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| September 12, 2008 News |
| EKN Trackside: Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals - Friday Report |
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The grids are now set for the final day of competition at the 2008 Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals presented by Mazda at the USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. Clear skies with no rain allowed the drivers to put their dry setups back on and battle a good start in Saturday’s Prefinals.
Senior
With the track dry again for Friday’s action, Arie Ouimet continued to be the driver to beat as the CRG driver was the lone driver in the A vs. C heat race to break the 1:01 lap time barrier and take his second heat win. Outside pole sitter Gabriel Chaves (Kart Mini) experienced engine issues and was off pace. That allowed Aaron Milavitz (Merlin) to come through in second with Mike Herda (Birel) posting his best finish in third. Also improving from heat one was Greg Welch in his American made Shockwave chassis as he too would get by Chaves to finish fourth. The drive of the race however was by Cory Pollock as the Birel driver had starter issues during the pace lap and was forced to start dead last in the 24 kart field. Nearly making a pass at every spot on the track, he moved up to eighth in the eight-lap race, salvaging some points toward his Prefinal grid spot.
After a spin in yesterday’s heat race cost him some points, Michael Self (Sodi Kart) used his pole position for heat race B vs. D to his advantage to go green and checkered for the win. Garrison Masters and Stepanova Nekeel had their CRGs running second and third until Matthew Mair put his Tony Kart around both, recording the fast lap of the race and finishing second. Victor Pedrosa (FA Kart) made the green flag after a clutch issue put him on the sidelines pre-race yesterday and was able to run fifth behind Masters and Nekeel.
It was the usual names again in the A vs. D heat race as Ouimet would pace the field early on. However a slight sputter in the engine put him back to third after just two laps. Ouimet would bounce back by Nekeel and Milavitz to assume the lead again and take his third heat win to lock up the pole position for the Prefinal. Milavitz ended up second, continuing to improve as the event goes on with Pedrosa working around Nekeel for third with Zack Beard crossing the line fifth.
Self and Mair went 1-2 again in their final heat race as Self pulled out to nearly a three-second victory over Mair. Pollock continued to advance forward, this time crossing the line third ahead of Herda and Chaves who continued to struggle with his setup on the day.
DD2
Stuart Marsell (Arrow) and Joey Collins (CRG) continued their dominance in the DD2 category as the drivers ran 1-2 in the second heat race. However, Ryan Fowler (CRG) stepped up his game to post the fastest lap and run with the top two for a third place finish, looking to bounce back from his DNF in yesterday’s heat race. Erik Jackson (CRG) tried to hold off Fowler but was unable to and settled for fourth with Andres Lopez (Tony Kart) finishing fifth.
Fowler continued to get his setup working well around the USAIR facility and was again the quickest driver in the final heat. After he got up to fourth in the opening corner, he put Lopez back to fourth and set his sights on the top two. Able to run his fastest laps, Fowler got around Collins in turn four, the same spot he got Lopez. Though he challenged Marsell, he was not able to get by
Masters
The battle of heat one winners Paul Bonilla and Marc Miller took place in the opening Masters heat race for round two with Miller able to get the run from the outside of row one at the start. The two Birel drivers ran nose to tail to cruise to the finish line in that order for Miller’s second heat race win. Jim Busby (Birel) won the battle for third over Gary Pesner (CRG) with Eric Jackson (CRG) able to get by Maverick Bartlett (Arrow) on the final lap. Busby would however be removed from the results after going through tech thus moving the remainder of the field up one position.
The second outing with groups B and D was less eventful as they field spread out early on and would not see many challenges for change in position as Mario Mair (Tony Kart) took a one-second victory over Ian Thomas (Birel). DJ Ortiz (Margay) had his best finish thus far with a third place finish with David Harwin (CRG) in fourth and Mike Daniel (CRG) grabbing fifth in the closing stages of the race.
Bonilla put some pressure on Miller as he put in a dominant performance in his third heat for his second victory of the week. Bonilla went on to a two-second victory over Busby, who was able to get around Bartlett with Mike Mautner (CRG) and Harwin running fourth and fifth.
Miller was up to the challenge however his kart would not be as after leading the opening few circuits in his B vs. C heat race, the axle would shift and his chain would pop off, ending his chance at the pole position for the Prefinal. This allowed Mair to come through for the lead and go on to take his second win. Jackson battle through to grab the second spot to put Pesner back in third. Thomas and Ortiz would complete the top five with Miller classified in the 14th position.
Junior
Louie Pagano (Birel) was the driver to beat in the opening Junior heat race (A vs. C) as he came through from fifth up to first with a great move by pole sitter Sebastian Ordonez (Kart Mini) into the corkscrew on lap five. Ordonez fell back to third the next time by with Daniel Formal (Tony Kart) getting by. Pagano posted the fast lap on his way to the heat win with Formal and Ordonez finishing ahead of the CRGs of Jordan Jadallah and Justin Coplen.
The first start for B vs. D saw a red flag for a flip in the opening corner with driver Jeremy Kane (Birel) able to walk away. The second attempt went clean as Phil De La O (Tony Kart) was able to get away from Taylor Miinch (Top Kart) and Jarvis Gennari (CRG). Miinch dropped a tire early on and fell back to fourth that began a five kart battle for third. Miinch was able to get back to third and ran there as De La O and Gennari pulled away to finish first and second. Andrew Hawkins (Tony Kart) won the battle for fourth with Nick Neri (Maranello) able to bounce back from an early off to finish fifth.
Miinch put himself in a possible position for a front row starting spot in the Prefinal with his second heat victory in the A vs. D race. Ordonez led the way in the opening lap before Miinch was able to get by and cruise to the win. Pagano continued to show his speed on the day and worked himself into second as Ordonez continued to fall down the running order, eventually finishing fifth with Coplen and Gennari getting by as well.
De La O continued on his charge to stamp his presence on the 2008 season as he cruised on to earn his third heat race win and secure the pole position for the Prefinal. Formal fell back to third behind Neri but quickly regained the second spot, where he would finish. Neri fell into the clutches of Jesus Rios Jr. (CRG) and would lose the third spot as well. Hawkins would again show some speed and get into the top-five after getting by Jadallah.
Mini Max
Top qualifier Dore Chaponick (Birel) had no issues with his second heat race win in A vs. C to open up their day today though second, third and fourth ran nose to tail behind him. Dalton Sargeant (Kart Mini), Jack West (Juncos) and Collin Daley Jr. (Birel) crossed the line under a half second back of Chaponick while Alex Odenthal (CRG) won the battle for fifth after Alec Udell (Top Kart) retired with a lost chain.
The second heat in round two saw Santino Ferrucci (Maranello) edged Jordan Perry (Tony Kart) by just 0.143-seconds. AJ Meyers (Tony Kart) and RC Enerson (Tony Kart) were just under sixth tenths behind Ferrucci for a close finish at the line. Michael Davis (Birel) rounded out the top-five.
Chaponick continued on his hot streak in his third heat race that put group A against group D. Birthday boy Perry got the jump at the drop of the green flag however Chaponick retook the top spot with Perry applying pressure every lap. On the final lap Perry tried to retake the lead through the compression corner however spun on the exit. He would be unable to continue and classified 14th and hurting his Prefinal start. Chaponick held on for his third win and the pole position for tomorrow’s events with Kyle Kirkwood (Tony Kart) on his bumper at the line. Myers was third with Davis and Toby Stewart (Birel) completing the top-five.
A third different driver picked up a heat win in the B vs. C heat race as Sargeant was able to hold off Ferrucci for the win. West was third with Daley and Fittipaldi rounding out the top-five.
Micro Max
The second round of the Micro Max began the day’s racing action with Patricio O’Ward (Arrow) earning his second heat win with Grant Quinlan (Birel) and Justin Wood (Tony Kart) giving chase. Michael Riolo Jr. (Tony Kart) was fourth with Logan Sargeant (Kart Mini) fifth after Devlin Defrancesco (First Kart) spun and fell back to finish ninth.
O’Ward made it a clean sweep in the heat races with his third victory in Heat #3 as he was able to hold off Wood’s challenges to take the checkered flag. Riolo Jr. was third with Enzo Fittipaldi (Tony Kart) bouncing back from a DNF in heat two with Chris Trickle (CRG) completing the top-five.
For complete coverage of the Rotax Grand Nationals, visit the Official Event Page. |
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