-track battles. We updated our data on a unique circuit where there were many incidents: retirements and penalties often changed the game. Our competitiveness was confirmed in KZ2 with Cristian Bertuca's solid run and Freddie Slater's great comeback in the top five after his 20th position in Qualifying. Giuseppe Palomba was also in a very good rhythm, but the Final did not go as well as we had hoped. Pedro Hiltbrand and I were delayed in our last heat. I had to retire at the start of the Final while Pedro was penalised because of his front fairing. Fortunately, Alessio Piccini in 8th, Daniel Vasile in 10th, and Moritz Ebner in 26th kept improving throughout the meeting.
"Kirill Kutskov did an excellent job in OK. He finished 12th in the Final after having to deal with a few contacts and was able to move up 15 places in the championship. Our OK-Junior drivers all had to face withdrawals in the intense battles between the 105 participants. Gerasim Skulanov was the best performer with three good Qualifying Heats. He was on his way to a great comeback in the Final, 14th at mid-race with a gain of 14 places. An incident and a badly positioned front fairing did not allow him to confirm his position in the standings.
"We will quickly learn from this weekend in Franciacorta to adapt our strategy in view of the two preparatory races for the OK and OK-Junior World Championship which will take place in September. But we will also focus on the next WSK Super Master Series in a fortnight's time in Sarno where we will have stronger ambitions. We have a strong card to play with our equipment, the 2023 Birel ART S15 chassis being already very competitive".