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The third championship
race took place in July in Sarno. Home air was favourable
to the Birel team, confirming technical growth and bringing
Gianluca Beggio and Marco Ardigò to the back of
the podium winners in race 1.
The fourth round in Belgium was not favourable to the
Birel team: the variable weather and a number of technical
problems prevented good results. Redemption was cashed
with interest in the last test in Germany. The race took
place in Kerpen and saw the presence of a top leading
guest star: Michael Schumacher. The four times F1 champion,
karting enthusiast, raced with Tony Kart. The title was
assigned in Germany, with Italian drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi
and Davide Foré in the list. The first, CRG-Maxter
standard-bearer, dominated the first races in Canada and
Belgium, and had always obtained good results.
Foré won twice in France and once in Italy, but
was over 30 points behind Liuzzi. The last race was certainly
an interesting one. Birel chassis showed their worth on
the German track, in dry and wet conditions. The last
race was again marked by very variable weather. Marco
Ardigò started on the second line in race 1 and
came home an excellent second.
Gianluca Beggio, winner of a qualifying heat, had to retire
following a contact, while Umegaki took an excellent sixth
position. Foré did not make it off the grid because
of a technical problem. Liuzzi won the 2001 World Championship
and Schumacher did not complete the race due to problems
with a bearing. Race 2 was Ardigò's masterpiece,
taking the victory after a close duel with Perera and
Cesetti.
Unfortunately, the judges took the debatable decision
to rule him out due to a contact with the French Tony
Kart driver. Ardigò was first followed by Cesetti,
who was called the winner, and a surprising Schumacher.
Umegaki finished an excellent performance in race 2 in
fifth place. The balance of the 2001 season was generally
positive, especially in view of 2002.
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