|
 |
|
 |
| September 18, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals - Friday Report |
| |
The picture of those who will be standing on Saturday’s podium ceremonies at the Rotax Max Challenge USA Grand Nationals is beginning to take shape as the fields are set for the final day of action at the Oklahoma Motorsports Complex in Norman, OK. Friday’s action completed the second and third round of heat races along with the Last Chance Qualifiers taking place for Senior, Junior and Mini Max. The grids are now set for tomorrow’s Prefinal action which lead’s into the main events. While four drivers are sitting well after the first two days of action, nothing is set in stone as tomorrow’s races will determine the seven Rotax National Champions along with the 10 drivers who will represent America at the Rotax Grand Finals in Egypt.
Senior
Joey Wimsett (Intrepid) and Arie Ouimet (CRG) went side by side into the first corner to kick off the A vs. C heat race. Wimsett was able to slide a little wide, costing Ouimet some room and falling back to fourth behind Stepanova Nekeel (Mach 1) and Garrison Masters (CRG). Ouimet quickly regained the two spots lost before they reached the stripe for the first time however Wimsett was able to put some distance on the fight for second. Nekeel was able to put the pressure on Ouimet and take over the position at the halfway mark as Ouimet fell back to fifth behind Masters and Ben Naemura (CRG). Nekeel was the fast lap however Naemura went even quicker and showed it by drafting by for the second position on lap eight. In the end, Wimsett went unchallenged for the win by over two seconds ahead of Naemura. Masters got by Nekeel for third with Ouimet back to fifth at the line.
A near clean start as Gregory Liefooghe (Intrepid) went from outside row one to the tail of the field after dropping off the track on the outside of the exit to turn one. Pole sitter Phillip Arscott (Tony Kart) began to establish a solid lead over Victor Pedrosa (Tony Kart) and Andy Dunne (Birel). Arscott continued to stretch out his lead as he posted the fast laps of the race in the closing stages of the race, taking the win by over three seconds ahead over Pedrosa. Dunne was able to hold off a late charge from Andrew Hawkins (FA Kart) with Cody Robinson (Arrow) up from tenth to fifth. The hard charger of the race was Zach Beard (Birel) who came from 20th up to eighth, looking to make up from his disqualification in qualifying for being underweight.
 | Phillip Arscott's three heat wins puts him in the P1 slot in Senior for Saturday's Prefinal
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Wimsett was able to breakaway to a ten kart lead in just the first half of the opening lap of the A vs. D heat race as Nekeel and Hawkins began to battle for second with Liefooghe falling to fourth from his second starting spot. Hawkins was able to break away to secure the second spot on lap three, leaving a gaggle of karts duking it out for the third spot. Liefooghe was having issues on track and continued to lose positions as Naemura held third ahead of Nekeel, Nic LeDuc (Arrow) and Ryan Kinnear (Intrepid). Wimsett cruised to the win with Hawkins in a solid second position. Naemura held on to third with Nekeel holding off Kinnear for fourth. Beard once again showed the pace to run up front, placing ninth from 20th.
The final heat race of the saw the B vs. C groups bunch up the field with a number of mid-pack drivers getting collected. Up front, Arscott was able to break away with Ouimet holding off charges to claim the second spot. The top two pulled away as a number of drivers battle for the third spot. Arscott posted his fast laps of the race near the end of the 10-lap run to score the win over Ouimet by nearly two-seconds for his third heat win. Matthew Powers (Birel) put in a good run from 11th to score the third position. Pedrosa was able to score the fourth position after getting shuffled back at the start with Masters placing fifth. After the race, Pedrosa was penalized for contact with Sean Owens (Intrepid), putting him back to 13th and put Dunne into the top-five.
The Last Chance Qualifier set up the final six positions for tomorrow’s Prefinal as Cody Elliott (CRG) was able to outrun Austin Tillery (Arrow) for the win. Andrew Novich (Birel) worked himself to third with Sheridan Odom (Margay), Owens running fourth and fifth. Christopher Stone (Arrow) was able to hold off Dean Boyd (Top Kart) in the closing stages to move on to Saturday’s action.
Leading the field to the green flag in the Prefinal will be the same top two with Arscott’s three wins putting him inside row one with Wimsett on the outside. Ouimet and Hawkins will start from row two with Nekeel and Masters in row three. Ouimet, Arscott and Masters stood on the podium last year and have positioned themselves for a chance at a repeat trip this year.
 | Cody Hodgson and Troy Castaneda will lead the DD2 field to the green flag
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
DD2
A clean start for the DD2 group to begin the second heat race with James Carey (Arrow) showing the way. Cody Hodgson (Tony Kart) slid into second but was relegated to fifth with the CRGs of Carlos Duenas, Thiago Parazinho and Troy Castaneda. The driver on the move was Castaneda as he advanced up to second and began pressuring Carey for the lead in the first half of the race. Lap four, Castaneda made his move exiting turn eight into turn nine to take the lead. Hodgson followed through after getting back by Duenas and Parazinho, pushing Carey back to third. As they were battling for the front six positions, Duenas spun on lap six to avoid the making contact with Carey as they shuffled for positions. The next lap, Hodgson pulled the trigger to draft by Castaneda for the lead. Castaneda pressured Hodgson but would not make an attempt, leaving Hodgson to take the win. Parazinho crossed the line third with Erik Jackson (Arrow) moving up to fourth with Carey ending up fifth.
Carey was able to break away to begin the third heat as the field bunched up behind him, including Jackson who fell back to the tail of the field. Carey however would lose the lead to Hodgson as he and Castaneda drafted by the straight for the top two positions. The next time down the straight, Castaneda drafted by Hodgson for the lead as Castaneda began running a strong defensive line down the front straight. Hodgson pressured the entire race but was unable to make a move as Castaneda took the win. Duenas came back from a dropped wheel at the start to come up to third with Matthew Ostiguy (CRG) coming up from 10th to fourth ahead of Parazinho and Carey.
Hodgson’s results put him on P1 for the Prefinal with Castaneda just one point back to start from P2. Parazinho and Duenas will start alongside one another with Jackson and Mauel going from row three as top qualifier Carey will start seventh.
 | Andy Seesemann - carrying the RV on his number plate for fellow Rotaxian Rich Vito - is perfect thus far in the Masters category
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Masters
The Masters group collected a number of karts in the opening corner for the start of heat two as a driver near the front spun and created a road block. Up front, an all Gatorz group led the way with pole sitter Andy Seesemann (Birel) showed the way ahead of Jim Busby Jr. (Arrow), John Crow (Birel) and Paul Bonilla (Birel). Busby looked early to take the lead away however a yellow flag in turn one prevented him from completing the pass. On lap five, the complication of the front changed as Busby got sideways entering turn one, collecting Crow. This gave Seesemann a clean run to the checkered flag with Bonilla finishing second. Russell Hamel (CRG) was third with Brad Smith (CRG) fourth and Jason Bell (Tony Kart) up from 22nd to fifth. Smith was however docked one position for passing under yellow.
The front worked together through the opening corner of the final heat race however it was Crow that had the advantage on Seesemann as they went through the tight turn two. Crow led the way with Seesemann getting pressured by Bonilla through the opening laps. Lap five, Seesemann was able to draft by Crow for the lead into the first turn. First through sixth ran nose to tail with Busby, Mike Daniel (CRG), and Todd Ulmen (CRG) in the mix at the halfway mark with no one able to make any moves for position. At the end, no positions would change with Seesemann earning the third heat victory for the pole position. Crow held on for second with Bonilla, Busby, and Daniel completing the top-five.
Seesemann’s perfect score has him in the familiar role as the pole sitter, going for his second national title. Bonilla’s consistent runs put him at the outside of row one. Busby and Daniel will start from row two with Crow and Smith starting in row three.
 | Jesus Rios Jr. has been untouchable thus far with three Junior heat wins to his credit
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Junior
The first heat for the Juniors on the day put Group A and Group C on the track, the entire field getting through the opening corner with no issues. Jesus Rios Jr. (CRG) showed the way and was able to establish a solid lead on cold tires. Behind him, Ethan Ringel (Tony Kart) and Taylor Miinch (Top Kart) advanced forward to begin the early battle for second. Phil DeLaO (CRG), who started second, was shuffled back but regained the lost spots to sit second after lap three, bringing Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) with him dropping Miinch and Ringel to fourth and fifth. Dylan Lupton (Birel) started fourth but troubles dropped him further back in the field and later out of the race after a number of drivers were collected in turn 11. Meanwhile up front, Rios continued to put down a fast pace as he went on to take the win by over four seconds. The drive of the race however was by Sebastian Ordonez as the Kart Mini driver came from 12th up into the top-five quickly running lap times similar to Rios. He was able to get into third and run down DeLaO. In the final lap, Ordonez made one attempt in the middle portion of the track unsuccessfully but returned in turn 12 to get the job done to secure the second spot over DeLaO. Chelootz was fourth with Miinch completing the top-five.
A little bit of a shuffling mid-pack as the field filled through the opening corner for the B vs. D heat race. Nick Neri (Tony Kart) paced the field with Alec Udell (Top Kart) and Dore Chaponick (FA Kart) began battling for second. Neri continued to extend his lead as Udell put some space over Chaponick. Behind them, Sage Karam (Birel) moved up to fourth after starting ninth, however, would lose the spot on lap six to Louie Pagano (Birel) as he charged back forward after losing spots in the opening circuit. Neri went on to take the win by three seconds over Udell and Chaponick. Pagano ran to fourth with Nicholas Silva (Kosmic) another hard charger advancing up to fifth in front of Karam.
A few drivers got together on the front straight as the A vs. D group headed into the first corner. The result was Pagano losing a nose piece and was black flagged off the track. Up front, Rios established a solid lead in the opening lap with Miinch leading the charged followed by Udell and Alessandra Madrigal (Kosmic). Rios kept his lap times in the under the 47-second mark, stretching out his lead each lap. In the end, Rios took his third heat win by four seconds over Miinch. Madrigal was able to work by Udell for third early and keep that position to the end as Brody Zink (Moza) came from 13th to finish fifth.
A four kart lead group formed at the start of the B vs. C heat race as Chaponick was able to lead the way ahead of DeLaO, Neri and Lupton. Lupton was shuffled back at the exit of turn eight, moving Jake French (Birel) up into fourth and trying to chase down the front three. On lap four, DeLaO was able to draft by for the lead and Neri came through as well, surprising Chaponick who drifted wide and went into the grass as he lost a number of positions. The next time by Neri, pulled the same move on DeLaO, who returned the favor coming out of turn nine for the lead bringing French with him. French then took a brief turn at the point before DeLaO came back to take the spot once again. The three put on a great show for the remainder of the race as each had an advantage at a certain spot on the track on the other two, swapping the lead numerous times in a lap. At the line, French came away with the win as Neri put DeLaO back to third. Chelootz was fourth at the line with Karam crossing the stripe fifth. Official however place Neri behind Chaponick for contact on the lap four pass, putting him eighth and moving Ordonez into the top-five.
Chaz Nagel (Arrow) was the winner of the Junior LCQ as he took the win by over six-seconds ahead of Brennan Harrington (Birel). Bristol Gunderson (Top Kart) will continue on with Sabre Cook (CRG), Evan Karr (CRG) and Connor Thomas (Arrow) sliding in on the final lap to edge out Joe Taylor for the final transfer position.
The perfect score by Rios has him going from the pole in the Prefinal with DeLaO set to start alongside for a CRG front row. Neri and Udell will be one row back with Top Kart drivers Chelootz and Miinch a row behind them.
 | A win and two runner-up finishes put Derek James Sobel on the pole position in Mini Max Prefinal
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Mini Max
The first heat race of the day for the Mini Max category matched up the A group against the C group. Trenton May (CRG) led the way until home town hero Blake Berryhill (Intrepid) was able to come up from the sixth starting spot to assume the lead. They were joined by Pietro Fittipaldi Da Cruz (Tony Kart) in the fight for the lead. Berryhill took the win with Fittipaldi getting by for second on the final circuit, putting May back to third. Michael Davis (Birel) was fourth with outside pole sitter Derek Scott Jr. (Birel) dropping back to fifth.
The heat race for the B versus D groups began with a pile up in the opening corner with a red flag coming out for one injured driver. Everyone was able to walk away however a number of drivers had to take advantage of the repair time given to the field. Once underway, the field made it through the opening corner cleanly to get underway in the eight lap run. Patricio O’Ward (Arrow) led the way early, challenged by Jordan Perry (CRG), Dalton Sargeant (Kart Mini) and Derek James Sobel (FA Kart). The four battling hard went into the tire barriers at the exit of turn five, bringing out a second red flag on lap three. Perry and Sargeant suffered the lost as they were not able to continue after heavy contact with the barriers. Once restarted, O’Ward led the way with Sobel slotted into second. With the single file restart, the field was pretty spread out for the remainder of the race as O’Ward went on to take the win over Sobel. Tim Regar (Top Kart) was third with Jesse Woodyard (Intrepid) and Michael Bilyy (Arrow) rounding out the top-five.
A large group of karts made up the lead pack of the A vs. D heat race, led by Michael Womack (Birel). His time at the front was short lived as May returned to the point on lap three with a pass through the infield section of the track. May and Womack looked to draft away but Ethan Low (Birel), Jordan Perry (CRG) and Sargeant (Kart Mini) kept things close. Womack made a slight error on the exit of turn eight, allowing Low to slide by for the second position before receiving the two to go signal. Low continued forward, working by May through the fast turn four section, bringing Womack with him to put May back to third as they got the white flag. Womack put the pressure on but Low was able to hold on for the win. May was third with Perry and Sargeant completing the top-five.
A nice slow pace to the green flag by heat race B vs. C pole sitter O’Ward set the tone for the eight lap event. O’Ward came around pacing the field with heavy pressure from Sobel as they put a little distance on the fight for third in the opening laps. After a great battle for the lead, Sobel was able to gain the spot and hold it to the checkered flag. Berryhill ran third with Scott and Garrett Sargeant (Kart Mini) fourth and fifth.
Thirteen drivers filled up the Mini Max Last Chance Qualifier to battle 14-laps for six transfer positions into Sunday’s action. Ryan Bjerke (Arrow), who was last in qualifying on Thursday, was able to improve on the day and went out to win the LCQ to move on, edging out Alec Bergstrom (CRG) and Jacob Loomis (Nevoso). Justin Wood (Tony Kart) had a transfer position locked until a run off-track kicked his chain off and put him on the sidelines for a while until he finally got it back on to be able to take his final checkered flag, five laps down. Nathan Adds (CRG) was able to move up with Kinsley Cook (Margay) and Christopher Tillery (Arrow) moving on to tomorrow’s action.
A consistent Sobel, getting faster each time out, will lead the Mini Max field to the green flag with local driver Berryhill on the outside. Low and May will go from row two with Womack and Fittipaldi in row three. O’Ward’s penalty puts from yesterday’s heat race relegate him to a seventh starting spot for tomorrow’s Prefinal.
 | Logan Sargeant has been a rocket in the heat races, scoring all three Micro Max wins
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Micro Max
Outside pole sitter Logan Sargeant (Kart Mini) was the quick driver once again as he rocketed from the start of the race to the front and just drove away with the fast laps of the race. His win was over 12-seconds in the seven lap event. Devlin DeFrancesco (FA Kart) came from 13th to knife his way to second in the opening lap but would be shuffled back to fourth at the end with Joshua Sirgany (Tony Kart) and Jacob Drew (CRG) able to get by while Juan David Bonilla (PCR) came across fifth.
The first attempt at the third heat for the Micro Max class ended with a red flag for heavy contact on the exit of turn five. Drivers making their way to the front straight also collected one another as they slowed for the red flag. With the damage done, officials ruled a 30-minute repair session for the class. The restart saw a second red flag, with no one hurt, the quickly tried once again. When the green flag waved for the third time, Sargeant once again established a large lead in the opening laps. At the checkered, Sargeant took the win by 12-seconds. DeFrancesco won a great battle for second for his third solid finish to recover from a bad qualifying effort. Fittipaldi was third at the line with Sirgany and Bonilla running fourth and fifth.
Sargeant will go from inside row one with Sirgany as the lead challenger. DeFrancesco’s performances put him inside row two with Bonilla on the outside. Gangi and Drew will go from row three tomorrow.
Saturday’s Prefinal action starts at 9:45am (CST) with the Finals set to begin at 1:30 following the Opening Ceremonies. To follow the action throughout the day and the previous day’s, click over to the Official Discussion Thread and the Event Page. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
