The partnership is aim at creating pathways for young kart drivers to progress into open wheel racing and will be called VAR by Birel.
The van Amersfoort Racing team is well known through Europe as a finishing school for young racers. The likes of Verstappen, Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen have piloted the Dutch-run cars.
The Van Amersfoort has been a stalwart of European open wheel competition at all levels, and it has a relationship with Australian and New Zealand drivers. Tommy Smith who recently resigned, and Jack Beeton competed for the outfit in 2023.
In the past Liam Lawson, Richie Stanaway and Joey Mawson have raced for the team which was founded in 1975 by Frits van Amersfoort. VAR by Birel will begin in 2024 with Brit Noah Wolfe in European OK racing.
“The partnership will create significant added value for VAR by Birel drivers, who will benefit from the expertise of both brands,” said the President of BirelART, Roni Sala.
The partnership announcement between Birel and VAR omits the ART name from the Birel brand. In 2011, Birel rebranded as BirelART after buy-in from ART Grand Prix. ART is the open wheel team owned by renowned driver manager, Nicolas Todt’ All Road Management who manages Beeton, and Todt is the son of former FIA President Jean Todt.
BirelART was the manufacturer of the Ricciardo chassis under the auspices of the Australian F1 star, led by Australian importer and Ricciardo collaborator, Michael Patrizi.
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