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| August 16, 2007 News |
| EKN Trackside: Champ Car Rotax Kart Challenge Grand Nationals - Thursday Report |
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 | Local driver Kyle Ray took a dominate DD2 heat 1 victory
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
While rain interrupted the proceedings during the afternoon practice sessions of the U.S. Grand Nationals on Wednesday, the weather stepped up to cooperate with the Rotax Max Challenge officials today as the first official runs were made under sunny skies. The qualifying sessions kicked things off this morning and were then followed by the first round of heat races, giving the paddock the opportunity to see which drivers had the stuff to challenge for the national championships and the positions on America’s Team for this fall Rotax Grand Finals in Al Ain, Dubai.
DD2
Local favorite Kyle Ray (Arrow) was quickest in DD2 Qualifying with a 53.050 lap. Curtis Cooksey (CRG) was charging toward the end of the 15 minute session but came up just 0.111-seconds short. Peter Bortolussi (CRG) was third with Brandon Marsell (Arrow) and Arie Ouimet (CRG).
Heat 1 was decided in the early laps as Ray got the jump at the drop of the green and cruised to the victory. Cooksey slotted into second with Ouimet jumping to third ahead of Marsell and Jordon Musser (Birel). Musser worked by Marsell on the second lap and that’s how they finished.
 | Phillip Arscott took his pole position to the Senior A vs. B heat win
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Senior
The biggest class of week, Senior Max, was the final division to hit the track for Qualifying. Nicholas Boulle (Gillard) was fastest after the first group and held the top spot following the second groups 15 minute run. The third group hit the track and Phillip Arscott (Swiss Hutless) took the pole position early with Joey Collins (CRG) second quickest. James Kennedy (Sodi Kart) came up for third with Boulle dropping to fourth overall. Victor Pedrosa (Kart Mini) rounded out the fast five.
Arscott took the green flag for Heat A vs. B and never looked back on his way to the checkered flag. Pedrosa ran second the entire ten laps but was never close enough to make a move. Cody Tracy (First Kart) ran a comfortable third as Kyle Demeter (Arrow) won the battle for fourth over Thiago Parazinho (Kart Mini).
The second heat race ended the day with some excitement. Getting the green flag, Wes Phillips (Birel) climbed the back of the front row, mixing everyone up going through the opening corner. Boulle, Phillips, and others went off course. The next lap, Greg Welch (Shockwave) and others went off in turn one, bringing out a red flag. Welch was checked out and walked away from the accident. Officials called for a complete restart following the wreck.
On the second green flag, the class got through turn one clean with Kennedy grabbing the lead. He would hold the spot ahead of Arie Ouimet (CRG), who’s doing double duty. In the closing laps, a lapper allowed Ouimet to close the gap but both drivers ran smart and clean to get by and run to the checkered flag 1-2. Cory Pollock (Birel) was third with Phillips finishing fourth and Brandon Jones (Arrow) rounding out the top five. Boulle got shuffled back and finished 14th.
 | James Kennedy won the other Senior heat
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Masters
The Masters division Qualifying followed the lunch break with a shocker at the top of the charts as Alabama’s Keith Karr (Birel) recorded the fastest lap with a 56.593 in the second group. No one from the third group could knock him off the top spot as Alex Raine (CRG) came nearly close. Mike Jones (Birel) was third with Maverick Bartlett (Arrow) and Jerry Shawn Tatum (Arrow) rounded out the fast five.
Karr continued a great day, leading all 10 laps of the A vs. B heat race. Karr pulled out to a small lead until Brad Smith (CRG), Raine, and Erik Jackson (Arrow) - who recorded the fast lap of the race - closed in the final stages of the race. Mike Price (First Kart) completed the top five.
The second Masters heat produced some drama behind winner Bartlett. After getting the green, Bartlett took control of the top spot with Jones and Andy Seesemann (Birel) running behind. Two laps in, Jones and Seesemann got together heading into turn six, ending Jones race and dropping Seesemann back to 20th. This allowed Bartlett to pull to a huge lead, taking the checkered flag by nine seconds. Paul Bonilla (Birel) finished second with Ian Thomas (Tony Kart), DJ Ortiz (Margay), and Roman Gutierrez (GP) rounding out the top five. Seesemann put his head down to climb back up to 10th.
 | Jose Zanella showed his strength by taking the Junior A vs. B win after being penalized in qualifying
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Junior
The Junior division was the first class to take Qualifying as the opening group saw Jesse Toby (Tony Kart) lead the way in the first session. Toby had trouble in the final practice rounds on Wednesday, coming up light at the scales, relegating him to the A Group for qualifying. He stepped up and put in a solid lap (55.678), one that would keep him in the hunt. Group B hit the track and by the end of the run, Toby still held the provisional pole position. When the Group C drivers hit the track, the times quickly fell. Jose Zanella (FA Kart) broke the 55-second mark early and was able to hold the pole to the checkered flag. Unfortunately, he was penalized directly following the session for working on his kart on the track surface, removing his two fastest laps. This decision moved Jarvis Gennari (Tony Kart) to the top spot with Taylor Miinch (Birel) jumping up to second quick. Cody Robinson (Arrow) was third with Justin Coplen (CRG) and Danny Buecker (CRG) rounding out the fast five. Zanella dropped to sixth overall while Toby fell to 13th.
In the opening heat race, Zanella decided to lay his mark early by jumping from row two to first in the opening lap. From there, he pulled out to a good size lead to lead all 10 laps. Behind him, three drivers battle for second with Matthew Mair (Tony Kart) moving up to take the spot ahead of Buecker and Miinch. Pole sitter Gennari fell back early and settled in for fith.
After two failed attempts, the C vs. D got underway with Robinson and Coplen stretching out a lead on the rest of the field. The two ran nose to tail until Robinson made a mistake and Coplen capitalized on it, making a pass for the lead into turn six with four laps to go. Coplen held on for the win with Jordan Jadallah (CRG) - who has Gary Carlton turning the wrenches for him, finished third with Cameron Jocelyn (Birel) and Carlos Castro (PCR) rounding out the top five.
 | Jordan Perry was given the win in Mini Max A vs. B after provisional winner Dore Chaponick was penalized
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Mini Max
Dore Chaponick (Birel) was the quickest driver of the three Mini Max groups in Qualifying with a 57.794 lap. Taylor McKeever (Tony Kart) was second fastest with Jake French (Margay) third. Jesus Rios Jr. (CRG) and Jordan Perry (Tony Kart) rounded out the fast five.
Chaponick ran the full 10 laps in front for Heat A vs. B to take the win. Unfortunately, he was penalized for jumping the start to give Perry the win as he held off McKeever. KJ Mckinster (CRG) was third with Dakota Dickerson (Birel) and AJ Myers (Wild Kart) rounding out the top five. Chaponick was placed sixth after his penalty was assessed.
The second heat saw French score the victory by over two seconds over Rios. RC Enerson (Tony Kart) was third with Thomas Waddingham (Shockwave) and Brennan Harrington (Birel) crossing the line fourth and fifth.
Racing begins Friday at 8:45am with the second round of heats and the third round starting at 12:30pm. Follow the live updates in the and check in to the live broadcast on http://www.RaceFanRadio.com with EKN’s Rob Howden and David Cole, beginning around 12pm noon. |
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