In Lonato, Giuseppe Palomba and Riccardo Longhi have just given the Birel ART Racing Team a formidable double win in KZ2 to conclude the 25th Winter Cup, during which the Lissone brand put in an exceptional performance. Barely five months after winning the World KZ Championship on the same track, Birel ART shows its ambitions for 2020 in the first KZ2 competition.
"We can be satisfied with our work during the off-season", said Ronni Sala. "It was important to show a high level of performance after our success last year. Our driver formation has changed, but we are still successful. It's a great proof of effectiveness! In OK-Junior, Tymoteusz Kucharczyk was again very convincing, starting from the front row in the Final and finishing 4th in a very hectic race."
Riccardo Longhi and Giuseppe Palomba, who were both very well placed in Timed Practice, won seven Qualifying Heats between them and took the top two places in the Super Heats. They then confirmed Birel ART's dominance in the Final by fighting relentlessly in front of all their opponents. Palomba, a newcomer to the team, won brilliantly against Longhi. This level of performance was confirmed by the return of Alessandro Irlando to 4th position in the Final and four fastest laps in the race. New Zealander Matthew Payne regained eight places in the Final and finished 12th while Leonardo Marseglia concluded this very competitive race in 19th place.
In OK-Junior, Tymoteusz Kucharczyk had another great weekend on LeCont tyres for the first time. 4th fastest, winner of two heats and 2nd after the Super Heats, he lost places at the start of the Final from the outside lane, but managed to regain 4th place during a tough battle. Cristian Bertuca made a superb 14-place comeback and finished in 7th position. The Winter Cup proved more complicated for Andrea Frassinetti, who was confronted with several setbacks in the heats.
Clayton Ravenscroft had made good progress in the OK heats, but a retirement in the battle of Super Heat 1 deprived him of qualification for the Final.
The Birel ART Racing Team will be back at the front of the stage next weekend for the second round of the WSK Super Master Series, in which the KZ2s will make their debut alongside the other categories.