With their focus on driver development and winning, another young and promising competitor has made the switch to Team Koene USA for the Florida Winter Tour (FWT). Georgia’s Ryan Rackley has inked a deal with the Indiana based Team Koene USA and will compete in the Vortex Mini ROK class at the upcoming 2015 Florida Winter Tour. Also, returning to Team Koene USA for his third consecutive season will be Canadian driver Roman DeAngelis, as he will see action in both ROK Junior and Rotax Junior and Elliot Finlayson who will contest in Rotax Senior at the upcoming winter series.

Joining the squad at the Homestead Karting facility for the first event of the season, Rackley will make the move from the Vortex Micro ROK class to the talent filled Mini ROK ranks.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to join a solid program such as Koene USA,” explained Darren Rackley, Father of the young up and coming driver. “We have always been a single kart effort and feel that the switch to a team based environment will increase not only Ryan’s learning, but his experience in a team setting as well.”

2014 saw Ryan compete in several southern karting series including select events in the North Florida Rotax MAX Challenge program, ROK Cup USA Series and the special ROK and Roll events in both Homestead and Ocala. Always a threat for race wins and podium results, Rackley secured the Vice Championship in the ROK Cup USA Vortex Micro ROK championship, just behind Team Koene USA driver Ugo Ugochukwu.

Rackley will be part of a three-kart effort in the Vortex Mini ROK class at the ROK Cup USA portion of the Florida Winter Tour joining Nicholas d’Orlando and Ugochukwu.

As DeAngelis continues to grow, 2015 is set to be a breakout season for the young Canadian driver, as he will once again join forces with tuner Tony Loniewski and Team Koene USA. Behind the wheel of a Tony Kart in the Vortex ROK Junior and Rotax Junior class with power by Koene Engines, DeAngelis will be a threat at the front of both stout fields.

“My expectations are high for the 2015 season,” explained Roman. “I learned a lot in 2014 with the help of everyone around me and I am looking to put that to good use in 2015.”

DeAngelis, who was recently named the Canadian Karting News Briggs and Stratton Junior Driver of the Year was the Briggs Junior LO206 ASN Canada Canadian National Champion and Eastern Canadian Karting Championship final round Rotax Junior race winner in 2014, will be joined by junior rookie and 2014 Florida Winter Tour TaG Cadet champion Michael d’Orlando who makes the move from the Mini ROK and Mini Max ranks into the ROK and Rotax Junior fields.

Elliot Finlayson will also return to the Koene USA program at the Florida Winter Tour in the Rotax Senior field as he searches for that elusive ticket to the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals. Associating himself with Team Koene USA following the 2014 Florida Winter Tour, Finlayson achieved success at the United States Pro Kart Series and Route 66 Series programs aboard his Koene USA Tony Kart and was a consistent front runner at the 2014 Cold Stone Rotax Pan American Challenge.

“We have a very talented, good group of drivers for the upcoming season,” explained Koene USA Team Manager Mike Maurini. “Couple those driver’s talents with the experience, knowledge and skills of the personnel under the team tent, success is the only option. We have set our goals high in 2015 and will be working hard to achieve them. We can’t wait to get started.”

For more information on Koene USA and their online store, please visit www.KoeneUSA.com or contact company representatives at 317.270.8723 or via e-mail to Info@KoeneUSA.com. Team Koene USA is also very active in social media and can be found on Twitter at @KoeneUSA or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/KoeneUSA.

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