Diego Ardiles doubled up in the win column at SKUSA Winter Series and the Florida Winter Tour (Photo: EKN)

In a continued effort to highlight the many outstanding performances by drivers around the country, eKartingNews.com is proud to introduce the ‘Driver of the Month’ program. Each month, the staff at EKN will determine the one driver who stood out above the rest and give the viewers a chance to know exactly what they accomplished and who they are.

The 2024 season is here, and racing is well underway with a month full of events based in the state of Florida – featuring Superkarts! USA, ROK Cup USA and Rotax Max Challenge competition. Many teams and drivers competed over a three week period to begin the new year, with a handful grabbing multiple or meaningful victories. Among them is rising star in the Junior category – Diego Ardiles.

Ardiles won the Sunday main events at SKUSA Winter Series in both KA and X30 (Photo: EKN)

Ardiles ran double duty at the Superkarts! USA Winter Series opener for the 2024 season, held at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex presented by MG Tires. The Costa Rican was among the top contenders in both, setting fast time in X30 qualifying (48.430) and leading all 12 laps of the Prefinal for the win. Ardiles led the first 21 laps of the Final, only to get overtaken in the final corners to miss out on the victory. He also placed third in KA100 to open the weekend.

Ardiles made up for missing out on the X30 victory by clearing the field in qualifying by over two tenths with a 47.975 lap. He once again led all 12 laps of the Prefinal and then handled the shortened wet main event. Aridles was the quickest on rain soaked track, setting a sub 1-minute lap time to drive away by over four seconds for the victory to complete the round sweep. He matched that performance with another rain dominant performance in KA100. Starting fourth in the Final, he took over the lead on lap seven, driving away with fast laps of the race to a four-second victory.

A week later, Ardiles took part in the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour in Homestead, Florida on the same circuit. He ran double duty once again, pulling out two victories for the opening round of the series. Diego qualified first but suffered issues in the opening heat to finish ninth. He responded with two wins in the final two heats to start the Prefinal from the pole position. Ardiles came up short in the Prefinal, finish second to Sebastian Garzon but reclaimed the top spot in the Final, winning by over eight seconds.

The second part of the double duty weekend was competing in the VLR Junior division. Ardiles was in the top-three throughout the weekend. He qualified second and finished top-three in all three heat races to start the Prefinal third. He improved one spot, starting on the outside of the front row for the Final. It was a heated battle for the first two-thirds of the race until Ardiles assumed control of the lead, going on to win by 1.5 seconds to claim a fourth victory in six main events on the month.

In February, Ardiles completed the sweep at the SKUSA Winter Series, winning both X30 Junior main events to secure the class championship. He finished runner-up in each of the KA100 Junior Finals to lock up the second spot in the final class standings. Diego backed it up with another FWT victory in ROK GP Junior this past weekend, and runner-up in VLR Junior – currently leading both series championships with the finale set for mid-March in Orlando.

Next on the docket for Ardiles is the start of the 2024 Superkarts! Pro Tour with the SKUSA WinterNationals at the Orlando Kart Center.

January 2024 EKN Driver of the Month – Diego Ardiles

(Photo: ROK Cup USA)

Bio

Born: United States
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Parents: Andres and Conny
Siblings: Andres
Height/Weight: 5’5” / NA
Education: 9th Grade
Job: N/A

Racing Resume

Chassis: Kosmic
Engine/Engine Builder: AVP/BBS/AM Engines
Sponsors: Rolison Performance Group
Series You Compete In: Superkarts! USA / ROK Cup USA
Years Karting: 4
How did you get started in karting? I started doing rentals for fun.
What has been the high point in your racing career? January 2024
What are your goals in racing? To win a National Championship or a SKUSA SuperNationals
In a few words, how would you describe your driving style? Clean but aggressive.
Funniest moment at the race track? Moments with my friends

Likes

Favorite Track: Trackhouse Motorplex – Mooresville, NC
Favorite form of professional motorsports: Formula 1
Favorite karting driver: Danny Formal
Favorite professional driver: Max Verstappen
Favorite website: eKartingNews
Favorite movie: La Sociedad de la Nieve
Favorite actor/actress: Sebastian Martinez
Favorite music/group: House Music
Favorite vacation/activity spot: Going to the beach
Favorite food: Sushi

The Real Deal

What do you do when not at the track? Study and going to the beach
What are your goals outside of karting? To be successful in life.
What app or game do you play right now? None
What type of street car would you like to drive? A Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
What are your pet peeves or things that irritate you? N/A
What do you think could be done to improve the sport of karting? Being stricter with the sportsmanship.
What are your favorite aspects about the sport of karting? The respect between drivers

January 2024 Driver of the Month – Honorable Mention:

– Zayne Burgess: SKUSA Winter Series – 2 Wins (Micro Swift)

– Alessandro de Tullio: SKUSA Winter Series – 1 Win (KA100 Senior) / Florida Winter Tour – 1 Win (VLR Senior)

– Danny Formal: SKUSA Winter Series – 2 Wins (Pro Shifter)

– Harley Keeble: Florida Winter Tour – 1 Win (ROK Senior)

– Matheus Morgatto: Florida Winter Tour – 1 Win (ROK Shifter)

– Diego Ramos: Rotax Winter Trophy – 1 Win (Senior MAX)

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