|
 |
|
 |
| July 16, 2010 News |
| EKN Trackside: US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals - Friday Report |
| |
 | Phillip Arscott remains perfect and will lead the Senior field on Saturday
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Friday at the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals was a day to either make or break your event. The 1-mile circuit at the New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana provided the backdrop for day three of the event with the final two rounds of heat races taking place, helping to line up the six fields for Saturday’s action that will decide the Rotax National Champions. The weather was warm once again, but not the humid and nasty conditions that were in the area on Thursday, leaving the track to continue building up rubber in each of the 14-corners. For some, the final heat races were a continuation of consistency and speed, while others it was a day to forget and move forward.
Senior
The start of the Senior A vs. D heat race saw pole sitter Phillip Arscott (Tony Kart) slow at the drop of the green. This allowed Fabio Orsolon (Tony Kart) to assume the lead with Daniel Formal (Kosmic) also able to move around Arscott. Sam Beasley (Arrow) and Jeremy Kane (Birel) making up the top-five. By the second lap, the top four had formed a group with Formal getting under Orsolon for the lead. Arscott followed through and caught Orsolon on the outside of the corner, allowing Beasley by as well. With the shuffling, Formal was out to a five kart lead with Arscott chasing him down while Beasley had Orsolon and Kane on his bumper. Arscott eventually ran him down and retook the lead as they continued to show a gap over the fight for third. As the laps ran down, the top six were spread out with Arscott taking the win over Formal ahead of Beasley, Orsolon and Stepanova Nekeel (Tony Kart) sliding up to fifth. Orsolon however would be penalized for a jump start, moving him back to sixth and putting Kane into the top-five.
Though the field got through the first few corners clean for Group B vs. C, Jesus Rios Jr. (CRG) was shuffled back from his outside row one position. Louie Pagano (Birel) got the jump and brought Andrew Hawkins (Kosmic) with him as Mark Pellegrini (CRG) and Mason Marotta (Intrepid) made up the early top-five. Marotta was the first to advance after they settled in, moving to second by the end of lap two. He then tried to get by Rios at the end of the straight and the two made contact. Marotta fell back to seventh while Rios got the worst and was at the tail end of the field. That helped put Pellegrini to third with 2009 Team USA member Victor Pedrosa (Arrow) and Andy Dunne (Birel) into the top-five. Lap four, Hawkins made his move, darting around Pagano for the lead with Pellegrini sliding by as well. Lap five, Pagano gained one spot back, moving up to second at the end of the long straight. The front drivers ran static until getting the white flag when Pagano made his move back to the point with Hawkins now challenging him around the final circuit. Pagano ran the defensive line down the straight with Hawkins able to get a run around the outside. Through the exit, Hawkins held the position and took the win over Pagano. Pellegrini was third with Pedrosa in fourth while Marotta was able to work back up to fifth, but penalized one position for contact to put Grant Schilling (CRG) up to the spot.
The A vs. C heat was almost uneventful. Arscott and Formal led the way early with Beasley and Rios in tow. Beasley was quick to move into second on lap two but was challenged right back the following circuit. As Formal went inside at the last corner, he pushed Beasley wide and into the grass. The result pushed Beasley down the order, eventually working back up to finish ninth. The remainder of the race saw the front five static with Arscott pulling out to a 3.770-second win over Formal with Rios, Pedrosa and Dunne completing the top-five.
At the drop of the green flag for the B vs. D heat race, Orsolon was able to get a better jump from outside row one to beat Pagano to the first corner. The two led the way early with Hawkins joining the fight for the lead. On lap three, Hawkins was able to jump by both drivers to assume the point. From there, Hawkins led the remainder of the race to edge out Pagano by four-tenths with Orsolon right behind. Nekeel was able to put both Intrepids of Ryan Kinnear and Marotta for the fifth spot.
With a perfect score thus far, Arscott will line up on the pole position for the Prefinal with Hawkins outside row one. Young guns Formal and Pagano will start from row two with veterans Pedrosa and Orsolon in row three.
 | Derek Wang will pace the DD2 field in the Prefinal
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
DD2
The second heat of the event for the DD2 category changed the complexion of category. Defending champion Cody Hodgson (Tony Kart) and Marc Miller (Birel) were running 1-2 when Hodgson bobbled out of turn three on the third lap. This allowed Miller to pull inside of the leader heading into turn four. Both drivers went for the same piece of real estate and made contact, pushing both off the track. Hodgson rejoined in third after cutting the track but would retire on lap six with a broken radiator. Miller would rejoin further back eventually pushing his MRP/Birel America machine to fifth. Out front, Derek Wang (CRG) assumed the lead with Nathan Mauel (CRG) in tow. The two ran nose to tail to the finish line with James Carey (Arrow) finishing third over Riley Turk (Birel).
The start to the third heat was clean with Hodgson and Miller once again leading the way. Miller put on heavy pressure in the early laps. On lap three, Hodgson dropped a wheel on the exit of turn three, and they bunched up behind him. Wang was able to come through with the lead on the exit of turn four with Miller falling to third. Completing the lap, Miller fell off the pace and eventually pulled off with a broken shifter cable. Out front, Hodgson regained the lead and drove his Ocala Gran Prix entry to a one-second margin over Wang. Mauel was third with Kristina Vondran (CRG) up to fourth with Turk in fifth.
In the DD2 Masters category, Jim Busby (Tony Kart) has led the way, taking top honors in qualifying and winning all three heat races. Busby will start fourth overall with Schiewer 10th and Todd Ulmen (CRG) 12th.
With a heat win and staying out of trouble, Wang is set to start from P1 in the Prefinal with Mauel lined up to his outside. Hodgson will be third in the order following his two heat wins while Miller is set to start seventh overall. Florida driver Joe Vilece is showing well in his RM-1, starting fifth with Turk to go from P6.
 | Perfect through the heat races, Eric Jones will look to continue his reign at the front of the Masters field
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Masters
The second heat race of the event for the Masters category was dominated by Eric Jones (Arrow). The BTK Motorsports driver went wire-to-wire for a three-second victory over Russ Hamel (CRG). The race began with Ron Rossetti (Arrow) spinning from his seventh starting spot, sending the rest of the field scattering around him. Out front, Jones broke away with Hamel while Dixon went back to third ahead of Scott and Chappell. Ortiz was on the charge, getting around Chappell for fifth and working with Scott to catch Dixon. With Jones and Hamel going unchanged up front, the three drivers shuffled for the third spot. Dixon was able to come away with the position at the checkered with Scott getting back around Oritz for fourth. Keith Karr (Birel) came from ninth to end up sixth ahead of Chappell.
With Jones bringing the field to the green at a slow pace, Dixon was slow once again when the green flag waved. That allowed the inside line the jump with Jones and Hamel once again out front with Dixon sliding into third. Behind them, the field shuffled up at the inner hairpin with contact between Rossetti and Chappell. Rossetti continued on at the tail of the field while Chappell retired before the first lap. Out front, Jones was out to a two-second lead after three laps over Hamel with Ortiz up to third in front of Dixon and Scott. On lap six, Ortiz was given the meatball flag for a loose rear bumper and was forced off the track, handing third to Dixon and moving the rest of the field up one position. As he did in the previous heat races, Jones had the field covered and cruised to his third straight heat win. After pressuring Hamel lap after lap, Dixon was able to get by on the final corner for the second spot with defending champion Mike Daniel (CRG) recording his best finish in fourth. Karr improved one more spot from heat two, ending up fifth.
Dixon will retain his outside front row position for the Prefinal with Jones set to go again from the pole position. Karr moves up to start third with Bonanno in fourth. Hamel moves back one row to P5 with Scott into sixth.
 | Dore Chaponick Jr. is set to start P1 in the Prefinal for the Junior category
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Junior
The first heat of the day for the Juniors put Group A vs. D with Dore Chaponick Jr. (Alonso) able to get away from the pole position, brining Ethan Ringel (Tony Kart) with him once again. Tristan Nunez (Tony Kart) was able to slot into third from outside row one with Alec Udell (Top Kart) and Parker McKean (Tony Kart). Both Udell and McKean were able to drop Nunez back to fifth while at the same time, Ringel went to the point to complete lap three. On lap four, Ringel and Chaponick were able to break away with Udell in tow. McKean and Nunez fell back to a host of karts, forming a long pack trailing the leaders. On lap five, Chaponick went back to the point, bringing Udell with him. Before getting to the stripe, Ringel took back the second spot in the last corner with Udell dropping a wheel and losing real-estate. As the checkered came closer, the top three closed back together with Ringel taking over the lead while receiving the two to go signal. Ringel still held the lead while getting the white flag but Chaponick struck back mid-way through the final circuit. Chaponick then retook the spot in the I-70 corner and was able to get away to the win. Ringel was second in the final corner until he dropped a wheel on exit, allowing Udell by for the position. AJ Myers (Tony Kart) completed a great drive from 12th to fourth with Logan Bearden (Haase) in fifth ahead of McKean.
The B vs. C heat race began with a major pile up in the opening corner. Alessandra Madrigal (Kosmic) got sideways from the outside row one position and everyone scattered around. A number of drivers were caught up in the carnage with Kiel Spaulding (Top Kart), Brennan Harrington (Birel), and Evan Mehan (Kosmic) needing some medical attention thus bringing out the red flag. Fortunately, the drivers were able to walk away with no serious injuries. Following repair time, the race got back underway with a complete restart. The field got through the opening corners clean with Jake French (Birel) and Madrigal showing the way. Pietro Fittipaldi (Tony Kart) dropped in behind with Shawn Sharkey (Merlin) and Sebastian Ordonez (Kart Mini). On the charge was Ordonez as he was up to second by lap three, dropping Madrigal back to fifth with Fittipaldi and Jack West (Tony Kart) also getting by. French and Ordonez got well out in front of the battle with Ordonez going to the point at the halfway mark. French came right back to take over the lead before completing lap six. Behind them, Fittipaldi was able to get away in the third spot while heat one winner Andrew Palmer (Kosmic) came charging through to fourth, leading a pack of four. Two to go, Ordonez was back to the point after drafting by down the long straight. French came back to lead at the white flag until the final corner when Ordonez once again took the lead. Both went deep into the corner and able to hang on with Ordonez taking the win over French. Fittipaldi and Palmer were third and fourth with Madrigal able to get by West for fifth.
Contact again ensued in the opening corner for Group A vs. C heat race. A number of drivers made contact in the opening corners. Chaponick was able to get away with the lead with Ringel and McKean in front of a six-pack of karts looking to chase down the leader. On lap two, McKean and Palmer made contact in the I-70 corner, dropping them to the tail of the running order and moving Madrigal back up to third behind Ringel. Those two along with Bearden ran nose to tail, trying to close back in on Chaponick. Working together went out the window on lap seven as Ringel got racey following Madrigal. The two nearly made contact in the last corner, forcing her wide and allowing Bearden to come by for the third spot. In the end, Chaponick got to the line before Ringel for the win with Madrigal able to get around Bearden for third. RC Enerson (Birel) advanced from 13th to fifth with Sharkey able to recover from the opening corner contact to finish sixth.
The B vs. D heat race start was well executed with no issues despite some heavy contact. Nunez was able to get ahead of French at the drop of the green with Fittipaldi and Ordonez running third and fourth behind them. Falling back through the field however was Udell, hurting his chances at a good grid position for the Prefinal. On lap three, French retook the lead from Nunez as he looked much faster down the straight. Behind them, Ordonez took care of Fittipaldi and began closing in on the top two. Lap four, Ordonez was able to work by Nunez at the I-70 corner, moving into the second position and turning his attention to French. On lap seven, Nunez fell off the pace and retired shortly after, handing third to Fittipaldi with Ryan Rupp (Tony Kart) up to fourth and Hartington to fifth. At the line, French took the win 1.477-seconds over Ordonez with Rupp and Harrington able to work by Fittipaldi in the closing laps.
Chaponick’s two wins and a runner-up finish earned him the pole position for the Prefinal while French, with a worst finish of third set to go from outside row one. The same went for Ringel however he will go from the third spot alongside Ordonez with Madrigal and Fittipaldi in row three.
 | Jordan Perry raced his way to the pole position in Mini Max
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Mini Max
The A vs. D groups began the heat race action on Friday with Dalton Sargeant (Kart Mini) leading the way with Patricio O’Ward (Alonso) able to slide by Logan Sargeant (Kart Mini) - who started outside the front row. As they made their way around, O’Ward took over the lead briefly until he dropped a wheel on the exit of the last corner, allowing both RDD Motorsports drivers by. Despite that, the top three were able to grab a one-second advantage over the rest of the field after two laps. O’Ward was able to split up the Sargeant brothers on lap three and then took over the lead from Dalton at the end of the straight to complete lap four. Dalton struck back the following circuit to overtake the lead. Logan pressured O’Ward for the second spot, allowing Dalton to break away just a bit as they received the two laps to go signal. Logan continued the pressure, taking the spot as they received the white flag. Dalton was able to go the victory while Logan and O’Ward made contact down the final straight. The result sent Logan spinning around but he was able to continue. Austin Versteeg (CRG) crossed the line third with Logan able to end up fourth with Gavin Reichelt (CRG) in fifth. Because of the contact, O’Ward was penalized to the seventh position, moving the rest up one position.
Kyle Kirkwood (CRG) and William Myers (CRG) led the field of Group B and C to the green flag for their second heat race. Kirkwood led the field with Jordan Perry (CRG) able to get around Myers for second in the opening lap. Perry - a winner in heat one - went on the charge early, getting around Kirkwood by the end of the second lap. The front three had worked out to a good lead by the completion of lap three with Glasson taking Myers’ spot in the front pack. Glasson was able to do away with Kirkwood by the halfway mark of the eight-lap run and began pressuring Perry. In the end, Perry would hold off Glasson for the win while heat one winner Devlin DeFrancesco (Alonso) came from sixth to third with Myers and Thomas Issa (CRG) completing the top-five. Kirkwood would fall back to eighth in the closing laps.
Dalton Sargent and Myers paced the field to the green flag to begin A vs. C heat race for each of the groups third round. Sargeant got a great jump as the flag waved with O’Ward coming through to put Myers back to third before the opening corner. The rest of the field shuffled into line behind them with no issues through the opening corners. Completing lap one, Myers got a great run down the straight and was able draft by the top two to control the point. Sargeant returned the next lap to move around Myers for the lead with Glasson now up to third followed by DeFrancesco and Sebastian Sierra (Tony Kart). As Sargeant and Myers exchanged the lead, DeFrancesco and Glasson were able to reel them in to make a four kart lead pack. Completing lap seven, contact was made and Myers ended up going over on his head very hard. The red flag was then waved for medics to assist him. The results were put back to the completion of lap six with Sargeant awarded the win over DeFrancesco with Glasson, O’Ward and Derek Scott (Birel) in the top-five.
Once again, Perry found his way to the front, this time in the Group B vs. D heat race. By the end of the first lap, Perry was out front with Kirkwood giving him chase. The two had a four-second lead by the halfway mark with Issa, Reichelt, Versteeg battling for third. Perry and Kirkwood ran nose to tail, continuing to extend their lead lap after lap. Kirkwood was getting familiar with Perry’s rear bumper, waiting for his time. Coming to the final corner, Perry was able to hold off Kirkwood for the win. Issa scored the battle for third over Reichelt and Logan Sargeant with Versteeg back in sixth.
Perry’s three heat wins has him moving up to the pole position for the Prefinal with Dalton Sargeant’s two wins putting him outside row one. DeFrancesco will go from inside row two with his teammate Glasson in fourth. Issa and Logan Sargeant are set to start from row three.
 | Two heat wins helped place Joshua Sirgany to the pole position in Micro Max
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Micro Max
The opening heat race of the second round began with some contact through the opening corner for the Micro Max category. Camden Donaldson (Birel) spun around in the middle of the corner, sending everyone scattering around him as he collected a few mid-packers. Up front, a six kart lead pack formed with the drivers shuffling for position. In the end, Joshua Sirgany (CRG) was able to break away to a half-second victory over heat one winner Anthony Gangi Jr. (CRG). Matthew Thomas (CRG) was third in the order with Justin Sirgany (Birel), Juan David Buitrago (Tony Kart) and Ryan Lewis (Birel) completing the front six.
Keane and Gangi got the run on Donaldson at the start of heat three to lead the way early. Through the first two laps, the top-eight drivers ran together and lost two on lap four as contact sent Gangi and Thomas off at the last corner, putting both to the tail of the field. Sirgany found his way to the point with two to go with four others trailing. In the end, Sirgany held on for another victory, this time by nearly two-tenths over Buitrago, Justin Sirgany, Lewis, and Keane.
Sirgany and Buitrago ended up with points to put them on the front row with Justin Sirgany and Lewis in row two. Gangi will be fifth on the grid while Enzo Fittipaldi (Tony Kart) is set to go from P6.
The final day of action will begin in the morning with the running of the Prefinals, which will set up the grid for the main events to decide who will be the Grand National champions. eKartingNews.com will be trackside all week long, providing full coverage of the event. Readers can watch updates throughout the weekend in the Official Discussion Thread, which will include the popular Top-10 from each on-track session. US Rotax Max Challenge will also be providing live coverage through their website - http://www.rotaxmaxchallenge.com |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
