Besler Returns from Italy with Valuable Points

National athlete Berkay Besler, who represents Turkey abroad with success and rose to the overall lead of the CIK FIA Central East Europa Zone Championship after the race in Austria, scored valuable points at the Italian round of another series he competes in, the Rotax Max Euro Challenge.

Over five days of practice, qualifying heats and finals at the 1256-metre Casteletto circuit in Laghi, Besler battled difficult weather conditions and a heavy cold, and gained invaluable experience. Among 45 of the best drivers from 20 different countries, Besler started the Pre-Final on tyres that gripped excessively because of the soft compound. Having dropped back to 27th at one stage, Besler recovered to finish the race 18th. In the 19-lap Final, with the tyres practically glued to the track, Besler fell to 22nd but drove well to take the chequered flag in 15th, picking up very important points in the championship. Pierce Lehane leads the overall standings on 154 points, with our national athlete fourth on 135 points.

After the race, Berkay Besler stressed how incredibly the tyres gripped, saying: "I raced on such a high-grip track for the first time. To get away from that grip, I often had to change my racing line. Once I found the pace, my only misfortune was that I was starting from the back." Besler also noted that working with Karol Dabski, one of the world's top karting drivers and, like Besler, a user of the Intrepid chassis, and analysing the data together had added a great deal, and that being quicker than Dabski on lap times boosted confidence for the future. Thanking the Intrepid factory team for their strong support and the technical crew for their extraordinary efforts, Besler said the race at Wackersdorf cannot come soon enough.