Beasley, Neri, Self, Stroll lock up titles; Honda GX Cup a huge success 

Saturday’s races were held in glorious Florida conditions, with temperatures in the mid-70s and clear sunny skies. Sunday was a markedly different affair, as a massive storm front moved through the region and brought torrential rain, thunder and lightning that caused a two hour delay. Fortunately, once it moved through, the rain completely stopped and all the finals were run on a wet but rapidly drying track.

Ocala Gran Prix Pro Rotax

The creation of the Pro Rotax category in 2010 was designed to pit some of the sport’s best young drivers against many of its seasoned veterans. Who would have thought that a pair of junior drivers, making their senior debuts, would come to Ocala sitting comfortably one-two in the points?

Nick Neri and Daniel Formal, two outstanding young drivers, spent the early months of 2010 showing the rest of the field how to get around the race tracks of central Florida. Formal used a steady diet of podium finishes to hold down second position in the points, while Neri’s pair of Palm Beach wins put him firmly in control of the championship with the two Ocala races left to run.

On Saturday, Neri made it three wins on the year with yet another dominating performance that became his calling card this season. Victor Pedrosa and Fabio Orsolon rounded out the podium, while Formal, desperate to keep his title hopes alive, could do no better than sixth.

With Pro Rotax set to hit the track as the last class of Sunday afternoon, the rapidly drying track was a golden invitation for slick tires, especially for those with little to lose. Strangely, everyone remained on wets, with no shortage of regrets among the drivers after the race was concluded.

While many expected a Neri encore, or perhaps a Stuart Marsell upset, it was the OGP/Tony Kart of Max Preston whose crew nailed the setup perfectly. In rapidly drying conditions, Preston made a mockery of the main with a best lap a full second and a half clear of his nearest rival, translating into a 20 second victory. The BTK Motorsports/Arrows of Marsell and Pedrosa could only manage second and third, respectively.

In somewhat anti-climactic fashion, Formal had one of those forgettable weekends in which he was strangely off the frontrunning pace and, uncharacteristically, he and his Advanced Karting squad couldn’t find the answers. On a day when he hoped to salvage a FWT points title, all he could do was watch as Neri romped to a second championship in as many weeks.

Italian Motors Pro IAME Senior

Two drivers came to Ocala with a chance at the Pro IAME Senior class championship. Florida’s Sean Meier and Ohio’s Sam Beasley were a mere eleven points apart after four of six rounds, leaving the final two races as the deciders in this tight battle.

The Italian Motors/Italkart entry of Andre Nicastro stole some of the class thunder on this weekend, as the talented Brazilian won comfortably on both Saturday and Sunday, showing his versatility in what were wildly differing conditions from day to day. In Saturday’s main, Meier finished second while Beasley came home fourth, just behind Nathaniel Dewitt. Going into Sunday, the championship protagonists were still separated by just eleven points.

Sunday’s varying weather conditions added more spice to the mix, as qualifying and the pre-finals were run in the dry while the final was held on a rain-soaked surface. With everything to play for, Beasley and Meier finished second and third in the pre-final, setting up one of the closest points battles in tour lore.

As before, Nicastro shot off into the distance, this time with his IM teammate Remo Ruscitti running in second. On this day, Beasley and his Arrow had the upper hand on Meier and his Kosmic, and when Sam crossed the line in third, it was enough to clinch the class championship and a good chunk of the $20,000 pro cash purse. Meier could do no better than sixth on the day, yet most would agree that both drivers were deserving and worthy champions in this very competitive class.

PSL Karting.com IAME Junior

On the back of an Orlando win and a Palm Beach win, Alessandra Madrigal held onto the points lead as the IAME Junior drivers took to the track on Saturday. Still, her advantage was hardly secure, as Austin Self seemed determined to make a fight out of this championship.

And succeed he did. During Saturday’s final, while Dore Chaponick Jr. was crushing the field and Joel Jens was finishing second, Self drove a steady race to finish third and, with Madrigal only coming home in sixth, suddenly Austin was on the attack and ready to do all he could to earn the title.

His chance came on Sunday. The IAME Junior drivers were the first class to take to the track after the rain delay, in which the storm front had dropped close to two inches in as many hours. The track was soaked though the rain had mostly stopped, and the title contenders trundled down to take the green flag, Self lined up in second with Madrigal right behind him in line.

Self immediately dashed off into the lead and grabbed a two second advantage, while Madrigal ran as high as third before settling into fourth. In the runner-up position was the flying Merlin of Shawn Sharkey; he methodically worked his way forward after starting sixth, and by the seventh lap he was on Self’s tail.

What ensued was a titanic battle for the win. Sharkey, clearly faster through the infield sections, made many a pass for the lead that lasted a corner or two before Self would snatch it right back. Austin threw championship caution to the wind, as the two drivers swapped positions multiple times as the laps wound down.

Any last minute heroics that Sharkey might have been contemplating ended when he half spun headed towards the tree turn, and that gave Self all the breathing room he needed. Austin took the win and, with Madrigal finishing in fourth, that gave Self the class championship.

Honda GX Cup

The debut of the FWT Honda GX Cup was met with great enthusiasm by this extremely popular Canadian class. Junior, Senior and Master GX drivers were welcomed to the Florida Winter Tour for the first time, and close to 40 of them made the trip south from their homes in the Great White North.

As a group, the Honda racers quickly assimilated themselves into the paddock and, with lots of drafting and heaps of lead changes, they also quickly became fan favorites. While the Honda GX is generally considered an entry-level package, there was no shortage of very talented racers who brought both excitement and good cheer to the event.

Racing highlights included the Senior final on Saturday, in which a race-long battle between Michael Glaze, Darryl Timmers and Pearce Herder was party-crashed by a late charging Kevin Monteith. Having passed for second into Turn 1 on the last lap, Monteith moved into the lead just a corner later and held on for the win, with Glaze and Timmers rounding out the podium. On Sunday, more thrills from this class as the same four drivers raced nose to tail for most of the final, the drivers sliding and drifting on the wet track. This fight was won by Glaze, finishing a puny .029 ahead of Timmers, while Herder and Monteith were less than a second back. Timmers came away with the Senior Cup by a mere five points.

The Sunday final in GX Masters was no less exciting. Following his win on Saturday, Steve Lyons was the clear favorite in the wet on Sunday afternoon, and he dashed away into the distance from the drop of the green. However, Fred Jordan had other plans and he soon reeled in Lyons and the two staged a private dual for the win. Both drivers put on a superb display of kart control on the damp track, yet Fred was the better man on the day and took the victory by fewer than five tenths. Lyons had to settle for second yet was consoled by taking the Masters Cup.

A scant .134 was all the difference between Saturday’s GX Junior winner Jamie Lockwood and runner-up Sean McPhee. Third place went to Scott Nagel, which boded well for the young Canadian, as his follow-up strong performance on Sunday was enough to lock up the Junior Cup.

DeFrancesco Racing Vortex TAG Cadet

DFR’s Kyle Kirkwood took to the track on Saturday in a must-win situation; if he hoped to extend his championship battle with Lance Stroll, nothing less than a victory would do. Kyle responded in sterling fashion, qualifying second and then taking the pre-final win by just .052 over teammate Devlin DeFrancesco. In the main, Kirkwood simply drove away from the field and dominated his rivals, finishing four seconds ahead of Ashley Rogero while a somewhat somber Stroll completed the podium.

The stage was set for a mighty Sunday showdown between Kirkwood and Stroll in a winner-take-all scenario for the title. Kyle again qualified second, and again won the pre-final. It was all there for Kirkwood to bring home.

Sadly, the drama was lost from the drop of the green, as it was immediately apparent that something had gone amiss on Kyle’s machine. He began dropping positions with every lap before retiring on Lap 7. At the front of the field, Zachary DeMelo was comfortably in control of the proceedings and seemed certain to take his first win of the season. Until, just two laps from the checkered, he looped it on the slippery track and gift-wrapped the victory, and the class championship, for Stroll. It ended up being the fourth victory from six races for the young Tony Kart driver.

Masters Shifter / Stock Moto / TAG Masters

The plan for Masters Shifter during the Ocala weekend was to witness the coronation of Robert Francis as the class champion, and while Francis went out on top in the points, the paddock was abuzz with the return of former FWT shifter standout Rob Gore. Aboard a mothballed 2002 CRG/Honda Moto, Gore went on to take popular wins in both finals, and an enthusiastic crowd was on hand to greet him and Francis at the podiums.

In the Stock Moto category, when you win five races on the trot, you can be pretty sure that you’re going to win the championship. That’s a summary of Jim Machul’s season aboard his Race Sport/Arrow, as the Floridian dominated the Honda shifter class, often taking the overall win in the combined Stock Moto/Masters Shifter group against ICC/built moto competition. His teammate Butch Lander came home second in the points chase, with Canadian Joshua Adams third.

For this year’s FWT, TAG Masters was almost completely the personal playground of Ohio’s Brian McHattie. With five wins out of six races, including both finals at Ocala, McHattie dominated the class and easily took home the points championship.

A complete review of the 2010 Florida Winter Tour season, including a full list of all awards, cash, and prize winners, will be available in the coming days.