A hot weekend greeted the large field of drivers who showed up for Race #5 of the Sanzaru Games Karting Championships at the Simraceway International Karting Center. The drivers were probably thankful on Sunday when a couple of delays in the program forced the Mains to be cut down to 10 laps from the normal 15 lap lengths and the Reverse Sprint configuration made the drivers work harder than normal. Two sets of Raffles were held during the Sunday race day, one for prizes from Race #4 and one for prizes for Race #5. Eight drivers took home some free tires and free race entries.

Featured Class – EVO Electrics and Honda/HPD CRF 250 shifters

In Qualifying, Enzo Prevost took the pole ahead of Jimmy Casey and Mason Cohen while Austin Elliott took the pole in the 250 class followed by Ori Della Penna and Richard Hilleman. In this combined class, the starts are done by duel green flags starts with the 250 class flagged off about 10 seconds before the Electrics get their green flag. Elliott lead the 250 field into turn one in the first Pre-Main but Hilleman and Della Penna tangled and came to rest in a heap. The race had to be stopped and some water had to be swept away before the race could be restarted. In the restart, Elliott again led the 250 karts out of turn one with Richard Stock and Hilleman close behind. In the end, Elliott took an 8 second win, Stock 2nd and Hilleman 3rd. In the Electrics race, Casey took the early lead just ahead of Cohen with Prevost going to the pits on lap 2. In the end, Casey took the win a half second in front of Cohen with Marcos Ramirez 3rd.

In the second Pre-Main Elliott again took the early lead with Stock getting by Hilleman and Della Penna to give chase. But in the end it was Elliott taking the win, Stock 2nd and Hilleman 3rd. Prevost was back and in good racing shape and he, Casey and Cohen raced close the entire way with Casey getting by Prevost to take the win with Cohen 3rd. In the 10 lap Main, Elliott made a repeat of the previous two races and drove on to a 7 second win with Stock holding off Della Penna to come home 2nd. In the Electrics class, Casey and Prevost dueled the entire way with Casey taking the lead late and drove on to the win and breaking Prevost’s three race win streak, with Cohen coming home 3rd. Honda Bucks were awarded to the top three 250 shifters in the amounts of $100/$70/$40.

Honda/HPD Kid Karts

The Kid Kart program was run on the Saturday Practice day with seven drivers taking the track. Mason Garwood took the pole ahead of Casey Moyer and Gage Brockway. In the Pre-Main, Mason got the jump at the drop of the green flag only to drive straight as he got to the left hander turn one. Thus Mason missed the turn and the other six drivers made the turn. Gage, Casey and Sasha Ryabov battled for the race lead with Gage coming home the winner, Sasha 2nd, Casey 3rd, Andrew Freire 4th and Mason recovering to take 5th. In the Main, Casey took the early lead with Gage and Sasha close behind. Gage and Sasha battled hard and had contact during the race which slowed them both down and gave an opening to Mason to sneak by and take over 2nd. Casey continued in the lead with Mason close behind but not able to reel in the leader. In the end, Casey took the win in the 10 lap race with Mason just 3 tenths of a second behind, Gage in 3rd, Sasha 4th and Andrew 5th. Honda Bucks were awarded to the top three drivers in the amounts of $30/$20/$10.

Molecule Senior Rotax

Alejandro Marquez took the pole ahead of Dominic Giansiracusa and Giovanni Shadd. In the first Pre-Main, Dominic got the hole shot at the drop of the green and led the field out of turn one but Alejandro did not waste any time in making a pass to take the lead. In the end, Alejandro took the win, Dominic 2nd and Giovanni 3rd. The second Pre-Main was a repeat of the first race but Dominic closed the winning gap to just over 1 second letting Alejandro know that he will be putting pressure on in the Main. Giovanni was again 3rd with new driver Arul Venkatesh 4th. In the Main, the wheels came off Dominic’s effort before the green flag. Both of Dominic’s rear wheels came off during the out lap and he had to park his kart. Alejandro took the green in the lead and never looked back. Giovanni stayed close though an kept the pressure on, but Alejandro did not make a mistake and came home the winner, Giovanni 2nd and Azul taking 3rd in his first kart race.

Honda/HPD 80 Masters

The usual suspects signed up for race five with the pole going to Charles Hastings followed by Allen Miller and Stephen Gaudreau. In the first Pre-Main, Hastings took the early lead with Gaudreau getting by Miller to put pressure on Hastings with Roger Cornwall and Tom Nelson battling for 4th. In the end, Hastings took the win, Gaudreau a well-earned 2nd, Miller 3rd and Cornwall 4th. In the second Pre-Main, Hastings and Gaudreau battled for the top spot with Cornwall close behind and Miller dropping back. Gaudreau was able to make a good pass and took the lead and held it to the end to take the win, Hastings 2nd, Cornwall 3rd, and Geoff Provo 4th. In the Main, expert Brett Buckwalter joined the race in Geoff Provo’s back up kart as a special guest driver and started the race from the last row. Gaudreau took the early lead with Hastings chasing, Cornwall and Tom Nelson battling for 4th spot. On lap 7, Brett was able to work his way through the field and get by Gaudreau to take the lead. Brett drove on to take the overall win by 5 seconds but he was ineligible for the 80 Masters class win. Gaudreau drove his best race of the year and came home 3 seconds in front of Hasting to take the class win, Hasting 2nd, Cornwall 3rd, Nelson 4th and Provo 5th. Honda Bucks went to the top three 80 Masters drivers in the amounts of $60/$40/$20.

Molecule Micro Max

Ryan Persing took the pole ahead of Harrison Marsh and Ayrton Tyler. In the first Pre-Main, Ryan lead the field out of turn one, but some bumping and banging right behind Ryan ended with Harrison on the sidelines. Ryan drove on to the win, Ayrton coming home 2nd and Adam Freire 3rd. In the second Pre-Main, Ryan and Ayrton pulled away from the rest of the pack and controlled the race at the front with Harrison driving a steady but lonely 3rd with Adam Freire and Derek Domingos battling for battling for 4th. In the end, Ryan took the win, Ayrton 2nd, Harrison 3rd and Adam 4th. In the Main, Ryan and Ayrton again lead the field at the green with Derek getting under Harrison to get into 3rd with Harrison right on his tail. While Ryan and Ayrton battled at the front, Harrison was right on Derek’s bumper looking for a way by. Mid race, Harrison was able to make the pass on Derek only for Derek to make a repass attempt on the next turn. But the repass resulted in contact between the two karts with the result of Derek’s kart parked on the sidelines and Harrison get going again but losing a lot of ground to the rest of the field. In the end, Ryan came home the winner 2 seconds ahead of Ayrton who took 2nd, Adam Freire came home 3rd, Dante Barrionuevo 4th and Harrison 5th.

Junior/Senior/Masters TaG

A total of 12 drivers made up this new combined TaG class, this is double the entry over the past two months that this combined class has been run. Alejandro Marquez (Sr TaG) took the pole ahead of Zach Pettinicchi (Sr TaG), Bryson Lew (Jr TaG), Aaron Farris (TaG Masters) and Austin Torgerson (Jr TaG). In the races, the 2 Sr TaG drivers plus three TaG Masters drivers started in one group about 15 seconds ahead of the seven Junior TaG karts. In the first Pre-Main, Alejandro took the early lead and was pressured by Zach until Zach dropped out on lap 6. Alejandro drove on to a 3 second win ahead of Aaron Farris, the leading TaG Masters driver with Neil Joseph (TaG Masters) 3rd. In the Junior race, Bryson and Austin battled hard and finished in that order with Bijoy Gard in 3rd. In the second Pre-Main, Alejandro again pulled away from the rest of the field to take the win, Zach 2nd and Farris 3rd. In the Junior portion of the race, Bryson again held off Austin with Bijoy 3rd. For the Main, there were separate races for the Sr-Masters drivers and the Junior drivers. In the Sr-Masters race, Marquez pulled away from the field and drove on to take the win, his second Main victory of the day with Zach 3rd, Aaron 3rd and Jared Niemiec (TaG Masters) 4th. In the Junior TaG race, Bryson again took the early lead followed closely by Austin. On lap 4 Bryson came to a stop on track and was out leaving the battle to be between Austin and Bijoy. Austin held off the pressure from Bijoy to take the win, Bijoy 2nd, Christopher Martin 3rd and Deano Pinten 4th in his first Junior race at the Series.

Molecule Rotax Masters

The day began with Billy Cleavelin taking the pole ahead of Roman Alekseenkov and Arturo Pacifico. In the first Pre-Main, Roman lead the field out of turn one after the green but it was not long before Billy made a pass to take over the lead. Billy stayed in front with pressure from Roman the entire way and came home first after the 8 lap race, Roman had to settle for 2nd, John Breidinger 3rd and Ron Jenkins 4th. In the second Pre-Main, Billy and Roman continued their battle up front with Ron and Arturo close on their heals. In the end, Roman took the win, Billy 2nd, John 3rd and Arturo 4th with only ¾ of second separating the 4 drivers. In the Main, Billy took the early lead with Roman and Ron right behind. Roman and Ron put on a great battle for second place when Ron made a hard pass attempt on Roman on lap 9 which ended with the two having contact and Roman knocked out of the race. For the contact, Ron was placed behind Roman in the final results. Billy drove on to the win with new comer Dave Decker taking 2nd due to the problems all the other drivers had in this problem riddled Main. John Breidinger came in 3rd. This was Billy’s 4th win of the year.

Honda/HPD Pro Stock Honda, Honda/HPD Stock Honda Masters, Masters ROK Shifter

Zach Pettinicchi (Pro Stock) took the pole ahead of Kevin Woods (Stock Masters), Kyle Loh (Pro Stock) and Nick Majors (Stock Masters). Again, a double green flag start was used with the Pro Stock drivers starting ahead of the Masters drivers. In the first Pre-Main, Zach took the early lead in the Pro Stock portion of the race and drove on to the win followed by Kyle and Bobby Tiff (Pro Stock). In the Masters portion of the race, Kevin took the early lead and went on to the win ahead of Patrick O’Neill and Nick. In the second Pre-Main, Zach again took the early lead and came home ahead of Kyle to take the win with new comer Lorenzo Trefethan in 3rd. In the Masters race, Kevin dropped out on lap two thus opening the door for an easy win for Patrick with Jeff Smith (ROK Masters) in 2nd. In the Main, Zach again took the early lead over Kyle, but he had to drop out on the final lap handing Kyle the win, Lorenzo 2nd, and Zach getting credited with 3rd. In the Masters portion of the race, Patrick, Kevin and Nick battled at the front. Kevin dropped out of the race on lap 5 thus Patrick was able to drive on to a 2 second win ahead of Nick with Jeff in 3rd. Honda Bucks went to the top three in both Honda classes of amounts of $75/$40/$20.

Mini and Micro TaG

This group of little racers saw Ashton Torgerson taking the pole followed by Nolan Siegel and Ayrton Tyler. In the first Pre-Main, Ashton took the early lead and was chased to the checked flag by Nolan with Ayrton in 3rd. In the second Pre-Main, Ashton again took the early lead with Nolan close behind but the outcome was the same with Ashton taking the win, Nolan 2nd and Derek Domingos taking 3rd after a close battle with Adam Freire and Ayrton. In the Main, Ashton took the early lead again and drove onto a 7 second win over Nolan. The best battle was for the 3rd spot with Derek, Adam and Ayrton again running in a close pack. In the end, Derek took the 3rd spot ahead of Ayrton and Adam.

Molecule Junior Rotax

Thirteen drivers took to the track with Aiden O’Neill taking the pole just ahead of Nick Persing and Jovy Levin with the whole field separated by just one second. In the first Pre-Main, Aiden, Nick and Jovy got away clean and lead the long train of fast karts for the 8 lap race. In the end, Aiden took the win, Nick 2nd, Jovy 3rd, Brennen Stammer 4th and Bryson Lew 5th. The second Pre-Main got off to a bad start when Aiden and Nick were grinding on each other as they drove into the first turn. The grinding resulted in both karts getting tangled up and spinning off with the rest of the field scrambling behind them. Nick was out with Aiden getting back on the track but way back in last. Stammer was now in the lead but on lap 3, the pack bunched up too tight going into the 180 degree turn 4 and Eric Moore touched the rear tire of William Ferguson and ran up and over William who parked his kart against a tire barrier with a hurt hand. Due to the hand injury, the race had to be stopped to attend to William who was OK but had a dislocated finger that ended his day.

A single file restart had Brennen leading the field to complete the race followed by Jovy, Christopher Martin, and Bryson with Aiden in 12th. After the completion of the 6 remaining laps, Brennen held on for the win, Christopher 2nd, Bryson 3rd, Jovy 4th and Aiden working his way up to 5th. In the Main, Brennen and Aiden lead the field through turn one with Aiden overtaking Brennen shortly thereafter. Aiden pulled out a small lead with the rest of the pack battling right behind. Bryson and Eric Moore then over took Brennen. On lap 8, Eric made a pass to overtake Bryson only to have the two have side by side contact going into the 180 degree turn one knocking both out of contention. Nick now worked his way into 2nd and that is where he would finish. In the end, Aiden took the win, his 4th Main victory in arrow, Nick a well-earned 2nd, Brennen 3rd, Christopher 4th and Jovy 5th.

The next race will be August 13 where the track configuration will be the Reverse Pro National and the Feature class will be Junior Rotax. Kid Karts will not run at Race #6.

All results and points can be seen on the series website at www.sanzarukarting.com.

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