2025 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals – Team USA – Monday Report
First laps completed in Bahrain for nine drivers representing the United States of America
(Photo: BRP-Rotax)
A total of 394 drivers took to the Bahrain International Karting Circuit for the first day of action at the 2025 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals. Following the kart raffle and welcome party on Sunday, it was all business on Monday in Bahrain as the eight different divisions hit the track for the first rounds of practice.
The E20 Senior, E20 Master, Micro MAX and Mini MAX were given three sessions on the day while Junior MAX, Senior MAX, DD2 Master and DD2 took to the circuit twice on Monday.
The nine drivers for Team USA hit the track with positive results. Nearly all the drivers in the six different categories reached the top 10 at one point throughout the day in their groups. Leading the way for the USA squad was Charlie Smith of California, who’s been racing in Europe all season, placing inside the top five in both of his sessions in Senior MAX.
Below is a breakdown of each driver’s results and some comments on the day’s action.
Be sure to follow CanadianKartingNews.com to follow the action of Team Canada.
DD2 – Birelart (72 Drivers)
#467 – Pauly Massimino
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Qualified: RMC US Trophy Final Runner-Up (Senior MAX)
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 0
Practice 1 (odd): 7th – 53.472 +0.287
Practice 2 (odd): 13th – 53.296 +0.363
“The activities on Sunday were very different than what I’m used to but I enjoyed it. We started off by taking a team photo followed by the kart raffle, which was a cool and unique experience. Then we ended the day with building the kart and hitting the after party. The first day on track went pretty decent I thought. The first session went pretty well with learning the track, kart, and motor package. Session two didn’t go the way we wanted. We changed a few things on the kart and we also played with the front brakes. That definitely wasn’t the right direction so we went back a little bit and will see what we can do tomorrow.”
#466 – Macy Williams
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Littleton, Colorado
Qualified: Max Karting Group Canada Final Winner
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 1 – 2021 (Senior MAX)
Practice 1 (even): 11th – 53.668 +0.346
Practice 2 (even): 7th – 53.248 +0.286
“Sunday was tons of fun with lots of pictures! The kart raffle was definitely the highlight of the day, lots of anticipation building to get on track! Monday, we had two practice sessions, the first one I ended up P11 in my group after some shifting issues as well as brake issues. Second session, unfortunately the problems carried on after they were looked at. At the end of the day, we think we have solutions for both issues, so I’m really looking forward to Tuesday’s practice sessions especially two of the three being under the lights!”
Senior MAX – Sodi Kart (72 Drivers)
#367 – Oliver Hodgson
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Qualified: RMC US Trophy Final Winner
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 4 – 2012, 2013, 2023 (Team GBR), 2024 (Team USA)
Wins: Senior MAX (2013)
Practice 1 (odd): 14th – 54.345 +0.418
Practice 2 (odd): 9th – 53.876 +0.271
“Opening day morning, seeing all the brand new karts build up ready on the start-finish line never fails to impress. I had a good start to the event on track. It was a consistent day to build from.”
#366 – Cooper O’Clair
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Qualified: RMC USA West Champion
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 4 – 2021, 2022 (Junior MAX), 2023 (Senior MAX), 2024 (DD2)
Practice 1 (even): 3rd – 54.360 +0.161
Practice 2 (even): 21st – 54.275 +0.370
“Sunday is always the day reality sets in. They do a really good job of showcasing the level of this event and there’s a lot of honor in that being part of Team USA once again. Today was a good day. I don’t believe FP2 result showed the speed we have. We will sleep on it and send it tomorrow.”
#347 – Charlie Smith
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Orange County, California
Qualified: BNL Karting Series Championship – Fourth Place
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 0
Practice 1 (odd): 4th – 54.129 +0.202
Practice 2 (odd): 2nd – 53.706 +0.101
“I was just settling in yesterday and got a solid start to the week today. We will keep building it up step by step for the rest of the week. Good start to the Rotax Grand Finals.”
DD2 Masters – Barrichello Kart (36 Drivers)
#535 – Christopher Mann
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Vancouver, Washington
Qualified: RMC USA West – Third Place
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 0
Practice 1: 25th – 54.591 +0.913
Practice 2: 27th – 54.274 +0.918
“Sunday was incredible — the atmosphere is something I’ll never forget. Getting the kart and engine, building everything up, and spending time with Team USA felt unbeatable and set a really positive tone heading into track time. Today was tougher. No major issues, just the challenge of learning a brand-new track and trying to get up to speed, which exposed a few rough driving habits. I know I haven’t fully optimized the performance of the equipment yet — the setup is there, and now it’s on me to extract every tenth of a second out of it. The field is extremely competitive, but if I clean up the driving, there’s no reason I can’t close the gap as practice continues. Every session is critical here, and even small mistakes add up quickly. I’m keeping my head down, staying focused, and I know today’s results don’t reflect my true potential.”
Junior MAX – Praga (72 Drivers)
#212 – Davin Roberts
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Qualified: Rotax Winter Trophy Champion
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 1 – 2024 (Junior MAX)
Practice 1 (even): 11th – 55.303 +0.324
Practice 2 (even): 23rd – 55.009 +0.532
“A frustrating first day but still need to keep my head down. I saw some things in the data to improve and will work on them tomorrow. I really enjoy driving this track with the way it twists and turns. All in all, I know what to work on and am excited for the days to come!”
Mini MAX – Formula K (72 Drivers)
#136 – Enzo DiGennaro
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, New York
Qualified: Rotax Winter Trophy Champion
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 1 – 2024 (Mini MAX)
Practice 1 (even): 4th – 59.108 +0.176
Practice 2 (even): 4th – 58.718 +0.054
Practice 3 (even): 23rd – 59.075 +0.752
“Sunday was just kart raffle. Not much fun for me. Today was much better as we finally got on track with good speed. Running fourth overall in the first two practices, third practice we had an issue with the kart and had to pull off after only two full laps. I am looking forward to more time on track tomorrow.”
E20 Senior – Sodi Kart (19 Drivers)
#609 – Ellis Spiezia
(Photo: Hellofoto Motorsports Photos)
Hometown: Hoboken, New Jersey
RMC Grand Finals Appearances: 1 – 2021 (E20)
Practice 1: 18th – 59.153 +3.404
Practice 2: 8th – 56.002 +0.358
Practice 3: 18th – 56.129 +0.778
“Sunday was great. The F1 paddock party was super fun and I got to take my Can-Am Pulse on the F1 track so you can’t beat that. Today was our first day of practice. Getting used to the E20 again. So fast and good track conditions throughout the day. Saving my tires since we use our first set all the way until qualifying later this week.”
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