Team Aluminos’ 2012 Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge campaign began with 6 drivers competing in 3 classes at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and ended with a 1-2 punch on the podium in the premier class of racing.

Throw in a couple of 3rd place knockout performances, and it’s easy to see that this team may well be off to one of their best starts in 5 seasons of competition within the series.

Long-time team member Brad Dunford, began 2012 the same way he started the 2011 season en route to the S1 class championship by winning the S1 main event. He was followed by teammates Cory Milne finishing in 2nd and Kyle Hathcox in 6th. It was Dunford’s smart driving and patience that paid off, as it took a bit of good fortune, courtesy of a racing incident from the leaders, to cement the win. Dunford, who is being groomed for a career in racing, was solid all weekend, beginning with a qualifying run putting him at P4 to start the day.

A heat one run to P3, and a consistent second heat slotted him in P3 for the start of the main. The plan for the final, according to Dunford was, “to keep pace and gain some time here and there on the leaders, and look for opportunities”. And that opportunity came when leader Jimmy McNeil and Clinton Schoombee tangled midway into the main. Dunford steered clear and into the lead going on to the race win. Said Dunford later at the hauler, “I’m so happy for this win, regardless of how they come because this class is so competitive and tough. It’s a great result to begin the year and quest to defend last year’s championship.”

Tough also describes Dunford’s teammate Cory Milne, making his S1 class debut moving up after a successful 2011 campaign in the S2 category. The Colorado racer showed why others in the series will need to keep an eye on him as he methodically moved forward all day. With no previous testing and unable to make the Friday practice, Milne showed up on race day to climb aboard the Aluminos prepared GP11 kart and start his day with a solid qualifying run in 7th. He continued to improve positions and lap times each session.

Heat one saw him move up to 6th, while forging ahead to 4th in Heat two. A good launch on the start of the main helped him to settle into 4th on Dunford’s rear bumper. Pacing consistently with the lead pack he too benefitted from the same bit of the same luck that graced Dunford’s run to the top, securing a memorable run and S1 debut for Milne to 2nd place.

Kyle Hathcox, the reigning S2 SKUSA Pro Tour class champion, also making his S1 class debut, was hoping for some of the same magic this weekend. Qualifying 6th, Hathcox was ready for a charge forward, but contact on lap one resulted in a DNF in the first heat race. Starting at the rear of the twenty kart S1/S2 class combined field he impressively moved back forward into 7th in the second heat showing excellent race craft. The main event resulted in a 6th place finish in the main for the young driver and a solid opening to the 2012 season. He’ll be looking to better this result in round 2 at Willow Springs.

What sets this Aluminos team apart from others is its commitment to groom young driver talent for futures in racing, as well as its passion for offering the same experience to its part-time or weekend warrior drivers who like to go wheel to wheel for a couple of days – then head back into the real world on Monday with something to show for it. Team Aluminos is clearly the complete team package in the series for all –comers with varying skill–sets and it showed this weekend.

S3 driver Todd Wilson, who drove a partial ProKart Challenge campaign in 2011 with the team, was back in the seat for the opener, and by his own account was “a little bit rusty” after being out of the seat for over six months. Knocking that rust off a little bit each time out, Wilson steadily improved to achieve his best ever lap time at Buttonwillow and pole position in qualifying.

The traditional shifter class standing starts did prove to be a nemesis for him, as slow starts on both occasions put him behind, but perseverance and a bit of muscle memory came into play, as Wilson took a third place podium finish in the main. Wilson, whose commitment to his business career sometimes necessarily overshadows his passion for racing, summed it up best when he said, “that was a lot of fun and I accomplished my goal of finishing the race as I get back into racing shape!”

Fun wasn’t the thought S4 competitor Fernando Diaz had rattling around his helmet after a second heat DNF, after a rock-solid P6 qualifying effort, and 5th place finish in heat one. The ultra competitive ProKart Challenge South series S4 class is the strongest and toughest in the country for the Stock Honda Masters division competitors.

After taking a year off from racing, Diaz found himself back in the fray albeit further back than anticipated for the Main event. As a result of the Heat 2 DNF, Diaz was starting from the back of the field and would need to pick his way through traffic in order to salvage an otherwise solid weekend. At starting lights went out to start the 20 lap final, Diaz did just that, and wound up with what could arguably be the drive of the entire PKC weekend with his last to third place finish driving clinic for the over 35 year old class. Diaz, a long-time Aluminos driver proved he’ll be a force, as always, in 2012.

Phil Dunford, a fellow S4 driver who is always a consistent finisher and former race winner at Buttonwillow in the class had a solid showing as well. Qualifying 13th Dunford steadily improved all day long. A 11th place finish in heat one, became a 9th place grid position in heat two and it was from there Dunford steadily from home to a 7th place finish. Dunford’s solid day was exciting, but the smile on his face at day’s end was for his son Brad, and his win earlier in the day. It’s truly a family affair for the Dunford’s at the races.

It’s been an eventful off-season for team Aluminos with some important additions to the program. For team owner Rob Soares, driver coach Tom Dyer and engine builder George Tavares, Fritz Leeseman and the other Aluminos staff it was a season debut worth waiting for. “What can I say, we’re thrilled with the one – two finish in the S1 Pro class for sure,” said Aluminos owner Rob Soares. ‘But to come out of the gate overall with four of our six drivers on the podium is a statement for us. It shows continued consistency, and we work hard to put a good product on the track.

Aluminos’ success is ultimately measured by results, but those results aren’t always measured in race wins. Each driver under our guidance has different reasons for being here and personal goals to achieve. We help to identify, meet and achieve these personal goals for our drivers in a collective manner as a team. Leaving the Buttonwillow facility Saturday night we all felt we had a good solid start to the season with that in mind.”

Team Aluminos preps now for the ProKart Challenge at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California on March 23 & 24, 2012.

For interested drivers, Aluminos is offering Arrive and Drive packages for all 2012 ProKart Challenge events, and SKUSA Pro Tour events this season. Interested drivers wanting to learn more about this professional team are asked to contact Rob Soares at Team Aluminos: 925.786.7865 / sales@aluminos.com – or visit them online at http://www.aluminos.com.

Team Aluminos is a Northern California based operation operating out of the Infineon Raceway complex in Sonoma CA. Noted for their emphasis on driver coaching and trackside support within a no-pressure environment, team Aluminos is a regular presence at tracks all around the western United States. The team also regularly conducts test sessions and driver coaching at the Infineon facility. Affordable packages are available many weekends for those wishing to hone their driving skills during the season.

Photos by: dromophotos.com

February 21, 2012 – With more than 250 Rotax competitors descending on the Homestead Karting Complex for rounds three and four of the Formula Kart Productions Florida Winter Tour, The Kidney Trust supported Hornborg duo of Alex and Mikey would see battle in their respective divisions. While Alex left the challenging circuit with a pair of top twenty-five results, Mikey was not so lucky as the younger driver suffered a broken arm during Sunday’s racing action.

Competing in a talent filled Rotax Junior field, Alex Hornborg would do battle with multi-time regional, national and international champions from around the world. With a goal to qualify directly into Saturday and Sunday’s finals with a top thirty qualifying effort on Friday, Alex did just that turning the 22nd quickest time for Saturday’s qualifying run while scoring the 28th fastest time for Sunday. Solidly in the show for both days, Alex and his tuner Wes Boswell would go to work on perfecting his Ocala Gran Prix powered Tony Kart.

When the green flag flew at the start of Saturday’s prefinal event, Alex would run into trouble in the opening laps falling down the running order. Finishing the heat race in 31st, the Floridian pilot would have his work cut out for him in the main event. Looking to move forward and score as many championship points as possible, Alex drove a smart main event on Saturday to come home 25th.

Sunday would prove to be a little better for the future race winner as he quickly improved on his 28th place qualifying effort to score 22nd in the prefinal. Always wanting more, Alex was gunning for a top fifteen result by the end of the day Sunday but would be forced to hold station in the accident plagued main event to finish the weekend in 22nd.

“It was a pretty good weekend of racing for myself,” expressed Alex Hornborg after the events had concluded. “My goal was to make both finals which I did and now we will shift our focus to the final rounds which take place at my home track in mid-March.”

In only his second year of racing, Mikey has shown constant improvement in both race craft and speed. Improving with each and every outing, Mikey would fail to make the Rotax Mini Max main event on both days of competition but battled hard in Saturday’s consolation event. After qualifying 48th overall and claiming a tenth place result in the Last Chance Qualifier that saw only the top six advance to the final, Mikey had a spirited drive to cross the strip in the third position.

Sunday would prove to be disastrous for Mikey during his Last Chance Qualifying race. After moving forward a few positions on the opening lap, Mikey was involved in a horrific incident that saw his kart go upside down and him to be thrown from his machine. With more than 200lbs of equipment landing on him, Mikey suffered a broken bone just above his wrist and was immediately transferred to the hospital and did not return for the rest of the day.

For more information on Team Hornborg Racing, please contact Mike Hornborg at 813.220.5993 or via e-mail to MikeHornborg@Verizon.net.

For information on press releases or other media services offered by Race Tech Development, please contact Mike Maurini via e-mail at Info@RaceTechDevelopment.com or 317.270.8723. Race Tech Development can also be found on Twitter at @RaceTechDvlp as well as Facebook at their Race Tech Development Fan Page.

About The Kidney Trust:

The Kidney TRUST aims to benefit the 31 million American adults living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), as well as the 506,000 Americans with kidney failure that require dialysis or a kidney transplant. The TRUST was formed to increase awareness of kidney disease through public education and testing programs so that progression of CKD to kidney failure can be delayed or prevented.

The Kidney TRUST was founded in 2006 by DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care in the United States. The Kidney TRUST is an independent, nonprofit organization that believes everyone should be empowered to take a proactive role in their health. Toward that end, the TRUST is seeking to reduce the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) through free, rapid screening in non-medical settings and to provide financial assistance to people affected by CKD.

14 year old George Russell from Wisbech celebrated his birthday week by winning the opening KF3 Kart race of the season on Sunday at Lonato, Italy. Racing for the Italian Intrepid Driver Program for the second consecutive year, Russell started as he finished 2011 on the top spot of the podium.

Qualifying 6th overall from a field of 108 European and world drivers, meant Russell started 2nd on the grid for all of his 5 heats. His first and only heat on Friday saw him claim the victory. He won his next heat on Saturday, however was given a 10 second penalty for going over the start line in front of the pole man. Two 3rds and a 2nd followed in the remaining heats. These results gave Russell 5th spot on the grid for the pre-final on Sunday watched by a crowded grandstand, including F1 driver Paul Di Resta.

Tricky conditions with light rain during practice on Sunday morning made the track difficult for getting the set up right for the kart. Russell adapted well and came through from 5th to take the lead. With two laps to go his carburetor failed momentarily going down the straight, causing him to lose 1.8 seconds. This allowed Swedish driver Robin Hanson, who came 2nd to Russell in the European Finals at Zuera to take advantage and potentially a win. Russell kept cool and after adjusting the carburetion settings on the last lap he made a bold manoeuvre to take the win.

Starting on pole for the final it was vital Russell had a good start. Russell took control of the field and tactically hung back on the rolling up lap. He took the lead in front of a strong field of experienced drivers knowing that one error could be the difference between success and failure. His focus and sheer determination for victory meant that Russell led from start to finish, winning by 5.5 seconds. A brilliant and well deserved win for Russell who is still one of the youngest in the junior category.

Photos courtesy of Chris Walker

For further information please contact:
George Russell on 07584 034988

Following the Margay Sprint Championships at Daytona International Speedway in December both the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Competition Committee and Board of Trustees have held many discussions in an attempt to find some positive middle ground that will satisfy all competitors in the Komet (KPV) and Yamaha Sportsman classes, beginning with the upcoming Zoom Zoom Nationals March 23-25 at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C.

Given the results of the survey taken at the scales at Daytona, it was mutually agreed that the weights in the Komet and Yamaha Sportsman classes be set at 250 and 265 for the Standard and Cadet Chassis in this class, with the weights again being monitored on Saturday of the Zoom Zoom Nationals by WKA officials.

Additionally, it was the suggestion of both collective groups, the Committee and Board, to implement a Final 1/Final 2 format for the balance of the year in Yamaha Sportsman.

However, since the season has already started, in difference to the structure of the Cadet class, which also runs a Final 1/Final 2 format but for one championship, the Yamaha Sportsman class will still run for two championships in 2012, despite the change in structure.

A review of the format for the Yamaha Sportsman class for 2013, as well as the rest of the Man Cup program, will come later in the year.

The Tire Rule for all Sportsman competitors will continue to be enforced throughout the year with competitors in the Cadet, Komet, and Yamaha required to run the same tires both competition days.

Any competitor registered to run just on Day No. 2 will still be required to run a set of used tires, containing the tire markings from that specific event. No other version will be allowed. Sportsman drivers, as well as drivers in any other competition class wishing to run the same tire on Day No. 2, will report to the tech area at a time determined by officials on the evening of Day No. 1 to have their tires branded.

Entries continue to build for the season’s second event of the year in Kershaw, South Carolina. To view the entry blank for the Zoom Zoom Nationals, go here.

http://www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2012/kershaw_mc.pdf

Franklin Motorsports hosting Tech Seminar this Saturday
A WKA / SFI Tech Seminar / Examination will be held this Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Franklin Motorsports shop at 2785 S. 167th St.; New Berlin, Wisconsin.

The seminar is for both 2-cycle and 4-cycle and will be led by Franklin’s George Sieracki. Start time is 9 a.m.

Those passing the SFI / WKA exam become certified WKA tech inspectors for two years.

Cost is $125.00. Attendees need to be current WKA members in good standing or purchase a WKA membership at the door. WKA master membership is $55 per year.

To register or for more information, contact George Sieracki at 262-814-5400.

The 17th edition of the Winter Cup, which took place on the South Garda Karting track of Lonato (Brescia, Italy) was a gripping event. It was one of the most hard-fought events of the last few years; a challenge with more than 273 entrants coming from four continents for the first top-level technical and sports contest of the season.

The top category, the KZ2, was the center of everybody’s attention. The result remained uncertain throughout the whole weekend thanks to the brilliant driving of Italian Marco Ardigò (Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Belgian Jonathan Thonon (CRG-Maxter).

They both played as leading actors, but only as far as the beginning of the final phase. In the pre-final a light morning shower made the asphalt slightly wet. The change of the grip conditions pushed Ardigò out of the race, who crashed on the other Italian driver from Brescia Davide Forè (CRG-Maxter). The accident cleared the way for Thonon’s victory; he managed to win easily beating out the English Ben Hanley (Art Grand Prix-Tm) and the young Mirko Torsellini, also on CRG-Maxter.

In the final there was yet another dramatic change, with Thonon getting a 10-second penalty for a jump start and with the other protagonists who were able to elbow their way through, like the strong Belgian Rick Dreezen (Tony Kart-Vortex), who recovered from the sixth place on the starting grid and managed to get the lead of the race and to arrive first at the finish line, with a remarkable lead over his rivals. Arnaud Kozlinski (Pcr-Tm) managed to place second: he was always among the best. The third step of the podium was occupied by the French Anthony Abbasse (Sodikart-Maxter). Torsellini finished fourth after a great duel against his teammate Thonon. Also Ardigò recovered well from the back rows of the grid and finished fifth.

In KF2 the young Max Verstappen (Intrepid-Tm) dominated. He achieved the best performances since the qualifying heats, then he won both the pre-final and the final. Verstappen’s greater rival was Antonio Fuoco (Tony Kart-Vortex) from Southern Italy: he deservedly achieved the second spot preceding the Norwegian Dennis Olsen (Energy-Tm). Excellent fourth position for the English champion Tom Joyner (LH-Bmb), who preceded the other Norwegian Oystein Helgheim (Formula K-Tm) on the finish line.

In KF3 both the pre-final and the final were won by the English George Russell (Intrepid-Tm). In the duel for the second position, during the last lap, Alessio Lorandi (Tony Kart-Vortex) tried an impossible overtaking on Danilo Albanese (FA Kart-Vortex). A contact between the two karts gave the Swedish RobinHansson (Energy-Tm) the opportunity to capture second place. Lorandi, who eventually placed third, got a 10-second penalty and left the third step of the podium to Albanese.

The Hungarian Martin Kodric (FA Kart-Vortex) placed fourth after an awesome recovery from the last rows of the grid. The Swedish Ilari Piispanen (LH-Bmb) placed fifth. Luca Corberi (Kosmic-Vortex), who raced in his hometown, placed ninth. Anyway, the KF3 result is still “sub-judice”, because the team of the English Connor Jupp (Energy-Tm) appealed against the disqualification of its driver given by the race officials for technical reasons during the last heat on Saturday.

In KF3 there was also the debut of Mick Schumacher (Tony Kart-Vortex).He showed good progress throughout the whole weekend, but he was rather unlucky and got involved in two crashes in two different qualifying heats and in the second chance heat too. He was heavily penalized and did not manage to qualify for the final. Mick Schumacher entered this demanding international race using his mother’s surname, Besch, and was directly assisted by Tony Kart. His debut was, after all, quite positive and his performances were considered satisfactory by the team, especially because he showed great determination during the whole event of Lonato.

All the results on http://www.southgardakarting.it