11th WINTER CUP – Lonato (Brescia), February 18th/19th, 2006

BIREL HOLDS SWAY IN ALL CLASSES

THE 2006 SEASON STARTED UNDER THE LUCKIEST OF ALL STARS FOR BIREL COLOURS: THE WINTER CUP WAS WON BY GENINI (JUNIOR), MILLROY (ICA) AND CESETTI (FA).

The racing season 2006 for the Lissone-based manufacturer couldn't have had a better start: at the Winter Cup, the classic appointment for elite karting at the beginning of the season, the Birel colours held sway reaping laurels in all the three categories: Junior, Ica and Fa. The result achieved is a noticeable proof of the technical value attained by Birel chassis, which showed a reassuring superiority over the main rivals, regardless of the engines and tyres employed. This fact is emphasised also by numbers in terms of registered drivers: the Birel chassis were the most represented ones in all classes and above all among those that had qualified for the Finals. On this matter, the significant achievements in Formula A speak for themselves: 14 among the 34 finalists were Birel drivers. The second most represented manufacturer was Tony kart with 5 drivers, whereas no driver qualified for the Finals for such a manufacturer as Intrepid, especially active in the elite class. However, apart from the results of the single races, reassuring indications for the Lissone-based manufacturer had been gathered already towards the end of the past season, when good performances were attained both at Suzuka and Macao after the technical guidelines for the new homologations had been defined. But also and above all the data gathered in the course of the winter tests confirmed the very high potential of the new chassis of the “R” and “M” ranges. Therefore, these encouraging indications have had a strongly positive effect also on the market. In the end, it is also important to underline the official team’s very optimistic feedback on the last evolutions proposed by Tm as far as the engines are concerned, and the great contribution given by Birel’s customer support policies to the growth of many well-organised and professional junior teams. The success of the Mgm team with Genini in the Junior, the English team Rfm in the Ica with Millroy, as well as the superb performances of the teams Mgt, Pf International, New team and Savani, just to mention a few of the more conspicuous Birel organisations, confirm the success of the policies implemented to support the external structures. Thus, all the necessary requirements for an excellent year 2006 are fulfilled, starting from the Formula A, the elite class. This has seen the Motorsport team working non-stop in the past few weeks, and achieving results that have produced much optimism among all Birel teams. In Lonato, Sauro Cesetti performed an excellent weekend, working both on the chassis and on the engine during the first true encounter with the strongest competitors. The rain on Saturday in a certain way distorted the competitive value of the drivers on the track (also due to the different performances of the rain tyres). On Sunday, however, the Marches-born driver had the opportunity of succeeding on a dry track, beating Frenchman Bianchi (Maranello), considered one of his potential rivals for 2006. Lancaster, ran a very good race, ending up on the podium after having tested and adopted for the race other solutions than his team-mate, especially during the Finals. The promising young English driver had to suffer somewhat during the early stages of the race, but ended in crescendo going so far as to threaten Bianchi. The 100 Ica saw German Marco Wittman’s debut with Birel, an event filled with great expectations; already on Friday, he had earned the applause of the experts winning a superb pole position. He held sway all through the weekend up to the victory in the Pre-finals. Unfortunately, during the Finals his engine failed after only three laps, but his withdrawal did not prejudice his excellent performance: during a race run with the main goal of testing the materials in view of the start of the racing season, venturing a solution regardless of its reliability is part of the game. In any case, his position at the top of the 100 Ica was immediately taken up by Englishman Ollie Millroy of the Birel – Rfm team, who got by far the better of Mancinelli keeping the lead throughout the race. A clear-cut victory also in the Junior, where Luca Genini beat his team-mate Will Stevens by a large margin. An excellent performance also by Hugo Valente (Mgt – France), who ended up 4th right behind Hauke.

THE RACES: