ART Grand Prix exclusive supplier of “Desafio Internacional das Estrelas”

In the 2013 edition of the race, ART Grand Prix was appointed as an exclusive supplier. ART Grand Prix provided all the karts used on-track and assisted them throughout the weekend. The chassis were produced by the Brazilian branch of ART Grand Prix and based on the KF3 ones homologated for the country's market, with the addition of a specific bodywork.

The ART Grand Prix staff ensured the success of the whole event thanks to the quality and to the absolute reliability of all the products provided, which enabled the drivers to focus on pure performance. In the end, it was Frenchman Jules Bianchi who prevailed, although the great show provided was a handsome reward for the crowd and for all the TV spectators at home.

EDUARDO MASSA:
"The overall balance for the 2013 ‘Desafio Internacional das Estrelas’ is definitely positive. We had some really positive feedback from all the drivers and I think we are experiencing a steady growth year after year. For the 2013 edition we appointed ART Grand Prix with the technical management of the whole organization and we had a very positive comment from this standpoint too. They developed a specific chassis in Brazil and both the performance and the reliability proved outstanding. We've been particularly glad to work with Nicolas Todt, the owner of ART Grand Prix, who is also the manager of my brother Felipe. It was thanks to karting that this possibility came to light but, independently from the personal friendship, the results achieved confirmed the success of the partnership - which I hope will continue in the future”.

JULES BIANCHI:
“I'm sure that all the drivers on-track had real fun. I already entered the Desafio das Estrelas last year, and I was immediately impressed by the great spirit behind the whole event. On-track, everything went on in the best possible way. I found myself well suited from practice, and I tried to adapt my kart by operating on the few "open" parameters available. I clocked the pole position, and I won in Race 1 despite a bad start forced me to recover from 5th place. After the blind draw for the engines, held between the two heats, I started the final from the 8th spot due to the reverse grid rule. On the first lap I then fell to 10th due to a contact with Di Grassi. Although the engine wasn't one of the most powerful, I recovered up to 3rd. I fought with Piquet and even managed to hold him off for second at times. I eventually ended up behind him and scored the position I needed to lead the overall standings. A win is a win and it always feels good, I hope this will be just the start to a positive 2013 season.”