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| September 11, 2008 News |
| EKN Trackside: Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals - Thursday Report |
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After a year of talk and nearly five days of preparation leading into today, the drivers at the 2008 Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals at the USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin finally got down to business with Qualifying and the opening heat races taking place Thursday. While Qualifying got through without any weather issues, rain came through nearly halfway into the opening round of heat races. There were no real surprises on the day as the fast drivers remained the drivers to beat even though the weather threw a curve ball at all the competitors.
Senior
The Senior division put 10 drivers below the 1-minute mark during their qualifying session, led by Arie Ouimet. The CRG driver had led the majority of the timed sessions in practice however slid back in the final non-qualifying session. When it counted, Ouimet put down a 59.350 lap to score the pole position. Michael Self (Sodi Kart) was put in the first group after going through Tuesday’s final practice session non-compliant but that would not affect his speed. His time would put him second overall and on the front row for his heat races. Tuesday fast lap belong to Gabriel Chaves (Kart Mini) who would earn the third fastest lap with Garrison Masters (CRG) and local favorite Aaron Milavitz (Merlin) completing the fast five. Matthew Mair (Tony Kart) sat on the time charts sixth ahead of Mike Herda (Birel), Zach Beard (Birel), Stepanova Nekeel (CRG), and Anthony Llopiz (CRG). Beard would however be penalized five positions for ignoring the pit lane officials and place 13th, moving Nicholas Boulle (Gillard) into the top-ten.
With groups A and B set to battle first, Ouimet and Self led the field to the green flag. Ouimet took the point with Self in falling into the second spot. Beard got a great start and was up to third as they crossed the line the first time. On lap two, Self was shuffled back to fourth with Beard and Boulle moving to second and third with Mair giving chase to Self. The next lap, Mair got into the back of Self as they braked in turn five, spinning Self around and dropping him back to 11th. The top-five would go unchanged as they ran the remainder of the eight laps with Ouimet taking the win ahead of Beard, Boulle, Mair and Aaron Milavitz (Merlin).
Chaves was on his game in his heat race as he would go green to checkered for the C vs. D heat win. Cory Pollock (Birel) had a great run up to second from fifth on the grid ahead of Masters, Nekeel (CRG) and Geoffery Roberti (Tony Kart) advancing five spots from tenth to complete the top-five.
DD2
As expected when the 18 DD2 karts hit the track, it was a two man fight for the pole position between Stuart Marsell (Arrow) and Joey Collins (CRG). Marsell struck first with a 59.273 lap that was one-tenth faster than his quick lap yesterday. Collins got faster and faster but came up 0.129-seconds short of the pole position. Masters driver Erik Jackson came off track and back on in his CRG DD2 machine to post the third quickest lap of the session. Fast lap driver from 2007 Grand Nationals Andres Lopez (Tony Kart) and Ryan Fowler (CRG) completed the fast five.
Under wet conditions, the DD2 field took the green flag with Marsell getting the jump on Collins. Marsell pulled out to a sizable lead before Collins was able to close the gap and put pressure on the leader. The two would however never change positions as Marsell would take the victory with Collins on his bumper. Fowler and Lopez got around Jackson for third and fourth and would run that way until Fowler retired on lap seven with a flat tire. Lopez crossed the line third while double-duty driver Gregory Liefooghe (CRG) and Zach Ply (CRG) pushed Jackson back to sixth.
Masters
Less than a second separated the top 26 drivers in Masters qualifying in a session led by Paul Bonilla. The Birel driver turned a 1:01.384 to edge Mario Mair (Tony Kart) by just 0.052 seconds, earning the pole for all three of his heat races in the process. Holland, MI’s Marc Miller (Monza) was third in the order, pulling off after just two laps after suffering an exhaust issue. A quick repair afforded him the opportunity to return to the track, where he jumped back into the top-three with a 1:01.481. Miller would head back to the pit for a jet change, but he would run out of time after returning to the track for a final shot at the pole. Mike Mautner (CRG) and Maverick Bartlett (Arrow) rounded out the top-five, the quintet separated by just over two tenths.
The track was full wet for both of the Masters heat races, as only an occasional sprinkle kept the track from losing any moisture. Bonilla took full control of the A vs. B dice, powering away to a five-second win over Mair. Ian Thomas (Birel) has qualified sixth and drove to a solid third in the slop, outrunning Thomas Healy (CRG), who put in a masterful drive from 13th in the grid. Alex Raine (CRG) has a reputation of being good in the rain and he advanced quickly, but spun while making a move to take second. He was able to recover to take fifth in the final tally.
In the Group C vs. D moto, Miller was dominant, getting a great start that he used to run away to an 8.562-second win over David Harwin (CRG). With Miller pulling away consistently, the focus turned to a charging Andy Seesemann (Birel), who stomped through the field to a third place finish, a big improvement on his tough qualifying run of 23rd. Brad Theys (Birel) and Gary Pesner (CRG) rounded out the top-five. At the other end of the success spectrum, Mautner started on the front row and ran second early-on, but a spin dropped him to the tail of the field. Mautner was able to fight his way back to 12th in the final order, but this finish will no doubt hinder his chance at starting the Prefinal from the front two rows.
Junior
RDD Motorsports’ Sebastian Ordonez (Kart Mini) set the pace in Junior Max qualifying, turning a 59.890-second lap to top the charts. Phil De LaO (Tony Kart) was second in the order, just 0.108 seconds behind Ordonez to begin the weekend-long battle. Daniel Formal (Tony Kart) was third in the order, ahead of Taylor Miinch (Topkart) and Justin Coplen (CRG) in the fast-five. Nick Neri (Maranello), Jordan Jadallah (CRG), Jarvis Gennari (CRG), Louie Pagano (Birel) and Andrew Hawkins (Tony Kart) rounded out the top-10 during the qualifying run. The fastest driver from the opening group - Ryan Rupp (Tony Kart) - finished up in 15th position overall and would start fourth row for all his heat races.
De LaO handled the opening eight-lap Junior heat race - Group A vs. B - leading Neri and Ordonez to the checker. Neri applied consistent pressure on De LaO but was not able to find a way by, wisely maintaining his position to post a strong finish on his record. Ordonez was right there in third while fourth went to Pagano ahead of Coplen in fifth.
The rain began to lightly fall at the beginning of the second Junior Max heat race - Group C versus Group D - with the drivers proceeding on-track on MoJo slicks. As the rain flirted with the drivers, Taylor Miinch grabbed the early lead over Jarvis Gennari and Daniel Formal. The heavy rain held off, allowing some good racing, as Formal would slip past Gennari in turn five on lap three to take over second. Jesus Rios Jr. (Kart Mini) was in the fight running in fourth and tried in vain to pass Gennari in turn five, locking the brakes before making contact with Formal as he slid through passed Gennari. Rios ended up off the track and fell back to 12th, while Gennari held onto fourth as Ryan Rupp slipped through to take third behind Formal.
Mini Max
Florida’s Dore Chaponick (Birel) was the only Mini Max driver to dip below the 1:03 mark in qualifying, turning a 1:02.839 to steal the pole position by 0.171 seconds from Pietro Fittipaldi (Tony Kart). Dalton Sargeant (Kart Mini) was third in the order ahead of Jordan Perry (Tony Kart) and Kyle Kirkwood (Tony Kart) to complete an all-Florida fast-five. Santino Ferrucci (Maranello) was sixth in the order and would play a big part in his opening heat race. Jack West (Juncos) was seventh in the order ahead of AJ Myers (Tony Kart), Alex Odenthal (CRG) and RC Enerson (Tony Kart).
The rain that sprinkled during the opening Junior Max race held off for the opening Mini Max dice, which saw Chaponick utilize his pole position to lead the opening laps. Chaponick was joined in a three-driver breakaway by Fittipaldi and Ferrucci, as they settled in to pull away from the field. There was a little contact between the leaders just past the halfway point, causing some tense moments at the start-finish line, before the rain returned during the final two laps, pressuring the young drivers to tread lightly as they slipped around over the last circuit. Chaponick kept his cool and posted a 0.256-second win over Ferrucci, who was able to slip past Fittipaldi late in the race. Kirkwood finished up fourth ahead of Alec Udell (Top Kart). Enerson would run in the second pack but would slip to sixth over the final laps.
With a full wet track and rain continuing to fall, the second half of the Mini Max field hit the track for Group C vs. D showdown. Dalton Sargeant and Perry started on the front row, however, it was West who came through on the second lap to pull out to a six-second victory. Perry and Sargeant ran second and third all the way to the stripe. On the final lap, Michael Davis (Birel) made his move and advanced to fourth, dropping Alec Bergstrom (CRG) and Toby Stewart (Birel) down in the final running order.
Micro Max
Justin Wood posted the quickest time during Micro Max qualifying, turning a 1:09.567 to begin the battle for the national title for this demonstration class. Patricio O’Ward was less than three tenths back with a 1:09.850 to sit second, just ahead of Grant Quinlan and Devlin Defrancesco. Logan Sargeant capped the fast-five, which was separated by less than eight tenths of a second.
As the first class on-track for the opening round of heat races, the Micro Max drivers got things underway with a seven-lap sprint. The duo of O’Ward and Wood powered out to the lead and thus avoided a mid-race incident that included a couple of the leaders. Sargeant was able to clear the carnage to finish third, albeit over 16 seconds behind the front-running twosome. Sargeant was chased by Defrancesco, just over a second back, while Quinlan capped the top-five.
Wrap-up
The Rotax Max community certainly got a cross-section of competition today at USA International Raceway as qualifying was followed by the first round of heat races, providing the excitement of both timed runs and wheel-to-wheel racing. The addition of rain to the mix threw another curve ball at the competitors, affording the all-around talents the opportunity to shine in the challenging conditions. Tomorrow’s action will include the final two rounds of heat races and the Last Chance Qualifiers to set the grid for Saturday’s Prefinal.
For complete coverage of the Rotax Grand Nationals, visit the Official Event Page. |
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