ITALIAN OPEN MASTERS 2006 CHAMPIONSHIP - LONATO (BS), 21/22/23 APRIL – ROUND 2

WITTMANN (ICA) AND CESETTI (FA) STEP ON THE PODIUM’S HIGHEST STEPS

GREAT PERFORMANCE ALSO FROM ANTONFELD (JUNIOR), LANCASTER AND LAUDATO, WHO REMAINS THE LEADER IN THE 125 ICC CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2nd round of the Italian Open Championsip once again confirmed Birel’s position at the top of every category. The event was sponsored by the Italian Karting Federation and is in all likelihood the most important bench test for outlining the participants’ skills in view of the forthcoming international season. With more than 260 drivers from 20 countries and including the participation of all the most important car manufacturers and teams: in this context Birel Motorsport and the main Junior team of the manufacturers from Lissone develop those technical solutions which will then be adopted during the 2006 season and subsequently transferred to their standard products. Beyond the individual results, the Lonato race confirmed the competitiveness in each category of Birel’s chassis, leading to a strong confidence within Birel. In the 100 Junior, Peter Antonfeld was at the top all weekend, climbing the podium both in Race 1 and in Race 2. The 1st Final was won by the Englishman, Scott, ahead of Camponeschi and the two Birel drivers, Antolfeld and Pic; whereas Camponeschi won Race 2 ahead of the Birel Motorsport German driver. Scott climbed on the 3rd step of the podium, Manzur and Da Costa behind him. The Championship leader remains the Portuguese, Da Costa, with 67 points, whereas Antonfeld has managed to gain 4th position with 44 points. In the 100 Ica, thanks to very high performance standards, the couple Birel-Wittmann reached the top at Lonato both in the qualification race and in the preliminary race and then went on to win Race 1. The German driver preceded Leimer and Meters, whereas in Race 2 he managed to keep the situation under control and gained the 3rd step of the podium behind Ericsson and Meters. The Championship leader again is Piccioni (68 points) who, both in Race 1 and in Race 2, gained 7th position, while Wittmann excelled himself in 2nd position, only 4 lengths away from the temporary leader. D’Ambrosio is in 3rd place with 55 points. Also in Formula A, Bridel managed to reach the highest step of the podium, thanks to the success of Sauro Cesetti in Race 2. The Italian driver had already taken possession of the podium in Race 1 by finishing behind Thonon and Catt (first driver with Vega tyres), but in Race 2, by overtaking Thonon two laps from the end, he secured the victory which places him in 4th position in the general table with 51 points. The British driver Catt climbed to the top of the classification with 71 points. As far as the other Birel drivers engaged in FA are concerned, it was a great weekend for Jon Lancaster who, despite not being satisfied with some trim choices, ended Race 1 in 5th position and Race 2 in 8th position, thereby climbing to the 7th place in the Championship with 32 points. Bad luck struck Nicholas Risitano who, following very good results in the qualification races, departed from the scene before time in the two finals and so did not score any points. On the other hand Francesco Laudato did score some precious points in the 125 Icc: the Italian driver ended Race 1 in 5th position and Race 2 in 4th position, thus maintaining the lead in the Championship’s general classification with 65 points, in front of Toninelli (57) and Foriè (56). Despite suffering from some choices of set up, and some tests carried out with a view to future improvements, the 125 champion had a very good weekend. Manuel Cozzaglio’s feeling for the Birel chassis is improving: the driver ended twice in 8th place. Worthy of notice also was the great performance of Martin Frasnelli of the New Team Birel: the Italian driver ended Race 1 in 7th place and Race 2 in 6th place. Looking forward to the European Icc Championship, during which Frasnelli will not have to deal with the top drivers engaged in the Sicc, these are very hopeful results.