Championship Change-ups and Intense Action at Round #2 of the Florida Winter Tour.

[divider style="dotted" top="10" bottom="20"]

[one_half]

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Sofina Foods Florida Winter Tour Presented by Fikse Wheels concluded another thrilling weekend, as the fight for championships heats up among the 14-featured classes. Located at the fabled Ocala Gran Prix in northern Florida, the 6/10-mile long circuit features a series of long sweeping turns, offset by an extremely tight infield that calls for drivers to keep their hands smooth and their rolling speed high to come out on top.
MAXSpeed provides another stellar weekend for ROK drivers.
With the ROK Cup USA championship building up to an exciting conclusion at Palm Beach, drivers in the seven ROK classes provided high levels of energy and excitement throughout the weekend. AM Engines Micro ROK was yet another display of incredible speed by the young Oliver Denny (BENIK/BENIK Kart) as he ran through the field to take his second Micro ROK win of the Florida Winter Tour.
Matheus Morgatto (Energy/Energy Kart) left no room for error in the Ocala Gran Prix Mini ROK final as he won by a significant margin, but the battle for second place came down to a mere tenth of a second difference at the finish line between Jason Welage (Top Kart USA/Top Kart) and Reece Gold (BENIK/BENIK Kart).
Orsolon Racing Junior ROK looked to be an exciting sibling showdown between Nicolas and Michael d’Orlando (Koene USA/Tony Kart) but mechanical problems and on-track incidents hindered the two brothers as they both fell out of contention. Mathias Ramirez (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart) persevered and took home the win in the final for Junior ROK.
Ocala Gran Prix driver Kyle Kirkwood (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart) dominated the Piquet Sports Senior ROK class as he ran away in the final and drove to a very comfortable victory over Alain Sisdeli (TechSpeed /TechSpeed) and Ryan Norberg (Orlando Kart Center/Tony Kart). A post race penalty would remove Sisdeli from the podium, moving Norberg to second and Luis Forteza (J3 Competition/COMPKART) into the third place.
Deuk Spine Institute ROK Shifter, the fastest and most demanding class present during the ROK weekend, was poised to be an exciting battle between Danny Formal (DRT Racing/DR Kart), Oliver Askew (PSL Karting/BirelART) and Austin Garrison (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart). In the final, Askew started on pole position but Formal got the jump on the green flag. From that point on, Formal masterfully cruised to the checkered flag with Garrison finishing half a second behind.
Scott Davidson (PSL Karting/ BirelART) drove away in the Deuk Spine Institute ROK Shifter Masters category to a comfortable victory. Bordgona Racing Engines Masters ROK was commanded by Anthony Honeywell (Praga USA/Praga) with a large lead that he created early on in the race. Adam Pettit (Checkered Flag/PCR Kart) would slowly close the gap on Honeywell until ultimately running out of laps.
Rotax MAX Challenge classes set the stage for an exciting finale.
With clear blue skies and beautiful temperatures all weekend long, the weekend was another fantastic setting for drivers to compete in. AM Engines Rotax Micro MAX quickly turned into a two-man race with Josh Pierson (Rolison

[/one_half]

[one_half_last]
Performance Group/Tony Kart) and James Egozi (BENIK/BENIK Kart) creating an enormous lead early on in the race. As the laps ticked away, the two drivers began swapping positions until Egozi emerged as the leader on the last lap. As Egozi blocked going into the final turn, Pierson executed a late maneuver, taking back the lead and crossing the finish line in the lead. Unfortunately, Pierson would receive a post race penalty, moving him down to second position and awarding Egozi the win.
PSL Karting Rotax Mini MAX was another two-driver duel as Tyler Gonzalez (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart) and Matheus Morgatto (AM Racing/Tony Kart) broke away from the rest of the pack. Gonzalez entered cruise control mode and controlled the lead over Morgatto, but a strong battle for third took place throughout the race, with Austin Torgerson (BBR Karting/Tony Kart) overtaking Jeremy Fairbairn (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart) as the two drivers dragged race to the finish line.
Mathias Ramirez (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart) was all business in the Koene USA Rotax Junior MAX final as the Florida native opened up a commanding lead early in the race. Being the only driver to win both the ROK and Rotax final, Ramirez crossed the line nearly five seconds ahead of Nicholas d’Orlando (Koene USA/Tony Kart) for his back-to-back victory.
The chaotic Rolison Performance Group Rotax Senior MAX race began with pole sitter Kyle Kirkwood suffering a mechanical failure on the opening lap of the race. From that point on, it was anyone’s race as numerous lead changes kept the crowd entertained. Zachary Claman Demelo (Goodwood Kartways/Intrepid) led the final half of the race until himself and Jordan Lennox (PSL Karting/BirelART) collided, knocking both of them out of contention. Senior class rookie Trenton Estep (Koene USA/Tony Kart) emerged as the Senior MAX winner, with Austin Garrison (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart) tailing closely behind in second position.
Mojo Tires Rotax DD2 MAX was a masterful weekend for hometown hero Oliver Askew (PSL Karting/BirelART) as the young driver in his inaugural DD2 season swept every session of the weekend. Mercedes DTM racer Robert Wickens (Maranello North America/Maranello) finished in a strong second position, well ahead of Marco Signoretti (Energy Kart Canada/Energy) in third.
Mojo Tires Rotax DD2 MAX Masters was nearly another perfect weekend for Christian Cornejo (Praga Chile/Praga), finishing strong in the heats and prefinal before losing the lead to Luis Schiavo (SVK Motorsport/BirelART) and finishing in second. Michel Aboissa (Orsolon Racing/Tony Kart) was the big winner in Falcone GP Rotax MAX Masters, securing the win over Scott Roberts (Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart) and Christophe Adams (PSL Karting/BirelART).
The Sofina Foods Florida Winter Tour Presented by Fikse Wheels heads to Palm Beach International Raceway in March for the conclusion of its three round series, where 14 drivers will be crowned series champions with qualifying classes earning tickets to the ROK International Final and the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals located in Sarno Italy. For more information, please visit www.maxspeedentertainment.com.

[/one_half_last]

[divider style="dotted" top="10" bottom="10"]

[box type="shadow"] Fonte: maxspeedentertainment.com[/box]

[divider style="dotted" top="10" bottom="10"]