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| March 11, 2012 News |
| Event News: Florida Winter Tour - Ocala - Formula Kart Weekend - Saturday Report |
| Article by: Ken Johnson and Bill Wright |
 | Danny Formal celebrates his win in Saturday's TaG Senior Final
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Formula Kart Production’s Florida Winter Tour presented by SPORTALITY rolled into Ocala, Florida this week for the final two weekends of its 2012 season. On track are the Formula Kart classes for TaG and shifter karts. On Saturday, the fifth of six rounds of Formula Kart competition took place and those watching were treated to another full day of intense racing action.
The day started off cool and cloudy with a very refreshing breeze. As such, one of the most popular items from the apparel booth was the black Florida Winter Tour fleece pullover that was just perfect for a day like this. Never cold, but never really warm either, the competitors had very consistent conditions to work in that allowed them to maximize their setups. After a brief morning warm-up session for each group, the karts lined up for their qualifying sessions to be followed by the Pre-Final races and ultimately the Finals.
Danny Formal turned his pole position in TaG Senior into Pre-Final and Finals wins. It was a perfect day for the Costa Rican who boosted his country’s points in the Nation’s Cup Championship as well as helped move Intrepid up in the Manufacturer’s Cup Championship. Danny is also very focused on winning the Skip Barber Racing Award. Another day like today, and good runs at next weekend’s Rotax MAX Challenge event, may see him achieving that goal.
For any driver like Danny who has high aspirations in motorsports, the Skip Barber award is a fantastic opportunity. The grand prize consists of a Three Day Racing School, a Two Day Advanced Racing School and a Full Season (eight races) in a Skip Barber Summer or Winter series. To win this award a driver must do well in both the Formula Kart and the FWT Rotax MAX Challenge events, with the prizes going to the drivers with the most accumulated points.
 | Jim Russell Jr. held off a determined Carlo Rinaldi to win Saturday's TaG Masters Final
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
TaG Masters turned into a grand battle between the reigning FWT TaG Master’s champion, Jim Russell jr. (USA), and the reigning FWT Rotax MAX Masters champion, Carlo Rinaldi (Venezuela). Although qualifying and the Pre-Final went to Russell, Rinaldi was quickly on his tail in the Final and pushed hard until the end.
At about the two-thirds mark Russell started to pull slowly away. Not by much, probably about the length of a sub sandwich every lap. By the time the checkers waved he had a lead equal to a few six-foot subs, which coincidentally is about what it would take to feed the large group of drivers and tuners that travel with him to the FWT.
At first glance, it may not appear that Jim jr. and Carlo have a whole lot in common other than racing. But, they both share the same passion for karting and a commitment to winning. They also have families that have been involved in karting back to their grandfathers. We got to know each driver a little better today while doing our driver spotlight interviews. These interviews will be part of tomorrow’s full weekend report so be sure to look for them.
If you weren’t here in person to watch the TaG Junior Final, make sure to catch it in the FWT LIVE! video archives at http://www.FloridaWinterTour.com. Even our best superlatives fail to do justice to the TaG Junior battle that featured, Ashley Rogero (USA), Juan Manuel Correa (Ecuador), Kyle Kirkwood (USA) and Sam Cate (USA). Qualifying went to Kirkwood with Rogero asserting her authority in the Pre-Final. But the Final was a four-way affair that had spectators riveted from green to checkers.
With a few laps to go, it looked like Kyle Kirkwood’s perfect winning streak in TaG Junior would be over. But, Juan and Ashley raced each other hard enough to slow them both down just a tad and that was all Kyle needed to be back in the fight. After getting into second, Kyle was all over Ashley on the last lap. Going into the final turn, a 180 degree sweeper, Ashley covered the low line and Kyle was able to use a better exit from the corner to pull alongside on the run to the finish. At the checkers, the win was Kyle’s by a nose, officially 0.030.
 | "Beat her by THAT much" says Kyle Kirkwood as he narrowly takes victory over Ashley Rogero in a hard-fought TaG Junior Final on Saturday
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
Not only did the win keep Kyle’s TaG Jr winning streak alive, it helped him in his quest to win the Skip Barber Award. It’s interesting to note that of the three drivers in the best position to win this award, Danny Formal, Kyle Kirkwood and Ashley Rogero, each won at least one race today. As such, we’re no closer to determining a winner. The one thing we can say for sure is that whoever wins will have earned it among some very stiff competition.
The TaG Cadet field is the largest of the FWT Formula Kart weekend. There are multiple reasons for this. One is the generous support the class receives from its sponsor, DeFrancesco Racing. Another reason is because the TaG Cadet class, as well as the Micro and Mini MAX classes during the MAX challenge weekends, have become world famous for their depth of competition and the high level of skill the young drivers learn while competing in FWT events.
In qualifying it was Darren Keane (USA) first and Anthony Gangi (USA) second. The two swapped positions in the Pre-Final with Gangi first and Keane second. Going into the Final, Gangi used his starting position to take the lead with Keane and last year’s FWT Micro MAX champion, Rasmus Lindh (Sweden) in third. By halfway Lindh had worked himself into second. Although the battle for the lead stayed close to the end, nobody was going to get past Anthony Gangi jr. on this day and the former FWT and U.S. Micro Max Champion took a well-deserved first FWT win of 2012.
For a while it looked like it would be Collin Daly’s day in Open Shifter. The quick driver from Jamaica put his KZ-powered kart on pole and won the Pre-Final in convincing fashion. However, when the Final came, it was last year’s Open Shifter champion Zachary Meyer (Canada) who grabbed the lead when Collin gave ground at the start. After falling back, Collin fought mightily to get back to Meyer’s bumper. But, with two laps to go the Jamaican’s engine seized sending him into a dramatic pirouette entering the finishing straight, leaving Zachary to win uncontested. It was an unfortunate end to a great run by Daly, but thankfully Florida Winter Tour event weekends consist of two days of racing and he’s got another shot at glory tomorrow.
 | Anthony Gangi breaks through for the TaG Cadet win on Saturday
(Photo: Ken Johnson - studio52.us) |
In the Masters shifter class, Kurt Mathewson returned to the series for his first race of 2012. Kurt set fast time in qualifying and won the Pre-Final. In the Final, however, it was Bernard Muminovic, also making his first 2012 FWT appearance, who took home the win by three seconds over Kurt. With his win, Muminovic scored the winners share of the points for CRG in the Manufacturer’s Cup Championship. Interestingly, of all the classes run today, six in total, there were six different chassis represented on the top step of the podium.
Last year Kurt Mathewson was one of the fortunate drivers that got to represent the FWT in the Granja 500 that takes place in Brazil. This year, MG Tires has returned to offer a chance for one driver to again take part in the event as a driver with one of the teams. With tomorrow being the last day for the Formula Kart Racing program it won’t be long before we know who that driver is and they can plan for a trip of a lifetime.
It seems like just last weekend we were opening the Florida Winter Tour in Palm Beach. And already, we’re a day away from determining the driver championships in the Formula Kart Racing program. It’s been an amazing year so far, but it’s not over yet. Tomorrow promises to be just as entertaining as today. If you’re anywhere near Ocala, you’ve got to get here for the FWT Formula Kart Racing Championship Sunday.
For those that can’t make it, log on to FWT LIVE! at FloridaWinterTour.com to watch live streaming hi-definition video of the action along with live timing. Also, be sure to send an email to live@floridawintertour.com sharing well wishes to your favorite drivers as they give it their all for a win at the Florida Winter Tour. |
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