The drivers of the UK Easykart Driver Program will race an international season in KF3.
The great attention to young and talented drivers, and especially to the most worthy drivers from the one-brand Easykart promotional Trophy is a paramount for Birel also for the 2012 season.
Two of the most interesting drivers from the Easykart UK Trophy and members of the Easykart Driver Program have been promoted to the Birel Motorsport team as official drivers in KF3; they are Tom Thickpenny and Will Stowell, who entered the EDP program at the beginning of 2011 and protagonists of a positive season in 100cc Easykart in UK last year, earning themselves first of all a test with the racing department and then a contract as official drivers in KF3 (signed on 2012, January). Both of them will take advantage of a budget provided by Birel that will cover more than 50% of the costs to face a program of international races, starting on March from the first weekend with WSK Master and going on with the CIK-FIA European Championship, the most important event of the season.
During winter tests, both Thickpenny and Stowell have shown a great potential, as Marco Angeletti from Birel points out:
“We are very satisfied to give substance to our youth program Easykart Driver Program including two of the most interesting British drivers in our official team; this is a clear signal of how much our company considers important the youth categories and their support, but also how lively the activity in the UK is with our Trophies. We don’t have to forget the experience made by DeHavillande in 2011 with the official team, besides the fact that we have other young British drivers under contract, as Ronan McKenzie, who will probably debut in KF3 within a few months. The opportunity that we want to offer to young Thickpenny and Stowell, as they performed very well in testing with the team, is also a way to thank the British Federation that always supported ACR and our company in our promotional programs in UK: in this way it can boast about two more young worthy drivers in the Cik-Fia European Championship and in the most important Championships for the KF3 category, as WSK Master Series, continuing a path that saw many British drivers as protagonists in the last years.”
Drivers’ opinion
Tom Thickpenny: "I’m thrilled about the occasion of competing with such an important official team as Birel and I’ve been preparing myself for several months to be in the best conditions and ready for the first race of the season; it will be my first year in KF3 and I know I need to do experience, but I’m sure I’ll do quite good results in the first races, thanks to the great potentials of team. During winter test, I was surprised by the great skills of technicians and the potential of the chassis, with which I drove very well, and by the BMB engine, which is very competitive. My focus is doing as much experience as possible in the WSK Master, in order to prepare for the European Championship, also because the second round will be in the UK and I absolutely want to do all my best on that occasion."
Will Stowell: "I learned very much in my path in the Easykart Trophy, always feeling the support both from ACR and Birel, in the last two seasons. Being an official driver is a dream becoming true and I’m becoming more responsible; for this reason I’m following a psycho-physical training and I’ve done many tests during the winter: my aim is being ready for the first races, even if I’ll have to do experience and it won’t be easy in a competitive category like KF3. But I’m sure that working with Birel Motorsport will help me very much."
Birel SpA
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