WSK INTERNATIONAL SERIES Muro Leccese, March 13-16 - Round 1

THE FIRST WSK 2008 TRIAL IS A SUCCESS

OVER 230 DRIVERS AND A PADDOCK OF THE HIGHEST LEVEL AT THE FIRST ROUND OF THE WSK 2008. AND SATISFACTION FOR BIREL.

The new International karting cycle, patronized by tremendous support from the WSK series principal builders, had its first rally at the Muro Leccese track with three classes in attendance: KF3, KF2 and KF1. KZ2, absent for this occasion will debut in the next round at Angerville instead of the KF2 which will have a break. The rally was absolutely positive and demonstrates a tangible step forward towards the future of karting, internationally craved by the builders with an evolving competitive format and excellent television and media visibility. The Muro Leccese paddock was enlivened by the presence of the “Vans” from all of the important companies and all of the drivers from the KF classes were on the track. Even the work of the “organizational machine” was outstanding, guaranteeing excellent service to the teams as well as the press and the workers. From the sporting point of view, the outstanding indications that the 2008 Birel chassis had already shown in the first competitive meets and the winter tests are to be noted. The “SE” line that identifies the 2008 chassis proved itself to be very competitive in all classes, starting with the KF3 reserved for the young drivers from 13 to 15 years old, where Marc Colessi and Riccardo Agostini brought attention to themselves starting in the qualifying rounds, as did the English driver Alex Lynn. Unfortunately though, both drivers from the KSB team lost a round (Coleselli for a carburetor problem and Agostini due to a contact) starting in the center group for the Final, while Lynn broke his clutch in the Pre-final, finishing in 20th place after having started in 4th. Coleselli and Agostini, on the other hand, finished the Pre-final in 6th and 11th place, respectively. In the Final, De Vries established himself while Coleselli fought for the podium sprinting home to win 4th place behind Maisano and Michelle Gatting. Agostini finished in 9th place, while a contact eliminated both Lynn and Beretta. In the KF2 Paolo De Conto (KSB), in great form, was victorious in all 4 qualifying rounds. The official Birel Motorsport drivers, Harvey and Patrono also did very well (both qualified in the first 3 lines for the pre-final), while Amberg lost a round due to an accident and was therefore forced into the recovery race from which he soon had to withdraw due to a technical problem. The Polish pilot, Karol Basz from the MGM team also did very well, but even he was penalized by motor problems in one round and, like his teammate Viganò (held back by an accident) qualified past the 20th position for the Pre-final. In the race that determined the starting lineup for the Final besides assigning valid points for the championship to the first 10 who were classified, a fast and sure Jack Harvey proved himself to be a driver of undisputable talent playing the race with Smarrazzo up to the final round, winning an outstanding 2nd place. De Conto also did very well, finishing in 3rd place after a long race. Patrono, on the other hand, made 7th place, while both Basz and Viganò ended up behind the front line, both penalized by some technical problems. In the Final, the battle was narrowed down to Smarrazzo, Harvey, De Conto and Foster, but the tight race favored Smarrazzo who gained a few meters on his three direct adversaries in the first phases. Therefore, the Birel drivers found themselves playing for the place of honor with De Conto who, two laps from the final, placed himself ahead of Foster and Harvey, winning 2nd place. Jack Harvey, on the other hand, overcame Foster in the last round, to win 3rd place on the podium. Patrono and Viganò however were missing in the point zone, both involved in accidents, while Basz recovered to finish well in 7th place, registering the same time as the winners. Finally, in the KF1 the Superpole format debuted, which saw both of the official Birel drivers (Toman and Cesetti) qualify in the top ten, while the best absolute time went to Thonon. In the matches an incredible misfortune relegated Casetti to last spot in the lineup for the recovery race. In fact, in the first match, the driver from Le Marche blamed it on a motor problem while in the 2nd a hub on the right rear tire broke (probably due to a previous contact). Fortunately, the Birel-TM express service was of the highest level and Cesetti succeeded in qualifying for the Pre-final, finishing in 2nd place in the recovery race, besides moving up to 6th place at the end of the Pre-Final. A contact, on the other hand, forced Toman out of the race and he was forced to start the Final in 31st spot in the lineup. Things went better for Parrot (team MGM) who ended up in 8th place, while the victory went to Will Stevens. In the Final, Cesetti did not succeed in repeating his Pre-Final performance due to a less than perfect set-up, finishing the race in 6th place while Toman moved back up to 13th place, registering the fastest lap. Even Parrot ended the race positively despite some contacts in the pack, finishing in 10th place. The race was won again by Stevens who preceded Catt and Te Braak.
Statements by the Birel Drivers

Sauro Cesetti (Birel-Tm) -KF1: "The misfortune in the race was incredible, but even if we didn’t make many laps we understood that we could be very competitive starting with the free trials. In the Pre-Final we had proof that we were close to the first spots and that we had a great technical “package” available between the motors and the chassis. In the Final, however, we didn’t make a great set-up choice and, moreover, we didn’t start out well. Therefore, in the end, 6th spot is a fairly good result seeing as how we were in danger of not even participating in the Final.”

Libor Toman (Birel-Iame) -KF1: "A contact in one match and in the Pre-Final compromised my weekend. In spite of all this, in the Final and the Sunday morning matches, the technical solutions that we tried gave us outstanding feedback confirming even the tires that we used in the European races at Parma and Lonato, as well as the winter trials.”

Jack Harvey (Birel-Iame) -KF2: "I am certain that we could have won if I hadn’t lost a few meters to Smarrazzo in the first phases of the race. I am very satisfied, in any case, with our technical potential, the teamwork and the Iame motors. In the beginning of the year we collected a lot of data that was always competitive so we can’t help but be positive for the next races.”

Zoel Amberg (Birel-Iame) -KF2: "We were very competitive in the qualifying rounds, having a good setup, but some problems in the matches forced me into the recovery race where, unfortunately, I had a technical problem with the front brake in the opening lap that forced me to withdraw. However, we are working well as a team and our technical material has proven itself to be the best, both with Harvey and Patrono as well as with De Conto and Basz. All this makes me very confident for the next matches.”

Giacomo Patrono (Birel -Tm) -KF2: "The chassis was working very well which can also be seen in the results obtained by our external team drivers, but even the TM engine proved itself to be able to aim for victory. Unfortunately in the Final, when we should have reaped the fruits of the weekend, putting together all of the valuable solutions that were tested starting in the free trials, an accident deprived us of the significant result that was certainly within our reach. But that’s the way races are and we need to look ahead.”