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| December 20, 2011 |
| Eighth Edition of Easykart Pan-American Championships |
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Over the weekend of December 4th, the International circuit of San Carlos hosted the 8th edition of the Easykart Pan-American Championships, the most important and prestigious meeting of the Birel single-brand in Central America. More than 140 riders representing 15 different countries competed for the titles in the four Easykart classes: 60cc, 100cc, Light and Heavy. On the track there was also the propaedeutic 50 Training category, where more than 10 children took part to the usual promotional programme, followed by the trainers of Easykart Venezuela. Right the company headed by Mauricio Baiz was the "driving force" of this spectacular event where, in addition to the kart races on the track, a concert with more than 5.000 spectators was performed.
The coreography and the services for the pilots have been exceptional; just think that on the main grandstand a Hospitality with catering and open bar was set up for all the people involve in the organization and the sponsors. Furthermore, during the event a Porsche rally was organized where more than 50 supercars coloured the San Carlos circuit. It must also be said that Luca Baldisseri, coordinator of the Ferrari Driver Academy programme, took part to the event as "guest star" and observer. The manager of Maranello declared he was surprised about the event organizational standards and the value of the pilots involved in the races; he also talked at length with the organizers about the possibility of establishing a link between the Easykart project and motor racing.
A great deal of attention was paid to the event also by the national and international media, thanks to the various accredited TVs, journalists and photographers. From the technical point of view, great efforts were made by the organization to offer the kart rental service directly on the track for the foreign pilots; thanks to this initiative (carried out in cooperation with Birel Motorsport) pilots from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and also Europe, could take part to the races, among them the international champion of 125 Light, Luca Hirst, and the young Spanish pilot Mostajo in 100cc. From the competitive point of view, on the other hand, the 2011 titles of the Pan-American Championships were assigned to the Venezuelan Sebastian Fernandez as regards 60cc, a pilot already included in the Birel support programme for young pilots, who came first before Jeremy Henriquez. As regards 100cc, the Argentinian flag was waved by the winning pilot Ricardo Degoumois who preceded Lucas Carabajal and Mikel Mostajo, while in 125cc Bruno Pali in Light and Facundo Casse in Heavy won their race.
Event report- In the 60cc class the Venezuelan pilots Sebastian Fernandez and Jeremy Henriquez stood out right from the qualification tests: the first appeared in a state of grace and took the pole position in the time trials and won the qualifying heat. His countryman Henriquez ranked behind him, but also Ian Rodriguez from Guatemala and once again the Venezuelan Grillet excelled. The latter, however, was involved in an impact in the morning heat and in the Final had to start in the last rows. In the Final, Fernandez confirmed he is the best: he took the lead before Henriquez and then gradually raised the rate by clocking the fastest lap of the race and finishing 5" ahead of the direct opponent. Sebastian Fernandez was thus confirmed as Pan-American Champion of the category, after winning the edition held in Colombia. Also Henriquez and Rodriguez did a good race, finishing respectively 2nd and 3rd and confirming that they are the most promising pilots in the category for 2012. The Argentinian Esteban Cistola finished 4th after a final rush with the Venezuelan Santiago Terife, who came behind him for just 55 milliseconds. Also Moscardini played a leading race, finishing 6th before Brea and Castro, while Diaz and Fabrega completed the top ten with the 9th and 10th place. Ruben Grillet ended his pursuit finishing 11th, while Bosco took the 12th place ahead of the Columbian Camacho.
In the 100cc class, the protagonist of the time trials was the Spaniard Mikel Mostajo, while in the heat Mauricio Baiz won with a very little margin over Mostajo himself. During the technical checks, however, both were excluded from the classification because of a non-compliant detail and were downgraded into the central group on the starting grid for the Final. Therefore, in the 1st row there were the blue and white colours of the Argentinian Carabajal and Degoumois ahead of all other pilots. At the start of the race Gomez, Abadi and Baiza were involved in a collision and immediately had to say goodbye to their ambitions, while Mostajo sprinted very well and came 5th right after the first pilots lead by Degoumois. The Spaniard took the lead in the 7th run, but a contact with Gomez made him recede back to the 4th place. Then Carabajal took the lead; during the last lap Mostajo tried another attack that, however, helped Degoumois who finally won. Thus the Argentinian is the Pan-American Champion in the 100cc class ahead of the compatriot Carabajal, while Mostajo ended in 3rd position preceding the Colombian Garzon. It was a very good race also for Menvielle who ended at the 5th place, and Badialli who took the 6th place at the photofinish from Loiacono. Vecchi got the 8th place, followed by Buse and Noco.
The title of 125 Heavy went to the Guatemalan pilot Facundo Casse, very good in the final where he controlled the Venezuelan Antonio Navega who finished the race in the wake of the opponent after a long pressing. The Uruguayan pilot Rafael Barbarita got on the 3rd step of the podium, ahead of the Argentinian Rodriguo Alenaz. The Colombian pilot Oscar Trajano ended in 5th position. With 5 different nationalities among the top 5 rankings, the Final of the Heavy class confirmed that the Pan-American title represents the best kart racing in Central America. Back to the ranking, the 6th place went once again to a pilot of the large and strong Argentinian delegation: Fabian De Risio. He was followed at the 7th place by Perera, and at the 8th place by Viglietti, ahead of Friso and Munoz.
The 125 Light Final took place in two rounds: the first was held regularly on a dry track, but the second followed in the rain because of a heavy downpour which struck the racetrack at the closing of the programme. In the total time between the two races the name of the Venezuelan Bruno Pali emerged, particularly good at making the difference in the rain and preceding the Venezuelan pilot Giancarlos Serenelli. A good Camilo Schmidt got on the 3rd step of the podium. Good race also for Galileo Patiño, who ended in the 4th place after a long match with Samuel Acosta, who finished 5th. Lady Valeria Carballo followed, ahead of Pescetto, Barbosa, Teran and Ferreira. It must be said that during the 1st heat, held on the dry track, Johnny Cecotto Jr. who started in the 1st row was involved in a spinout and said goodbye to his chances of getting on the podium, while a problem with a hub slowed down the English pilot Hirst, the international Champion, who ended at the 27th place after remaining long in the 3rd place.
The comments of the protagonists:
Sebastian Fernandez (60cc Winner): "This victory comes at the end of a very important and challenging racing season: I raced in the 60cc Easykart both in Italy and Venezuela, but above all I joined the official Birel team taking part to the WSK championships and the CSAI Italian Championships with 60 MINI. The experience I gained helped me a lot in this weekend when my mechanics gave me an exceptional kart and I had to manage the various stages of the race in the best possible way. Gaining such a prestigious success before so large an audience and my family is really nice and I hope it is a good omen for next year, when I am still involved with Birel in Mini and 60cc Easykart, mainly in Italy".
Ricardo Degoumois (100cc Winner): "It was a very hard and beautiful race that was decided in the last lap: three of us could win but the slight contact which delayed Mostajo a few curves from the arrival helped me in the final sprint. I must say that the organizers of this event did an exceptional job and that the Easykart Trophy is really nice and competitive; furthermore, I think that it is very positive that both I and Carabajal were able to fight for the success with a completely new kart and a motor (hired by the Organizer) “run-in” during the free tests. This means that there is a high technical balance and that accurate checks are carried out, as the various inspections performed by the commissioners during the weekend confirmed”.
Bruno Pali (125cc Light Winner): "I was very happy of winning such a prestigious race with more than 40 pilots at the start and names like Johnny Cecotto as opponents; the event was beautiful and also the rain that fell in the final part of our race helped us enjoy ourselves as well the large audience".
Facundo Casse (125cc Heavy Winner): "The competition with Antonio Navega was very tight and exciting and I am really happy I won. The kart was perfect and this Trophy sponsored by Birel remains one of the most beautiful Championships, as was the organization of the event in general. The Birel staff who worked side by side with the Easykart Venezuela one helped raise the level of the event; in addition to the organizational issues the media promotion with so many TVs was very effective".
Mauricio Baiz (President of Easykart Venezuela): "The assesment about the event organization is very good and I hope it can help bring to Venezuela also the Finals of the World Championships, a goal that together with the Ministry of Sports and our ASN we are pursuing, looking for the cooperation of some national sponsors, too. As regards the Pan-American Championships, I am happy I had the direct support of Birel that in this way underlines the importance of this event and of our market in the broader context of the Easykart project. I would like to thank all partners and sponsors, and also our Government, for the significant contribution regarding every aspect of the organization. A special thank to Baldisseri of Ferrari who, with his presence, brought prestige to our karting, envisaging a connection with motor racing for the most worthy young pilots, a connection that Easykart already proved to be able to assure. For everybody the appointment is now for the 2012 season, when the new category Kart Grand Prix will make its debut in our racing scene; today this category carried out an exhibition race gaining a huge success".
Marco Angeletti (Easykart project manager): "We are proud of the success obtained by the event and about the congratulations to our staff made by the pilots from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and many other countries of Central America, and in particular to Easykart Venezuela, certainly the reference structure for the Easykart project in this continent. The work they did in terms of organization and promotion is excellent and we believe that all prerequisites exist to have the World Final disputed in this country; we discussed this at length with the authorities and we will evaluate this possibility in the next few weeks. I also want to emphasize once again that the Regulations and the strict technical checks of the Series allowed pilots to win with new karts hired from the organizer, as in the case of Degoumois in 100cc. I spoke at length with pleasure also with Luca Baldisseri whom I found positively surprised by the organizational level of the event and the value of the pilots: for our company, so sensitive to breeding ground and young people in general, these prominent acknowledgments are very comforting". |
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