The 2024 racing season is here, and with it is a loaded schedule of events in the state of Florida. Among them is the rare back-to-back weekends for the 2024 Rotax Winter Trophy. The Orlando Kart Center will host Rotaxians from around the world on January 26-28 and February 2-4 for a four-round championship series. Two rounds each weekend at the Orlando, Florida facility will decide the champions of the Rotax Winter Trophy, with six tickets to the 2024 Rotax Grand Finals to be awarded.

The 2024 Rotax Winter Trophy will be held at Orlando Kart Center in back-to-back weekends (Photo: RTX Karting Group)

The January weekend will be held at the Orlando Kart Center circuit, running in the clockwise direction. The February weekend is set to be held in the counterclockwise direction. Each weekend features official practice sessions on Friday with qualifying for both Saturday and Sunday rounds held at end of the day. Saturday will be warm-up, two heats and a Final while Sunday is a repeat of that format.

Year by year, the Rotax Winter Trophy has seen an increase in participation and the 2024 edition is setting program records. Pre-entry total is nearing the 150-mark over the seven categories offered, representing 13 different countries. The Senior Max category is already at 40 drivers with the Junior Max and Mini Max above the 20-driver mark. 2023 series champion in Senior Max Eduardo Barrichello returns to defend his crown, taking on the likes of Diego Ramos and Canadian Ayden Ingratta.

Two drivers were able to turn their Rotax Winter Trophy ticket to a top-10 finish at the 2023 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Bahrain. Julian Rivera (ECU) placed fourth in the Micro Max main event with Gianluca Savaglio (CAN) finishing eighth in DD2. Junior Max champion Francisco Paredes (ECU) and DD2 Masters title winner Ruben Barrichello (BRA) also competed at the ‘Olympics of Karting’ thanks to their success at the Rotax Winter Trophy.

One of the reasons for the increase in participation is the increased number of teams traveling to compete at the 2024 Rotax Trophy Final. All have Arrive and Drive options for drivers still interested in participating in the two weekend, four round championship.

With the growth in numbers, RTX Karting and event promoter Grid 14 Motorsports has secured the services of international stewards Manuel Branco and Gonzalo Duarte. Branco will serve as the Race Director at the 2024 Rotax Winter Trophy. He was a driver from 2001 to 2011 before switching to the officiating role where he has more than 10 years’ worth of experience. In 2023 alone, Branco was the Race Director at the RMC International Trophy, the international South American Finals, Sodi World and Continental Finals, the 30 Hours of Spain, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (Karting), RMC France, and several FFSA programs. Duarte has been the official Rotax scrutineer since 2017 with a long resume including Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals since 2017, as well as the Rotax MAX Challenge International Trophy in 2020, 2021, and 2022, the 2022 RMC Asia Festival, the IRMC South America in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and the 2023 Saudi Arabia Games.

Registration is available up until the week of the Rotax Winter Trophy opening weekend. Visit rotax-ems.com/usa to secure your spot in the 2024 championship and a chance to earn a ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals.

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