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| Features |
| GoRotax.com Driver of the Month Presented by eKartingNews.com: 2012 |
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Thanks to the new partnership between MAXSpeed Group and eKartingNews.com, a monthly program has been devised to promote outstanding drivers in the Rotax Max Challenge. The new program - GoRotax.com Driver of the Month presented by eKartingNews.com - is based off a similar program the leading karting website offers each month, focused on the United States ‘Rotaxians’. Each month, the staff at MAXSpeed and EKN will determine one driver to profile who promotes Rotax and karting in general in a positive fashion, along with standing out on-track. Each driver’s accomplishments will be highlighted, in addition to getting to know the Driver of the Month.
September 2012 - Ashley Rogero
 | GoRotax.com Driver of the Month - September 2012 - Ashley Rogero
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
When the season began, Ashley Rogero had two goals for the year - WKA Manufacturers Cup Series championship and to be a member of Team USA for the Rotax Grand Finals. The now 15-year old accomplished the first goal on the September 14-16 weekend at the WKA series finale, securing her championship. The following week, she traveled to Englewood, Colorado for the Pan American Challenge Championship event on September 20-23 to complete her objectives. That Sunday, she did just that by winning the Junior Max main event and securing her ticket to the 2012 Rotax Grand Finals in Portugal. Her performance helped her to be named as the GoRotax.com Driver of the Month for September 2012.
Back in 2010, Rogero was awarded a spot on Team USA thanks to her performance at one of her favorite tracks - New Castle Motorsports Park. Making one of her first starts in the Junior ranks after running the Cadet categories throughout the season, she laid down a fourth place finish against a stout field. With the way the tickets were awarded, her finish scored a ticket to the 2010 Rotax Grand Finals, held at La Conca International Circuit in Italy to become the first female driver to compete for Team USA in the Junior Max category. A member of six drivers in the category for the Red, White and Blue, Rogero finished up as the fourth ranked driver on the team, but did not qualify for the main event.
Rogero’s quest to return to the Rotax Grand Finals began early this season, contesting the Florida Winter Tour. The three-month battle ended with Rogero on top of the podium at the series finale in Ocala, scoring her one and only victory in the program on the year. She completed the championship in the fourth position, unable to obtain the ticket. Next up was the Rotax Grand Nationals in South Bend, Indiana where she began as one of the top contenders. Trouble in wet qualifying put her behind, but great drives in the heat races placed her further up the order in the Prefinal. Unfortunately, a crash took her out of the race but her never quit attitude saw her drive from 33rd to 11th in the main event.
The final chance came with the Pan American Challenge Championship event at The Track at Centennial in Englewood, Colorado with drivers from North America to South America competing for just one ticket. One feature that stood out for Rogero’s attempt on the weekend was the ‘old school’ feel to it. Ashley and her father Jim loaded up the kart in the pick-up truck, making the trip from Indiana where they just finished up the WKA season and drove roughly 1,100 miles to the Denver area. Having never competed at the facility before, practice time was a must and she quickly adapted, qualifying seventh. After a tough opening heat race, she bounced back to finish fifth and second in the remaining qualifying races to end up fifth for the start of the Prefinal. Rogero was on fire in the Prefinal, driving her way forward and into the lead with fast laps of the race to score the win and pole position for the main event. After relinquishing the lead early, she took back the point on lap four and from there, drove on to take the victory by three seconds in convincing fashion. Scoring the title gave Rogero the ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals, set for the Kartodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal on November 25-December 1. eKartingNews.com will have complete Trackside Live coverage from the other side of the big pond, keeping all the Ashley Rogero fans and the rest of Team USA up to date.
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August 2012 - Daniel Formal
 | GoRotax.com Driver of the Month - August 2012 - Daniel Formal
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Formal is among the most successful Rotax drivers in the United States. Like is fellow Floridian Nick Neri, he became only the second driver to win the Grand Nationals in Mini Max, Junior Max and now Senior Max with his performance in August at this year’s event held at the Michiana Raceway Park. Ironically, it’s the same location he scored the Mini Max title, back in 2005. Danny was the quickest in practice, contested in the dry. When it came to qualifying in the wet, he only dropped to third overall. The heat races were all Formal, as he showed to be the driver to beat. Winning the opening heat race, it was Neri that demoted Formal in heat two, and was the only driver to beat him in an on-track session the rest of the event. After winning heat three, Danny earned the pole position for the Prefinal event, going on to win that race by a comfortable 10 seconds after 20 laps. With the pole position, Formal never looked back as he led the entire 26-lap event to secure his first Senior Max title, and another bid to the Rotax Grand Finals.
This will be Formal’s second time competing at the Rotax Grand Finals. After winning his Junior Max title in 2008, he was too young to compete in La Conca, Italy that year. In 2010, Danny placed third at the Grand Nationals held at New Castle Motorsports Park to earn his trip to La Conca, hosting the event once again. There, Formal recorded the second best finish by a Team USA member, placing fifth in the main event. This year should be Formal’s best chance to improve on that result, heading to Portugal at the end of November.
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July 2012 - Jason Dempster
 | GoRotax.com Driver of the Month - July 2012 - Jason Dempster
(Photo: Dempster Racing) |
Dempster is among the top Junior drivers in the state of Colorado, displaying it at the Racing the Rockies program based at The Track at Centennial. The year began a bit rough for Dempster at the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas. Competing at the Phoenix round, a hard crash during the Saturday final ended his weekend early, thankfully with no serious injuries. The regional season began in April, starting out with a runner-up finish. The next month he followed that up with his first win of the season. June he traveled to the Southeast Karting Challenge finale, set at Dallas Karting Complex, where he finishes fifth and second. The next weekend, he returned to The Track for round three of the Racing the Rockies series, earning his second victory of the year. The streak continued in July, earning his third straight series win.
The 15 year old is currently 21st in the upcoming release of the EKN United States Rotax Max Challenge Driver Rankings for the Junior Max division. He finished the Racing the Rockies series this month, and place second in the series championship. This weekend, he plans on competing at the Rotax Pan American Challenge Championship event at his home track, looking for a chance to earn a ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals in Portugal to be part of Team USA for 2012.
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June 2012 - Brent Harper
 | | GoRotax.com Driver of the Month - June 2012 - Brent Harper |
The sport of karting enjoys a long list of advocates from all different decades from all different areas of the country. One of the categories that have added to this list is the Masters group from the United States Rotax Max Challenge. Filled with a number of aging veterans and gentleman drivers, all looking to challenge one another and return to work on Monday unscathed. Among those many is the 2011 US Rotax Grand Nationals Champion Brent Harper. A new contestant of the DD2 Masters category, Harper is gunning to earn his first ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals as part of Team USA.
Harper has been karting for a number of years. For some time, he was among one of the top road racers in the country in shifterkart competition. In recent years, Harper turned his attention on following the United States Rotax Max Challenge program - first in Georgia and now from his new hometown in Lubbock, Texas. In the last month, Harper has made the transition to the growing DD2 Master division for a chance to earn a position on the prestigious Team USA at the Rotax Grand Finals. He took his new Dallas Karting Complex Sodikart DD2 package to the track for the Southeast Karting Challenge finale - one of the newest USRMC programs - at the DKC facility. Harper was the top qualifier for Saturday’s action, scoring the overall win in the Prefinal in front of multi-time Team USA member Nathan Mauel. Harper was leading the main event when a fuel line issue slowed his pace and then forced him to retire. The following day, Harper was behind after qualifying, trailing both Mauel and fellow DD2 Masters driver Scott Falcone. Harper would go on to run second in the Prefinal, first in-class, and then outran Mauel in the Final for the overall win.
Brent will be among the many competing in the growing DD2 Masters category at the upcoming United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals - August 8-11, 2012 - at the Michiana Raceway Park outside South Bend, Indiana.
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 | | GoRotax.com Driver of the Month - May 2012 - Mitch Goldfarb |
May 2012 - Mitch Goldfarb
The still-growing Mini Max category is celebrating its 10th season in United States Rotax Max Challenge competition. Over the previous decade, a number of stars from the sport of karting gained their early skill sets behind the wheel of a Mini Max package. Some early names that we see today at the top of the podium include Daniel Formal, Nick Neri, and Jake French - champions in the Mini Max category at the Rotax Grand Nationals from 2005 to 2007. Today, a number of drivers between the ages of 10 and 13 aspire to reach the outcome set by those before them. Among the many talented young drivers in Mini Max include North Carolina driver Mitch Goldfarb, the GoRotax.com Driver of the Month for May 2012.
Goldfarb has been successful thus far in the 2012 season, racing at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina. The POWERADE Rotax Max Challenge series has hosted four events from February to May with Mitch victorious in all four rounds. The opening weekend in February saw Goldfarb sweep the weekend, earning the feature win by a 3.9-second margin. The next month was another sweep, with a margin of victory at 2.2 seconds for the main event. April was yet another sweep as Mitch put in a dominant performance, winning by 6.2 seconds. Last month, Goldfarb earned his fourth straight event sweep, capped off by a 3.1-second win in the feature race. With the four feature races at 14 laps each, Goldfarb has an average margin of victory of 3.85-seconds, a phenomenal stat for the competitive Mini Max category.
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 | | GoRotax.com Driver of the Month - April 2012 - Austin McCusker |
April 2012 - Austin and John McCusker
A regional that has continued to grow in number of racers for the last few seasons has been the Northeast Rotax Max Challenge. With 50 members last year, the program has already surpassed that number after the opening weekend of the 2012 season. Two of the six drivers to lead the United States Rotax Max Challenge National Point Standings came from the Northeast, with a host of others placing inside the top-10. Looking to move inside the top-10 this season is a pair of brothers - Austin and John McCusker. Both earned victories at the opening rounds of the series at Oakland Valley Race Park on April 28-29. They each have been selected as the GoRotax.com Driver of the Month presented by eKartingNews.com for April 2012.
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March 2012 - Christian Brooks
 | Brooks locked up the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas Mini Max title with a double win weekend at CalSpeed
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
One of the great results of the Rotax Max Challenge in the United States has been the early education that young racers receive in the Micro and Mini Max categories. While not only having fun at the race track, they are learning the art of racecraft at a very early age. A driver that has excelled in the Micro Max division and is now at the top level in the Mini Max category is Christian Brooks. The 2011 US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals champion is well on his way to another successful season in 2012. With two wins at the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas series finale at the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California, Brooks clinched the Mini Max championship. His efforts helped gain the title of GoRotax.com Driver of the Month presented by eKartingNews.com for the month of March.
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February 2012 - Oliver Askew
 | Askew dominated the FWT Rotax Homestead weekend, driving like he owned the track, sweeping both rounds contested
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Honored as the first GoRotax.com Driver of the Month presented by eKartingNews.com, Oliver Askew is a perfect example of growth within the Rotax Max Challenge. Askew started out at the club and regional level, as he honed his skills near his home before breaking onto the national scene in 2011. Qualifying and racing toward the front of the field throughout the season, Askew earned a spot on Team USA to compete at the Rotax Grand Finals in the United Arab Emirates. Now, poised to return to the national squad once again, Askew solidified his chances at the Florida Winter Tour title with a double-win weekend in February at the Homestead Karting facility for rounds three and four of the international Rotax Max Challenge event.
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