2003 100FA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

GATTO ON THE EUROPEAN PODIUM

BAS LAMMERS WINS IN MARIEMBOURG THE CONTINENTAL TITLE. SALVATORE GATTO, THANKS TO HIS 3RD AND 4TH POSITION, COMES IN THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

The last round of the 100FA European Championship was run on the Belgian racing track of Mariembourg. Bas Lammers was the leader of the results list while, as far as Birel team is concerned, Salvatore Gatto is the driver with the best position in the general results list, where he comes in third. Unfortunately, because of very different reasons, the European season has not been very successful for Birel colours and many drivers, such as Marco Ardigò and Michele Fanetti, are already thinking of the next-coming World Championship that will be run in Sarno. Fanetti even is not present in Belgium. After times and qualifying sessions both Gatto and Ardigò are leading and for round 1 they sprint from the front rows. On the contrary, among top drivers, Manetti, Forè and Cesetti have a worst performance and they all sprint from the rear positions. In round 1, after 19 laps, Ben Hanley is the winner, preceding Teemu and the French Renaudie. Gatto and Ardigò come in respectively 4th and 5th, preceding Sims and Spinozzi. Manetti is only placed in the 8th position, while Lammers, leader of the Championship, does not exceed the 10th position. Obviously the Dutch driver avoids running any risk and in any case he succeeds in preceding his direct opponent for the title Davide Forè. In round 2 the Finnish driver Teemu has the better of Hanley, inverting the arrival order of round 1. Also Gatto and Renaudie invert their positions in comparison with the first round and in this way the driver from Palermo does not only gain his position on the podium but he also comes in 3rd in the Championship. Ardigò confirms his 5th position, proving once again the effectiveness of Birel-Tm couple, which has been leading for the whole week-end with its drivers equipped with Bridgestone tyres. This aspect is very reassuring in expectation of the World Championship, where many drivers of the Lissone based company will be able to compete for the title. Even in round 2 Lammers precedes Forè and so he celebrates the first important success of his career.