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| April 29, 2010 |
| Driver News: Devlin DeFrancesco - Rotax Pan American Challenge MSR Houston Report |
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 | Devlin DeFrancesco ran to double-podium at the Pan American opener
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Devlin DeFrancesco began his fifth championship of the season last weekend as the Pan American Rotax Max Challenge debuted in Texas. Once again in the thick of the action in Rotax Mini-Max, the ten-year-old kicked off the series with a pair of podium runs, the second coming after a thrilling charge from the back to the blocks on Sunday.
After qualifying third for race two, DeFrancesco held his spot through the early stages of the prefinal at MSR Houston before moving up and into the lead on lap four. He fell back to second again on six, but disaster struck on lap nine when his kart spit its chain and retirement soon followed. That would have bad enough, but in forgetting to weigh in following the DNF, the DeFrancesco Racing driver was backed up even further - lining up on the fifth and final row for the main event.
Looking to set matters straight, DeFrancesco got down to business quickly. He was eighth through one lap, seventh through two, and halfway through the field in fifth when the crossed flags showed half distance. He passed into fourth spot on lap eleven, and after running down the leaders was set for a podium fight on the final tour. The last lap was a wild affair, and when the dust settled, all top-four positions had changed hands and DeFrancesco was on the podium in third!
The podium followed an even better one from Saturday, a much more straightforward day at the track. DeFrancesco qualified P3, and after running second through most of the prefinal backed up to third before the checker. He ran in the same spot through the first eight laps of the Saturday main, and after a short spell in fourth, honed in on the podium in the closing stages. He was third with three to go, took second with two to go, and held the spot to the checker in kicking off his Pan American Challenge.
May will see DeFrancesco kick off an even bigger racing adventure, as for the second time in his young career he is off to Europe. DeFrancesco will be racing in Italy next weekend, May 7-9, in a Vortex Mini-Rok event with the babyRace Kart Racing Team. The event will be held at Castelletto and a field of 20+ is expected. His return to America one week later will see him racing round two of the WSK North American Series by CKI, before wrapping up the month with the second round of the South Florida Rotax Max Challenge at Homestead.
For more information, please visit devlindefrancesco.com, babyrace.it, and DFR/SupertuneUSA on Facebook. |
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