(Photo: RTX Karting USA)

The 2025 Rotax Winter Trophy presented by RTX Karting USA and SRA Karting International concluded over the January 31-February 2 weekend at the Orlando Kart Center. The Orlando, Florida facility hosted the final two rounds in a back-to-back weekend, four-round championship to decide the winners of the 2025 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals tickets to compete in Bahrain for their respective countries.

Senior MAX was the largest category of the weekend and saw 2024 champion Diego Ramos (BRA). Setting fast time in qualifying Saturday with a 53.019 lap, Ramos drove to a win in Prefinal A over two-time round winner Ayden Ingratta (CAN) and Lewis Goff (GBR). Timothy Pernod led a Canadian 1-2-3 ahead of Gianluca Savaglio and Arnaud Sabourin in Prefinal B. Ramos was able to lead all 16 laps to claim the victory by four tenths ahead of a charging Caden McQueen (GBR), who recorded fast lap of the race. Pernod joined them on the podium with Kai Hunter (GBR) fourth and Ingratta fifth.

Senior MAX champion Lewis Goff (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

It was Ingratta getting the edge in qualifying for Round Four with a 52.998 lap to edge out Ramos by 33 thousandths. Ingratta went on to suffer a DNF three laps from the finish of Prefinal A, allowing McQueen to go on to win over Hunter and Ramos. Xavier Suarez (CHL) took the win in the Prefinal B over Jensen Burnett (CAN) and Antoine Lemieux (CAN). After McQueen led the first two laps, Ramos took over the point. He fought with McQueen and Hunter before reclaiming the spot on lap seven. From there, Ramos drove away to a two-second advantage to claim a second victory on the weekend. Hunter ended up second ahead of Burnett with McQueen and Goff completing the top-five.

Despite no victory and only one podium finish, Goff took the ticket home to Great Britain with the series championship, taking the title ahead of fellow countryman McQueen by 33 points. Able to go from the LCQ to the main event in Sunday’s round, Ingratta ended up to 26th in the Final, coming up 43 points short of the championship in the third position in the standings.

Junior MAX champion Davin Roberts (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

Three different drivers ended up with a win over the four rounds in the Junior MAX category. Rayan Ghandour (CAN) was the only driver to win twice, taking Round One and Round Three. Ghandour was third in qualifying for Round Three behind fellow Canadians Cole Medeiros and Edward Kennedy. It was Riley Cranham (GBR) that came away with the win in the Prefinal over Nathan Dupuis (CAN) and Davin Roberts (USA) with Ghandour back in 13th after penalties. In the 16-lap Final, Ghandour was up to the lead by lap six and drove away to a six-second advantage for the victory. Kennedy was second with Felipe Benito (DOM) joining them on the podium in third. Roberts and Jaxon Porter (USA) completed the top-five.

Round Four action on Sunday was a sweep by Julian Rivera (ECU). A 54.442 lap was quickest in qualifying before Cranham battled him for the win in the Prefinal. Rivera regained the lead prior to the white flag, scoring the win while Ghandour and Dupuis moved ahead of Cranham. In the Final, Rivera was shuffled down to as far as 11th by lap four as Ghandour and Cranham fought for the lead. By lap 12, Rivera put himself up to the battle for the lead. By then Cranham held the lead with Rivera up to second. They would cross the line that way with the provisional win to Cranham before a 10-second penalty dropped him down to 17th. This promoted Rivera to the top step of the podium alongside Victor de Alencar (USA) and Benito. Round Two winner Hamish Campbell (AUS) and Arthur Cordeiro (BRA) completed the top-five.

The unique results over the four rounds of racing provided Davin Roberts (USA) the path to the Junior MAX championship, earning a ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals. Rayan Ghandour (CAN) was 13 points short, finishing the standings second with Riley Cranham (GBR) finishing in the third position.

Mini MAX champion Enzo DiGennaro (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

It was the same in Mini MAX with three drivers winning over the four rounds. Round Two winner Enzo DiGennaro (USA) set fast time in qualifying for Round Three with a 57.068 lap before taking the provisional win in the Prefinal. A technical disqualification took the win away, handing it to Vincente Aguilar (ARG) over James Roots (GBR) and Maxwell Macha (USA). Roots jumped out the lead during the opening circuit and lead the entire distance to the checkered flag for the victory over Matias Dominguez (BRA). DiGennaro was able to move up to third after fighting his way forward from 31st at the start, landing on the podium. Round One winner Arthur Pharoah (GBR) was fourth ahead of Aguilar.

The speed for DiGennaro continued into Round Four with fast time in qualifying with a 56.852 lap, clearing the field by over four tenths. He fell back to third on the final lap of the Prefinal as Aguilar and Parker Ives (USA) slipped past for the top two spots at the checkered flag. Into the lead by lap two of the Final, DiGennaro drove away to a one-second advantage for his second victory. 2024 Team USA member William Vetor ended up second with Aguilar winning the battle for third over William Rossetti (CAN) and Macha.

The second victory for DiGennaro helped him earn a second straight trip to the Rotax Grand Finals with the Mini MAX championship. Ives was back by 31 points with Macha in third, making it a USA 1-2-3 in the final standings.

Micro MAX champion Zayne Burgess (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

The Micro MAX class welcomed three different winners over the first three rounds. Cam Becker (USA) led the way in Round Three qualifying that saw seven drivers within 74 thousandths. Recording the fourth best lap was Round One winner Zayne Burgess (USA), who came away with the win in the Prefinal over Dominic Vera Roa (COL) and Albert Pharoah (GBR). Back in sixth was Murilo Dominguez (BRA). Pharoah jumped out to the lead in the Final before Vera grabbed the spot back with four laps remaining. The final three laps was a battle that saw Dominguez coming up from third on the last lap to claim the victory. Zev Godschalk (CUW) came from the back to be classified second with Dutch Westbrook (USA) on the podium in third. Lincoln Lima (CAN) was fourth with Jayden Francisco (CAN) in fifth.

Pharoah became the fourth different top qualifier in Micro MAX with fast time in Round Four qualifying. Coming from fourth, Burgess drove to the race win in the Prefinal for a third time over the four rounds, finishing over two seconds ahead of Bernardo Gubert (BRA) and Godschalk. Starting seventh in the Final, Hudson Howard (USA) took advantage of the early fighting for the lead to move toward the front. He and Burgess went back and forth for the lead before Howard secured the spot on lap 11. Howard went on to score the victory, his second of the series. Westbrook drove to second with Burgess in third. Gubert and Vera completed the top-five.

Three podium finishes over the four rounds helped Burgess claim the series championship, taking the title by 119 points over Vera. Westbrook completed the championship podium in third.

Masters MAX champion Rubens Barrichello (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

The championship in Masters MAX went down to the wire. Round Two winner Rubens Barrichello (BRA) helped to put himself at the top of the championship standings with a sweep of Round Three. The former Formula One driver edged out Daniel Costa for fast time in qualifying by eight thousandths. Barrichello would go on to earn wire-to-wire wins in the Prefinal and Final. Mundy Loyer (PER) was second with Brian Hannon (USA) on the podium in third. Simon Proteau and Michel Legrand (CAN) completed the top-five.

Costa got the edge on Loyer and Barrichello in Round Four qualifying with the three separated by only 61 thousandths. Barrichello was able to show the way in the Prefinal, only to receive a pushback bumper penalty to drop him to second and Loyer to first. Loyer was able to lead all 16 laps of the Final to claim his first victory of the series. Barrichello was across the line in third behind Fernando Hernandez (DOM), but suffered a five-second penalty for contact, dropping him to fourth behind Costa and ahead of Hannon.

When the points were tallied, Barrichello had won the Masters MAX title by 20 points over Loyer, earning the Rotax Grand Finals ticket. Costa finished third in the standings.

DD2 champion Matthew Taskinen (Photo: RTX Karting USA)

The championship for the DD2 class opened up with two-time winner Alan Isambard (USA) unable to compete in the second weekend. Canadian Matthew Taskinen cleared the 11 driver field by over two tenths in qualifying for Round Three. Setting the fourth quickest time, Nicolas Ambiado (CHL) came on late in the Prefinal to earn the race win. Ambiado led the entire distance for his first victory. Gianluca Savaglio (CAN) was a close second ahead of Taskinen. Lucas Pernod (CAN) was fourth with Lucas Nanji (CAN) fifth.

Ambiado began Round Four with fast time in qualifying as Taskinen and Ludovic Sabourin (CAN) were both within 73 thousandths. Antoine LaCharite (CAN) jumped all three in the Prefinal to claim the race win. A hard fought 16 lap Final saw Ambiado emerge with the top spot when the checkered flag waved. However, a five-second penalty for contact dropped Ambiado to fourth in the results, moving Taskinen to the top step of the podium. Sabourin was second with Pernod third. LaCharite rounded out the top-five.

The Round Four victory helped to put Taskinen at the top of the championship standings, earning him another trip to the Rotax Grand Finals for Team Canada. Pernod and Savaglio made it a Canada 1-2-3 on the championship podium, both finishing within 65 points.

Tyler Givogue (CAN) was able to repeat his two round sweep during the final weekend in the DD2 Masters division. Givogue beat out Martin Janson (CAN) both days with Sebastien Choquette (CAN) in third.

The six drivers to earn tickets to the 2025 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals will represent their countries at the Bahrain International Karting Circuit from November 29 to December 6.

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