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| February 02, 2012 |
| Team News: PSL Karting Victorious at Gatorz Challenge of the Americas Opener in Tucson |
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 | Fritz Leesmann swept the DD2 competition in Tucson during his debut in the class
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Taking to the Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson, Arizona for the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas season opener this past weekend, Team PSL Karting drivers continued to add to their win and podium tally in 2012. Led by CRG West Danny Kacic, the joint effort saw PSL / CRG drivers Fritz Leesmann complete a sweep in the Rotax DD2 class in his debut in the category, while Rotax Junior rookie Austin Versteeg made a podium appearance on Sunday. Five other PSL branded drivers contributed to a successful weekend as they gain experience moving forward in the 2012 racing season.
Fritz Leesmann led the way for the PSL Karting contingent in Tucson, as he made a clean sweep of the Rotax DD2 category. Taking pole position by more than two-tenths on Saturday, Leesmann backed that up by winning in commanding style during the prefinal and then blasting the competition in the final as he took the win by over nine seconds. Sunday was much the same for the California native, as Leesmann again swept the day's competition. With a tighter qualifying session and a close finish in the prefinal race, the PSL Atlantic pilot went on to earn his second main event victory, this time by a staggering 14 seconds! After his convincing weekend during his DD2 debut, Leesmann sits in excellent shape in the title hunt and Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals transfer position. Also running under the PSL Karting / CRG West banner, fellow DD2 pilot Matt Otisguy had a solid weekend, earning fifth and fourth place finishes on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Rotax Senior pilot Kevin King started out his weekend in Arizona with a ninth place qualifying run on Saturday. Moving up to seventh during the prefinal, the Trois-Rivières, Quebec resident was part of a wild final race. Slotting into fourth at the drop of the green flag, as the leaders were shuffled back, King held onto the lead group during the long 25-lap race. As the front two karts would tangle on the final lap, King managed to cross the stripe in the third position. However, a three-position penalty for contact stripped King of the podium eventually being classified in the sixth position. The PSL Karting pilot improved his qualifying place on Sunday by two positions and then improved two more to finish fifth in the prefinal. Battling with some tough competitors in Gatorz action, King maintained pace with the lead pack, but fell back to eighth to complete his weekend.
2011 Gatorz Challenge of the Americas Mini Max third place points finisher Austin Versteeg had a solid outing during his Gatorz Rotax Junior debut. Placing eighth in qualifying on Saturday in a field of 36 karts, Versteeg moved up to fifth for the prefinal and maintained that position for the main event. Improving his qualifying time on Sunday to sixth, the young PSL Karting talent moved up to fourth in the prefinal race. A battle for third for the majority of the race, with Versteeg right in the thick of it, turned into a battle for the lead as the two front karts went off track as a result of contact. Versteeg then made his move for the win working lap 23, but would have to settle for third after a crisscross maneuver resulted in Versteeg going wide on the third to last corner. CRG West pilots Jordan Redlin and Matthew Moniz both had challenging weekends, with Redlin showing good speed but only able to gather two top-15 finishes, 14th and 12th. Moniz had a weekend to forget after posting two unfortunate DNFs.
 | Austin Versteeg, in his rookie Junior season, made his first podium appearance in Rotax Junior competition
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
CRG West's Marco Kacic started off his Gatorz Micro Max debut with a third place run in Saturday qualifying. An impressive second place finish in the day's prefinal soured any satisfaction, as Kacic was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for a fuel filter infraction. Starting the prefinal in last, Kacic sliced and diced his way to the third place only to suffer another unfortunate penalty, this time for a start line infraction. Not to be deterred, Kacic posted the fastest lap during the morning warm-up on Sunday. Falling to seventh in qualifying and maintaining that during the 14 lap prefinal, Kacic then became a victim in the final as a turn one hit resulted in a bent axle and exhaust. Despite his damaged kart the young driver stayed out in force and brought home a sixth place finish.
"Kevin (King) was fast all weekend, and his driving was amazing!" explained CRG West team principle Danny Kacic. "Marco (Kacic) was fastest in practice and Austin (Versteeg) was very impressive all weekend. I was most impressed with Austin's attitude. He wasn't even upset about the last lap contact and was instead trilled and grateful to just be on the podium - a true showing of a mature driver."
"We are very happy with the CRG performances and our partnership with CRG West, PSL Atlantic and all the other teams and customers on CRG karts!" added PSL President Dominic Labrecque. "Everybody did a super job!"
The combined effort of PSL Karting and CRG West will next see action when the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas resumes February 24-26. Returning to sunny Arizona, this time at the PKRA Circuit in Phoenix, PSL Karting branded drivers will continue to vie for race wins and podiums in their championship pursuits. PSL Karting will next be back on track at the second rounds of the Florida Winter Tour February 10-12 and February 17-19 at Homestead Karting.
Team PSL Karting will be trackside in 2012 at the Florida Winter Tour, Pan American Rotax Max Challenge, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Quebec Cup, Le Monaco de Trois-Rivières, United States Grand Nationals, ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Karting Championships, Pan American Championship and SKUSA SuperNationals. Team PSL Karting is associated with CRG, Maxter Kart Engines, Rotax, Tillett Racing Seats, Sniper, Unipro, Douglas Wheels, Vega, MG Tires, Arai, Bell, ULV, Mir, Freem, Elf Fuels, Alfano, MaxJet Software, D.I.D. Racing Chains, KC and Power Mist.
To learn more about the World's #1 CRG distributor, sales & service, arrive & drive opportunities, PSL racing engines or dealer opportunities, please visit http://www.pslkarting.com or http://www.pslkartingusa.com |
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