P1 ENGINES ADDS ANOTHER VICTORY IN PRO TOUR COMPETITION25
Jul
P1 ENGINES ADDS ANOTHER VICTORY IN PRO TOUR COMPETITION

Heading to the Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Grand Junction, Colorado, P1 Engines powered drivers would show speed throughout the second round of the SuperKarts! USA (SKUSA) Pro Tour. Dubbed the SummerNationals, P1 Engines drivers would show their speed in almost all of the TaG classes by running at the pointy end of the field. When the weekend had finally ended, one victory and multiple podiums would be added to the California based engine builder’s resume.

A multitude of pilots would compete in the massive TaG Junior class with all three running in the front half of the field. Blaine Rocha had a great day going on Saturday as he ran in the top-five throughout the heat races but contact in the main event would see him rejoin the 18 lap main event at the tail of the field. Turning fast lap after fast lap, Rocha drove his way forward to stand on the podium with a second place result. Sunday would see Rocha again at the front of the field by winning heat one and coming home second in heat two. Setting his sights on the victory in the main event, Rocha would be unable to top the blocks but would add his second podium result of the weekend with a third place finish.

Perennial TaG Junior frontrunner Luke Selliken would add a podium to P1 Engines results with a solid third place result on Saturday and would come home fourth on Sunday after coming from deep in the field.

Davey Manthei would overcome a 15th place finish on Saturday to take the TaG Junior main event victory on Sunday. After running in the top-five on Saturday, contact in the main event would ruin the young gun’s shot at a victory. Manthei would continually run in the top-five on Sunday biding his time throughout the heats before making a charge to the top spot in the main event.

“All three TaG Junior competitors drove exceptionally well and any of them could have won,” claimed P1 Engines Jesus Vasquez. “Some bad racing luck would hinder the progress of a potential podium sweep but that is racing. All three will live to fight another day.”

Also competing in the TaG Junior ranks were Emerson Reed, Nick Ramirez, Justice Lepe and Anthony Sawyer. This quartet of pilots would continually improve throughout the weekend and all had top ten results.

In the TaG Cadet division, P1 Engines would provide power to a handful of drivers that would run throughout the top-five. Sting Ray Robb would be one of the fastest TaG Cadet drivers through official event sessions but would have no luck at all. With a broken chain and another DNF in Saturday’s heat races, Robb would have to come from the tail of the field and would set fast lap en route to an eighth place result. Fellow P1 Engines powered competitors Jonathon Shone and Payton Durrant would both celebrate on the podium with second and third place results respectively.

Sunday would see Robb back at the front of the field running throughout the top-five in the heat races. Setting fast time yet again in the final, Robb would claim a second place result in the main event. Thomas Mejia would be the fastest of the P1 Engines drivers in Sunday’s qualifying session as he scored the day’s pole position before crossing the stripe fourth in the main event. Dante Yu would add another top-five for the premiere engine builder finishing fifth while Shone added a sixth place finish on Sunday.

Austin Elliott would flex his muscles in the TaG Senior ranks by scoring a pair of top-five results. Poised to have a shot at the win in Saturday’s competition, Elliott was run over in heat one and failed to finish. Having to come from the tail of the field through heat two and the main event, Elliott scored the fastest lap of the event while driving to his first podium result of the weekend.

Sunday would see the Californian run consistently in the top-three throughout the heat races and finish third in his run to the checkers. Penalized two positions post event for passing under the yellow, Elliott would have to settle for a fifth place result in the final classification. Fellow TaG Senior pilot Mason Chelootz had great speed throughout the heat races but would run into trouble in both main events finishing outside the top-ten on both Saturday and Sunday.

P1 Engines will continue to offer trackside support and engine lease options for the USPKS, WKA Manufacturers Cup series, SKUSA Pro Kart Challenge, SKUSA Pro Tour and several other events throughout the United States. Interested parties are asked to contact P1 Engines at Champions@P1Engines.com.

For more information on P1 Engines or to book one of their national level engines for testing or event weekend use, please visit them online at www.P1Engines.com or contact P1 owner Jesus Vasquez at 951.662.3464 or via e-mail at Champions@P1Engines.com. Also, to follow up-to-date results and information on P1 Engines, become a fan of the “P1 Engines Fan Page” on Facebook.

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