The second event for the 2011 Rotax Pan American Challenge, held at Michiana Raceway Park, showcased yet another strong presence by the Birel America team in each category. Danny Formal put together an impressive drive to score the pole position for both days in the Rotax Senior division and going on to win in Saturday’s final and place 2^nd on Sunday. Ariel Castro jumped in a Birel DD2 and swept the event in DD2 Masters both days, even taking a popular overall win in the DD2 class in the wet conditions on Saturday. Several Birel drivers put in impressive performances on the weekend with eleven podium finishes for Birel drivers over the two-day event.

“It wasn’t a surprise that our drivers would be fast this weekend given that we spend thousands of laps each year in testing here,” said Tim Lobaugh, Engineer of MRP-Birel America. “The impressive part is all three of the chassis entered, the RY30, C28z and DD2-R31 all performed flawlessly for each class.”

The Rotax Senior division had the largest showing of Birel drivers as the brand combined for half of the top-10 finishers on both days. Formal took the win on Saturday, backing up his performance with a runner-up finish on Sunday. Louie Pagano was fast all weekend and was on the podium in Sunday’s final with a 3^rd place finish after placing 5^th in Saturday’s event. Homestead’s double-winner, Jesus Rios, Jr. showed good speed throughout the weekend and was rewarded with a 4^th place on Saturday. Local driver, Thomas Bernacki, competed in his first national event and showed great improvement all weekend. He would finish with a pair of 8^th place finishes. Ethan Ringel also had a pair of good finishes with 7^th and 9^th place results over the weekend.

Rotax Junior saw Armin Cavkusic (CIR/Birel) break out with a strong 4^th place finish in Saturday’s final. The young driver also showcased his skill in wet conditions, marching up several positions when rain began falling. He would finish 7^th on Sunday behind Birel America driver, Gavin Reichelt, who placed 6^th. Grant Quinlan, entering his first ever Junior event, worked his way up to an impressive 8^th place finish. He would place in 9^th in Saturday’s final.

In MiniMax, Juan Correa would score a popular win in Sunday’s final, having to battle back from a bad start. Unfortunately on one of the six waved off starts for the MiniMax final, Juan was called for changing lanes too early and received a 3-second penalty. It was enough to move him back one position and he was scored in 2^nd. The young driver ended the weekend with two 2^nd place finishes to his credit. Local driver, William Wolfrom, had solid runs to 7^th and 9^th in the two days of competition.

In MicroMax, David Malukas (MKP/Birel) put in a great drive at his home track, placing 2^nd in Saturday’s final after swapping the lead several times. On Sunday, Malukas would again battle for the win but a late race spin kept him off the podium. He would go on to finish in 4^th.

In DD2, it was Ariel Castro who scored a popular overall win in Saturday’s rain-soaked final event. The driver had been able to keep pace with the lighter-weight DD2 front-runners in each session, giving them fits. As the rain fell, his consistency and pace put him in the lead with two laps to go as he cruised to the win. Sunday’s event didn’t go as smooth as the driver had to come from the back of the grid. He scored the DD2 Masters. Henry Malukas was 3^rd in his Birel in Masters both days. Cole Mathewson (MKP-Birel) debuted to two podium finishes, placing 2^nd on Saturday and 3^rd on Sunday in DD2.

For more information regarding MRP Motorsport, Birel or the MRP-Birel AMERICA race program, call (269-756-9133) or contact us online at www.mrpmotorsport.com. Information regarding the Birel chassis line may be found at www.BirelAmerica.com.