Dear Florida Karting Championship Series Members and potential racers, I would personally like to thank each and every member that nominated me to run for Presidency of the Florida Karting Championship Series in 2011. As announced at the fourth round of the series in Ocala, I would not run for the President’s position this upcoming season and would officially like to remove my name from the ballot.

It has been a great two seasons and I have really enjoyed the challenges of helping grow the series to where it is today. In the short period as the president of FKCS I have grown as a leader and as a person and from the bottom of my heart I say thank you to all members for allowing me the freedom to lead. This has been by far one period of my life I will always look back and smile. I have come to know the FKCS members as a growing family. I look forward to meet my upcoming challenges with the same intensity as I have done for FKCS and its members.

As mentioned earlier this season, I have several businesses in which I am trying to grow that will need my utmost attention, one which includes becoming a Tony Kart distributor for the United States and I did not want there to be any conflicts of interest as an active board member in the future. I will continue to support the series for the years to come including the end of the year charity event to help raise money for the Victory Junction Camp and OGP will continue series sponsorship and the end of the year gift certificates.

I wish the new President the best of luck and will look to make this transition as easy and pain free as possible. For that President, the board members and the participants of the FKCS program, I will always make myself available for any questions comments or concerns regarding the series.

Thank you again, Sincerely,
Jorge Arellano

Announcements, Newsletter

“Hodgson, Neri and Formal to be part of Team USA”

July 21, 2010 – The Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart race team was front and center in New Castle, Indiana as they worked hard all weekend long to help their drivers succeed. When the dust had settled, DD2 driver Cody Hodgson waclked away with the national championship and will join Florida Winter Tour champion Nick Neri in Italy for the Rotax World Finals later this year. Ocala Gran Prix also had the opportunity to work with Kosmic driver Daniel Formal and the team gelled nicely in two days of action to garner a third place podium result and a spot on America’s team.

With a testing weekend planned prior to the event, twelve Ocala Gran Prix drivers and the crew of more than ten travelled north to New Castle Motorsports Park to tame the mile long facility. With some quick times put down by all drivers, it looked as if the weekend would be another dominant one by the OGP crew.

Rotax Rogero’ – Junior rookie Ashley Rogero scored a solid 4th place result in her first big Rotax Junior race

“The weekend test went well and Wednesday’s official event practice was great for most drivers,” expressed OGP President Jorge Arellano. “Our junior drivers were well up to speed as both Ashley Rogero and Oliver Askew topped the time sheets on occasion. Jack West was also on his game as he was in the top five all week long and showed the speed to run with the front runners. Racing has its fair hand in luck and some of our drivers had some good luck, while others struggled with the bad luck.”

Disaster struck for 14-year-old Nick Neri in Wednesday morning’s opening practice as a freak accident would see the youngster break his arm as he looked to take control of the Rotax Senior class. Neri was sent to see the IZOD IndyCar Series doctor as he required immediate surgery that saw a plate and seven screws inserted into his arm. Now a cheerleader for the rest of the week, Neri was back at the track for the remainder of the event helping the younger team drivers with driving lines and race craft.

The surprise of the weekend for the Ocala Gran Prix squad would have to be female driver Ashley Rogero. After competing in Mini Max and Cadet all season, Rogero was battling with the junior big dogs and holding her own as the week went on. After topping one of the timed sessions on Wednesday, Rogero worked with the team and fought hard throughout Saturday’s pre final and main event scoring a solid fourth place finish. Missing Team USA by one spot, Rogero was hoping for a top twenty result when the week had started and never expected to be battling for a podium finish.

Junior pilot Jack West overcame a bent chassis in one heat race and a main event starting spot outside the top twenty to come home sixth while AJ Myers overcame a DNF in heat one to score a solid top ten result in ninth. Miami’s Pietro Fittipaldi was at the pointy end of the field throughout the week and raced wheel-to-wheel with Team USA’s future additions. A bold late braking pass in the pre final would see contact with another competitor at the end of the long straightaway and Fittipaldi would see his chance to travel overseas go away as he slid off the racing surface. Starting the main event in 39th, Fittipaldi battled hard for a top twenty result.

Rotax Cody’ – Cody Hodgson will represent Team USA and OGP at the Rotax World Finals for the second year in a row

The dominant driver in DD2 all weekend was Californian Cody Hodgson. After qualifying on the pole and taking the first and third heat race wins, Hodgson went on to be perfect on Saturday taking the checkered flag in the pre final and final. On his way to the national title, Hodgson also scored the fastest race lap and will look to improve on his third place result from last year’s Rotax World Finals in Egypt.

Half way through the week, OGP picked up the driving skills of Floridian Daniel Formal. With Neri out of the lineup, OGP’s Mike Maurini was assigned the task of making sure Formal would be part of America’s team. After qualifying fifth and finishing second in all three heat races, Formal claimed the win in the pre final before taking the third and final podium spot in the main event.

Masters drivers Rob Maier and Jason Bell overcame incidents in the pre finals and moved forward in the main event. After starting from the tail of the field, both drivers showed their speed as Bell managed to move forward and score a solid top fifteen result while Maier would be just outside the top twenty.

Arellano added, “This was another tremendous event for OGP, New Castle Motorsports Park and the crew of the US Rotax Nationals. I have no complaints and am happy to be part of this program.”

A complete list of team results are below:

Rotax Junior

• Oliver Askew – 23rd
• Pietro Fittipaldi – 18th
• Andrew Evans – 30th
• Ashley Rogero – 4th
• AJ Myers – 9th
• Jack West – 6th
• Ethan Low – 21st

Rotax Senior

• Nick Neri – DNS
• Brandon Salyer – 29th
• Daniel Formal – 3rd

Rotax Masters

• Jason Bell – 15th
• Rob Maier – 22nd

Rotax DD2

• Cody Hodgson – 1st

Rotax DD2 Masters

• Nick Weil – 5th

Ocala Gran Prix will be purchasing chassis and providing testing sessions for members of Team USA. Stay tuned for future releases and dates as Ocala Gran Prix looks to ensure Team USA’s success at the Rotax World Finals.

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’s courtesy of: On Track promotions

Announcements, Newsletter

“Winning team looks to continue success in important July events”

July 5, 2010 – The Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart race team is prepared for a busy month of July that will see the team crisscross the East coast to compete at several important karting events. With the first weekends of July spent in Wisconsin for the World Karting Association (WKA) Manufacturer’s Cup and Indiana at the Rotax Grand Nationals, the team will look to score national level victories and the chance to represent the United States at the Rotax World Finals before returning to their home state for some regional level action.

Only two drivers competing at New Castle will make the long trek from the Sunshine State to the famed Road America facility for the third round of the WKA calendar and both have a shot at multiple victories. Coming off a career weekend in South Bend, female pilot Ashley Rogero will look to continue her success as she will take part in five classes while multi-time champion Nick Neri will look to stand atop the podium in four divisions. Floridian Jonathon Koytek will also be at Road America and will look to run at the front of the junior divisions.

While Neri and Rogero compete in Wisconsin, a host of Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart drivers will partake in the test weekend for the prestigious United States Rotax Grand Nationals. Neri and Rogero will make the seven hour trip from Road America to New Castle Motorsports Park to meet up with the squad as they look to get on track on Monday morning.

“This is a challenging few weeks for our team,” stated Ocala Gran Prix’s President Jorge Arellano. “We have a split squad for the first weekend and will bring everyone together for the following week. We need key personnel to be in certain places to ensure success. Not to mention the organizing of hotels, tent, catering and other stuff, the ‘to do’ list is endless.”

While three drivers on the Ocala Gran Prix team have Rotax World Finals experience (Neri, Hodgson and Weil), OGP is bringing thirteen competitors to New Castle, Indiana with the hopes of scoring several race wins and podiums. While most of the drivers can be found competing in the Rotax Junior class, Hodgson and Neri will do battle in the Senior ranks in DD2 and Rotax Senior respectively. A complete team list can be found below.

Ocala Gran Prix/Tony Kart Entries for US Rotax Grand Nationals:

• Rotax Junior
• Oliver Askew
• Pietro Fittipaldi
• Andrew Evans
• Ashley Rogero
• AJ Myers
• Jack West
• Ethan Low

Rotax Senior

• Nick Neri
• Brandon Salyer

Rotax Masters

• Jason Bell
• Rob Maier

Rotax DD2

• Cody Hodgson

Rotax DD2 Masters

• Nick Weil

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 at both WKA and the Rotax Grand Nationals. Multi-time WKA champion Tony Loniewski will also help the team at WKA while Clark Hadden as well as 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).

Announcements, Newsletter

“The plan to set up dealers can now be put into action”

July 2, 2010 – The newly formed Ocala Gran Prix International Imports (OGPII) has confirmed that they will receive their first container shipment from the Tony Kart Srl. factory in northern Italy Tuesday, July, 6^th, 2010. Complete with Tony Kart and Alonso chassis as well as a complete line of OTK parts, the container has made it to port in the United States and is in the process of clearing customs. On this date, OGPII will be open for business to set up dealers and support the OTK product line throughout North America.

“The dream is now becoming a reality,” expressed Jorge Arellano from his offices in Ocala, Florida. “It was a big undertaking to determine what was needed to immediately fill the void for the OTK product line in North America and that is what this order has been designed to do.”

Entering the heart of the racing season, there are several prolific karting events on the horizon including the World Karting Association Manufacturer’s Cup program, United States Rotax Grand Nationals, WSK World Series event in New Jersey and several regional events across the nation. Having a good supply of karts and parts is essential to success and OGPII is looking to start that with their very first supply order.

Arellano added, “There is a high demand for these products in the United States and it will only be a matter of time before we turn around and make another substantial order. In the mean time, we will begin to service, support and work with customers and OTK dealers to provide the great customer service that we have developed a strong reputation behind.”

Focusing on the Florida and Midwestern markets (Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana), interested companies looking to help promote the OTK product line are asked to contact OGPII. With profitable margins and support from some of the top personnel and leading karting operations in the United States, a partnership with OGPII will have major benefits and be an instant success.

For more information on Ocala Grand Prix International Imports, including information on how to get into karting or become a dealer, 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).

Announcements, Newsletter