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| March 23, 2012 News |
| Series Finale for Gatorz Challenge of the Americas Next Weekend in Fontana |
| Article by: gatorzkarting.com |
The Gatorz Challenge of the Americas program will complete its 2012 season on March 30-April 1 with over 100 drivers from across North America converging on the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California. After two weekends in January and February competing in Arizona, the international Rotax Max Challenge series will hold its final two rounds of the six-race championship on the challenging circuit outside the Auto Club Speedway. For the Senior, DD2 and Junior categories, the championship chase offers more than just a resume building experience, but direct tickets to compete against the world’s best ‘Rotaxians’ at the Rotax Grand Finals schedule for late November in Portimão, Portugal.
The CalSpeed Karting circuit is a unique karting complex that hosts events 12 months out of the year. The 3/4-mile circuit - situated in the parking lot of the Auto Club Speedway that host NASCAR, IndyCar Series, and many other forms of professional motorsports - has hosted the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas for the past four seasons. The ‘Grande’ layout in the counter-clockwise direction will be the layout for the Gatorz COTA event, with 15 turns and two sizable straight-aways, holding the reputation as a true ‘driver’s track’ that will challenge each pilot throughout the weekend.
Not only with the drivers be battling the track, but those in the chase for the seven championships will make their final bids for Gatorz Challenge of the Americas glory. In the three headline categories, a trip to the Grand Finals is on the line in addition to the Gatorz COTA accolades while the remaining division champions will earn a qualifying spot to the United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand National in August or the Pan American Challenge event in September for properly qualified drivers.
 | Kiel Spaulding holds a slim margin in the Senior Max standings heading into Fontana
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The Buddy Rice Karting Senior Max division is up in the air after the first four rounds in the books. Heading to Fontana, Tucson winner Kiel Spaulding holds the advantage in the standings. Just 17 points back is Virginia driver Nick Rivellini with four straight top-five finishes. Former Junior Max series champion Louie Pagano enters the finale in third with Phoenix double podium finisher Phil DeLaO in fourth. Each of the top four drivers in the championship standings has two podium finishes to their credit. Rounding out the top-five, just 89 points out is Mason Marotta. With a maximum of 120 points up for grabs in each round, the title and ticket can be anyone’s. The fight for victories in Fontana will be even more challenging as they were last month when Australian David Sera made a visit. Former US Rotax Grand Nationals champion Phillip Arscott is schedule to make his first 2012 start of the season. A top contender at the last five Grand Nationals, there is no doubt Arscott will battle for the win next weekend in Fontana.
Things seem like they are settled in the Overdrive Motorsports DD2 category, but anything can happen in racing. NorCal driver Fritz Leesmann is four-for-four in the feature races heading into Fontana to hold the point lead, although as we saw in Phoenix, he hasn’t been perfect. Canadians Daniel Burkett and Austin King are on his heels to add the pressure for the title and Grand Finals bid while John Wallace III sits just behind them in their battle for second.
Certainly one of the most dramatic classes of the season has been the Rolison Performance Group Junior Max group. Both weekends witnessed some exciting finishes and heart-breaking defeats. For Luke Selliken, the Phoenix event was his breakout moment, cashing in on two feature wins to assume the point lead heading into the series finale. Canadian Zacharie Scalzo has been in the hunt each round, finishing second twice, third and fourth. Just 16 back of Selliken, victory will be on the mind of Scalzo in hopes of moving to the top of the championship standings for Sunday afternoon. Junior rookie Austin Versteeg has been impressive both weekends and enters Fontana on three straight podium visits. A win at the finale would be another big step for the young driver and could position himself as the series champion, just 42 points out of first. Blaine Rocha was a first time winner in Tucson and current sits fourth in the title chase with Phoenix podium finisher Jim McKinney back in fifth. 2011 series champion Parker Thompson enters the final two rounds sixth after two DNFs in Phoenix, needing a weekend sweep and some help in order to defend his crown.
 | Four victories in four rounds has Fritz Leesmann in the driver’s seat for the DD2 championship
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
SoCal’s John Crow kept his perfect streak going in the BRK Engines DD2 Masters division through the Phoenix round. A mistake-free weekend in Fontana will secure the championship, otherwise Canadian Mark Wheeler will have a chance at stealing the title from his grasp. Their fight for the championship will see a guest looking to take away victories as the 2010 DD2 Masters Grand Finals champion Scott Campbell has committed to challenge the field in Fontana, bringing world class competition once again to the Challenge of the Americas. The Billet Performance Karting Masters Max category has four players in the championship fight. Defending Rotax Grand Nationals champion Brent Harper saw his championship lead lose just a few points despite a number of issues through the Phoenix weekend. Despite being one of the fastest drivers last month, Paul Bonilla had his own issues and gained just five points to sit 13 markers back of Harper. The two now have defending series champ Scott Falcone on their tails, 37 points out of first, and the consistent Ken Maxfield in fourth still in the hunt as well.
The title chase closed up in the BBR Karting Mini Max division. Christian Brooks still holds the top spot thanks to his weekend sweep in Tucson, however, the rest of the field caught up after the event in Phoenix. Sting Ray Robb now stands 17 points thanks to his victory in round three. Royal McKee has stood on the podium three of the four feature races, sitting third with double Phoenix podium finisher Horatio Fitz-Simon and round four winner Nicky Hays capping off the top-five in the chase. Thanks to his two wins in Phoenix, Jacob Blue Hudson now holds the lead in the Apollo Motorsports Micro Max standings. Former number one Sophia Price now trails by 31 points with Derek DesLauriers in third. Marco Kacic and Griffin Dowler round out the top-five heading into the final weekend.
 | Two wins in Phoenix have Luke Selliken on top in the Junior Max point chase with Zacharie Scalzo chasing
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
For those unable to attend the event, Gatorz Challenge of the Americas has worked with eKartingNews.com on the year, as they provide their ‘Trackside Live’ program that includes live audio and live scoring. From their http://www.ekartingnews.com/live page, karting fans and family members can listen in to the action called by the site’s publisher Rob Howden while viewing the live timing provided by Race-Monitor.com. The EKN Trackside Live program is supported on the CalSpeed weekend by Gatorz COTA, Full Throttle Karting, Rolison Performance Group, KartSport North America, Courtney Concepts, and Whisler Racing Services. Email rhowden@howdenmediagroup.com to find out how you can add your company to this list for the March 30-April 1 weekend broadcast.
For more information on the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas series finale at the CalSpeed Karting facility or more on the program itself, be sure to click over to http://www.gatorzkarting.com |
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