2004 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SICC –ICC - FA 2nd TEST – VARENNE, JUNE 25th, 26th, 27th

BIREL AND LAUDATO EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS

THE BIREL MOTORSPORT DRIVER IS CROWNED EUROPEAN CHAMPION OF 125 SICC WITH A VICTORY AND A 4TH PLACE. CESETTI AT THE TOP IN FA.

The combination Birel-Tm asserts itself at the top of the 125 class. After the success in World Cup 2003 (as well as in the Euro Icc, in the Icc U.S. Championship and in several national championships), the Birel colours have proved to be the leaders also in 2004: Francesco Laudato was crowned European Champion in the SICC in Varenne. The driver from Cava dei Tirreni, European champion already in 1999, has hit the mark for the second time. The success of the Birel colours is an excellent start also for the important appointment of September 5th, when the class is going to compete for the World Cup in Mariembourg. The success is even greater if we consider also the excellent performances of Gandolfi, Cozzaglio and Profico. In FA, Sauro Cesetti has experienced an extraordinary weekend: with a victory and a 5th placing, he is ranking second in the general results only 3 points from De Bujin. In Braga, during the last round of the championship, the Marches-born driver will have the opportunity of offering the Birel Motorsport Team yet another prestigious achievement. In the ICC, the protagonists of the first test in Sarno (Mambretti and White) had a bad day enabling Van Dreven and Van Der Ende to come into play again in view of the last race on schedule in Mariembourg.

RACES REPORT

125 Super ICC
Laudato and Gandolfi arrived to France with the same possibilities of attaining success. For both, the relevant rivals were Piccini, temporary leader in results after the 1st round in Sarno, and Manetti, the new Italian champion. And it was actually the driver of Crg to achieve the pole position preceding Laudato, Cozzaglio and Profico by a few thousandths of a second. Gandolfi recorded the 10th time, whereas Piccini seemed to have some troubles and did not get beyond the 15th placing. After the qualifying rounds, the names of Laudato and Manetti stood out once again, enabling them to start first in race 1. Gandolfi qualified for the second row next to Toninelli, while Cozzaglio and Profico ranked 7th and 8th, respectively. Piccinni, instead, lagged behind. At the starting signal, Gandolfi moved too early and even if he stopped before the green light came on and sprinted together with the whole group, the offence was caught by the umpires. Laudato, Toninelli and Gandolfi himself led the first few laps, whereas Manetti gave up many positions until he finished the race 7th. In the meantime, the Committee of the Umpires punished Gandolfi’s start with a 10-second penalty. For the Emilia Romagna-born driver, who arrived first on the race track, this basically meant renouncing to his title ambitions. He was moved down to the 15th position in the final results. Laudato profited by it indirectly, as he had been just behind him and ended as the winner of the race. On the podium with Laudato also Toninelli and excellent Cozzaglio. Profico arrived 4th, while Piccini finished his race without any point. In race 2, Laudato sprinted well, but already at the initial stage he had to defend himself against Toninelli’s attacks, starting a pressing match with him. After several laps, however, the Birel driver experienced some technical problems which slowed him down so that he had to make way for Manetti, too. In the course of the 13th lap, he had to defend himself also from the attacks of Dirks, who bumped into him while trying to overtake him in hazardous circumstances. For Laudato, the final part of the race was quite stressful: he had to finish the competition with a damaged axle and a cracked rim, which produced a gradual loss of pressure in the tyre. Even though in trouble, he managed to finish fourth thus becoming European Champion 2004. The race was won by Manetti, who overtook Toninelli at the end, while Dirks attained the third placing. Profico ended up fifth, guarding the back of the new European Champion during the final rush. Gandolfi finished 6th and Cozzaglio 8th. This is Laudato’s 2nd European title, adding to his rich personal prize record along with the victory in the World Champioship of 1999. But in addition to Laudato’s success, the Birel clan is also proud of the excellent overall performances of all its top drivers, which obviously arouse great hope in view of the World Cup appointment on September 5th.

100 Formula A
The qualifiers pointed out the names of De Bruijn e Cesetti, who made the 1st and 2nd time. Of the Birel racing stable, Englishman Catt (3rd) and Haugaard (5th) did very well, too. Michele Fanetti, on the contrary, qualified 18th. After the qualifiers, De Bruijn and Cesetti proved once more to be the leaders, as well as an excellent Besnault. And the fight between Cesetti and De Bruijn went on also in race 1, where the two drivers ended up risking their success at the last lap: Cesetti overtook the rival and defended his 1st placing up to the chequered flag. But once more, the umpires took action against one of the Birel drivers, charging Cesetti with having cut in on his rival during the last lap. The Marches-born driver was penalized with 10” thus dropping to the 5th placing, collecting only 11 points compared to the 25 deserved on the track. So, the victory went to De Bruijn, who came before Besnault, Forè and Kozlinski. At the start of race 2, a spectacular contact between Cesetti and Forè caused the interruption of the test, which was resumed later as the two drivers had to replace their frames. After the second start, Cesetti, De Bruijn, Forè and Besnault were still leading the race. De Bruijn succeeded in taking the lead, setting off a new fight with Cesetti. The final result was achieved once more at the last lap, with the Birel driver succeeding in overtaking his adversary. Trying to resist, De Bruijn ran in too long and was overtaken also by Besnault e Forè, who climbed the podium along with Cesetti. De Bruijn came in fifth behind Hanley and still managing to keep the leadership in the general results with a margin of 3 points on Cesetti. The last event of the European Championship scheduled in Braga for August 22nd is likely to be settled by the photo finish between the two contenders.

125 ICC
Janis e Mambretti attained the 5th and 6th time in the qualifiers, ready to take their chances at best. And also after the qualifying rounds, they asserted themselves among the leaders behind Faure, Van der Ende and Van Dreven. In race 1, Van der Ende came in first ahead of De Palma and Van Dreven, whereas the Birel drivers didn’t have much luck, with Janis coming in just 14th and Mambretti out after 5 laps. But also American White, among the protagonists of the 1st round, was in trouble and ended only 17th. In race 2, Van Der Ende reasserted his placement at the top, preceding Van Dreven and De Palma. Janis came in 6th, whereas both Mambretti and White didn’t achieve any point-awarding results. With at least 5 drivers able to win the title, the last event on schedule in Mariembourg is certainly going to be of the not-to-be-missed kind.