Sorensen, who was expected to rank among the best (following the excellent World Series performances), had two accidents and was forced to quit. Despite a striking figure of 20 Birel and RK drivers in KF2 final, out of 86 enrolled, no podium was conquered

GENK - Genk circuit was the venue for KF3 and KF2 class continental Final to crown the three area selections. The prestigious FIA titles were awarded for a single race over the 11th July weekend. As many as 86 drivers raced in each of the two categories that have opened up the path to motoring for stars like Vettel and Buemi, just to mention a couple. Birel's expectations were moderate on the race eve, relying on the great performance of official and external team drivers at the recent Portimao race (WSK -World Series), and on the positive outcome of the tests involving the latest technical developments, especially chassis wise.  Yet something did not work properly, especially in final stages.  Hence Birel and RK drivers virtually missed the podium which was supposed to be in their reach.

Whereas, in elimination stage, it seemed Birel representatives could express their whole potential with Jager (KSB Team, Birel-BMB) racing at his best, twice in 2nd place in group meetings and then 4th  on the grid in Pre-final, or with  Cucco (MGM Team, Birel-Iame), who won a leg and was 7th  in Pre-final. In plus, Basz (RK-BMB, Official team) gained a leg with great placements; despite technical trouble occurred during one of the 4 races had relegated him at the centre on Pre-final grid (15th in classification following penalties). Qualification and great legs for Fousek (Birel-BMBM, Official team), too. Lennox was not so lucky: two contacts and a few technical problems barred him from continuing. Contacts haunted Birel drivers in the KF3 race.  Sorensen was one of the most penalized (Birel-BMB, Official team), and his spotlight weekend was hopelessly ruined.  The Birel Motorsport representative was involved in an accident in starting stage in one of the four legs, which meant he did not get further than 2nd place on the Pre-final grid.  Same story also for Lavelli, while things were extremely positive for Pronenko (Team Solgat, Birel-TM) and Tiihonen (Team Pirkola, Birel-BMB) who competed among the top drivers, finishing the legs in 8th and 18th   position. It must be pointed out that Tiihonen even ranked 3rd and 4th in the legs but was then affected by two contacts in the remaining 2 races, losing the right to take off as a top ten in Pre-final.  Finally, positive results also for Eastwood: among top 10 in each of the legs as well as 17th on Pre-final starting line.

But then Birel drivers’ expectations were not fulfilled in Pre-finals due to a series of unfortunate circumstances. Technical trouble stopped Basz in KF2 and Cucco raced only 100 metres before an accident forced him to retire; in addition Jager finished 11th clinging to the head of the race while doing his best to keep tyres in good shape for the Final.  As a matter of fact, it was right tyres which turned out to be the main issue during the Belgian weekend. Grip performance was at the limit giving technicians and drivers a hard time.  Bad luck for Birel also in KF3. Sorensen and Lavelli were both involved in two contacts and Russian driver Pronenko did not go further than bend 1.  Things were not different for Tiihonen. On the other hand, Eastwood raced a positive Pre-final ranking 11th.

The Final was the worst moment of such sad weekend. Other technical problems in KF2 for Basz, who had to give up while he was speeding to recover positions and had almost reached the top ten.   Jager was out due to a contact in start stage which also involved other drivers, including   Gatting and Bluy. Default also for Cucco, while 1st place and title went to Moller Madsen on Bailly.

To finish, Sorensen, victim of a contact occurred as early as in lap 1, just stood no chance against bad luck in the KF3 Final. Worth to mention Tiihonen's  brilliant performance ( 9th  place), especially in the first part when he stood out from the crowd racing for the podium, and Pronenko's great recovery from the back, featuring times even better than those achieved by race leader  Albon. The Solgat driver eventually ranked positively in 7th: he would have finished among the first three if only he had not had the accident in Pre-final.  Victory was for Albon (who had previously won Pre-final) in front of Gasly.

The international karting circus will soon be ready for more assessment and redemption at the 2nd   WSK World Series race scheduled on 1st August in the USA.