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Welcome
to the official Birel S.p.A. website. In the name of Birel philosophy,
which has always been targeted to customer service and technology,
we have created a karting portal: the focus is on products,
debates with engineers and drivers, reviews of tracks and information
on the key issues of our sport. Birel is leader on the web,
too. |
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2002
Racing Season |
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100
FSA World Championship
Quintarelli is world vice-champion
After winning for four years, Quintarelli loses the
title by a hair during the last run. But his results
for the season are still excellent
The
most important international event in the 2002 competitive
season was the 100 FSA World Championship. Birel fielded
two teams (Birel Motorsport and Birel Spa), both with
TM engines and Bridgestone tires. The drivers for the
Birel Motorsport team were expert drivers and multiple
champions Gianluca Beggio and Marco Ardigò. The second
team fielded the Frenchman Laurent Groppi and Venetian
Ronnie Quintarelli, who after two seasons in auto racing
returned to go-karting. And it was Quintarelli who surprised
everyone in the first trial at Marienbourg. Although
he had completed only one test before the race, having
reached an agreement with the Birel team only at the
last minute, he won the pole position. Beggio also looked
very competitive and had the third best time. But the
real surprise of the race and whole weekend in Belgium
was Alessandro Manetti, who would win both race 1 and
race 2. Ronnie Quintarelli gained two fifth places,
while Gianluca Beggio placed third in race 2.
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Quintarelli's
victory in Finland |
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The
second trial for the season took place for the first
time in Finland. Quintarelli had a resounding double
victory and jumped to the head in the World Championship.
Ardigò also proved to be very competitive, placing an
excellent second in race 2, after ending the first trial
in fourth place ahead of Beggio. In race 1, Asmer and
Forè came in second and third, while in race 2, local
driver Kohatala came in behind Ardigò. In August, sweltering
heat was awaiting FSA drivers in Portugal on the Braga
track. Although the change in location was not the most
fortunate, Quintarelli maintained his leadership in
the classification due to his fourth place finish in
race 1. Unfortunately, in the second trial, sports commissioners
stopped the Venetian driver while he was in fourth place,
when his chain guard came off. Van der Garde and Ammermuller
finished first and second in race 1 and switched positions
in race 2. The
fourth trial was on the French track of Salbris, when
Davide Forè was once again successful in race 1, coming
in ahead of Carlo Van Dam. Marco Ardigò came in third,
while Quintarelli finished in fifth place, preceded
by Van der Garde.
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Spectacular
scenery in Beggio |
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In
the second trial, an extraordinary race gave Ronnie
Quintarelli an important success as he finished ahead
of Forè and Van der Garde. For the Venetian driver,
the victory in France meant competing in the last race
in Italy at Muro Leccese, with an advantage of seven
points over Van der Garde. The Venetian driver's team,
Birel SpA, was also the leader in the constructors'
classification. But racing on home ground brought no
luck to Birel colors. In race 1, while Van der Garde
came in first, Quintarelli blew out his engine and was
forced to withdraw. The miracle in race 2 didn’t happen,
and even though he won it, Quintarelli lost the title
to Van der Garde, who also won the second trial. Thanks
to two fifth places, Marco Ardigò came in fifth in the
World Championship as well. Still, even though the title
slipped away at the last minute, results for the season
were extremely positive. Performance was excellent on
all courses and under all conditions. For the Birel-TM
pair, victory in the 100 class has only been postponed. |
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