OTK USA Gains Another Four Win Performance at USPKS Ohio Grand Prix
Top-five sweep of X30 Junior class among highlights from MCC of Cincinnati Kart Plex
Ernesto Rivera earned a third victory on the season in KA100 Junior (Photo: eKartingNews.com)
The teams and drivers running under the OTK USA banner in 2023 continue to collect victories and podium finishes. The United States Pro Kart Series made its first series visit to the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati Kart Plex for the Ohio Grand Prix, serving as Round Four of the 2023 championship program. A large majority of the 231 entries were aboard OTK chassis brands, claiming four victories along with 10 podium results.
Debut victory in the X30 Junior category with Turner Brown (Photo: eKartingNews.com)
The X30 Junior division was a sweep of the top-five positions at the checkered flag on Sunday. They were led by first-time USPKS winner Turner Brown (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed), leading the way in his class debut. The SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals winner outran three-time winner Ernesto Rivera (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) with Jackson Wolny (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) – who earned his first USPKS podium of the season. Sarah Bradley (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed) had her best result of the year in fourth place while Keelan Harvick (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) recorded a top-five result in his class debut at USPKS.
It was the same top-two drivers in the KA100 Junior class at the end of their main event. Ernesto Rivera (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) recovered from early issues in the main event to climb his way up onto the top step of the podium for the third time of the season. Turner Brown (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed) – who has struggled all season in the category – came through with his best result of the year in a runner-up performance. Diego Ardiles (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) made his first USPKS start of the season, racing among the leaders all weekend long and ended up fourth. Privateer Isaac Malcuit (Gillard) was among the hard chargers of the main event, gaining 13 positions to finish the main event in fifth.
Emerson Reed claimed his first USPKS victory in 10 years, taking top honor in KA100 Senior (Photo: eKartingNews.com)
Among the first-time USPKS winners on the weekend was Emerson Reed. In his debut with Ryan Perry Motorsport, the Tony Kart driver was in the hunt all weekend and named winner following penalties and tech inspection. James Overbeck (Mike Doty Racing / Tony Kart) gained four spots to finish fourth for his best finish of the season. Senior rookie Eli Warren (Redspeed) had his best result in two USPKS starts, completing the top-five in a race long battle for position.
Three wins on the season now for Mike Rolison (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) in KA100 Masters. Rolison led wire-to-wire to win by over five seconds to solidify himself in the championship lead. Niki Coello (Franklin Motorsports / Gillard) drove to the third spot, earning his first podium result in 2023. Miguel Mier (Orsolon Racing / Tony Kart) added a third top-five result of the season, driving to fourth place.
Marco Sammut put OTK on the podium in Mini Swift with a solid runner-up performance (Photo: eKartingNews.com)
A total of three OTK drivers filled in the top-five results in the X30 Pro division. Austin Garrison (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed) led the way after the wild 20-lap main event, earning the hard charger award by gaining 16 positions to finish third. Nicholas Terlecki (Hotz Driver Development / Exprit) had a fourth-place result in his first class start on the season, gaining nine spots as well. Two-time defending champion Ryan Norberg (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) set fast time in qualifying, won a heat race but contact dropped him back to fifth in the closing laps. Norberg did record the fast lap of the race after falling back to 13th at the start. Marco Sammut (Mike Doty Racing / LN Racing Kart) had one of the best performances in the main event for Mini Swift. The young driver advanced seven positions in the 18-lap Final, earning the runner-up spot for his best result of 2023.
The United States Pro Kart Series concludes its 2023 season on October 6-8 at the Trackhouse Motorplex in Mooresville, North Carolina. Drivers looking to compete with the most popular kart brand in the world or purchase OTK karts and components can contact their local OTK USA dealer. Head to www.otkusa.com for a complete list of dealers and details on the entire brand roster.
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