OSCAR SALA

END OF THE BIREL CRISIS

Early ‘70s. The international race season was characterized by just two major events back then: the Champions Cup, the “classic” season starter, and the World Championship. In 1973 I’d gone back full-time to working as a product tester and to racing, mostly in minor events. That year the Champions Cup was held in Jesolo, on June 3rd. I decided to participate, after several years of technical crisis in Birel.

The drivers to beat that year are Goldstein and Fullerton. With the first absent from the entry list, the Brit is it, the only one who stands to make a difference at the time. The week before the event, we go through an intense track testing program with the full Birel team (Gianni Bianchi as head chassis technican and Giuseppe Morini as engine tuner). We’ve decided to compete with the evolution of the Targa model and our practice results convicne us we have good chances of vying for the Cup.