The new Champions of the Future Shifters, which has just taken place in Portimao, featured Birel ART drivers in all three categories. Daniel Vasile took victory in KZ2, while Artem Severiukhin was on the podium, Pedro Hiltbrand secured 3rd place in KZ and Davide Foré 4th in KZ2 Master. Two weeks before the World Championship, Lissone's products are showing excellent competitiveness.
In recent weeks, Birel ART has won a series of titles around the world. Cristian Bertuca became Italian KZ2 Champion and Davide Foré Italian KZ2 Master Champion. Craig Tanic won the French KZ2 Championship and Nelson Bondier the French KZ2 Master Championship, while Jean Luyet was crowned Swiss KZ2 Champion. Nuvola Morales won the Mini title in the CEK Finetwork Championship. Finally, in the Coupe de Montréal Championship, Jérémy St-Cyr won the Rotax Mini, Michel Legrand the Rotax Master, Davide Greco the KZ and Nicolas Bedard the KZ Master.
In the Champions of the Future Shifter at Portimao, the Birel ART chassis demonstrated a remarkable level of performance. Birel ART was the best-represented brand with almost 30 karts, or 20% of the field. Nine of its drivers qualified for the KZ2 Final and four finished in the top six. Daniel Vasile dominated the category with four heat wins, one Super Heat and the overall victory. Artem Severukhin finished on the 3rd step of the podium after taking pole position, winning all his heats and the Super Heat. CL Racing's Corentin Rousseau moved up to 4th place, while Cristian Bertuca was 6th.
In KZ, Pedro Hiltbrand put in a superb performance to finish 2nd in the heats before winning the Super Heat with the fastest lap of the race. He confirmed this in the Final with a 3rd place just a few thousandths behind 2nd. Riccardo Longhi also finished in the top 10.
Davide Foré was in the top three of the KZ2 Master class for a long time. He got back into the rhythm after an average start in the Final, overtook his team-mate Andre Ferreira Serafim and finished 4th. Among the five Birel ART finalists, Serafim finished 7th.
"We performed well in all categories at Portimao," explained Team Manager Riccardo Longhi. "We encountered some rain before finishing on a dry track and we were up to the task at all times. It's an extremely positive result ahead of the upcoming FIA Karting event.”
The KZ World Championship, the KZ2 World Cup and the KZ2 Master International Super Cup will take place at Portimao from 10th to 13th October 2024.