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| September 25, 2005 News |
| EKN Trackside: Rotax Max Grand National - Michiana Raceway Park – South Bend |
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 | | After an early scrap with Stuart Marsell, Wesley Phillips drove away to the Rotax International win (Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The last day of competition at the 2005 Rotax Max Grand Nationals wrapped up in South Bend with a full day of wet weather racing on the challenging circuit. Rain began falling just as the last of the opening ceremonies were concluding and that led all finals for the Rotax National Championships being run on wet tires.
The day began with a driver parade and opening ceremony where all participants were honored for their attendance. Then a few select celebrities took to the track for a little racing action and they got an introduction to rental karts on slicks in the rain. Everyone coming off the track said they had fun. The ceremonies ended when four skydivers dropped onto the property. The jumps were nearly scrubbed due to the low cloud ceiling, but they decided to go ahead. Once all that was done it was time to get down to business and run some race.
Rotax International
The headline event of the day was the Rotax International race where two births to the World Finals were on line. The race would also mark the changing of the guard, as this would be the first time a driver other than Jordon Musser would carry the US #1 plate to the world finals.
Off the line, Wes Phillips (CRG) took the lead as the field fought for grip in the wet conditions. Slotting into second was Stuart Marsell (Arrow) who got a good jump through the first few turns. Costa Rica’s Juan Sanso (CRG) was third with Mike Hill (CRG). The leaders built a gap on the main pack but from positions nine though 18 it was nose to tail racing.
With plenty of bumping going on, there were no major shunts. Through the early laps, Marsell put pressure on Phillips making several feints for the lead. His best chance came on lap seven when he got fully alongside Phillips on turn seven but was unable to make the pass. From that point, Phillips began pulling away.
As the rain began to fall harder, the drivers opened gaps and there were very fewon-track battles left. One driver making a solid run was Jonathan Beason (CRG) as he quickly moved from his 12th place starting position to sixth then into fourth.
 | | Justin Melton took his second RM1 crown after a good dual with Jonathan Beason (Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
In the closing laps, Phillips slowed but he said that he was being cautious not wanting to throw away the win pushing too hard that late in the race. With hands in the air, Phillips became the National Champion with Marsell crossing second. Sanso was alone in third and Beason fourth. Rounding out the top five was Hill.
RM1
Defending RM1 National Champion Justin Melton was the easy winner in today’s Final. On a wet track, Melton slotted into second behind Jonathan Beason for the early portions of the race. Melton stayed patient and on lap 14, pulled the trigger in the first turn and took the lead. From there he pulled away from Beason. The race between the two former Rotax Junior National Champions was over once Melton took the point. Well back in third was Maurcio Carrillo who will head to Malaysia representing his native Mexico. Rounding out the top five were Nathan Mauel in fourth and Richard Wilson. Gaining trios to the World Finals with Team USA from the class were Melton, Beason and Mauel.
Rotax Masters
Heading into the weekend, the odds-on favorite was defending National Champion Andy Seesemann Birel), but a late Prefinal spin left him starting in 19th position in the Final. Off the line, the field stormed into the first corner with Kyle Eggleton (Monza) taking the lead with Odenthal (CRG) in second. Making the big move was Seesemann who went to eighth by the end of the first lap.
 | | Using a late race pass, David Odenthal becomes the new Rotax Masters National Champion (Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Leading was Eggleton with Odenthal behind and Wagner Meyer (CRG) in third. Those drivers held that order for much of the race with Odenthal cutting into Eggleton’s advantage. On lap 19, all the action happened. Coming up on a lapper, Odenthal got a run on the leader and used the slower car as a pick to take the lead. It was the most glaring example of the problems posed on this wet day by lapped drivers who did not heed the removal flags. Eggleton fought back and the lead swapped several times. Coming onto the straight in the lead, Eggleton tried to defend his position but Odenthal was faster and he took the lead and the win. An unhappy Eggleton was second with Meyer third. Rounding out the top five were Tim Hannen (Birel) and Seesemann.
Rotax Junior
With light rain falling and a wet track, the Rotax Junior rolled out of the grid and onto the race surface. A fast pace on the formation laps by polesitter James Kennedy (Birel) left the field strung out before he slowed the pace for get the field in order to take the green. Onto the straight, the field was good for the first five rows and messy behind, despite that, the green was thrown and the race was underway. The green flag caught more than some of the drivers by surprise as a few people were complaining about the poor formation at the drop of the green.
The track was slippery but the drivers were handling the conditions well with only a few spins. One drivers getting into trouble was Brett Smrz (Intrepid) who was moving up from his last place starting position when contact in turn eight ended his day before completing a full lap.
 | | A runaway win will send James Kennedy to Malaysia (Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Up front, Kennedy’s fast pace continued as he began building a gap over David Holland (Birel) and Estaban Gutierrez (CRG). Kennedy was rolling off fast laps and before the halfway point had a six second lead. Holland and Gutierrez were locked in a battle with the CRG driver trying to find a way into second. Also near the half, Gerard Gonzales (KRT) was out of the race having slid off the track on the final corner.
Knowing he had the speed when he needed it, Kennedy went into cruise more and while Holland was cutting into the lead, there were not enough laps to make a move for the lead. With hands raised, Kennedy took the win and with it a ticket to Malaysia for the World Finals. It was a solid win for the driver who run with his father as his tuner with no big team support. Holland and Gutierrez joined him on the podium. Running fourth was MacKenzie Johnson (Margay) who had to come from ninth at the start. Rounding out the top five was Sam Lee (Birel).
MiniMax
A 20-lap wet Final was what settled the MiniMax race as Daniel Formal (Birel) was to have had the showdown with Nick Neri (Fittipaldi). That never materialized though as Neri had a spin-plagued race that ended early after he looped his it a second time in the final turn.
Formal took the early lead and drove away from the field. Moving through the field was Jarvis Gennari (Fittipaldi) who started sixth and moved to second. Gennari was closing on the leader in the concluding laps and taking the white had cut the lead to less than one second. He looked like he may have been able to make a move but a lapped car got in the way. Formal forced himself by and left the jam car in between. Formal captured the win with Gennari in second. Driving a strong third was Alex Karabautotis (PCR) while Jessup Studer (CRG) and Roberto Rumbaut (CRG) rounded out the top five.
With the Rotax program concluded, it will be up to the qualified drivers to begin preparing for the World Finals. Over the past few years, Team USA has seen improved results and everyone involved his hopeful that this is the year that we seen an American at least on the podium. |
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