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| February 23, 2012 |
| Team News: PSL Karting Earns More Wins and Podiums in Homestead |
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After starting out the 2012 edition of the Formula Kart Productions Florida Winter Tour with five wins at the International Rotax Max Challenge season opener at Palm Beach International Raceway, Team PSL Karting continued their winning ways this past weekend. With the halfway point of the tour descending upon the Homestead Karting Complex, set in the shadow of the Homestead-Miami Speedway, 23 PSL branded drivers took to the track contesting all seven Rotax classes. Five more wins and two additional podiums were captured by PSL/CRG pilots and as the points battle begins to heat up heading into the final round, Team PSL Karting is in the hunt to add several more championship titles to their stellar list of racing accomplishments.
After a near sweep in the Open Shifter class as weekend prior, Nicholas Latifi continued to impress in Florida Winter Tour action, this time in the Rotax DD2 class. Starting off his Homestead effort on the right foot, Latifi would claim both pole positions during the two Friday qualifying sessions. Saturday's wheel-to-wheel racing action would see the talent take the prefinal victory and earn pole position for the day's main event. At the start of the 20-lap final, Latifi momentarily lost point but made his way back into the lead by lap three. From there, the two-time Team Canada member cruised to the win by a two second margin.
Sunday was much the same for the Toronto native. With pole position secured from Friday's qualifying session, Latifi scored another prefinal win and his third straight DD2 class victory with a dominating performance. Latifi's sweep of the weekend has him sitting in first place in the overall class standings, 15 points up on his nearest competitor. With two races remaining in Ocala in March, Latifi is poised to retain the DD2 championship for PSL Karting and earn his third berth to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF).
 | Nicholas Latifi was the class of the Rotax DD2 field, earning both pole positions, prefinal wins and main event victories
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
PSL Atlantic pilot Alan Rudolph is one step closer to securing his own invitation to the RMCGF. Debuting in the DD2 Masters category in Palm Beach with the goal of earning a spot on Team USA in 2012, Rudolph made waves in the opening round, and didn't let up in Homestead. Making his intentions known, Rudolph matched Latifi's efforts by too earning both pole positions during the Friday qualifications. Right on his heels however was PSL's Rene Martinelli. The defending FWT DD2 Masters champion clocked second and fourth in the timed sessions on Friday, putting the pressure on Rudolph as he makes a bid to earn a return invite to the Grand Finals.
Saturday's action would see Rudolph take a two-second victory in the prefinal, while Martinelli ran into troubles and ended up back in the 12th position. The setback became inconsequential however, as Martinelli had a start for the ages in the final, as he made his way from 12th to second in just two corners! Putting the pressure on his PSL counterpart early, Martinelli eventually faded but managed to hold onto second. This allowed Rudolph to complete the sweep of the day as he went on to score the victory by over four and a half seconds. The one-two finish by the PSL drivers shows the rest of the karting community that the CRG product line is one of the best.
Sunday would see Rudolph continue his dominance in the class, although pressure during the prefinal race from the second place driver kept him humble. Martinelli came home in third, setting himself up right behind Rudolph on the grid for what would become an interesting final. Getting the race underway, Martinelli would make his move for the lead working lap two. Rudolph however stayed right on his bumper and ensuing contact caused Martinelli into a long slide. A great save by Martinelli kept him on track, down to third but still in play. After the remaining flyers were completed, Rudolph crossed the stripe in the first position, but a three-position penalty for the contact stripped him of the win. And with the second place competitor disqualified in tech, the win was eventually handed to Martinelli with Rudolph moved up to complete the podium in third. With the Homestead round complete, Rudolph currently holds the points lead, 145 markers up on Martinelli. The final Ocala round is sure to be one for the ages, as the two PSL drivers will battle it out for the overall title and corresponding Team USA invite.
 | PSL's Rene Martinelli and PSL Atlantic's Alan Rudolph were on the podium both days in Homestead
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Adding to PSL Karting's success, Pedro Tavarez de Moraes Cardoso reigned supreme on Sunday in the Mini Max class. After a disappointing Saturday, where Cardoso was poised to take the final victory but a black flag for a damaged rear bumper caused by early contact stripped him of the win, Cardoso came back with a vengeance on Sunday. With the pole position already secured from Friday's qualifications, the young Brazilian went on to take the prefinal victory and coveted premiere starting position for the main event. In the always-competitive Mini Max class, Cardoso battled some stiff rivalry in the final race. Losing the point at the drop of the green, Cardoso held with the lead quartet as the young drivers waged an epic battle during their 14-lap race. In the end however, Cardoso pulled off the victory, crossing a mere 0.440 seconds ahead of the field with a triumphant celebration at the checkered flag. Heading into Ocala, Cardoso holds third place in the Mini Max championship. Teammate Darren Keane had a notably solid weekend in Homestead Mini Max action, as two fifth place finishes currently put him fifth overall in the class standings.
"Pedro displayed superior driving skills, which can be attributed to his extensive direct-drive experience in Brazil," explained PSL Karting USA Sales Manager and tuner/coach Andrew Campbell. "Combine that with the unrivaled CRG chassis and PSL motor combination, he was going to be tough to beat. We're up against the toughest competition in North America, so this is certainly a win to be proud of."
Also having another solid weekend, reigning DD2 World Champion Pier-Luc Ouellette may not have made a trip to the podium yet in 2012, but his consistent finishes have kept him in contention for the overall Rotax Senior title. A seventh place run on Sunday was bettered by PLO on Sunday, as a fourth place finish has the decorated karter sitting third in the overall points chase, 90 points out of first and a scant three points behind second place.
 | Pedro Tavarez de Moraes Cardoso celebrated in style after Sunday's Mini Max win
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
"Again, the PSL Karting Factory Team put up some tough battles," noted PSL President Dominic Labrecque. "With ever-changing track conditions, we were almost able to come out on top in every class. We are looking forward to bringing home some hardware for the final round in Ocala!"
Next up for Team PSL Karting branded drivers is a return to West Coast competition, as the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas resumes with Round #2 set for this weekend at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association Formula K Raceway in Glendale, Arizona. A quick turn around will see the team back in action at the Florida Winter Tour with their championship-caliber CRG chassis for the final rounds at the Ocala Grand Prix facility. Here class champions will be decided during both event weekends, with the Formula Kart classes taking to track March 9-11 and Rotax classes following on March 16-18.
Team PSL Karting will be trackside in 2012 at the Florida Winter Tour, Pan American Rotax Max Challenge, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Quebec Cup, Le Monaco de Trois-Rivieres, United States Grand Nationals, ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Karting Championships, Pan American Championship and SKUSA SuperNationals. Team PSL Karting is associated with CRG, Maxter Kart Engines, Rotax, Tillett Racing Seats, Sniper, Unipro, Douglas Wheels, Vega, MG Tires, Arai, Bell, ULV, Mir, Freem, Elf Fuels, Alfano, MaxJet Software, D.I.D. Racing Chains, KC and Power Mist.
To learn more about the World's #1 CRG distributor, sales & service, arrive & drive opportunities, PSL racing engines or dealer opportunities, please visit http://www.pslkarting.com or http://www.pslkartingusa.com |
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