Birelart presents the Barrichello racing line
The new Barrichello by Birelart range makes its official debut, combining Birelart technology and tradition with Rubens ...
The new Barrichello by Birelart range makes its official debut, combining Birelart technology and tradition with Rubens ...
After presenting the new features for the 2026 season, Birelart returned to the track with its new chassis to kick off t...
IAME to supply engines for Birelart Racing Team in the Mini, OK, OKJ, KZ and KZ2 categories from 2026
Birel ART: the history of kart!
From the union of Birel and ART Grand Prix, Birel ART is born, a new adventure aimed at becoming one of the main protagonists of the international Karting scene.
Birel ART launches two new brands in collaboration with two great F1 drivers: Ricciardo Kart in collaboration with Daniel Ricciardo (www.ricciardokart.com) and Charles Leclerc Kart (www.clkarting.com) in collaboration with Charles Leclerc.
In 2019 Marijn Kremers wins the world title in the KZ premier class.
In 2020, despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, for Birel ART it was a year of incredible sporting and commercial successes that continue into 2021.
Robert Kubica’s star shined brightly for Birel in 2000 when he won 4th place in the World Championship, the last one awarded in a single trial.
In 2009 through the partnership between Birel and Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica, the new RK Robert Kubica Kart brand, (www.kubicaracingkart.com).
Birel won six Formula C World Championship titles in the years from 1990 to 2000 and led the classification of the most winning teams in the 125 ever.
At the end of the nineties, Birel became involved in amateur karting, “invented” endurance races, a new perspective in kart racing, and created a new chassis, the N035, specifically designed for these competitions. Easykart is also born, a project conceived with the aim of supporting and promoting basic karting and in particular the youth sector.
At the beginning of the seventies, Birel presented a chassis which was destined to leave a very deep impression on the history of karting: the Targa.
In 1974, Birel and IAME formed an official team with future Formula 1 drivers Riccardo Patrese and Eddy Cheever.
The eighties were the stage for a lot of successes as team and as manufacturer. Mika Hakkinen, the future Formula 1 star, raced for the team managed by Finnish importer Pekka Pirkola. Birel conquered four Junior World Championship titles from 1982 to 1986.
Karting became popular throughout Europe at the end of the fifties.
Umberto Sala at that time was managing a car and motorcycle shop in Lissone, near Milan.
He opened a small light metalurgy workshop and started to make his first karts for fun.
Sala’s chassis were called “Birel” which was the family’s nickname.
CEO
Ronni Sala is a central figure in the world of international motorsport and the CEO of Birel ART, a historic company based in Lissone (Monza e Brianza) specializing in the production of go-karts.
Born in 1972, Ronni Sala-grandson of Birel founder Umberto Sala-comes from a family of motor enthusiasts. Umberto’s brother, Guido, was a motorcycle racer, and Ronni grew up with the same passion, receiving his first bike at just four years old.
Following his own racing experiences-including competing in the Italian 125cc Grand Prix championship during the 1990s-Ronni joined his father and grandfather in managing Birel. In 1994, he began organizing and managing the newly formed Birel Motorsport. Under his leadership, the racing division won four consecutive titles from 1997 to 2000, including three World Championships with Gianluca Beggio, and most recently another world title in 2019 with Marijn Kremers.
Beyond sporting success, Ronni introduced significant technological and commercial innovations. In 1997, for instance, Birel unveiled Torsion, the first Birel chassis designed entirely by computer. In 2000, he launched “Easykart”; originally intended for amateur drivers to grow the karting fan base, the project quickly became a major success across Italy, America, and many European countries.
In 2014, Ronni inaugurated a new era for the company by joining forces with ART Grand Prix to create Birel ART. Through this partnership with Nicolas Todt and his associates, Ronni helped build an ambitious project at the forefront of the karting industry, featuring original sporting, marketing, and communication initiatives to support the product, the brand, and the Birel ART dealer network.
In 2025, Birel ART played a central role in a major financial operation that led to the creation of the Korus Group, where Sala remains a partner and key figure. Korus is the holding company that brings together some of Italy's most globally recognized excellences in motorsport and high-performance engineering.
The Group’s primary objective is to develop a 360-degree motorsport hub, leveraging its Italian roots as a distinctive factor of excellence. The name Korus, evoking the Greek concept of “chorus,” reflects its mission: to unite unique and complementary companies into a harmonious ecosystem operating in synergy. The goal is to transform passion, expertise, and precision into cutting-edge performance, redefining global excellence in motorsport.
Management policy always oriented towards joining tradition and innovation, always putting the unconditional search for quality as its top priority along with maximum attention to the needs of the user in every segment of the market.
The production organization provides for four departments located in a surface area of over 6.000 square meters: mechanical works, carpentry, assembly and the warehouse. Production, like the racing department, can consider itself one of the greatest expressions of excellence in the entire karting sector due to the use of maximum technology machinery and the best professionals.
The technical office works in synergy with the racing department for the racing segment.