Sebastian Alvarez

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 2015 racing season is upon us, and the first month was a hectic schedule at the national level, with four major events taking place within the first three weeks of the year. The Rotax Challenge of the Americas began in Tucson in the west, while the Florida Pro Kart Series kicked off a three-week stretch in the Sunshine State. They were followed by back-to-back weekends for the 2015 Florida Winter Tour program, with new driver/chassis combinations made their debuts. Among them was the new PSL Karting Mini X-2 chassis, designed with the new 1010mm wheelbase rule in place for the new Mini Max rule structure.

Sebastian Alvarez was among the drivers to steer the new chassis, taking part at the Rotax Max Challenge events in Arizona and Florida. Alvarez is not stranger to the big stage. At the 2014 Cold Stone US Grand Nationals, Sebastian was the top qualifier in the Mini Max division. He went on to win the first two heat races, and ended with a runner-up in the third to land on the pole position for the Prefinal. Contact on the second lap took Alvarez out of the race, putting him 32nd on the grid for the Final. He fought strong in the 18-lap event, climbing all the way to finish sixth, advancing 26 positions.

2015 got underway for Alvarez at the opening weekend for the Rotax Challenge of the Americas program, contested at the Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson, AZ on January 9-11. Alvarez partnered up with the growing PSL West, based out of British Columbia, Canada to contest the Mini Max division on the new Mini X-2 chassis. Sebastian was among the quickest during the practice day, and nearly scored the fast time in qualifying for Saturday’s round of racing. He came in just 21 thousandths off the quick lap, set by Payton Durrant. Alvarez got the jump from the outside of the front row to begin the Prefinal, and led all 12 laps to the win. The first half of the Final was all Sebastian, leading the field lap after lap. The second half was a battle, as the other competitors wanted a share of the lead. Alvarez continued to fight back, until lap 16 when a driver spun while they were fight for the lead. It sent a few off the track and out of the race, while Sebastian dropped back to fifth. He ended up placing fourth, one spot away from the podium.

Alvarez drove to victory at the Rotax Challenge of the Americas with the PSL West operation in Arizona (Photo: EKN)

The following day, Alvarez made sure there was not chance anyone would deny him the victory, sweeping the round. A 54.699-second lap secured the pole position in qualifying by 15 thousandths of a second. Alvarez was able to get away from the field early in the Prefinal, driving to a 1.2-second advantage for the win. The consistency of Sebastian continued into the Final with the PSL driver pulling out to a near five-second gap for a wire-to-wire victory aboard his Mini X-2 chassis.

Two weeks later was the opening rounds of the Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge at Homestead Karting, with Alvarez coming out on top in both main events. The first round, Sebastian qualified fifth, just over a tenth off the fast time in the session. He fought his way to the front in the Prefinal and nearly missed out on the win to earn the outside front row starting position for the Final. After getting shuffled back to third, Alvarez regained the top spot on lap eight, leading the remaining six circuits to score his first Florida Winter Tour victory.

Only 62 thousandths kept Sebastian off the pole position in qualifying for Sunday. Alvarez started the Prefinal from the outside of row one, and would be shuffled back to third at the start. Reclaiming the second spot quickly, he bought his time and tried to score the win, coming up just short on the final lap. It was another rough start in the Final, as Sebastian was dropped down to the fifth spot. Determined and quick, he advanced up to the lead in just four laps. Alvarez led the remaining laps to secures his second victory of the weekend, and his third of the month with the new Mini X-2.

“Sebastian has come a long way as a driver with PSL. He took advantage of the PSL Driver Academy in 2014, where he spent two months at the shop training and driving each day,” commented Andrew Campbell of PSL Karting. “This was extremely valuable for the US Nationals where the American-Mexican driver put a big gap between him and the field. He has a great understanding of the machinery and the engine, so his ability to work with his mechanic and engineers is very advanced for his age. Since then, Seb has been almost unstoppable with our program.”

Alvarez leads the Rotax Challenge of the Americas Mini Max standings by just four points, heading into the next race weekend scheduled for February 13-15 at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association. Two weeks later, Sebastian will attempt to extend his 61-point advantage in the Florida Winter Tour Mini Max championship chase, which continues at the Orlando Kart Center on February 27-March 1.

January 2015 EKN Driver of the Month – Sebastian Alvarez

Sebastian drove to two Mini Max wins at the Florida Winter Tour

Bio

Born: July 8, 2002
Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico (lives in McAllen, Texas)
Parents: Alvaro Alvarez and Thelma Arce
Siblings: Nicolas Alvarez
Height/Weight: 1.50/45kg
Education: American School 6th grade
Job: Driver

Racing Resume

Chassis: PSL Mini X-2
Engine/Engine Builder: Sargent Motorsports (Disco Dan)
Sponsors: Los Canarios, NSAA and PSL Karting
Series You Compete In: Challenge of the Americas, Florida Winter Tour
Years Karting: 6
How did you get started in karting? My Uncle
What has been the high point in your racing career? This summer, I think everything got together when I spent the whole summer with PSL Karting and improved my driving and racecraft. So for me this in my high point of my career.
What are your goals in racing? I want to become a professional race car driver.
In a few words, how would you describe your driving style? I am consistent, fast, smooth at the steering wheel and I like close racing.
Funniest moment at the race track? In Goodwood, when the PSL staff and Olivier zip tied me and left me there for one hour and started throwing rocks at me.

Likes

Favorite Track: Orlando Kart Center
Favorite form of professional motorsports: Open wheel
Favorite karting driver: Jordon Lennox
Favorite professional driver: Sebastian Vettel
Favorite website: Any karting website
Favorite movie: Rush
Favorite actor/actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Favorite music/group: David Geta
Favorite vacation/activity spot: Driving everything with an engine
Favorite food: Sushi

The Real Deal

What do you do when not at the track? Training
What are your goals outside of karting? Have a restaurant or rent houses
What type of street car do you drive? Polaris
What type of street car would you like to drive? Lamborghini
What are your pet peeves or things that irritate you? Crashing in a race
What do you think could be done to improve the sport of karting? Make the sport cheaper and more accessible.
What are your favorite aspects about the sport of karting? I like to feel the speed, adrenaline of each race, socializing and knowing new kart tracks

January 2015 Driver of the Month – Honorable Mention:

– Paul Bonilla: Rotax Challenge of the Americas – Masters Max Double Winner

– Michael Ilavia: Rotax Challenge of the Americas – DD2 Sunday Winner (First win for CompKart)

– Kyle Kirkwood: Florida Winter Tour (Rok Cup USA/RMC) – 3 Wins, 1 Runner-up in Senior

– Mathias Ramirez: Florida Winter Tour (Rok Cup USA) – Junior Rok Double Winner

– Sting Ray Robb: Rotax Challenge of the Americas/Florida Winter Tour (RMC) – 2 Wins in Junior Max

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