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| September 20, 2012 |
| Team News: ART Grand Prix America Makes Debut at Streets of Lancaster GP |
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ART Grand Prix America, karting’s newest premier racing team, made its debut this past weekend at SKUSA’s Lancaster Grand Prix, a high speed street circuit that brought out some of the finest drivers and teams in the western half of the United States. ART Grand Prix has announced that it has signed D Power Racing Engines as the exclusive importer for the ART Grand Prix chassis for the United States, Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador; the formation of ART Grand Prix America marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter. Under the direction of Team Manager Kyle Kuntze, the team went to Lancaster with high hopes of making its presence known. The experienced tuner and racer brought the newly formed operation with drivers Andrew Wiener and David Martinez in the TAG Senior category and Christian Munoz in TAG Junior.
With only two practice sessions, drivers had to adapt to their new chassis and the circuit very quickly. Christian led the way for the team early with a fantastic qualifying performance timing in 5th in the 21 kart field. Working with mechanic Colin McGinnis, the team was able to turn in two consistent heat races to line up 4th for the final and anticipation was high for a podium finish in the team’s first event. The twenty lap final would prove to be a battle over the fast and tricky circuit. Christian came around 5th following the opening lap and would be in a tight battle with a large group of drivers racing for the final step on the podium. A bit of contact would knock the thirteen year old driver back to 11th, before he would turn in some very fast laps over the final part of the race to recover to a 7th place finish. Not the results the team was hoping for, but the speed was there and a great platform for the future has been established.
Andrew Wiener came out very strong in the first practice session turning some of the quickest times in TAG Senior. From that moment on though, the weekend wasn’t as smooth for one of the most successful drivers in the senior category this season. As the pace picked up Andrew struggled to become more comfortable with the circuit due to the close proximity of the walls and the bumpy nature of the track. Qualifying 13th, Andrew was able to turn in finishes of 10th and 11th in his heat races, before a great drive in the final found him in 6th in the official results. Andrew became more comfortable towards the end of the event, but unfortunately the chassis set up had been adjusted to help the driver and wasn’t optimal for speed. David Martinez showed the most progression of any driver this weekend in the TAG Senior category. Progressing each and every session as he became more comfortable with his new ART Grand Prix chassis, we were able to all work as a team to get David up from the rear of the field to a 13th place starting position for the Main Event. His pace was very close to the group of drivers in front of him and a top 10 finish was the goal for the young Mexican driver. Unfortunately, a lap 2 accident dashed these hopes for the team. Having to avoid an accident in front of him, a competitor behind had nowhere to go and launched over David and his kart. Suffering severe damage to the machine, he was forced to retire early. Though a disappointing end result, it was a great weekend of progression for Martinez and the team.
“I am very proud of all of the drivers and mechanics this weekend at the Lancaster Grand Prix” Kyle Kuntze expressed after the event. “We picked about the toughest race to debut a brand new chassis and to bring home a 6th and a 7th in such competitive classes, it’s hard to be disappointed. We really were hoping for a podium, but I am encouraged by the data we were able to gather and the development of our drivers as we begin to prepare for the next couple of months leading up to the SKUSA Supernationals in Las Vegas. I have to say a big thank you to Colin McGinnis, Keith Dees, and Ty Matta for their excellent work this weekend in making out first weekend as a team such a success.”
ART Grand Prix America utilizes the ART Grand Prix chassis and D Power Racing Engines.
For more information regarding race team opportunities or dealer inquiries please contact artgpamerica@gmail.com |
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