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| January 17, 2013 |
| Driver News: Anthony Willis - Rotax Challenge of the Americas Report |
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 | A near win and a podium capped off Willis' inaugural Challenge of the Americas event
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
It was a hard but exciting weekend for young Anthony Willis in Tucson, AZ. The Phoenix based driver rolled out on a brand new DR Kart for his first Rotax Micro Max practice session with high hopes on the weekend. In a bold move Willis came to the track with old school style, sporting a 10' trailer and an EZ Up to compete against the Rotax power house teams. The Tucson wind destroyed the EZ Up before the end of the first day of racing. Exposed to the elements the tools seemed to freeze in their hands, but the privateer team held their own on the track thanks to super tuner Seth Nash and a BRK Engines Rotax package.
“This was the first time for us racing the DR KART,” said Anthony. “The chassis was amazing. It worked really well with my driving style. I could drive it in deep, stop on a dime, and it shot off the corners thanks to the great set up and driver coaching by Seth.”
Early in the week Buddy Rice Karting's Chris Freckleton discovered a problem with Anthony's primary engine, but Chris Brooks of MB2 was quick to offer one of his spares to race with for the rest of the week. With all the problems hopefully behind him Anthony's BRK Powered DR Kart was quickly up to speed and solidly in the top five once official practice began. Willis laid down a 1:00.718 in qualifying on Saturday to start the 10 lap prefinal from the 4th position. After a solid run in the prefinal, Willis was set for his first Challenge of the Americas main event. Starting from the outside of row one, Willis had a clear track heading in to the first corner and led the opening circuit.He spent the remaining laps patiently maintaining his position in the top three and waiting for the time to pounce. With a fantastic late race move Willis took the lead, and what he thought to be the race win. Unfortunately for Willis, officials put him back 3 seconds for a lane infraction on the start.
After Saturday's disappointment Willis bounced back on Sunday qualifying in the 5th position. Contact in the prefinal sent Willis to the tail of the field, but with smart driving he worked his way back up to start the final from 7th. With a great start, Willis was quickly inside the top five and challenging the leaders in the front pack. The 14 lap final was anything but easy as the leaders battled nearly every lap. After a hard fought race Willis brought his DR Kart home on the podium in 3rd place.
“We came in to this season hoping to make an impression on the west coast cadet fields,” said Anthony's father Stewart. To start with, Seth Nash was the first and most important part of the puzzle. He sees things that most people miss. We are glad to be a part of his new program. We crossed the finish line first on Saturday, unfortunately Anthony was not familiar with the starting lane rules of the Rotax program and was penalized 3 seconds, resulting in a 3 position penalty. The next round is at our home track in Phoenix and we will be ready.
Sponsors:
Asset Preservation Tax & Retirement Services, New Era Marketing, DR Racing Kart USA
Engine Builder: Buddy Rice Karting
Chassis: DR Kart
Tuner: Seth Nash
Look for Anthony at all Challenge of the Americas, PKC and and SKUSA ProTour events in 2013. For information contact: stewartAwillis@hotmail.com |
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