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| July 26, 2012 |
| Industry News: P1 Engines Adds to Pro Tour Victories Increasing to Eight |
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Descending on the challenging Miller Motorsports Parke facility in Tooele, Utah, P1 Engines would need to raise their game even higher after the first event a few months ago. Having claimed nearly every victory in the TaG division from the Phoenix round, rival engine builders would look to aim at the target placed on P1 Engines and try to outduel one of the best in the industry. When the dust had finally settled, P1 Engines once again reigned supreme in the Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) Pro Tour.
"It was another good weekend for P1 Engines," expressed Jesus Vasquez. "With the results from Phoenix and Utah, three P1 Engines powered drivers lead three divisions entering the final round in Las Vegas. I would like to say an extra special thanks to the mechanics of all P1 Engines powered drivers for their hard work and constant efforts to make sure their drivers are at the front of the pack."
TaG Senior pilot Phil De La O would claim the overall weekend win by virtue of two top five results in the weekend's main event. Scoring one pole position and three heat race victories, De La O ended the weekend with second and fifth place results on the day's main events, scoring enough points to take the overall weekend win and a $1000.00 payday. Saturday would see the young pilot and Rotax Team USA member fall back at the start of the main event as rain began to fall. Working his way back forward to cross the line in second, De La O was relegated to the fifth position after a controversial on track call by officials. Back to the track on Sunday, De La O once again was on his game, leading the final and opening a gap until the red flag flew for an incident. Falling back to second on the ensuing restart, De La O maintained that position to claim the second step on the podium.
Fellow TaG Senior pilot Austin Elliott would have issues in heat races on both event days and would be forced to start deep in the field during both main events. After an electrical issue in Saturday morning's heat, Elliott would progress from the tail of the field in heat two and better his result even more in the main event to claim a sixth place finish. Having even more bad luck on Sunday, Elliott's bumper would become dislodged in the first heat race and he would once again have to come from the back. Moving forward with each and every lap, Elliott ran in the third position during Sunday's main event but would narrowly miss the podium to come home fourth.
Having a tough weekend on the West coast, Texan Mason Chelootz and current WKA point leader would struggle in Utah. Improving throughout the weekend, Chelootz would score a top ten result in Sunday's main event.
 | P1 Engines powered Phil De La O claimed the overall weekend win courtesy of a pair of top five results
(Photo: Todd McCall - On Track Promotions) |
P1 Engines would be well represented in the TaG Junior division as Kyle Wick, Jake Preston, Luke Selliken and Christian Munoz all showed great speed throughout the weekend. With all three running near or at the top of the timesheets, hopes for race wins and podiums were high entering the wheel-to-wheel competition.
Wick showed that he had the speed to run at the front of the field scoring three heat race wins over the weekend. Though the main event results do not show great for him, the young talent managed to secure a fourth place result in Sunday's main event. Equally impressive during the hot weekend, Jake Preston paced the field on several occasions and would score a pair of top five finishes coming home fourth on Saturday and bettering his result on Sunday to cross the line in third. Selliken would rebound from engine issues on Saturday morning to run some of the quickest laps of the day. Claiming the second step on the podium in Saturday's final, Selliken added another top five result to his resume with a fifth place result on Sunday.
Christian Munoz was another P1 Engines pilot that ran at the front of the field but a mechanical issue in Saturday's final would force him to retire from the event after running inside the top five. Back with a vengeance on Sunday, Munoz qualified in the second position and would garner a seventh place result when the final checkered flag had flown.
TaG Cadet pilot Hunter Corbit would overcome Saturday's disappointing seventh place result with a dominating performance on Sunday. After winning heat one and claiming the second spot in heat two, Corbitt would go on to take the checkers in the main event and stand atop the podium.
TaG Masters driver Paul Bonilla entered Utah as the point leader but a challenging weekend will make his quest for the championship a challenging one. After qualifying in the second position on Saturday, Bonilla would fall back to come home sixth. Sunday would see the Masters driver again qualify P2 but a mechanical issue forced him to retire from the event. Still in contention for the championship, Bonilla cannot have any problems at the final event in Las Vegas.
After two of three event weekends, P1 Engines powered drivers occupy the top of the point standings in three separate divisions. Phil De La O leads the talent-laden TaG Senior field while Luke Selliken stands atop the heap in TaG Junior. Hunter Corbitt is the championship lead in TaG Cadet as all three will need to be on their game at the SuperNationals in mid-November.
For more information on P1 Engines or to book one of their national level engines for testing or event weekend use, please visit them online at http://www.P1Engines.com or contact P1 owner Jesus Vasquez at 951.662.3464 or via e-mail at Champions@P1Engines.com. Also, to follow up-to-date results and information on P1 Engines, become a fan of the "P1 Engines Fan Page" on Facebook. |
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