2024 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals – Team USA – Friday Report
Main event grids are set in Sarno, Italy following Prefinal races
Jaxon Porter will lead the Team USA Mini MAX squad in the Final on Saturday (Photo: Cody Schindel - CanadianKartingNews.com)
The grids are now set for the eight main events to complete the 2024 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals. Friday was only warm-up and Prefinal races for the 391 drivers from over 60 countries at the Circuito Internazionale di Napoli in Sarno, Italy. With the Prefinals completed, the grids are now set for the eight Finals to decide this year’s Rotax champions.
Leading the way for Team USA is newest member Oliver Hodgson. The 2013 Rotax Grand Finals winner for Great Britain is competing in his first Rotax Grand Finals under the red, white and blue. He’s worked forward in nearly every session after qualifying 20th overall in Senior MAX. He went from seventh to second in his Prefinal, leading a few laps to put himself as a contender once again. Team USA driver Dalton Hanes has brought the attention to him, sitting 72nd after qualifying to sitting 24th in points after the heat races. Contact on the final lap after getting inside the top six in the same Prefinal sent Hanes around, putting him outside the top 20. He gained enough points to make the Final, for what could be another drive from the back.
DD2 Masters driver John Bonanno had his worst session of the event in the Prefinal, however, remains within reach of the leaders and starts inside the top 10. Junior drivers Davin Roberts and Gage Korn each had their own issues in the Prefinal, however, will move on to the Final. Jaxon Porter is the top starter for Team USA in Mini MAX with Cam Becker holding that role in Micro MAX. Unfortunately, three drivers from Team USA did not make their Final – Cooper O’Clair (DD2), William Vetor (Mini MAX) and Wesley Gundler (Junior MAX).
Warm-up for all categories begin at 9:33am GMT+2 / 3:33am EDT before the Finals begin at 11:13am GMT+2 / 5:13am EDT.
E20 Senior/Masters: 5:13am EDT
Micro MAX: 5:58am EDT
Mini MAX: 7:23am EDT
Junior MAX: 7:58am EDT
Senior MAX: 8:33am EDT
DD2 Masters: 9:13am EDT
DD2: 9:53am EDT
(Photo: BRP-Rotax)
Circuito Internazionale di Napoli in Sarno, Italy
Be sure to follow CanadianKartingNews.com to follow the action of Team Canada.
DD2 – Birel ART (72 Drivers)
#404 – Cooper O’Clair
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Qualified: US Trophy West Champion
RMCGF Appearances: 3 – 2021, 2022 (Junior Max), 2023 (Senior Max)
Qualifying (overall): 52nd
Heat Race Group: D
Heat Points: 43rd – 44 points
Prefinal A – Row 11
Warm-up (A): 12th – 1:01.559 +1.636
Prefinal A: 27th +12.651 (PBB) – 1:00.205
Final Points: 49th – 54 points
“I did good enough to make it to the Final but got a penalty that didn’t seem very avoidable. Sucks that it went this way but the DD2 category is one that is far more demanding than one would think. I did what I could, didn’t leave anything out there but it just wasn’t enough. I hope for a DD2 ticket in the coming years to try again but until then DD2 was totally new, way less forgiving experience.”
DD2 Masters – Charles Leclerc (36 Drivers)
#503 – John Bonanno
Hometown: West Deptford, New Jersey
Qualified: US Trophy East (Masters MAX Champion)
RMCGF Appearances: 2 – 2018, 2021
Qualifying: 6th – 1:16.661 +1.714
Heat Points: 5th – 62 points
Warm-up: DNS
Prefinal: 12th +10.281 – 1:01.291
Final Points: 10th – 94 points
“Obviously not the result we were looking for. This track got extremely rubbered up throughout the day and I didn’t make the right call on setup. By mid race, I was battling pretty bad arm pump and just hanging on. Looking to regroup and move forward tomorrow. I’ll be starting 10th in the final.”
#528 – Laurentiu Mardan
Hometown: Arlington Heights, Illinois
Qualified: US Trophy Final Winner
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying: 25th – 1:18.059 +3.112
Heat Points: 23rd – 31 points
Warm-up: 17th – 1:01.785 +1.133
Prefinal: 26th +18.370 (PBB) – 1:00.849
Final Points: 23rd – 42 points
“Our poor qualifying is costing me. I’ve had very good pace, but can’t navigate to the front. We have one more shot tomorrow.”
E20 Senior – Sodi Kart (18 Drivers)
#615 – Patrick Ronveaux-Tordion
Hometown: N/A
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Heat Points: 15th – 47 points
Warm-up: DNS
Prefinal: 12th +14.108 – 1:03.629
Final Points: 13th – 79 points
Junior MAX – Praga (72 Drivers)
#213 – Davin Roberts
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Qualified: US Trophy Final Winner
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying (overall): 4th
Heat Race Group: D
Heat Points: 8th – 98 points
Prefinal B – Row 2
Warm-up (B): 20th – 1:04.198 +1.607
Prefinal B: 12th +5.833 – 1:02.561
Final Points: 14th – 130 points
#216 – Gage Korn
Hometown: Aurora, Colorado
Qualified: US Trophy West Champion
RMCGF Appearances: 3 – 2021, 2022, 2023 (Mini)
Qualifying (overall): 9th
Heat Race Group: A
Heat Points: 29th – 63 points
Prefinal A – Row 8
Warm-up (A): 16th – 1:05.137 +2.363
Prefinal A: 18th +13.282 (PBB) – 1:02.187
Final Points: 31st – 83 points
“I started to go forward to get a decent starting spot for the final, but out of turn 2, I was stuck on the outside three wide and got hit off the track and fell all the way to last in 36th. I knew it wasn’t over with the pace I have and have had all week long, so I climbed my way back up the field to finish 18th. I had a push back bumper, which I knew was a five second penalty, so I thought that would drop me to a position to get knocked out of the final. Fortunately, I made it! I have been one of the fastest drivers here all week, just had bad luck. Tomorrow I am going to try to prove that nothing can hold me down and I look to move forward to the top 10 or even top 5. I have done it before in the USA so I am confident with what I have going into tomorrow.”
Micro MAX – Formula K (36 Drivers)
#3 – Cameron Becker
Hometown: Englewood, Colorado
Qualified: US Trophy Final Winner
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying: 14th – 1:26.540 +2.662
Heat Points: 26th – 27 points
Warm-up: 6th – 1:09.732 +0.280
Prefinal: 14th +7.261 – 1:09.570 (FL)
Final Points: 19th – 55 points
“Wish I had more laps as we were moving forward in each of the seven laps. I’m proud for getting the fastest lap of the race. I hope to keep moving up in the Final! I love this event!”
#6 – Yutaka Sonoda
Hometown: Tri Cities, Washington
Qualified: Canada Final Winner
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying: 22nd – 1:27.512 +3.634
Heat Points: 33rd – 19 points
Warm-up: 16th – 1:10.329 +0.877
Prefinal: 27th +14.958 – 1:11.004
Final Points: 33rd – 29 points
Mini MAX – Birel ART (72 Drivers)
#104 – William Vetor
Hometown: Zionsville, Indiana
Qualified: US Trophy Final Runner-Up
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying (overall): 32nd
Heat Race Group: D (Row 8)
Heat Points: 58th – 29 points
Prefinal B – Row 15
Warm-up (B): 11th – 1:07.307 +0.945
Prefinal B: 25th +17.246 – 1:06.945
Final Points: 61st – 41 points
“Rotax Grand Finals has been an unbelievable experience and I’ll never forget it or the friends I made on Team USA and from other countries. But today was one to forget as I just didn’t have it. Made too many mistakes in an attempt to be aggressive in moving forward and didn’t make the final tomorrow. Huge thank you to my mechanic Dean Keeble as he gave me a top flight kit all week. Good luck to my teammates Jaxon and Enzo tomorrow, I’m rooting for you!”
#107 – Enzo DiGennaro
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
Qualified: US Trophy East Champion
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying (overall): 19th
Heat Race Group: C (Row 5)
Heat Points: 21st – 73 points
Prefinal A – Row 6
Warm-up (A): 6th – 1:07.251 +0.388
Prefinal A: 11th +3.247 – 1:06.338
Final Points: 20th – 107 points
“We had a thought that our lack of performance yesterday was potentially an engine issue. After comparing data, we brought the engine to the Rotax service center overnight where they found an issue. After replacing one of the components, we found ourselves back with lead pack pace. That with some coaching points allowed us to be very competitive in a close Prefinal A. Team USA members have played valuable roles in this event for us and we are so excited to compete in our first Rotax Grand Finals tomorrow afternoon.”
#108 – Jaxon Porter
Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona
Qualified: US Trophy West Champion
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying (overall): 24th
Heat Race Group: D (Row 6)
Heat Points: 22nd – 72 points
Prefinal B – Row 6
Warm-up (B): 22nd – 1:08.497 +2.135
Prefinal B: 8th +10.215 – 1:06.963
Final Points: 17th – 114 points
“I had a good prefinal. I held strong in the start. The top 4 had a good run and I was up to P6 out in front of the second group. I had a battle with them – 3 wide and bumping in some spots held it for a bit but then was pushed a little wide and the two pushed past. I played it smart and kept pushing to make sure we finished and secured my spot in the main. We’re locked in now to the main event. I’m excited to race tomorrow and give it my all.”
Senior MAX – Sodi Kart (72 Drivers)
#305 – Wesley Gundler
Hometown: Holly Springs, North Carolina
Qualified: US Trophy East Champion
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying (overall): 34th
Heat Race Group: B
Heat Points: 39th – 51 points
Prefinal A – Row 10
Warm-up (A): 17th – 1:14.892 +13.696
Prefinal A: 16th +13.747 – 1:01.103
Final Points: 37th – 75 points
“I was fighting my motor today. I’m not sure what was going on but I would get pulled a few kart lengths going down the straight even though I was in the draft. This is really the first time we had this issue, but it cost us making the final.”
#307 – Oliver Hodgson
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Qualified: Canada Open
RMCGF Appearances: 3 – 2012, 2013, 2023
Wins: Senior MAX (2013) (UK)
Qualifying (overall): 20th
Heat Race Group: D
Heat Points: 14th – 90 points
Prefinal B – Row 4
Warm-up (B): 10th – 1:13.521 +11.690
Prefinal B: 2nd +0.023 – 1:01.027
Final Points: 9th – 159 points
“We rocketed forward in the pre-final to be in contention to win. I look forward to doing the same in tomorrow’s final. We are ready for the race that counts tomorrow.”
#313 – Dalton Hanes
Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina
Qualified: US Trophy Final Runner-Up
RMCGF Appearances: 0
Qualifying (overall): 72nd
Heat Race Group: D
Heat Points: 24th – 70 points
Prefinal B – Row 6
Warm-up (B): DNS
Prefinal B: 23rd +12.245 – 1:00.733
Final Points: 32nd – 84 points
Tough day in the Prefinal. I made steady progress from 12th to 6th by the last lap and the Japanese driver behind me got onto my left rear and shoved me off track. Nothing I could do but that’s racing sometimes. All I can say is I’m gonna go out there and do my best in the Final.”
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