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| August 22, 2012 |
| Driver News: Matt Ostiguy – U.S. Rotax Grand Nationals Report |
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 | Matt Ostiguy made his fourth trip to the US Nationals Racing at Jet Karting-Michiana Raceway Park in South Bend
(Photo: MattOstiguy.com) |
The 2012 United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals was held on August 7-11, 2012 at the Jet Karting/Michiana Raceway Park in South Bend, Indiana.
This was Matt’s fourth trip to the US Nationals, the first two trips he competed in the Rotax Senior class in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, was his third trip to the US Nationals, and first time competing in the Rotax DD2 class. Matt came in fourth place in 2009 at the US Nationals, missing the podium by only one spot and the chance to compete in the World Grand Finals.
The podium finishers at the U.S. Grand National will become part of Team USA at the World Grand Finals, also known as the Olympics of karting to be held in Portugal later this year.
During the 2012 U.S. Grand Nationals, Matt struggled most of the week trying to find the speed necessary to compete against some of the best kart racers in the country. Of course with Matt racing part-time most of the year and with minimal seat time in his DD2 kart he was at a disadvantage all week.
He qualified 6th for the Heat races beginning on Thursday as the competition began leading up to the Final on Saturday. In the first Heat race on Thursday afternoon he had a bad start and finished seventh. Looking forward to the next two Heat races on Friday, Matt improved on his start in Heat 2 and endured the changing track conditions as it rained on and off during the race and all of the karts were on slick tires. At one point Matt was leading the race in the wet conditions, but as the track continued to dry he struggled to find the speed and ended up finishing fourth, which would be his best finish all week. The third Heat would be a disaster as he was black flagged for losing one of his side pods during the race and would DNF.
As a result of Matt’s three heat races, he would start the Pre-Main in the seventh position in the rain on rain tires. The rain continued to fall heavily during the race at a steady pace with the track collecting a lot of water in a number of spots, including down the straight-away where karts would hydroplane at top speeds. Matt was able to finish in 5th place in the pouring rain.
The Final race of the week at the Grand Nationals was the DD2 race and being several hours after the pre-main the weather and track conditions were completely different than earlier in the day and required a completely different set-up. Matt would start in the 5th position based on his pre-main results and his best starting position all week. Unfortunately, he had a bad start and struggled to find the speed he needed in the final race. He would finish in 8th place.
“I’m disappointed in my results at the Nationals this year and we just struggled all week to find the speed we needed to compete in the DD2 class, but I really enjoyed the experience and had fun being there as we always do.” – Matt said.
The Rotax DD2 is a revolutionary engine with a direct drive 2-speed gearbox that is shifted from the steering wheel with paddle shifters. Unlike any other racing kart in the world, the DD2 is chainless, eliminating the need for sprockets or chain service, including lubrication or adjustments allowing the kart racer and tuner more time for chassis enhancements in between practice and racing sessions.
Since 2005, Matt has had 100 Kart Racing starts, resulting in 2 Championships and 2 Vice-Championships, including the 2010 and 2009 Gatorz Eyewear Golden State Karting Cup DD2 Rotax Champion and the 2008 and 2007 Los Angeles Karting Championship Senior Rotax Vice-Champion. He has had 20 first place finishes and 51 podium finishes, as well as 2 Junior Championships in 2003 and 2004, when he began his kart racing career, ten years ago.
In 2011, Matt also had an impressive car racing debut, finishing on the podium twice in his first Radical Unlimited Le Mans Prototype (LMP) sports car races at the world famous Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California with JBR Motorsports.
Matt Ostiguy’s sponsor GATORZ Vizion is offering a 25% discount for all sunglasses purchased online at (http://www.gatorz.com) by simply entering the coupon code: MAT025. (Be sure to enter all caps: MAT and then enter 025 (zero, two five).
“I am very excited about my sponsorship with the new GATORZ Vizion brand - there isn't a better brand of sunglasses out on the market today that provides a variety of very cool and unique styles, including in both metal (aluminum) and plastic frames, than GATORZ Vizion." – Matt said.
“All of us at GATORZ Vizion are excited about the rebranding of the company and to have Matt Ostiguy Racing help us spread the word both on and off the race track! " said Kerry Lynch, CEO of GATORZ Vizion. “Matt has worked very hard over the last couple of years exposing the brand of GATORZ to the karting community and we are excited to continue to work with him.”
GATORZ was also the series sponsor of the Gatorz Eyewear Golden State Karting Cup and the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas, the premier winter karting series on the west coast.
The DD2 Rotax Champion is racing in the Rotax Senior class in the Los Angeles Karting Championship and in the Rotax DD2 class in the Tri-C Karters series, the official United States Rotax Max Challenge (USRMC) series for Southern California.
Matt is able to compete at this level thanks to Francois Doran – PSL SoCal Karting (http://www.pslsocal.com/) and his sponsors, including: Alpinestars (http://www.alpinestars.com), Bell Helmets (http://www.bellracing.com), and the new rebranded GATORZ Vizion (http://www.gatorz.com).
To learn more about the World’s #1 CRG distributor, sales and service, arrive and drive opportunities, and PSL racing engines, please visit http://www.pslkarting.com or http://www.pslsocal.com.
For the latest news on Matt Ostiguy, go to his web-site: http://www.MattOstiguy.com/ or follow him on facebook at: (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Matt-Ostiguy-Racing/110966862266265
About Matt Ostiguy:
Matt has raced karts since he was 13 years old, starting at F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors in New England. After winning two Junior Karting Championships and his team earning the vice-championship in the GT Pro Class in the (6 hour) Endurance Karting Championship on the East Coast, he relocated back to San Diego, where he was born. His team also participated in several 24 Hours of America Endurance Kart races at the Palm Beach International Raceway (formerly the Moroso Motorsports Park). He was also invited to participate on the USA Team in the 24 Hours of Le Mans kart race in France in 2007, finishing an impressive 5th place against some of the top teams in Europe, including the Honda Factory team.
He was the vice-champion in the Los Angeles Karting Championships in the Rotax Senior class in 2007 and 2008 and he won the Championship in the Gatorz Eyewear Golden State Karting Cup in the Rotax DD2 class in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, he had an impressive car racing debut, finishing second and third in his first ever Radical Unlimited Le Mans Prototype sports car races with JBR Motorsports in the Radical Challenge at the world famous Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, CA.
About GATORZ Vizion:
20 years in the making, Gatorz is no stranger to the visionary world. With age comes respect and wisdom. Gatorz breathes technology and holds patents to blueprints that are years ahead of its time. While touring the futuristic laboratories that have become Gatorz, we stumbled across a hidden gem… 1990’s dead stock; the original frames that started it all. One look at these vibrant classics and we knew it was time to enter the plastic paranormal and “save face.” We arrived at this point, aged like a fine wine, with 20 years of technical know how and optical knowledge. Today’s fashions and trends represent the future and pay homage to the past. Gatorz has developed a new collection that caters to all. Everyone has their own vizion and we create products to see those through. Make your vizion crystal clear. Face it; today you gotta bring your “A” game. Time to save face. Welcome to the new Gatorz… |
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