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Birelart and Hiltbrand come close to winning the KZ title

FIA Karting European Championship - Mülsen (DEU) - 20, July 2025

Birelart KZ driver Pedro Hiltbrand came very close to winning the FIA Karting European Championship at the third and final round in Mülsen, Germany, before an engine problem ended his hopes. In KZ2, young Noah Wolfe (VAR by Birelart) showed great determination, finishing just off the podium.

After winning the first two Finals of the European Championship, Hiltbrand arrived in Germany in a favourable position to clinch the title. Despite retiring from the first Qualifying Heat as a result of a collision at the start, the Spaniard managed to retain the lead in the provisional standings at the end of the Qualifying Heats and the Super Heat.

Starting 6th in the Final, Hiltbrand quickly moved up to 3rd place, closing in on the leaders, when a mechanical failure forced him to retire with only six laps to go in the 23-lap race. Disappointed not to be able to add a fourth major title to his list of achievements in these circumstances, he is already determined to bounce back in the next World Championship.

Cristian Bertuca, who performed very well throughout the weekend, was in a promising 3rd place on the starting grid for the Final, but was forced to retire following an incident with another driver. Daniel Vasile (CL Racing) gained four positions in the Final to finish 8th.

In KZ2, Noah Wolfe got his weekend off to a perfect start by finishing 5th overall and 2nd in his group in Qualifying, before moving up to 3rd after the heats. Second in his Super Heat, he finally finished 4th after intense battles in the Final.

Jean Luyet and Luis Laurin Speck both made it into the top 10, while Jay Urwin finished close behind. Juho Valtanen made a remarkable comeback, climbing 16 positions to finish 17th, just ahead of Zoe Florescu Potolea, who also made significant progress. Jenson Graham and Corentin Rousseau (CL Racing) performed well but were penalised during the weekend.

Riccardo Longhi, Team Manager for the gearbox categories, commented:

"This new circuit on the international calendar provided some great battles in the gearbox categories. Of course, we would have liked to win the European title, but we can be satisfied with Hiltbrand in 2nd, Bertuca in 5th and Vasile in 8th in the overall standings. Congratulations also to Noah Wolfe, who established himself as one of the best in an extremely competitive KZ2 category. It is also worth noting that we supplied chassis to more than a third of the drivers competing, making Birelart the most represented brand at this event.”

Birelart Racing remains in contention for the KZ team classification, which will be decided at the World Championship in Franciacorta next October. Before that, the OK and OK-Junior drivers will compete in the final round of the European Championship in Rodby, Denmark, in two weeks' time.

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