OCALA GRAN PRIX STANDS ATOP THE PODIUM IN FKCS ACTION
“Multiple race wins and podiums for OGP Team”
Ocala, Florida – May 19, 2011 – Heading to North Florida for the fourth round of the Florida Karting Championship Series, Ocala Gran Prix drivers would be shooting for race wins and podiums along the way. With the Florida Karting Championship Series (FKCS) event taking place at the Monticello Karting and Motorclub facility, championship contenders would rise to the top as they make a final push towards the end of the year championship chase.
Leading the way in the Senior categories was perennial front runner and senior rookie Nick Neri. After taking the top honors in the Stock Moto and overall shifter division, Neri also went on to claim the TaG Senior win and a third place result in Rotax Senior. OGP showed their true dominance in the TaG Senior class as Neri was followed across the line by Jonathon Kotyk and Brandon Salyer in second and third. Tony Kart’s own Andre Martins finished in fifth. Floridian Andrew Evans was looking to make it an OGP sweep in the top five but a broken seat and a dislodged weight caused him to be one pound light at the scales post race.
Having a season best run in the FKCS program was Floridian Jonathon Kotyk. Competing in both the TaG Senior and Rotax Senior classes, Kotyk would be at the pointy end of the field all weekend long. After claiming the pole position, Kotyk went on to win the Rotax Senior category in one of his best races of the year.
In the junior categories, it was Oliver Askew who would claim a victory in Sunday’s Rotax Junior class, rebounding from a disappointing third place result in Saturday’s TaG Junior program. Askew would also compete in KPP and Yamaha Junior where he would run in the top five throughout the weekend. Working with no tuner in this pair of classes, Askew would begin to learn the in’s and out’s of tuning as he worked on his own kart all weekend long.
First year driver Alex Hornborg continued to turn heads as his rapid development at the club level program has seen him turn into a podium contender in regional level action. Seeing battle in both the Rotax and TaG Junior categories, Hornborg worked with OGP tuner Nate Grindell to score a solid fifth place result in TaG Junior. Sunday would see mid-race contact while running fourth in the Rotax Junior class to eventually be classified in the eleventh position.
Mathias Ramirez would solidify another win for the OGP squad as he stood atop the podium in Rotax Micro Max while teammate Dylan Gennaro came home in twelfth. In the Cadet Junior Sportsman class, Ramirez would cross the stripe in P9 while Gennaro would come home in nineteenth.
National level front-runner and Florida Winter Tour TaG Junior champion Ashley Rogero would be back behind the wheel of her Tony Kart and would see battle in the Yamaha Junior and KPP Junior classes. Showing her speed, Rogero stole the show in the Yamaha division as she added another win to her already impressive resume. In the KPP Junior class, the female pilot would claim a solid fourth place result.
“It was another good weekend of racing and great results for the OGP team,” expressed Ocala Gran Prix President Jorge Arellano. “With two events left, we will now take a look at the championship points and try to do whatever possible to make a run at as many of them as we can.”
The next Florida Karting Championship Series event is only a month away as the series will travel to the 103rd Motorsports Complex in Jacksonville, Florida.
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 them at352.291.0600 (Info@OcalaGranPrix.com) or Mike Maurini at 317.270.8723(Mike@RaceTechDevelopment.com).
