Cesetti (SKF) in the spotlight, 3rd in Race 1 and 6th in Race 2.  Sorensen stars in KF3 with 3rd place in Race 1 and 4th in the afternoon Final.

WSK World Series took off in Portimao, Portugal, with the European championship race. It will then land in America and Africa for round 2 and 3.  First appointment and fully positive outcome for Birel, especially performance wise. Starting with SKF and Sauro Cesetti in excellent 3rd place in Race 1 and 6th position in the Final. But standards were extremely high in all classes: Sorensen literally stood out from the crowd in KF3 and Birel and RK drivers were great as a team in KF2. As a matter of fact, Basz, Barrabeig and King all ranked among top 5 following the legs.

Back to the weekend's report, qualification stage awarded Convers with the pole position and Cesetti secured 6th place on starting grid.  Yet things were pretty tough for Dalè and Toman, respectively 12th and 13th. Viganò, who made his debut for RK colours,  was 8th  in qualification but then ended back in 14th  on the grid due to a couple of problems which occurred during  the legs. The Pre-Final awarded the first world points to the top class drivers, with Convers once again first, in front of Cooper and brilliant Cesetti in 3rd. The boy from the Marches was once again among the best drivers of the category, proving all the excellent potential of BMB engines which, despite their first year in the competitive ambit, have become a constant presence in top classification. Good race also for Toman, who finished 9th on the heels of the leaders.  No luck for Viganò: the RK team representative was involved in a contact with an opponent in lap 1, losing his front spoiler. BMB technical staff tested a slightly different engine configuration for the Final, but performance was lower than expected, at such extent that Cesetti was more than happy with his 6th place.  Different story for Toman, who gained positions finishing 4th, just a stone’s throw from the podium.  Great sensation for   De Vries: regaining positions and leaving all opponents behind was just too easy for the Belgian, who won the Final with 3" advantage over Convers. And again, it definitely was not Viganò’s day, out of the race due to a contact.  

KF2 qualification and leg were dominated by the Birel-BMB synergy. In fact, all the attention was for Basz, Barrabeig and King, with 3rd, 4th and 5th place. It was different for Lennox, who was penalized by a problem in qualification stage and, despite a good leg, did not get beyond 19th position, behind   Sorensen (team Italsport). While Varley from England entered classification hot ranking. And it was precisely  Varley who won in Pre-Final, while  Basz, after an excellent start, had to tackle carburettor trouble ending up back in 8th  final position shadowing brilliant  King ( JRP team), 7th  . And, some positions backwards, Lennox finished in 13th after having regained several positions. Extreme bad luck for Barrabeig, involved in an accident in lap 1.  Basz set off in the afternoon final fighting for redemption but, unfortunately, he was soon relegated at the back due to a contact. In the end technical problems forced him to retire and kiss the race goodbye.  Technical trouble also stopped Lennox, while Barrabeig regained positions after the accident in Race 1 conquering 11th place.  But Birel's absolute protagonist was Jordan King, with a stunning 3rd just behind   Lock and Varley.

KF3 was Christian Sorensen's domain. The Birel Motorsport official driver was one of the weekend's fastest, confirming the Birel-BMB package leadership in such strategic junior category.  Sorensen obtained 4th time in qualification and closed the leg securing 3rd absolute on the grid for Race-1, in which he kept speeding, landing the 3rd step of the podium preceded by Verstappen and Fioravanti. The Final could have been the icing on the cake with Christian in 2nd position. But a little mistake following a struggle with an opponent cost him relegation to 6th position, from where he had to work hard for a place on the podium.  However, once he reached 4th place, the race was neutralized due to an accident. As a consequence success was all for Visoiu, in front of Verstappen and Fioravanti, and Birel's driver did not get beyond 4th place.

To finish, Fuchs raced for RK colours in KZ. All the technological excellence of Birel Group came out once again in his grand weekend, with 7th position in Race 1 and 5th in Race 2.   Considering that both races were won by Thonon, and that the podium zone was reserved to experienced drivers like Ardigò and Dreezen, the performance of the Polish boy was absolutely outstanding.  Positive performance also for Swiss driver Ludi racing for Spirit: 10th in Race 1 and 8th in Race 2.  

About the race: Birel technicians and drivers:

Mariano De Faveri (Birel Motorsport Technical manager): "I believe last weekend's outcome was positive both technically and sport wise: Cesetti could have crowned the two SKF races with a place on the podium and also Toman, especially in Final stages, performed at the top. The same must be said about KF3 and KF2 classes, with our drivers’ top ranking performances. Our chassis expressed all it potential in KZ2, too and, analysing classifications, it is clear that Fuchs was the fastest driver with a KZ2 background, as Thonon, Ardigò and others who finished in front of him are all KZ1 performers. All members of our staff are very optimistic about the seasonal races to come; we expect we will overcome the obstacles that separate us from victory starting right from the next appointments. "

Sauro Cesetti (Birel - SKF): “Engine wise, to tackle the Final we modified some details, but such alterations did not live up to our expectations. Honestly, we wanted to fill in the slight gap between us and Kosmic team and go for victory. Yet, things would probably not have been so different after all, considering De Vries magnificent race.  But let me say that 2010 Birel chassis proved once again versatile and efficient on this track, and that the Bmb engine has nothing to envy when compared to those used by our best opponents, despite it has only  just been launched in the competitive ambit."

Karol Basz (RK - KF2): " The bright side of the weekend was all about performance: the engine works very well (one of KF2’s best, in my opinion) and we have also achieved excellent chassis set-up. Yet we unfortunately capitalized much less than what we expected from a potential like ours, due to minor carburettor trouble in Race -1 and to some contacts occurred in Final 2. However, we are confident and determined to go for the results the team really deserves in the next races."

Christan Sorensen (Birel-KF3): "I am very happy about our race: we were among the first as early as in free practice, and the same must be said about qualification, legs and the race itself. Pre-Final was my time for building up championship points, but for the Final my priority was victory. Unfortunately I slightly lost contact in the scuffle and was only in 6th when the Slow Down sign came out. That meant I did not do better than 4th position, but I know it could have been a podium. Yet overall outcome was extremely positive and we are now aware that, technically wise, our chassis-engine package is one of the best of the lot in KF3.