Birel Dealers, Drivers & Teams Make Regular Podium Appearances At Winter Tour
Moroso Florida Winter Tour Birel report
Birel had yet another great weekend during Round #2 of the Florida Winter Tour at Moroso Raceway taking more podiums than any other chassis brand in attendance. The newly formed MRP-Birel AMERICA engineering team was on hand to assist dealers and Birel drivers in technical support and the results continued to add up as Birel drivers spent a good amount of time on the podium.
The Pro Shifter class continued to see one of the strongest performances by Birel drivers and team with Birel drivers routinely taking up 40% of the top 10 and two of the three podium spots on both days.
MRP-Birel AMERICA development driver, Wesley Boswell, returned to the second round of the Florida Winter Tour and claimed both poles in the new Birel CRx32, proving that the team has figured out the 2006 model in time for the new season. Boswell would have clutch problems hampering his starts however and he was unable to convert the poles into victories, finishing in 2nd place both Saturday and Sunday. Team JBR and “works driver for MRP-Birel AMERICA, Jon Branam continued his podium streak to four in the tour with a pair of 3rd place finishes on his Birel. Texan, Collin Lynn, finished 9th and 11th on the weekend in the huge 28-kart field.
"We are really happy with how all of our drivers did this weekend," said Chris Lobaugh, MRP-Birel AMERICA lead engineer. "We are continuing to rebuild this race program to where it needs to be and thankfully we are seeing results quickly. Our focus is obviously on customer support for our dealers and drivers first and foremost."
In the ICA category, Dominic Scheer carried the Birel colors by himself in the 24-kart class, battling for the victory before finishing in 3rd in Saturday’s final. On Sunday the MRP-Birel AMERICA pilot would start from the back of the grid after trouble in qualifying and work his way up through the field to finish 7th in the Pre-Final, then work his way up to a well-deserved 5th place finish by the end of the day.
JBR team driver Doug Cox spent most of his day standing on the podium as the driver took two 2nd place finishes on Saturday in Expert Shifter and Masters Shifter and 3rd and 2nd in the same two classes in Sunday’s finals giving him 7-straight podiums and 3 wins so far in the tour. Graham Gaiger joined the JBR team this weekend and put his Birel on the podium in Sunday’s Masters Shifter final as well. Ruben Seibald took the Expert Shifter Heavy feature win on Saturday followed by Birel drivers John Dalton and Nadir Magsi (Homestead Karting) and teammate Vince Diaz. Magsi and Dalton would convert on Sunday to finish 1-2 for the Homestead Karting/Birel team. Diaz would finish 3rd.
Good results were achieved by several customers of Florida’s MRP-Birel dealers; Advanced Karting, Homestead Karting and RYSA Racing, utilizing the Birel chassis. John Brown, Sr. (TaG Heavy) took 3rd & 5th in the TaG Heavy class aboard his Birel out of the Advanced Karting team.
Homestead Karting took home some prizes with Jorge Audino recovering to take the Expert Shifter win on Sunday. Gillermo Freile took 3rd in the Masters class on Saturday as well.
RYSA Racing driver, Michael Winchester, took a well-deserved 2nd place in the Stock Moto class on Saturday and finished 4th in Sunday’s final. Alvaro Frias took home 2nd though in Sunday’s Final to keep a Birel on the podium.
In minimax, Gabrial Chavez pushed hard to finish 4th on Saturday. Daniel Formal finished 4th for his Advanced Karting team aboard a C28 on Sunday.
For all the Birel drivers in attendance, it was a fine effort displayed at one of the largest regional events in North America with well over 500-entries.
Full results of the event can be seen at www.ekartingnews.com. The MRP-Birel AMERICA team will next head to testing and race programs at the SW Regional Cup events in Texas and Oklahoma. Contact us now to start your program right!
