ART Grand Prix and Birel Group join forces to create Birel ART, a new venture aimed at becoming one of the main protagonists of the international karting scene.
The new Birel ART venture will merge Birel’s great tradition, made of 55 World and European titles, its technologically advanced manufacturing capability and organizational experience, and the very successful racing DNA of ART Grand Prix, the only racing team present at all levels of the motorsport ladder leading to Formula 1 – from Karting to Formula Renault 2.0, GP3 and GP2 Series – that has seen the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Sebastian Vettel through its ranks, as well as Karting talents such as Ben Hanley and Charles Leclerc.
“It’s a honour to begin this industrial project with the Sala family, for which I have the utmost respect personally and professionally,” – comments Nicolas Todt, ART Grand Prix CEO. “Joining forces with a glorious brand rich in tradition such as Birel represents a very important step in ART Grand Prix’s young experience in Karting, a sport that has seen us involved as a manufacturer for the past three years only. Birel ART will allow us to take advantage of the strengths of Birel – which complement us perfectly. Birel will benefit from our experience in young drivers training, and the synergies with all ART Grand Prix teams, racing in the various championships; at the same time, we will take advantage of Birel’s manufacturing power and latest technology necessary to launch new, more competitive products both in terms of performance and cost, in order to gain the trust of customers, drivers, teams and Karting fans.”
“I know for sure that we are at the beginning of a new era, one which will see two very well known brands in the world of Karting and motorsport work together,” added Ronni Sala, Birel President. “In Nicolas and his collaborators I’ve found the right energy and ideal motivation to begin a structured, ambitious project that will be at the forefront of our industry, through original sporting, marketing and communication initiatives in support of the product, the brand and our dealership network. Only just born, Birel ART already aims with vigour to play an important role on the world market.”
Birel ART will benefit from a very experienced management team that will be announced shortly. Birel ART Racing, the new racing department, will be assisted by an on-track technical structure, as well as new ambitious racing programmes will be implemented. Also, a new range of custom-made products for professional and hobby drivers, teams and rental tracks, will soon be launched. Specific services for drivers will be also announced soon.
The official presentation of the 2015-2017 three-year program will take place in the occasion of the Birel ART Open Days, but Birel ART has already applied for the homologation of the new chassis and braking systems featuring the new brand name and colours for the CIK 2015-2020 session, as well as planning the launch of a new range of models for the rental market.
