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| August 09, 2012 News |
| EKN Trackside: United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals - Thursday Report |
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 | Jesus Rios Jr. won the B vs. D heat race after qualifying second earlier in the day
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
The opening day of competition went into the books today as the 200 drivers making up the 2012 United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals battled each other and the tough wet conditions all day. Things began with a dry surface until qualifying when the skies opened up. It rained on and off all day, putting the drivers and crews to the challenge. The track was slowly drying for the final Senior heat race at the end of the day, with one driver taking a shot with dry tires and the gamble paid off. The top drivers of the day in Senior were Jesus Rios Jr. and Daniel Formal as they scored the victories in the two heat races. Joey Wimsett and Alan Rudolph each paced the DD2 categories while Santino Ferrucci set the mark for the Junior drivers with the pole position and opening heat race win.
MKP Senior Max
The fast time set in the first group of Senior qualifying was set by Thomas Radivoy (Tony Kart) with a 51.919-second lap. Five minutes into the session for the second group, drivers were still adjusting to the wet conditions for the first time of the event. Former Grand Nationals champions Nick Neri (Tony Kart) and Daniel Formal (Tony Kart) were among the top drivers early on. Neither was able to better Radivoy’s time by the six minute mark, running on track together. As the session wore on, it seemed the track was finding a drier line then early on in the session with the rain no longer falling. No stranger to rain racing, 2010 champion Stepanova Nekeel (Tony Kart) was the first to break Radivoy’s time with Formal following suite. That triggered a number of drivers running into the low 51-second bracket and then into the high 50-second range. Nekeel continued to get quicker as others tried to dethrone him. The first to do so was Fritz Leesmann (CRG) as the PSL Karting driver was at the 50.5-mark. As the session came to a close, Nekeel was able to find a quicker way around, as did MRP Motorsport driver Jesus Rios Jr. (Birel), dropping Leesmann to third. As the checkered flag waved, Nekeel laid down an even quicker lap to secure the pole position. His 17th lap was 50.074-second, over three-tenths quicker than Rios. Formal and Leesmann completed the third and fourth positions with Mitch Carey (Zanardi) jumping in to steal the fifth position over Sam Beasley (Arrow). Neri ended up seventh with John McCusker (Haase), Andrew Palmer (Komsic) and Radiovy’s time putting him tenth.
 | Joey Wimsett swept qualifying and heat 1 in DD2 for day one
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Groups A and C began the heat racing for the Senior category with Nekeel and Formal on the front row. Formal got the jump and grabbed a solid lead as Neri and Nekeel fought for the second position. Carey fell outside the top-five with Dan Roeper (CRG) up to fourth and Radivoy in fifth. Reaching the halfway point, Formal held the lead by over four seconds as Neri and Nekeel fought for second. Formal ran unchallenged to the win as Neri and Nekeel ran nose to tail for second and third. Radivoy ended up fourth as Roeper fell back to fifth.
The final action of the day came from the Group B vs. D heat race with Rios Jr. and Leesmann on the front row. Rios got the jump but Leesmann struck early as he grabbed the lead through turn four. Rios settled into second with Beasley, Jonathan Kotyk (Tony Kart), and John McCusker (Haase) in fifth. The top four ran nose to tail with Nick Rivellini (CRG) up to fifth. Kotyk moved up to third on lap four, working by Beasley, and that allowed Rivellini and now Andrew Wiener (Formula K) to close in. Kotyk got sideways through the esses with Beasley and Rivellini sliding through for position. Lap six, Rios looked for a way pass Leesmann, but the veteran closed the door in turn eight. Rios struck back the following lap in turn seven, taking the lead and bringing Beasley with him. At the same time, attention turned to Colorado driver Connor Thomas (Arrow). The only driver to select dry Mojo tires prior to the start of the heat race, he spun on the opening lap but was making his forward with the drying track. Lap after lap, he made his way forward until he reached the top-10 with just a few laps to go. Up front, Rios would go on to score the win by 1.8 seconds over Beasley. Thomas would gain nearly two to three positions a lap, working by Leesmann in the final circuit to cross the line third. Penalties however for contact dropped him to eighth in the final order, but the gamble and how he put on left everyone on the fence line excited. The penalty moved Leesmann to third in the final order with Kotyk in fourth, until a three position penalty dropped him to seventh, moving Rivellini to fourth and Wiener in fifth.
Rolison Performance Group DD2 / Dallas Karting Complex DD2 Masters
The rain stopped for the DD2 joint qualifying session as the 21 combined drivers took to the track for their 15 minute session. Rolison Performance Group driver Joey Wimsett (Kosmic) was quickest in practice on Wednesday and set the tone early on. Two-time Grand Nationals champion Cody Hodgson was quick to challenge in his Ocala Gran Prix Tony Kart entry, taking over the provisional pole position five minutes into the session. The quick driver in Masters was a great battle early with Alan Rudolph (CRG), Ariel Castro (AM) and John Crow (Arrow). At the 10-minute mark, PSL Atlantic pilot Rudolph recorded the quickest lap of the session to that point, just above the 53-second mark to edge out Hodgson and Wimsett - who was in pit lane with what appeared to be a carb issue but ended up being an ignition wire connection problem that limited his pace. With two minutes to go, Hodgson responded as he dropped below the 53-second mark to secure the top spot to that point. Wimsett spent 10-minutes in pit lane, making it back on the track for the final few lap. Just before the checkered flag fell, Wimsett jumped to the top of the order, improving his time on the final circuit. His lap of 52.458 seconds put him just under three tenths quicker than Hodgson for the pole position. Rudolph was third overall, first in Masters with 2011 Master Max champion Brent Harper up to fourth overall in his Dallas Karting Complex Sodi Kart. Former Team USA DD2 Masters driver Rene Martinelli (CRG) rounded out the fast-five. Castro made it four Masters drivers in the top-six. Connor Wagner (Sodi Kart) was the third quickest in DD2 followed by Derek Wang (Kosmic) and defending champion Kristina Vorndran (CRG).
 | Alan Rudolph was on his game for day 1 in DD2 Masters
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Wimsett led the DD2 field with Hodgson falling in line behind him to start heat one. The Masters class started a few seconds later with Martinelli jumping into P1 briefly until Rudolph took it back. Harper was fighting in third until he got sideways in turn seven, dropping to the tail of the field after he spun around. After three laps, Wimsett had a two second lead while Rudolph had five seconds on Mike Jones (Sodi Kart), up to second in the Masters category. At the halfway point, Wimsett’s lead was over three seconds in front of Hodgson with Wang, the 2011 runner-up, in third. Rudolph was leading by good distance over Jones with MRP Motorsport’s Tim Lobaugh (Birel) up to third. At the checkered, Wimsett scored the win by six seconds over Hodgson with Wang third, Wagner fourth and CRG-USA pilot Sabré Cook in fifth. Rudolph was 14 seconds out front in Masters with Dallas Karting Complex pilot Jones recording a solid second. Lobaugh recovered from a cracked frame in qualifying to finish third over Martinelli and Piquet.
Full Throttle Karting Masters Max
The first five minutes of the Masters Max session gave the drivers a chance to adjust to the wet conditions as the top spot continued to change. Rolison Performance Group driver Johnny Blair (Tony Kart) was quickest in practice and held the provisional pole early on. Veteran Andy Seesemann (Arrow) was up there as well, along with John Bonanno (Kosmic) and Diego Pelosi (Formula K). As the session went on, the rain stopped and the times continued to get quicker. Bobby Grene (Maranello) was at the top of the order after ten minutes, as the quick time was nearly one second quicker than the start of the session. Moving to the provisional pole for the first time in the session was Paul Bonilla (Arrow). Using Seesemann as the rabbit, the Full Throttle Karting driver posted a 53.745-second lap for the quickest of the session by over a half-second. Scott Roberts (Tony Kart) - running under the Ocala Gran Prix tent - made a late charge as well, jumping ahead of Greene in the order to hold the off-pole position. Blair finished in the fourth position with Bonanno rounding out the fast-five.
 | Paul Bonilla was top qualifier and squeaked out the win in heat 1
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Bonilla led the field to green flag with Roberts tucking in behind in second. Seesemann was up to third through the opening few corners, dropping Greene to fourth with Pelosi into fifth as Blair fell outside the top-10. At the halfway mark, Bonilla and Roberts had a strong hold on the top two positions with Seesemann trailing in third. Pelosi ran fourth with Greene losing ground, down to eighth, and bringing Jason Bell (Kosmic) up to fifth from the 14th position. With three laps to go, Roberts put on the pressure through turn seven but Bonilla would come back in turn eight. On lap 13, Roberts finally got it to stick with a move through turn nine as Bonilla relinquished the spot, to ensure no contact was made with the big picture in mind. Roberts looked to have the win in hand until he went straight off at turn 10, trying to go into the final corners as quick as possible, going into the safety pillows. This handed the win back to Bonilla with Pelosi up to second and Seesemann in third. Roberts rejoined the track to finish fourth with Bell a much-improved fifth place performance.
PSL Karting Junior Max
The first group of the two Junior Max rounds of qualifying was led by Darren Keane (Tony Kart) with a 53.548-second lap. Santino Ferrucci (Energy) was the driver in the second group leading the way early on, just two-tenths off the time set by Keane in the opening minutes. As the session went on, Ferrucci navigated the track all alone and on his sixth circuit, took over the provisional pole. He went even quicker the following lap, dropping into the 52-second marker. Ferrucci continued to find better ways to navigate the Michiana Raceway Park facility as the only driver into the 52-second bracket. The rest of the group struggled to match the pace set by Keane, who still held the second spot overall at the 10-minute mark. Ferrucci posted his quickest lap of the session in the final circuit, laying down a 52.528-second lap. Rotax Summer Shootout winner Alex Keyes (CRG) set his quick time as the checkered flag waved to move him into the second quickest lap. KartSport North America Kyle Kirkwood (Arrow) was third with Oliver Askew (Tony Kart) in fourth. Keane’s time held on to the fifth position. Juan Manuel Correa (Maranello) completed the top-six.
 | Santino Ferrucci was on rails Thursday in Junior Max
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Groups A and C were the first drivers to contest their opening heat race with Ferrucci on the pole position alongside Kirkwood. Ferrucci broke away with Kirkwood dropping into second with Keane, Chase Jones (Birel) and Jeremy Doll (Tony Kart) making up the top five. Kirkwood relinquished the second spot on lap two after getting sideways at the apex in turn seven, moving Keane into second. Kirkwood continued to fall down the order on lap four, falling outside the top-10 with another error through the esses. Austin Versteeg (CRG) was a driver on the move, working his way up, starting 11th and into the third spot after Kirkwood’s mistakes. Halfway through the 14-lap race, Ferrucci held a lead of 10 seconds over Keane as Versteeg and Doll trailed. Sebastian Coulson (FA Kart) started outside the top-10 and was up to the fifth position with a continuing battle for the sixth position behind him. The top five would run unchanged through the final laps with Ferrucci taking the checkered flag by over 10 seconds ahead of Keane, Versteeg, Doll and Coulson. Ashley Rogero (Tony Kart) drove from 17th on the grid to finish sixth. Kirkwood retired on lap 11, losing his right rear tire and classified 19th.
Groups B and C were next out for their opening heat race as Keyes and Askew filled out the front row. Askew was able to secure the lead through the opening corner as Keyes slotted back to second. Zack Dante (Intrepid) was in the hunt with Correa and 2008 Micro Max champion Patricio O’Ward (Tony Kart). Dante went wide through turn eight, allowing a train of drivers through for position. Correa would leave the track at turn 10 on lap three, ending his race early. That moved O’Ward up to third with Luke Selliken (Kosmic) up to fourth and Austin Osborne (Birel) fifth. Askew went unchallenged for the five-second win while Keyes lost the pace toward the end. After losing second to O’Ward, he gave up third to Selliken on the final lap. Keyes settled for fourth with Osborne in fifth.
A-M Engines Mini Max
 | Anthony Gangi survived the opening day as the top driver in Mini Max
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Just as the Masters group did before them, the Mini Max drivers took to the track for the first time of the event on wet tires. They spent the early laps adjusting to the conditions with David Malukas (Birel) as the top driver early on. With five minutes remaining, Mathias Ramirez (Tony Kart) held the provisional pole position and continued to improve his time, as did the drivers trailing. Top driver in practice - Devlin DeFrancesco (Top Kart) - moved to the provisional pole in his 10th lap, but was short-lived as Anthony Gangi Jr. (Tony Kart) jumped to the top position on the same lap. Gangi improved his time even more to secure the pole position with a 54.683-second lap. DeFrancesco settled for second, back by just over three tenths with Ramirez, Augusto Soto Schirripa (Intrepid) and Malukas rounding out the fast-five.
Gangi and DeFrancesco led the field to the green flag for the 10-lap opening heat race. Gangi and Ramirez jumped out front with DeFrancesco dropping back to third until lap two when Ramirez got sideways through the esses, losing a few positions. This gave Gangi a sizeable lead after three laps with Malukas putting the pressure on DeFrancesco, bringning in Schirripa and Ramirez into the fight. At the halfway point, Gangi’s lead was 3.5 seconds as DeFrancesco gained a couple of kart lengths on the fight for third. Lap eight, his advantage was gone and contact was made between DeFrancesco and Malukas. Malukas was sent around at turn seven and the next corner, DeFrancesco went wide and spun around, both dropping down the order as they continued on. Gangi would score the win as Schirripa and Ramirez slid by for second and third. Malukas was able to rejoin to finish fourth. Texan Max Hewitt (Kosmic) came up from eighth to fifth with DeFrancesco back in 10th.
GT7 Motorsports Micro Max
 | Harry Coulton came away with the win in Micro Max opening heat race
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
The Micro Max category was the first to hit the track for qualifying in the first wet conditions of the event. The track, while different, still saw the same drivers at the top of the order that we saw in official practice. Dylan Tavella (Tony Kart) was quick out of the box, laying down the time to beat in his out lap. After 15-minutes of the field navigating the course, no one was able to better that time. Justin Sirgany (Tony Kart) came close in the end, posting his fast lap of the session in the final circuit to secure the off-pole position for the heat races. Devin Boutot made it a Tony Kart 1-2-3. Top driver in practice Nicholas d’Orlando (Kosmic) was fourth in the order with Harry Coulton (Birel) completing the fast five.
Rain fell again at the start of the 10-lap opening heat race for the Micro Max with Tavella and Sirgany leading the way after the opening lap. d’Orlando was involved in a spin in turn seven, dropping him to the tail of the field, which moved Coulton up to third, Boutot to fourth and Giovanni Bromante (Tony Kart) to fifth. Lap four, contact was made between the top two in the esses, dropping Tavella down outside the top-10 and Sirgany to the tail of the field. This put Coulton and Boutot in the fight for the win as they battled out front while Bromante trailed. The two ran different lines around the circuit, Coulton the normal racing line with Boutot the traditional outside rain path. In the end, Coulton held on for the win by just over two-tenths. Bromante posted his fast lap of the race in the final lap, running to third with Alex Verhagen (Haase) up to fourth, also recording the fast lap of the race in the final circuit, with Nicholas Brueckner (Tony Kart) into fifth.
Be sure to watch continued coverage through the Official Discussion Thread and the Facebook and Twitter accounts throughout Friday as the second and third round of heat races are contested, along with the LCQ events for Junior and Senior. |
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