(Photo: Cody Schindel - CKN)

The journey to the 2025 Rotax Grand Finals in Bahrain is underway as the first tickets to the annual event are up for grabs at the Rotax Winter Trophy presented by RTX Karting USA and SRA Karting International. The Orlando Kart Center facility in Orlando, Florida is playing host to the two weekend program, contesting the first two rounds over the January 24-26 weekend. A total of 169 entries in the seven Rotax divisions battled over the three days to begin the four-round championship toward with the top prize a ticket to the RMC Grand Finals on November 29-December 6.

Senior MAX Sunday podium (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

The largest division of the weekend was Senior MAX, welcoming an international field of 51 drivers. Canadian Ayden Ingratta set fast time in Round One qualifying with a 52.960-lap. He kept the top spot in the Prefinal A while the other half of the field fought in the Prefinal B as British driver Caden McQueen took the race win. The top 36 drivers after the Last Chance Qualifier took the green flag in the 16 lap Final. Ingratta was able to drive away from the competition, leading every circuit to a 1.2-second margin of victory. Fellow Canadian Laurent Legault won the battle for second over British driver Lewis Goff. Timothy Pernod made it three Canadians in the top-five as McQueen crossed the line in fifth.

A new name was at the top of the time sheet on Sunday for Round Two. Jensen Burnett of Canada laid down a 53.307-lap to clear Ingratta by only 41 thousandths. British driver Kai Hunter ended up coming away with the win in Prefinal A while Ingratta won the Prefinal B race. Hunter jumped out to the lead in the 16-lap Final with Burnett slotting in behind. The two were fighting for the lead as they completed lap 13 and started lap 14. Burnett led across the line as Hunter dove to the inside to recapture the lead. He pushed wide and Burnett pulled an over-under move going into the second turn. The two made contact, send both off the track and out of the race. This put Ingratta and Manuel Troncoso from the Dominican Republic into the fight for the top spot over the final three laps. At the checkered flag, Ingratta scored a second victory, holding off a charging Legault. Troncoso was third with Santiago Fernandez in fourth and Arnaud Sabourin making it three Canadians in the top-five.

DD2 Sunday podium (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

The exciting DD2 category welcomed 11 drivers competing on the weekend. The opening round was a sweeping performance by Alan Isambard. He began the action setting fast time in Round One qualifying with a 52.635, edging out Nicolas Ambiado from Argentina by six thousandths. Winning the Prefinal by only 82 thousandths ahead of British driver Brandon Carr, Isambard went on to lead all 16 laps of the Final for the victory. Ambiado, who had issues in the Prefinal, worked his way back up to second at the line but was handed a pushback bumper penalty, dropping him down to fifth. This promoted Carr up to second on the podium and Canadian Lucas Pernod to third. Fellow Canadian Matthew Taskinen was fourth.

Round Two in DD2 began with Carr earning the fastest time in qualifying with a 52.419 lap to edge out Isambard by 24 thousandths. Isambard fought his way to the front in the Prefinal for the win. Leading the first nine laps, Isambard held the top position before a charging Ambiado took over. Ambiado started last after a technical violation in the Prefinal. Ambiado led the final seven laps to take the checkered flag first, only to be issued a five-second penalty for contact, dropping him to fifth. That promoted Isambard to the top step of the podium for a second straight victory. Carr was classified second with Canadians Gianluca Savaglio third and Lucas Nanji fourth. Tyler Givogue swept the weekend in the DD2 Masters category, outlasting Martin Janson both days.

Junior MAX Sunday podium (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

Two different drivers left the opening weekend with a victory in the Junior MAX division, welcoming 36 drivers. Canadian Rayan Ghandour swept the action on Saturday for Round One. A 55.093 lap was quickest in qualifying for Ghandour, leading up to a wire-to-wire win in the Prefinal. Ghandour went the distance once again in the Final, showing the way for all 16 laps to win by over seven seconds. Fellow Canadian Edward Kennedy crossed the line second but was handed a five-second penalty for contact. This put Victor de Alencar to second and British driver Riley Cranham into third on the podium. Alexis Baillargeon from Canada was fourth with 2024 Team USA member Davin Roberts in fifth.

Different drivers were at the front of the Junior MAX field on Sunday in Round Two. Dominican Republic driver Felipe Jess Benito was quickest in qualifying with a 55.122 lap. Cranham came from sixth on the grid in the Prefinal to claim the race win. Leading the first eight laps, Cranham shuffled down the order on lap 10. Four different drivers took a turn at the lead until Baillargeon secured the spot on lap 14. He led the final two laps to cross the line as the provisional winner. A pushback bumper penalty dropped him down to sixth in the order, while second place driver Ghandour also received a pushback bumper penalty. This promoted Australian Hamish Campbell to the top step of the podium. USA driver Isaac Malcuit was second with Julian Rivera into third. Cranham and Roberts completed the top-five.

Masters MAX Sunday podium (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

Two drivers dominated the action in Masters MAX, featuring an 11-driver field. Brazilian Danillo Ramalho swept Round One action for victory. A 54.851-lap was quickest in qualifying before going wire-to-wire in the Prefinal and Final for the perfect day. Former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello drove to second over Mundy Loyer with Daniel Costa and Dominic Legrand completing the top-five. Barrichello was able to get the better of Ramalho in qualifying with a 54.521 lap. Ramalho fought back in the Prefinal, this time with Loyer up to second ahead of Barrichello. In the Final, Ramalho and Barrichello broke away from the field. Unfortunately, Ramalho’s suit zipper broke while on track and he spent two laps attempting to keep it together as Barrichello tried to work past. On lap 12, Barrichello dove under at the hairpin and Daniel Costa attempted as well. Ramalho and Costa made contact at the apex. Costa continued while Ramalho was unable to resume. Barrichello went on to take the victory over Loyer with Costa in third. Michel Legrand was fourth with Dominic Legrand in fifth.

Mini MAX Sunday podium (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

The 32-driver Mini MAX division saw several drivers competing at the front of the field over the two rounds of action. Round One qualifying was led by British driver James Roots with a 57.823 over 2024 Team USA members Enzo DiGennaro and William Vetor. Seventh in the session was Maxwell Macha, who drove up to win in the Prefinal. Multiple drivers were in the lead group fighting for the victory, led by DiGennaro and Roots. British driver Arthur Pharoah put himself into the mix, taking over the point on lap 11. He and DiGennaro swapped the lead a few more time before Pharoah reached the line first for the victory. Macha ended up second with DiGennaro crossing the line third only to be penalized five seconds for contact. This dropped him down to 13th with the pack so close at the end. Roots was promoted to third, Massimo Lorusso fourth and Parker Ives in fifth.

Roots was able to start Round Two with fast time in qualifying, a 57.536 lap. DiGennaro was second in the session and improve one spot to the win in the Prefinal. The start of the Final saw Vetor jump to the lead and from there, go the distance to the checkered flag for the provisional victory. Vetor however was removed from the results following tech inspection, promoting DiGennaro to the victory. Cameron Johnson was classified second with Ives completing the podium. Round One winner Pharoah was fourth with Macha in fifth.

Micro MAX Saturday podium (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

Micro MAX brought together 24 drivers over the opening two rounds of the program. Round One qualifying was led by last year’s champion Dominic Vera Roa with a 1:00.981 lap. Zayne Burgess was second in the session, but came away with the Prefinal win. From the pole position, Burgess led all 14 laps to secure the victory. Zev Godschalk was second with Vera Roa in third. Jayden Francisco and Albert Pharoah completed the top-five. Francisco came away with the fast time in qualifying for Round Two, just ahead of Hudson Howard. Two laps into the Prefinal, Howard took over the lead and went on to win. The first half of the Final was a battle between Howard and Burgess. Eventually others joined the fight, including Dutch Westbrook. On the final lap, Howard was able to secure the top spot, earning the victory by four tenths at the line. Westbrook crossed in second with Burgess in third. Bernardo Gubert and Murilo Dominguez rounded out the top-five.

The second event of the 2025 Rotax Winter Trophy is scheduled for January 31-February 2 at the Orlando Kart Center with Round Three and Round Four to be contested in Orlando, Florida to decide the winners of the 2025 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals tickets.

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