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| June 26, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: Championship Karting International Grand Prix of New Jersey - Friday Report |
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 | Gary Carlton grabbed the KZ2 pole, one of three for CRG on the day
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The opening day of action at the second round of the Championship Karting International series went into the books at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. The F1 New Jersey karting circuit inside the Millville, NJ facility is playing host to the Grand Prix of New Jersey. Friday’s action saw the fields put in place for Saturday’s heat action with seven drivers earning the pole position in their respective classes.
Former national champion Gary Carlton led the way for CRG as they secured three pole positions. Carlton put down the magic lap in the KZ2 qualifying - a 1:04.904 - to earn the pole and secure the new track record for the 1.03-mile ‘Tempest’ layout. His SSC East teammate Alex Manglass will line up along side in the second slot for each of the three heats. Fritz Leesmann, making his first CKI start, will go from third in his PSL Karting entry with Leading Edge Motorsports’ Gregory Liefooghe in fourth.
The KF2 field is smaller than New Castle however the times in qualifying - with the top five separated by less than four-tenths - suggest that the racing will be tight in the next two days. Arie Ouimet was the top qualifier in his SSC East/CRG entry with a 1:06.432 lap time. Japan native Shin Iguchi put in a stellar run to secure the second spot aboard his J3 Competition Kosmic. Team Top Kart USA’s Chris Wehrheim was third in the order with Brett Felkins (Leading Edge Motorsports) and Jeremy Nelson (J3 Competition) completing the fast five.
Like Carlton, Italian Motors driver Andre Nicastro put down a perfect lap - 1:08.250 - that was nearly four-tenths faster than any other IAME Senior driver to hold the top spot. The rest of the top three was filled with veterans as former number one of the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings Kyle Wiegand and BTK Motorsports team manager Eric Jones. Young guns and Kartel Motorsports teammates Neil Alberico and New Castle pace setter Michael Hogg rounding out the fast five.
 | Andre Nicastro laid down a monster lap for the IAME Senior pole position
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Phil DeLaO gave SSC East/CRG its third pole of the day in KF3. His 1:09.006 lap time was just over two-tenths quicker than Team Top Kart USA driver Taylor Miinch. Shawn Sharkey (Merlin USA) was third quickest but came in just underweight, moving Evan Komar (Maranello North America) and championship leader Tristan DeGrand (J3 Competition) into fourth and fifth.
Miinch would get his pole award in the IAME Junior category as he narrowly edged out fellow Top Kart driver Raquel Martinez by just eight-hundredths. Camden Geise continues to show the speed following his podium run in New Castle as he was third quickest. DeLaO, also doing double duty, was fourth with New Jersey’s Trent Hindman (Merlin USA) completing the fast five.
Pennsylvania’s Ryan Raffa stole the Cadet pole position in the final moments of their qualifying session as the recorded is 1:18.822 fast lap as the checkered flag waved. Fellow Top Kart driver Josh Saurino was demoted to second while Gresham Wagner (Birel) held to third despite running in the first group. Zane Smith (Top Kart) and championship leader Austin Schoonmaker (Merlin) recorded the fourth and fifth fastest laps.
The local option Rotax Masters class has five entries for the weekend with Russell Hamel scoring the pole position with a 1:10.546 lap time. Christopher Rock was second with former F1 New Jersey employee Tim Hannen in third. Thomas Healy was fourth with Ed Oberholtzer in fifth.
Heat racing action begins tomorrow at 10am with three rounds scheduled for each division. RaceFanRadio.com will bring the racing live on via web audio with a video wrap-up of the day’s action to be broadcast live on SpeedCastTV.com. For updates throughout the event, visit the Official Discussion Thread on the eKartingNews.com Forums. |
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