HISTORY - 00s UNTIL TODAY
Robert Kubica’s star shined brightly for Birel in 2000 when he won 4th place in the World Championship, the last one awarded in a single trial.
In fact, starting in 2001, the new CIK-FIA direction calls for the largest International karting event to be held over several dates, following in the footsteps of the F1 and the most well-known championships.
The title is reserved for the 100 FSA, the category for which Birel signs an official engine supply agreement with TM.
The Pesaro company with which Birel won in the 125cc, suffers for lack of experience with the single brand engines in the 1st season, but by 2002 the Lissone company and Ronnie Quintarelli were able to come close to the title, losing only in the last race to Van de Garde.
From the commercial point of view, its great ability in the competitive arena allows Birel to notably increase its market share in the 100cc sector which climbs to 30% of its total production, equalling the share of 125cc karts produced.
The beginning of the decade also saw the explosion of the EASYKART project, the promotional brand which Birel uses to enter into the basic and juvenile karting sector.
Easykart is quickly consolidated in Italy with the 125 class for those over 16 and the 60cc and 100cc classes for those 8 to 16 years of age, besides quickly developing in America and many European countries.
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Gianluca Beggio
5 Times 125 F.C. World Champion |
In 2003, the five time title winner, Gianluca Beggio, withdraws from racing and assumes the role of Sports Director for Birel. In 2004, Sauro Cesetti returns to Birel colours and wins 2nd place in the European Championship but the man of the year is Ennio Gandolfi who wins the title in the 125SIcc ahead of his teammate Laudato.
During that same year, Birel wins the 100 Junior title with Coletti and 2nd place in the 100 Ica with a very talented English driver: Jon Lancaster. The following year the Englishman will be in the top class, earning vice champion of the world, while Laudato is the absolute leading player in the 125cc winning the Open Masters title, the European Championship and the World Cup. From an industrial point of view, Birel extended its headquarters acquiring a new building and bring the total company space to over 6000 m2.
In that year there is much work done in the mechanical department acquiring two new work centres that will allow them to produce almost all kart accessories internally.
Even the metal works is equipped with a new robot and high technology equipment, all in order to continually improve the quality that has always characterized Birel products. From the production point of view, in 2005 the objective is met to bring rental kart production (with the popular model N 35-X) and the Easykart models to over 20% of total production: the Easykart line then represents 15% of all karts produced and rental karts about 13%.
Birel’s share of the market also grows in the juvenile sector where the C-28 model technology dominates, a kart that is quickly competitive with a captivating design.
But the world financial crisis reaches the karting sector that, in 2003 shows an alarming drop in registrations. The lack of a convincing and effective regulation direction on the part of CIK-FIA towards the individual ASN didn’t help the situation, creating a global kart market fractioned into a thousand classes and categories with distinct regulations. CIK also tries to support the introduction of 4 stroke motors but finds a solid and winning opposition from the builders.
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Sauro Cesetti 2008 WSK Winner |
In 2006 Mike Wilson, 6 time karting champion, returns to Birel as a consultant. In this manner the company consolidates itself in the marketing and customer service sector where, starting in 2008, it builds an organization that is among the best in the world.
In the second part of the decade, the Easykart Driver Program is born, linked to the Easykart project, it is an initiative whose objective is to support the most worthy young drivers from the 60 and 100 Easykart classes in professional karting. In the meantime the Birel promotional project, even with this new initiative and the importance of the World Finals organized in Italy, moves into over 15 new countries, among them Russia, Poland, Greece, Austria and England.
For the top karts, 2007 is the year for a new technical direction with the introduction of the new “Long Life” engines, requested by the builders to reduce management costs in the competitive arena. The categories are renamed KF1 (ex Formula A), KF2 (ex 100 ICA) and KF3 (ex 100 Junior) and undergo the first settling in period.
The choice proves itself to be effective for the great reliability of the engines but there are still some technical details that need to be resolved in order to make the use of these engines more widespread also in the national championships. Among the aspects that need intervention are the clutch and electronics (controlled by an electronic detection system).
In 2008 the main builders decide to participate in the WSK Series, supporting in fact the arrival of a private promoter in the top karting world. This choice performs quickly in promoting International karting, due to a championship spread over many dates in the main markets with excellent organizational and media standards. The WSK Series becomes the most important event in the karting panorama, on a par with the world championship.
And in 2008, Birel, with Sauro Cesetti, dominates in the top class: the KF1. But 2008 on the sporting front is also the year of Libor Toman, rookie of the season in the KF1 with 2nd place in the Suzuka World Cup and the World Championship at Muro Leccese.
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