“Beginner and advanced programs to come in the future”

April 30, 2010 – The Ocala Gran Prix race team hosted their first ever racing clinic this past weekend at the newly revamped Ocala Gran Prix facility in Central Florida. With eight drivers under the care and watchful eyes of driving instructors, the first ever ‘Bump U’ racing clinic was a great success and several more have been planned for the remainder of 2010.

“I could believe the overwhelming success and instant feedback we received on the two day clinic,” expressed and excited OGP Owner Jorge Arellano. “All the drivers left the weekend tired and definitely a little sore but it turned out better than expected. There are going to be a few minor tweaks to the program as well as the addition of an advanced racing program to allow the regional drivers to learn to race with the national level guys.”

Double 2010 Florida Winter Tour champion Nick Neri was the lead driving instructor for eight different competitors that enrolled in the school. Taking the crew through a host of kart control exercises and perfecting the driver line, Neri then proceeded in having several practice starts and three lap races as everyone was racing wheel to wheel. Throwing in different configurations and several racing situations, all eight drivers perfected each on track task and left the weekend with more than 250 laps of experience each.

“Bump U is something that we have been working towards for quite some time,” expressed Neri after the weekend was over. “I have done several one on one driver coaching sessions but having a class of eight was different.”

Arellano added, “Drivers ranged from Florida Winter Tour participants to newbies who first got behind the wheel of a kart on Saturday morning. We had drivers on total different ends of the spectrum but worked through the weekend. I am very pleased with what we have going and the future looks bright for the ‘Bump U driving clinic brought to you by OGP’”.

Assisting Neri with on track driving instruction were OGP’s Nate Grindell and Mario Ioffredo while Race Tech Development’s Mike Maurini and OGP’s Kyle Kraus provided driver critiques, driver caching and some data analysis work.

The first Bump U driving clinic by the numbers:

• 8 – Drivers participating in the clinic
• 64 – Mojo tires used
• 16 – Rear sprockets
• 3 – Camera’s used for driver instruction
• 7 – Complete Rotax powered Tony Kart arrive and drive packages
• 250 – The minimum number of laps completed by any driver
• 1 – Accident causing damage
• 3 – On track driving instructors
• 4 – Off track driving instructors
• 20+ – Practice starts

Ocala Gran Prix will be planning several more racing clinics throughout 2010, interested parties are asked to contact Kyle Kraus or Mike Maurini to inquire about pricing and program dates. Beginner and advanced classes will be offered as well as one on one driver coaching is available.

For more information on Ocala Grand Prix, OGP race team opportunities and info on how to get into karting, please visit Ocala Gran Prix online at www.OcalaGranPrix.com or contact Kyle Kraus at 352.291.0600 (Kyle@OcalaGranPrix.com) or Mike Maurini at 317.270.8723 (Mike@OcalaGranPrix.com) .

Mike Maurini
Ocala Gran Prix
Mike@OcalaGranPrix.com
P: 317.270.8723

Announcements, Newsletter

Ashley Rogero will compete in five classes with Team OGP at this coming weekend’s WKA event.

“Hodgson, Neri, Evans, Koytek and Rogero look for race wins”

April 26, 2010 – The Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart race team will make their first trek out of the state of Florida in 2010 as the team will travel to the second round of the World Karting Association (WKA) Manufacturer’s Cup program in northern Indiana. Competing at the MRP of South Bend facility in South Bend, Indiana, OGP will enter five pilots in an array of different divisions as well as be teamed with Indianapolis-based Tony Kart dealer Indiana Racing Services (IRS).

Coming from California and Ocala Gran Prix’s only senior competitor will be 2009 Rotax World Finals DD2 podium finisher Cody Hodgson. The talented teenager will compete in the Rotax Senior and TaG divisions at the difficult South Bend facility utilizing an Ocala Gran Prix Rotax powered Tony Kart in his first WKA action of the season.

Leading the junior ranks will be multi-time race winner and champion Nick Neri. The Floridian pilot, who has already claimed two championships at the 2010 Florida Winter Tour, will look to keep his momentum rolling in WKA action following a pair of wins at the opening round in December. Neri will do battle in four separate divisions as he competes in both Yamaha and Komet Piston Port powered Tony Karts.

Joining Neri in the junior divisions will be another two drivers from the Sunshine State as Andrew Evans and Jonathon Koytek will look to hit the national scene. While both drivers compete in the WKA state series, the Florida Karting Championship Series in Florida, the up and comers will head to the national program to do battle with some of North America’s best drivers. Evans will compete in both the Yamaha Junior Lite and Junior Heavy divisions while Koytek will battle in the Komet Junior Lite and Junior Heavy classes.

Rounding out the five kart OGP team will be female Sportsman driver Ashley Rogero. The talented driver is a front runner in every class that she enters and will be a force for multiple wins in South Bend. Competing in the Cadet Junior Sportsman, Yamaha Sportsman and HPV Sportsman classes, Rogero will run a total of five different classes as she looks for race wins and points towards the end of the year championship.

“We have put together a quality team for the WKA program, and we are heading to South Bend with the goal of winning,” stated OGP’s Jorge Arellano. “We have five very good drivers and a crew with years of experience that I like to call the “A Team.” I have no doubt that we will be at the front of the pack.”

Joining the Ocala Gran Prix squad under the team tent will be Indianapolis-based Tony Kart dealer Indiana Racing Services. Taking advantage of working with the knowledge base of a bigger team at a national level race, Indy Racing Services will enter three competitors for the weekend as they look to add to the Tony Kart success.

Leading the way for Team IRS will be 2009 WKA TaG Masters champion John Dixon as he will compete in both TaG and TaG Masters. Dixon is a talented Masters competitor and currently leads the TaG Masters points championship after taking the opening round win in Daytona. At the age of 41, Dixon will look to continue his hot streak and add to his championship point total. Senior rookie Morgan Nelson will be Team IRS’ second entrant as he will look to battle in the TaG Senior and Leopard Senior classes. Fresh out of the junior divisions, Nelson ran the TaG class at the Great Lakes Sprint Series event two weeks ago claiming two second place results. The third and final entrant from the Indy Racing Services team will be team owner Mike Burrell. The runner up in the 2009 WKA Yamaha Masters championship will be back in the same division this season as he looks to improve his position by one. Burrell will also compete in the TaG Masters category and will utilize a Rotax powered Tony Kart in his search for victory.

Looking to support the team and Tony Kart customers, Ocala Gran Prix has brought in some of the best chassis and engine tuners in the industry to ensure race winning packages. Martijn Koene of Koene Racing will make the trek from the Netherlands while Race Tech Development’s Mike Maurini will work with Nick Neri. Multi-time WKA champion Tony Loniewski will tune for Cody Hodgson while OGP’s Nate Grindell and Mario Ioffredo will join Kyle Kraus in overseeing the complete team operations and rental engine program.

For more information on Ocala Grand Prix, OGP race team opportunities and info on how to get into karting, please visit Ocala Gran Prix online at www.OcalaGranPrix.com or contact Kyle Kraus at 352.291.0600 (Kyle@OcalaGranPrix.com) or Mike Maurini at 317.270.8723 (Mike@OcalaGranPrix.com) .

Press release prepared by: Race Tech Development
Photo courtesy of: On Track Promotions

Mike Maurini
Ocala Gran Prix
P: 317.270.8723

Announcements, Newsletter

“Highlights and interviews from Homestead event weekend”

April 14, 2010 – After a very successful start to the 2010 Florida Karting Championship Series (FKCS), excitement mounted at the second event of the season as Fox Sports Florida was seen roaming the paddock. With commentator Allison Williams and a camera crew on sight, some of the weekends racing coverage and interviews were captured and will be run at the end of this week.

“I was contacted by Allison Williams via e-mail early last week,” stated FKCS President Jorge Arellano. “We e-mailed back and forth a few times and we had something put in place. When we met at the track, she was into all the racing action and performed multiple interviews with drivers, teams and series officials. I never thought that there would ever be a chance to get the FKCS on television, but tidbits from the weekend’s action will air this week.”

Action from the second round of the Florida Karting Championship Series can be seen on Fox Sports Florida on Friday April 16^th at 6:00pm and again on Saturday April 17^th at 11:00am. The program is entitled ‘Miccosukee Sports Rap’ and will feature several different sports happenings from the week.

Arellano added, “I’d like to encourage all series participants to spread the word to families and friends and tell them to tune in. This is great promotion for Florida area karting and who knows, you may see yourself on TV.”

An up-to-date website providing series news, event and series sponsors, points, membership forms, driver bio sheets and 2010 class specification can all be found online at www.FLWKASprintSeries.com

For more information on the Florida Karting championship Series, please contact the Florida Karting Championship Series at 239.641.0024 or Series President Jorge Arellano via e-mail to Jorge@OcalaGranprix.com, Vice-President Victor Evans at EVA964@aol.com or Treasurer Duane Bryan at DuaneBryan@embarqmail.com

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