STARS OF KARTING RACE OF AMERICAS OKLAHOMA MOTORSPORT COMPLEX NORMAN

BIREL COLOURS IN THE FOREGROUN

THE DRIVER OF THE MRP TEAM DOMINATES THE 125 ICC CLASS, WHERE HIS TEAMMATE BOSWELL EXCELS AS WELL. IN THE ICA CLASS, MIKE GIESSEN’S (3rd) STAR IS STILL SHINING.

The racing season of the American Federation Stars of Karting was opened on the Oklahoma course with a great appointment, which gathered, in the manner of the finals of the late season, the protagonists both of the East and West Coasts. The best American drivers and the most prestigious teams have met on the Oklahoma track. Some kart manufacturers even decided to enter their official drivers who are already competing in the World Championships. Birel did not follow this line of choice, both because of the great value of its American drivers and due to the company’s specific policy which aims at providing support to its operators, without ever trying to replace them. To attain this goal, there was the Birel Motorsport staff headed by Team Manager Simone Fumagalli to assist such leading American drivers as Speed, Boswell and Giessen, and importers Mrp and 3S. But the technical equipment used by Birel drivers was the same as the one which will be used throughout the season, without the aid of any “special” engine from Europe. For this reason, the results achieved by Birel drivers during the Oklahoma weekend are even more significant, Starting from the success of Alex Speed in the 125 Icc, where he beat Jason Bowles of the Tony Kart – Vortex team. In the Queen class with gear change, Boswell made it to the podium, too. If he had not made any mistake in defining the set-up for the Final, he might have been able to also make a go for the final victory after having dominated his semi-final. Ryan Kinnear ranked in the top-ten list as well. World Champion Davide Forè with his entire staff took part in the 100 Ica class, in addition to German driver Helmut Sanden. These two European drivers won the 1st and 2nd places in the Finals, but in a certain sense Mike Giessen’s 3rd placement can be considered the most significant result as far as the Championship is concerned. The Birel –Mrp team driver performed at an excellent level throughout the weekend, and during the early stages of the race he even seemed ready able to attack the World Champion. However, during the second part of the race, the American driver preferred handle his gained position by keeping Hebner and Wehrheim under control, as he realised that his engine was actually lacking some speed to be able to effectively contrast Forè’s pace. Even if Giessen’s fastest lap has been an excellent 44”896, it was only 180 thousandths of a second slower than Davide Forè’s best time. Young Carlos Munoz (Birel-Parilla) was building up a clear success in the 100 Ica/Junior class, but a technical problem on a tyre forced him off the track. Julia Landauer performed very well through the entire weekend, too, confirming her favourable moment in this introductory class of the Birel-Parilla combination. Both bad luck and the impetuousness of young Birel drivers has deprived the Lissone-based manufacturer of a virtually forecasted success after the semi-finals, and thus the victory went to Xavier Coupal. But the Birel colours did not miss the opportunity for a complete victory in the cadet class, where Karam and Sanchez conquered a smashing double. The Oklahoma weekend also included a race restricted to the Easykart 125 class. In the single-brand Birel Trophy, the name of Guillero Fremile stood out against Pollock and Villarreal. Young International Champion of the 100cc class Dominic Sheer finished 4th ahead of Iannucci and Fowler. Like in Europe, the racing season has shown a good start for Birel colours also within the important American karting programme, both in relation to technical aspects and to drivers’ performances. All signs resulting from this first important appointment seem to predict a leader season ahead.