2004 CIK-FIA FA-SICC-ICC EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SARNO, May 14th-15th-16th , 2004

VERY GOOD START OF BIREL DRIVERS

CESETTI WINS ROUND 2 IN FA, WHILE GANDOLFI STEPS ON TO THE PODIUM IN SUPER ICC. VERY GOOD PERFORMANCES OF GAGGIANESI (FA) AND LAUDATO (SICC) AS WELL

Sarno – With the 1st round of the European Championship of the categories FA-SICC and ICC the international season enters into the heart of the competition. And of course Birel team doesn’t miss this appointment, obtaining very good results on all fronts. In all categories Birel drivers are very competitive, starting from the FA where the newly-engaged driver Sauro Cesetti makes his debut in an international competition. The driver coming from the Marches shows immediately his competitiveness and thanks to the success obtained in round 2 he comes in 2nd in the general results list, that is just at three lengths from De Bruijn. But the competitiveness of the couple Birel-Tm is also confirmed in the Super Icc: after two very good rounds Gandolfi and Laudato come in respectively 2nd and 4th in championship. And just to complete the very good balance of the weekend in Campania Omar Mambretti (Birel-Pavesi) is the winner of the 125 Icc.

100 FA
After the qualifying rounds the name of Randy Bakker stands out and he gains also the pole position with the timing of 59”982. But the 2nd absolute time belongs to the very good driver Davide Gaggianesi of Birel-Mgm team who has just a 28-thousand lead from the driver of Swiss Hutles team. Cesetti makes also a very good performance, gaining just a 150-thousand gap from the best time. Birel drivers make a very good performance too and among them Metcalfe (16th), Di Daio (17th) and Umegaki (23rd) draw attention to themselves, while Fanetti has difficulty in finding a good set up and so he has to be satisfied with the 31st position. Cesetti and Gaggianesi are the absolute protagonists in the qualifying rounds as well, where Nyman gains the pole position for Round 1, Renaudie the 2nd position, Cesetti the 3rd and Gaggianesi the 6th one. Forè seems to be in trouble and he only qualifies for the 30th position. Fanetti is still down on his luck during this weekend and after qualifying rounds he is only placed 39th. But bad luck is pitiless in particular with the good Japanese driver Umegaki, who is out twice in the qualifying rounds because of some accidental contacts despite his very fast performance. Nick De Bruijn stands out during the round and in the final he succeeds in gaining a safe lead over a strong group composed by Renaudie, Nyman, Cesetti and Sims who are competing for the podium; they cross the finishing line in this order, Cesetti gains a very good 4th position, while Sims comes in 5th, preceding Hanley, Ardigò and Davide Gaggianesi. Daniel Clos finishes on points as well, while Metcalfe, Di Daio and Lichtfield are out. Hulkemberg and Forè are also very down on their luck and they cannot even start the race, while the drivers of Intrepid team seem to be in trouble during the final despite their good start and finally they come in 12th (Mortara), 13th (Gatto) and 14th (Kamitsakis). In Round 2 the rain influences the performance of the teams but the protagonists are always the same during the race, with Nyman, De Bruijn and Cesetti competing for the podium. The difficult weather conditions exalt the experience of Cesetti, who precedes Nyman at the finishing line, gaining over a 2”-lead and also the fastest lap in round with the time of 1’ 18” 303. De Bruijn gains the 3rd position on the podium and is leading the general results list, preceding just Cesetti, while Bakker comes in 4th, preceding Hanley and Gregory. Among Birel drivers Metcalfe (12th) and Lichtfield (14th) win on points as well. The first 22 qualified drivers are all equipped with Bridgestone tyres, which prove to be more effective than Vega’s. And just the effectiveness of the tyres is one of reasons causing problems to Gaggianesi who cannot finish the race.

125 SICC
Alessandro Manetti is the fastest driver in the qualifying rounds, where he precedes the very good Cozzaglio (2003 European Champion of the Icc) who doesn’t seem to suffer from the category leap and promises very good performances for the 2004 season. As expected, among big drivers Gandolfi, Laudato, Profico, Piccini, Spinozzi and Kievitsbosch qualify as well. After the qualifying rounds Piccini gains his pole position for Round 1, preceding Wouters and Birel couple Gandolfi-Profico. Manetti comes in 6th in the qualifying rounds preceding Laudato, while the world cycling driver Dirks is only placed 15th. But Cozzaglio is damaged by his stop during the 2nd round and, despite his 2nd and 4th position in the other two rounds, he comes in only 26th in the qualifying rounds. At the starting grid of Round 1 Francesco Laudato is the great protagonist: the driver from Salerno takes advantage of a good opportunity gaining the 2nd position behind Piccini. Gandolfi is placed 3rd , during the first laps he starts a duel with his team-mate and this enables Piccini to gain a little lead. After the first laps Gandolfi surpasses Laudato and runs after Piccini. During the last laps the two drivers slipstream each other, but Piccini succeeds in preceding the driver of Birel Motorsport team thanks to his great experience. Wouters can surpass Laudato gaining the 3rd position on the podium, while Profico is placed 5th with a very good performance, preceding Manetti and Eyckmans. In Round 2 the rain turns the situation upside down and Benedetti can finally win despite his 17th position gained during the race on the dry track. Marino Spinozzi comes in 2nd, preceding Jiri Becicka, while Kievitsbosch is placed 4th, preceding Lenzo, Piccini and the driver Joka Solgat of Birel team. Laudato comes in 8th, damaged by a set-up which is not at its best, while Viani and Gandolfi come in respectively 9th and 10th. Piccini is leading in championship with 35 points, followed by Gandolfi with a 9-point gap.

125 ICC
After the qualifying rounds Omar Mambretti (Birel-Pavesi-Vega) gains his pole position besides Van Der Ende. And in Round 1 Birel driver gains a very good success, scoring the fastest lap in round as well. The American driver White comes in 2nd, while Ernest Behrens gains the 3rd position on the podium. Among Birel drivers Janis and Kraske win on points as well. In Round 2 the rain influences the Icc too. The winner is White, who precedes Marse and Bergh. White is leading in championship with 45 points, preceding Mambretti (36 points) and Bergh (29 points).

OFF-THE-CUFF COMMENTS:

SAURO CESETTI (100 FA): ): “I am very glad of the competitiveness showed by our material. Both the frame and the engine can offer us the opportunity of aiming at success during this season. Today we were lucky and we also succeeded in finding a very good set up in the round on the wet track, where we also benefited by the support offered by Bridgestone tyres which proved to have a very good performance.”

ENNIO GANDOLFI (125 SICC): “In Round 1 Piccini sprinted better than myself and during the first laps he gained a small lead too, but later on despite my used tyres and his new ones I succeeded in keeping close behind him. In Round 2 I expected to benefit by the new tyres but unfortunately the rain spoiled our plans. However we are well placed in Championship and Varenne, where we will decide on the race, is one of my favourite tracks."