BIREL MOTORSPORT TEST

THREE AMONG THE MOST PROMISING EASYKART DRIVERS RAN A TEST WITH BIREL MOTORSPORT

FOSSATI, VALORI AND ROTA RAN AN AMAZING TEST WITH BIREL MOTORSPORT IN LONATO. ENNIO GANDOLFI SUPERVISED THE EVENT.

Birel’s interest in young drivers, particularly in the new breeding ground that is growing around the Easykart project, led to further positive results with the test offered to three among the most promising young drivers of the Italian Easykart Trophy. For this occasion, the facility of the Birel racing division was used under the general supervision of Ennio Gandolfi, neo champion of the 125 Super Icc class. The three young drivers invited to the test were Christian Fossati, Ronnie Valori and Fabio Rota. The three selected drivers are being trained for competitions within the Easykart Trophy. Fossati won the National title in the 60cc last year, and was promoted with excellent results to the 100 class in 2004. Valori conquered the National title in the 100 class in the past season, and the title of the North-West Area in 2005. Fabio Rota, finally, became vice-champion of the 100cc class in 2004 and performed very well in the 125cc this year, conquering the place of honour both in the International and National Trophies. The test took place on the track of Lonato; Fossati and Valori tested a 100 ICA/Junior (both are 13 years old) and Rota (age 16) a 100cc ICA. The frames (Birel R 32-Sp) and engines (Tm) used were the same as those employed at international level, in addition to all the technical supports, including telemetry, necessary for a better assessment of drivers’ performances. The result of the test was amazing. Considering the conditions of the racing track and the harsh temperature, the times achieved (46”00 for the two Junior drivers and 44”00 for Rota) were very significant. However, apart from the chronometric measurements, all the drivers have proved able to quickly adjust to the different features of the racing frames and tyres with greater grip. The testing programme included their working on the set up as well as in simulated qualifiers and races with as many as two “long runs“ performed in the afternoon. During such a demanding job, the young drivers were able to gather important experience applying the working methods of an extremely skilled team. In particular, telemetry was used on each of the frames, which offered the possibility of carefully analysing the drivers’ performances on the racing course and better assessing both their sprinting capacities and the indications supplied as far as the set up was concerned. This operation is part of the Birel programme aimed at supporting the worthiest drivers and will have further important developments starting from 2005. As a whole, the programme aims at launching the best drivers of the Birel breeding ground at an international level. To attain this goal, several actions are going to be set off in order to select the best-deserving drivers as well as support them positively in their training and in competitions.

Ennio Gandolfi’s comment: “I was amazed by the adaptability the three lads showed, both as far as the frame and the tyres were concerned. The stopwatch speaks for itself: they achieved times that would enable them to run races at an international level like the Winter Cup. The Junior drivers, in particular, recorded times very close to those attained by our drivers on this track last week. The extremely reassuring indication we draw, in any case, is the great training ability the Easykart classes have shown. This helps to closely watch the up-and-coming drivers from the 60 and 100 classes, and to expect their swift adaptation to the higher classes".

THE DRIVERS’ COMMENTS

CHRISTIAN FOSSATI: “the thing that impressed me most in this experience is the working method of Birel technicians. With the help of the mechanic assigned to me, I have been able to quickly understand how to adjust my way of driving to the frame, and in the course of the day my times grew increasingly better. Also the telemetry surprised me: it is very useful to understand many things regarding the performance of the frame as well as the mistakes we make in driving. It has been a wonderful experience.”

RONNIE VALORI: “I had already driven a kart of the Junior class, and maybe that’s why I appreciated even more the experience with Birel Motorsport. Both the technical material employed and the technicians who supported us have proved exceptional, like the suggestions and advice by Ennio Gandolfi. Everybody was at our full disposal and they helped us to attain excellent times. I would love this event to have a follow-up one way or another”.

FABIO ROTA: “there are quite marked differences between an Easykart and the Birel 100 ICA I tested. I was much impressed by the resistance of the frame and the brakes, particularly, but all in all after the first two sessions my affinity with the frame had grown, and in the afternoon I was running at a very constant pace. All this was made possible thanks to the great competence of Birel engineers, who were very close to us during this experience. The use of telemetry was also very striking, particularly the way it helps to quickly find out mistakes. Easykart has given me the opportunity of running many races and gathering much experience. This test confirmed to me that with some specific training I might get promotion to the next class with no trouble”.

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THE TELEMETRY DATA We analysed the early stage on the track with new tyres of the two drivers running on Junior karts, Fossati and Valori. The telemetry (comparing the charts) highlights some differences in driving between the two: on the varied narrow track (from the transit in front of the paddock to the last hairpin bend before the straight stretch), Valori is more effective than Fossati, gaining about 2 tenths of a second, whereas he loses over one tenth of a second on the fast stretch between the “small jump” and the first series of hairpin bends. Valori boasts more experience and lets the frame go without stressing it in the hairpin bends, and he is on the brakes earlier, managing to speed up before Fossati. The maximum speed was recorded by Fossati with 108.1 Km/h, as well as the peak of 17 110 rpm in terms of engine revolutions. The split times on the first screen refer to Fossati, whereas those on the second are Valori’s. It has to be pointed out that Fossati's best theoretical lap (summing up the 6 best split times recorded) is about 3 tenths of a second faster than the best time actually recorded. This difference means a large margin for improvement through finding a constant pace. The same comparison between Valori's best lap and best theoretical lap, instead, shows a difference limited to about a tenth of a second. As far as Rota’s best lap is concerned, on the 3rd screen we show the data of the split times, which also in this case show great possibilities of improvement compared to the theoretical lap. Rota recorded a maximum speed of 116.3 km/h and a peak of 19 388 rpm.