After a quick warm-up to get the tyres ready, the two stars of this unusual show began their 5 minutes of high-thrill manoeuvres filmed for a live broadcast by the Rai network cameras. It took some time for Valentino to find out how to shift into first and second gears at the hairpin bends, but he was incredibly fast on the straights. Valentino has a long-term passion for karting, and, among other things, the Yamaha driver owns a Birel 100 kart he loves to drive competing with his friends of the Fun Club. This was the first time he tried a 125cc kart with gear, though. His impressions were very positive.

“This kart goes really fast, I didn’t expect that much power,” said Rossi. “I had a lot of fun and Cesetti proved to be an excellent trainer for this test. Now I asked Birel for another opportunity to run on a real circuit, so as to be able to get the most out of this superb kart.”

Obviously Sauro Cesetti was really thrilled, too.  “Valentino was brilliant,” said the Birel factory driver. “Testing a 125 ICC for the first time on such a bumpy track was not an easy job. Moreover, the very short gear ratios forced him to work more on the gear, whereas on a standard track he could have adjusted more gradually. In any case, he achieved considerable times. The next time he will run on a real track, I am sure he will perform amazingly.”

After 10 neck-and-neck laps, Sauro Cesetti recorded the best time with 26.710 against Valentino’s 26.805. The Pesaro-born driver, however, crossed the finish line first after a series of overtakings with Cesetti. Obviously, this was only a show, although the pace had been very high. For the sector of karting, on the other hand, the event has been an excellent showcase. Valentino Rossi is a superstar and watching him busy with driving a kart becomes a precious promotional message for this fascinating discipline, as confirmed by Ronni Sala, Birel’s Vice-President.
“We supported this initiative with great enthusiasm, aware of its great promotional value both for our business and for karting in general .Valentino has owned one of our 100cc karts already for seven years, and on this occasion we liked the idea of having him try the 125cc, which won the World Championship as well as the European title. Valentino proved to be a very special and cooperative guy, with obvious natural talent. Actually, hitting it off at once with such a demanding kart is not in everybody’s ability. We discussed about a possible follow-up to this experience with some test sessions on regular circuits, which, obviously, excites us.”

For more information – visit www.birel.com.