After a successful opening round to the Florida Karting Championship Series (FKCS) back in mid-March, the program would travel south to the Homestead Karting Complex on the grounds of the famed Homestead-Miami Speedway. Looking to carry the momentum of a record number of entries at round one and some fierce wheel-to-wheel action, competitors did not disappoint in South Florida.
Unofficial practice would get underway on Friday followed by two separate race days and seventeen classes of competition. With competitors from as far away as Canada making the trek south, the FKCS program is providing some of the best regional karting action across North America. Not even a severe thunderstorm and powerful rain could dampen the spirits at the facility.
A delay in the day’s festivities due to a lightning storm provided a break in the action for teams and drivers as they switched to wet weather setups on Saturday afternoon. With storms surrounding the facility, a lightning strike at the track damaged some timing and scoring equipment on site but everyone took shelter and returned to racing later that day safe and sound.
Sunday proved to be an extra special day at Homestead as series competitors were treated by the attendance of ex-Formula One pilot and current NASCAR star Juan Pablo Montoya. On site to watch his son Sebastian wheel his ride around the Homestead facility, Montoya was gracious enough to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the youngsters throughout the day.
“I would like to thank all the drivers and teams for another successful event,” expressed series President Eddie Gennaro. “The FKCS program continues to excel and it could not be done if it weren’t for all the officials and volunteers that help make it a success. Providing a platform for teams to bring drivers, we feel that the FKCS will continue to grow in the years to come.”
Saturday
Devine Design - Kid Karts
Nine up-and-coming drivers would enter Saturday’s Kid Kart division and all would see track time throughout the day. With no winners in the class as all were given participation awards, the following list of competitors would turn laps: Jake Martin, Francisco Porrata, Andreus Asmar, Isaac da Silve, Miguel Di Mise, Akela Pacitto, James Egozi, Lucas Rodriguez and Jeremy Fletcher. The FKCS would like to congratulate all of these competitors and we look forward to seeing you challenge for podium results in the Sportsman divisions in 2014.
Performance Plus - Senior Clone
Joey Miller would flex his muscles in the Senior Clone division as he went on to take the main event victory ahead of Glenn Fichter and Jason Froemming. Joe Vickey would come home fourth while Randy Balmer would cross the line in fifth. Fast time would be awarded to Joey Miller.
Homestead Karting - Rotax Mini Max
Joshua Sirgany would turn his morning pole position effort into an afternoon main event victory as he went on to claim the top step of the podium. Finishing just under a second in arrears, Mathias Ramirez would come home second with Aidan Keel battling hard for third. Kollin Stuart would move forward to add another top-five result to his resume with a fourth while recent World Karting Association Manufacturers Cup podium finisher Devin Boutot would claim the fifth and final position.
Parazhino Chassis Works - Rotax Micro Max
Advancing forward from his qualifying run earlier in the day, Tyler Gonzalez would top the blocks in Rotax Micro Max ahead of Homestead Karting regular Reece Gold. Canadian pilot Matthew Latifi would add a podium trophy to his collection with a third place finish while Jo Nunez and Jeremy Fairbairn would round out the top five. Absent from the top five was pole position winner Jordan Heffner.
Connery Concrete - Rotax Senior
Florida Winter Tour race winner and multi-time Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals Team USA member Oliver Askew would continue his winning ways at Homestead. Taking a victory back in February at the tricky facility, Askew proved to be the driver to beat when wheel-to-wheel action commenced this past weekend. Ocala Gran Prix teammates Nick Neri and Sam Beasley would be in contention all race long but have to settle for second and third respectively. Andrew Evans would make a return to the seat to score a top five result with a fourth while Dustin Stross would be in the mix and cross the line in fifth.
RaceComplex - TaG Junior
Taking an emotional victory in the TaG Junior category was Florida’s Sebastian Sierra as he proved to be the class of the field in Saturday’s main event. Topping the talented field of drivers by nearly three seconds, Sierra would outpace Colin Warren, pole sitter Olivier Bellanger, Ryan Norberg, and Augusto Soto Schirripa to take the victory.
Rok Cup USA - Mini Rok
Mathias Ramirez would continue his winning ways as he once again top the blocks in the Mini Rok category. Not able to take the pole earlier in the day, Ramirez showed his race craft to move forward and take the win. Aidan Keel would claim the second stop of the podium while Vincenzo Sarracino would end up third. Rounding out the top five would be Rotax Micro Max race winner Tyler Gonzalez and pole sitter Mayo Livingston.
Rok Cup USA - Rok Masters
Ariel Castro was the man to beat in the Rok Masters division as he went on to secure yet another victory in the 2013 FKCS program. Francois Brun Wibaux was the best of the rest crossing the stripe in second while Al Duenas, John Dalton and George Metcalf came home third through fifth respectively.
Heffner Performance - TaG Masters
The TaG Masters main event proved to be a spaced out race as drivers were scattered around the .700 mile Homestead Karting facility. Taking the win more than eight seconds ahead of his closest rival was Rafael De Paoli. Dario Callegher would be the next man to the line just ahead of Kevin Coy. Marc Spring and Kevin Whitfield would complete the top five.
Rok Cup USA - Rok Senior
AJ Myers would be the driver to prevail in the Rok Senior category as the talent would go on to take his first win of the 2013 series as he battled hard all race long and finished just ahead of Dominic Tesoro. Joffrey Amaya would show his karting skills after returning to the seat to come home third while Brandon Salyer and Austin Jordan would finish fourth and fifth respectively. Pole sitter Ashley Rogero would be in contention for the win but a broken chain in the final would see her finish near the tail of the field.
NFKC - Junior Clone
Benjamin Withers was able to outduel pole sitter and second place finisher AJ McKinney in the Junior Clone category to take the win. Nash Duyn, Jacob Howards and Jimmy Jackson would all battle hard through out the main event and would all be awarded with top-five results.
Orlando Kart Center - Rok Junior
Juan Manuel Correa was the class of the field in Saturday’s Rok Junior category as he turned his pole position into a victory at the tricky Homestead Karting facility. Race one winner Kyle Kirkwood would battle hard all race long but settle for the bridesmaid position while Sebastian Sierra would score another podium result finishing third. Austin Garrison would continue his top-five presence with a fourth while Colin Warren added a fifth place finish to his FKCS career.
Sunday
Holster Store - Rotax Masters
Usual Rotax Masters pace setter Scott Roberts would be denied victory in Sunday’s main event as Dario Callegher would lead the way. Callegher would outpace the rest of the over 32 years of age competitors to take the win ahead of Robert and Michael Auriemma. Kevin Coy and Kevin Whitfield would round out the top-five with Scott Roberts claiming the morning’s pole position.
RaceTechDevelopment.com - Rotax Junior
A new face would be on top in the Rotax Junior category, as Jordan Perry would claim his first victory in the 2013 FKCS program. Juan Manuel Correa would be back in the mix at the front of the field and cross the stripe in the second position just ahead of Sebastian Sierra, who added another third place result. Florida Winter Tour race winner and pole position winner Kyle Kirkwood would claim the fourth spot on track, right ahead of Canadian pilot Gianfranco Mazzaferro.
Verde Speed Resources - Rok Senior
Not to be denied two days in a row, pole sitter Ashley Rogero would turn her front row starting position into a main event victory on Sunday. Saturday winner AJ Myers would finish just over half a second behind in second while Dominic Tesoro added his second podium result of the weekend with a third. Hunter Ceto worked his way into the top-five to claim the fourth position while Ian Cummings claimed the fifth position.
Cadet Junior Sportsman
Devin Boutot proved that he could battle with the top dawgs in the Cadet Junior Sportsman class as he claimed the victory in Sunday’s main event. The always-fast Mathias Ramirez would add another podium result with a second place finish while Aidan Keel continued his streak of top-five finishes to cross the line in third. Hunter Padilla and Zachary Hollingshead would round out the top-five. The pole position award would go to Mathias Ramirez.
Rok Cup USA - Rok Masters
Ariel Castro continued his dominance of the Rok Masters class by taking another victory as he followed his pole position from earlier in the day. Michael Auriemma and Francois Brun-Wibaux would claim the second and third place steps on the podium with Peter Pestano and John Dalton rounding out the top five.
Harvest Motorsports and Ocala Gran Prix - Shifters (ALL)
Nick Neri would continue his winning ways in the Shifter category as he managed to sweep the weekend’s festivities. Taking the pole position, prefinal win and main event victory, Neri has complete control of the overall series point standings in the senior gearbox division. Rotax Senior winner Oliver Askew would cross the line P2 while Sam Beasley would add his second third place result of the weekend. Steven Isambard and Tim Ulmen would complete the day’s top-five.
Rok Cup USA - Rok Junior
Juan Manuel Correa would take home his second victory of the weekend as he dominated the Rok Junior field on Sunday. Claiming the checkers by more than five seconds over Justin Gordan, Correa turned some heads during the weekend. Sasha Brun Wibaux had a terrific outing to claim the third spot while Colin Warren added another top-five to finish fourth. Sebastian Sierra was at the front of the field throughout the race weekend but would need to settle for the fifth position. Fast time would be awarded to Correa.
RYSA Racing - TaG Senior
Floridian pilot Andrew Evans would return to the seat after a four month hiatus and would not miss a beat in the Sunday TaG Senior event. Taking the main event victory and fast time in the final, Evans paced a stout field of drivers to claim his first victory of 2013. Morning pole sitter Jonathon Kotyk, along with Hunter Ceto, would finish second and third respectively while Brandon Salyer added his second top-five of the weekend finishing fourth. Luis Soberal would cross the line in fifth showing vast improvement from his round one finish.
Orlando Kart Center - Mini Rok
Mathias Ramirez returned to the top step of the podium during Sunday afternoon’s Mini Rok main event as he took a close victory over Aiden Keel and Kollin Stuart. Ramirez, who claimed a Florida Winter Tour victory in March, also claimed the morning’s pole position. Canadian Matthew Latifi and Kai Palomino would round on the top-five.
Ocala Gran Prix - Junior Shifter
Kyle Kirkwood would continue his winning ways in the Junior Shifter category as he swept the proceedings on Sunday. Taking the pole position, prefinal win and main event victory, Kirkwood has gone two-for-two in the opening two rounds in the gearbox class and will look to carry his momentum to round three. Following Kirkwood across the line would be Austin Garrison, Steve DePinto, Olivier Bellanger and Ryan Norberg.
“We would like to invite all competitors and teams to round three in only a few week’s time,” added Vito Depinto, FKCS Vice-President. “The FKCS program offers a great regional racing platform in Florida and I think we are proving that with our tremendous participation numbers and the fact that we have people from out of state and out of country attend. Thank you to all who have supported this series.”
For more information on the series point standings and information on the Florida Karting Championship Series, please visit www.FLWKASprintSeries.com.
The next event of the 2013 Florida Karting Championship Series will take place at the Race Complex facility in Ft. Myers, Florida over the May 3-5 weekend. Please check the FKCS website in the coming weeks for registration, pit spot and hotel information.
2013 Florida Karting Championship Series Schedule:
Race 3: May 3-5 - Race Complex – Ft. Myers, Florida
Race 4: June 14-16 – Monticello – Monticello, Florida
Race 5: July 5-7 – Ocala Gran Prix – Ocala, Florida
Race 6: August 23-25 - 103rd Street Sports Complex – Jacksonville, Florida
Please remember that all news and information regarding the Florida Karting Championship Series can be found online at www.FLWKASprintSeries.com. Series officials would advise all teams, drivers and family to check the website often for updates and information regarding the series.
For information on press releases or other media services offered by Race Tech Development, please contact Mike Maurini via e-mail at Info@RaceTechDevelopment.com or 317.270.8723. Race Tech Development can also be found on Twitter at @RaceTechDvlp as well as Facebook at their Race Tech Development Fan Page.
