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| March 31, 2012 News |
| EKN Trackside: Gatorz Challenge of the Americas - CalSpeed Saturday Report |
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 | Parker McKean earned the victory in Senior Max
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The fifth round of the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas went into the books on Saturday, March 31 following the action at the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California. Nearly 100 drivers took part in seven categories in the first of two days of competition to close out the program’s 2012 season. The challenging fields and course led to some dramatic results on the day, shaping up the championship fights even further with two of the titles locked up provisionally before the final day - Fritz Leesmann (DD2) and John Crow (DD2 Masters). The story of the day was the breakthrough win for Senior driver Parker McKean.
Buddy Rice Karting Senior Max
Tightening up the championship chase even more, Louie Pagano (Birel) topped the qualifying results in the Senior Max session. His 50.790-lap was laid down early, and held for the remainder of the session. The fight was for second as the rest of the top-five clocked in with 12-thousandths of each other. Phillip Arscott (Swiss Hutless) was second with Jonathan May (FA Kart) jumping from Junior to Senior this weekend, placing an impressive third in his first qualifying session as a Senior. Phil DeLaO (Top Kart) also jumped up late, on his 15th circuit, to end up fourth as championship leader Kiel Spaulding (FA Kart) was fifth. Second in the title chase - Nick Rivellini (CRG) - struggled and was 14th overall.
Pagano had the Pre-Main in hand from the drop of the green flag, but a late challenge gave a preview of what could happen in the Final. Pagano jumped out to a solid lead but it was the charge of Parker McKean (Kosmic) that stole the show. Starting sixth, he drove his way forward to the second position, running down Pagano until the checkered flag fell, behind by just 0.166 seconds at the line. Spaulding advanced to third over Arscott with DeLaO able to hold off the young May for fifth. Rivellini’s struggles continued, finishing 19th in the run.
 | Fritz Leesmann earned his fifth straight DD2 win to hold the provisional championship heading into the final round
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The 2012 Gatorz COTA has seen some breakthrough performances, and the Senior Main Event was the latest as McKean scored the victory in convincing fashion. Pagano and McKean led the field to the green, and after some jostling, Pagano came away with the position. Establishing a good lead with Parker trying to fend off challengers, Pagano looked poised for victory. As the first half of the 25-lap event closed, McKean controlled the second spot and began running down Pagano. On lap 13, McKean took over the point to set up what was to be a great battle in the second half of the race for the win. But on lap 15, Pagano hit the curb outside of turn 9 too hard and popped the chain off his driveline. The result left Louie stunned on the sideline for a brief moment before he reattached the chain and went on to finish 26th. This allowed McKean breathing room out front as he drove away to a one-second victory, his first major win. Doubling the newness on the podium, May emerged as the runner-up in another great performance on the day. Arscott completed the podium in third over DeLaO and Spaulding, establishing a solid lead in the standing heading into the final round.
Overdrive Motorsports DD2/BRK Engines DD2 Masters
The championship is nearly decided as Fritz Leesmann’s four victories in the first four rounds has the title all but locked up. Canadian Daniel Burkett has other things in mind this weekend and set the tone in qualifying. The LH driver posted a 50.135-lap late in the session to steal the pole position from Leesmann (CRG) by just 25-thousandths of a second. Austin King (PCR) capped off the DD2 field. Canadian and 2010 Rotax Grand Finals DD2 Masters champion Scott Campbell (CRG) made his 2012 debut in style, topping the charts in qualifying over championship leader John Crow (Arrow). Jim Carey Sr. (Arrow) rounded out the Masters field qualifying order in third. Tech however changed the order as Leesmann and Campbell were removed from the results for using the wrong fuel, moving both to the tail of the grid for the Prefinal.
 | Scott Campbell showed why he was the 2010 Grand Finals champ, scoring the DD2 Masters win Saturday
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Burkett from the pole position had the race in hand. Leading all 17 laps, Burkett scored the maximum 10 points for the win. Leesmann drove up to second and was running down Burkett until lap nine when his sidepod fell off, forcing him to pull off the course. King finished second after holding off Campbell, the Masters winner. Carey ran to second as Crow retired early on lap six.
As he shown all year, Leesmann would not be denied the top spot in the DD2 Main Event. Starting fifth, the front five including Campbell and Crow battled hard in the early part of the race with Burkett at the point. After some shuffling, Burkett was dropped back to fourth with Leesmann out front ahead of King and Campbell. They would run that way to the checkered flag with Fritz earning his fifth Main Event win of the season and securing the provisional championship. King finished four seconds back in the runner-up spot, just ahead of Masters winner Campbell. Burkett completed the DD2 podium in third with Crow placing second, also securing the DD2 Masters provisional championship. Carey was classified sixth overall, third in Masters, after just running 11 laps.
Rolison Performance Group Junior Max
The one driver that has been near the front of the field all season for the Gatorz series has been defending champion Parker Thompson (Tony Kart). Luck however has not been on his side, leading four of the four main events, only to win one and DNF in the last two. Looking to mix up the championship chase where he has an outside chance at the title, Thompson scored the pole position for round five. His 51.324-lap was best in the session as he stole the five bonus points in the championship. His Tucson rival - Jake Craig (CRG) - was second in the session as they both were quicker than point leader Luke Selliken (Kosmic) and Zacharie Scalzo (LH). Rookie Austin Versteeg (CRG) continues to be impressive, posting the fifth quickest lap of the session.
 | Jake Craig showed his talents once again, scoring the TaG Junior victory
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Thompson and Craig showed the way through the 17-lap Pre-Main. Each took a turn at the point with Craig able to secure the position and score the win by three-tenths over Thompson. Scalzo trailed the duo the entire time, placing third and gaining one point on Selliken in the title chase. Selliken battled with Kyle Wick (Kosmic) for much of the race, until he put some space on his RPG teammate to secure the fourth position.
Despite out the championship, Craig wanted to be sure that no one forgot he is one of the top Junior Max drivers in the country. With the Pre-Main win, Craig held the pole for the Final and drove wire-to-wire for the victory. A late charge by Thompson brought on some late drama, but not enough time was left after the 25-lap event for Thompson to challenge for the win after falling behind early. More drama ensued behind them as the championship rivals fought for the final podium spot. Selliken fell back to fifth early on as Scalzo held the third position. As the laps clicked off, Selliken moved back to fourth and inched his way toward his rival. Getting up to the bumper on the final lap, Selliken was unable to get by for the position, as Scalzo earned his fourth podium finish in five Main Events. Wick ended a solid day with a top-five performance, his best result of the season.
Billet Performance Karting Masters Max
Defending champion Scott Falcone (Arrow) got himself back in the title fight in Phoenix and is set to challenge once again here in CalSpeed. Escaping the exciting qualifying session to start round five, Falcone scored the pole position with a 52.163-lap. John Crow (Tony Kart), running double duty on the weekend, coming up just one-hundredth of a second off Falcone’s time to end up off pole. Scott Holmboe (Swiss Hutless), making his first start of the 2012 season, ended up third with Steve Dzurilla (Birel) in fourth. The top two in the championship chase - Paul Bonilla (Arrow) and Brent Harper (Swiss Hutless) - were fifth and sixth, giving Falcone a nice cushion of three drivers between them heading into the Prefinal.
 | Scott Holmboe celebrated his first event of 2012 on top of the podium in Masters Max
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The spoilers showed the way through the Pre-Main as it was SoCal’s Crow that took the win after the 17 lap event. Falcone led the first few laps before both Crow and Holmboe worked through for position. Crow and Holmboe put down a solid pace, driving away to the front two positions and stealing valuable championship standings. Falcone continued to fall back as the race wore on, ending up sixth at the checkered flag. Bonilla earned third place points with Dzurilla and Busby rounding out the top-five. Harper was involved in an opening lap wreck, putting him at the tail of the field. He and Tony Rossetti (Arrow) drove up to ninth and tenth.
The Masters Max drivers provided a wild and frenzy end to their round five action as the championship chase took a striking turn. Once again, Harper was involved in opening lap contact, and dropped back to the tail of the field. By lap two, he was fighting his way forward but the second half of the field was not allowing him by so easily. Contact in turn eight between he and Harindra de Silva (Energy) resulted in the two stuck together on the exit. Harper made a huge mistake and made physical contact with de Silva while on track. Officials ruled it an automatic disqualification, and thus ending his chances at the series title. Up front, a great early battle between Holmboe, Crow and Bonilla took place with Busby in the mix as well. As they shuffled around, Busby was lost from the order in turn two as Holmboe established himself as the driver to beat. Bonilla gave chance but did not have the longevity that Holmboe displayed, scoring the victory in his 2012 debut. Bonilla was about one-second back in second, putting himself in the driver’s seat for the title. Crow held on to run third in his first day of double duty. Rossetti drove to fourth with Dzurilla in fifth and Falcone sixth.
BBR Karting Mini Max
The war for the point title began its third stage with the top two drivers battling for the pole position. Championship leader Christian Brooks (Energy) topped the charts, edging out Sting Ray Robb (Tony Kart) by just ten-thousandths of a second with a 53.649 lap time. Round four winner Nicky Hays (Birel) was third with Canadians Carson Vogel (Tony Kart) and Garrett Gulenchyn (Tony Kart) rounding out the fast-five.
 | Christian Brooks help his point title chances with win number three of the year in Mini Max
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The Pre-Main saw the lead pack began as one, become two, and finished with four fighting for the win on the final circuit. Hays jumped out to a big lead early, putting Robb and Brooks behind him by at least two seconds. The two worked together and ran him down. As the three karts fought for the lead, this allowed Jeff Fulham (LH) to close in, making it four drivers in the hunt. An exciting last lap with side-by-side throughout the course saw Brooks escape with the lead and the win. Robb jumped to second in the final corners, putting Hays to third and Fulham in fourth. Gulenchyn drove to fifth with a host of drivers behind him.
Just two drivers stood out in the Main Event, as title chasers Brooks and Robb broke away from the field to joust for the victory. Each took a turn at the point, running nose to tail the entire time to set up for an exciting last lap. Brooks was out front as they took the white flag, with Robb waiting until turn 7 to make his move. The result gave Brooks the favorable line through turn eight, forcing Robb to relinquish the spot again. Up to the top of the track and down to the stripe, Robb waited for a sling shot move. The finish came to just 64-thousandths of a second with Brooks earning his third victory of the season. Robb finished second but was fast lap of the race, earning five bonus points. Hays rounded out the podium with Horatio Fitz-Simon (CRG) to fourth and Royal McKee (Energy) into fifth.
Apollo Motorsports Micro Max
The Micro Max division has been fun to watch all winter, and round five began with another shuffle at the front. Sophia Price (Kosmic) put in another solid qualifying performance once again, earning the pole position by over three-tenths. Griffin Dowler (Tony Kart) was second in the order over Derek DesLauriers (Energy), point leader Jacob Blue Hudson (Energy) and Payton Durrant (Birel).
With a great start, David Rafailov (CRG) was able to jump to the front of the field and score the Pre-Main win. Price trailed in the second spot with Hudson a close third. Durrant advanced one spot to fourth with Corbin Emery (Birel) up to fifth.
 | David Rafailov earned his first Micro Max win of the season
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The fight for the victory came down to three with Rafailov joined by Price and Durrant. The 14-lap event was all Ravilov as he would score the victory by two-tenths at the line. Hudson, scoring the fast lap of the race, placed fourth with Griffin Dowler (Tony Kart) in fifth.
EKN Trackside Coverage
The EKN Trackside Live coverage - http://www.ekartingnews.com/live - will give you the play-by-play action from EKN’s own Rob Howden and allow you to view the live scoring feed from Race-Monitor.com. The EKN Trackside Live page is the one page to bookmark for your weekend. If you have a mobile device, you can listen in through EKN’s streaming page (mobile.livestream.com/ekartingnewslive) when racing is taking place. Check updates from the event, including the top-10 of each session, at the Official Discussion Thread in the EKN Forums. Be sure to ‘Like’ us on Facebook/eKartingNews and @eKartingNews on Twitter for extra updates, pictures and videos from this weekend. |
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