2021 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour – Ocala Gran Prix RD2 – Saturday Report

Saturday was a day of sunshine as brisk temperatures in the morning made way to a warming trend all day as not a rain drop or wet weather tire would see the track. With one warmup scheduled for each class before heats two and three, prefinal action closed the day as grids are now set for tomorrow’s main events. With points increasing for each round in the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour, consistent results and a presence at the front of the field will reward ROKKERs with championships at the end of March.

Nash Motorsports VLR Senior
With the first green flag of the day just after 10am, Blake Nash (Nash Motorsportz) launched to the lead from his pole position starting spot and never looked back. Stretching his lead over the competition, Nash claimed his first checkered flag of the day over Cole Schroeder (Syntech), scoring the fastest lap of the race on the last lap. Jed Perkins (Margay) ended his heat P3 as Grace Hemmerde (Team Crosslink) and Hallie Schroeder finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Nash made it three-for-three in the heat races taking another win ahead of Cole Schroeder, who added his second second place result of the day. Lucas Fecury (Piquet Sports) found his way to P3 as Perkins and Hemmerde rounded out the top-five.

It was all Blake Nash in the VLR Senior prefinal as he started from the pole position and was the first to the checkered flag but was under pressure the entire race from Cole Schroeder. Schroeder took the lead late in the race, only to have Nash sneak back by on the final circuit. Fecury gained one position to finish third as Hallie Schroeder was fourth. Jed Perkins was the biggest loser of the prefinal, falling two positions to fifth.

Utah Motorsports Campus VLR Master
Laurentiu Mardan (Techno Kart USA) took the top position in VLR Master heat two finishing ahead of fellow Tecno Kart USA driver Cristian Vomir. Juan Basco (SLA Kart) secured the third position on track while Francisco Marques (Orsolon Racing) earned a fourth-place finish ahead of Halo Barros (GB Motorsports).

Basco secured the VLR Master heat three win, outpacing the Tecno Kart USA duo of Cristian Vomir and Laurentiu Mardan. Francisco Marques scored the fourth position on track as David Morris (Nadie) beat Galo Barros to the line for fifth.

Mardan continued his upward progression and was the first to the checkered flag to take the prefinal win ahead of Juan Basco. Vomir was able to come home third on track while Francisco Marques and David Morris are set on the VLR Masters grid for tomorrow’s main event.

REM VLR Junior
Paul Bocuse (Speed Concepts Racing) scored the fastest lap of VLR Junior heat two and made a bid for the lead four corners from the end as contact was made with Chase Hand (Rolison Performance Group). With the top two making contact and off the track, Beckham Jacir (JC Karting) was the benefactor as he went on to score the win ahead of Sebastian Wheldon (JC Karting). Danny Dyszelski (Ryan Perry Motorsports) also took advantage of the leaders contact to slide into third as Bocuse recovered for fourth with Hand in fifth. Following post-race technical inspection, race winner Jacir was disqualified for a carburetor issue elevating Wheldon to the win.

It was a Speed Concepts Racing one – two finish as Paul Bocuse led Ayden Ingratta across the line for the victory as Ingratta charged forward from the back of the grid. Chase Hand fell two positions from his pole position starting spot to come home third, just ahead of Sebastian Wheldon in fourth and Danny Dyszelski in fifth.

Bocuse and Ingratta snuck out to the lead in the prefinal as Bocuse led early before his Speed Concepts Racing teammate snuck by. Bocuse retook the lead as he and Ingratta went wheel-to-wheel the next lap and made contact, handing the lead to Chase Hand. With damaged equipment, Bocuse fell down the running order to fifth and was never able to move back forward. Hand took the win and pole position for tomorrow while Ingratta rebounded for a second-place result. Danny Dyszelski was classified third, just ahead of Sebastian Wheldon in fourth and Bocuse in P5.

Leading Edge Motorsports Mini ROK
Enzo Vidmontiene (Team Benik) was able to get a great jump from his pole position starting spot to rocket out to the lead and open a half a second gap by the end of lap three. Scoring the win, Vidmontiene led Oliver Wheldon (JC Karting) and Salvador Della Vecchia (San Antonio Karting) across the line as Diego Ardiles (Supertune) was able to maintain his position in fourth. Kai Johnson (PSA) gained one position to finish fifth and crack the top-five. With push back bumper penalties handed out following the race, Karsyn Walters found herself in the fifth position in the final results.

Enzo Vidmontiene and Asher Ochstein went first and third in Mini ROK heat three for Team Benik as they split Oliver Wheldon, who gained one position to finish second. Johnson was once again in the top-five with another fourth-place result while Sebastian Garzon (Orsolon Racing) fell three positions to finish fifth. Vidmontiene went three for three in the heat races.

Vidmontiene never relinquished the lead all day taking the top spot in the Mini ROK prefinal and pole position for tomorrow’s main event. Team Benik teammate Asher Ochstein made it all the way to the second position but was used up on the final two laps as he fell down the running order to eighth. Kai Johnson was the best of the rest finishing second, 3.494 behind Vidmontiene as Sebastian Garzon was third. Diego Ardiles fell to fourth and will start tomorrow’s main event from the second row as Oliver Wheldon was able to advance forward to fifth and an inside row three starting spot for the weekend’s final.

ANSA Motorsports Master Shifter ROK
Victor Jimenez (Rolison Performance Group) had the hole shot in Master Shifter ROK beating Rene Martinelli to the first corner as Jordon Musser (PSL Karting) tried to go around the outside before eventually running out of real estate. Falling to seventh, Musser began his march forward turning fast lap after fast lap to climb all the way to third as the top four drivers were separated by .679 when the checkered flag flew. Jimenez took the win with Martinelli, Musser, Farshad Bagheri (TB Kart USA) and Luis Sanchez (ANSA Karting) rounding out the top-five.

It was Martinelli that returned to the top of the results sheet in heat three as he drove to a one second victory ahead of Jimenez and Musser. Luis Sanchez finished fourth but was relegated to sixth after post-race penalties. Daniel Dibos crossed the line in fourth as Pete Licciardi ended up fifth just ahead of his TB Kart USA teammate Bagheri.

Jordon Musser rocketed off the line from his P2 starting position to take the hole shot and lead into the first corner of the Master Shifter ROK prefinal. Martinelli followed closely through the opening laps but Musser continued to lay down flyers with each passing lap to open a 2.504 gap when the checkered flag flew. Martinelli was able to hold on to P2 with Victor Jimenez and Farshad Bagheri running lock step in third and fourth. Luis Sanchez finished fifth and will look forward to tomorrow’s main event.

Rolison Performance Group Senior ROK
Thomas Nepveu (PSL Karting) was able to secure the heat two Senior ROK win as he put his BirelART out front and held off the charges of Ryan Norberg (Rolison Performance Group). Alex Stanfield (Team Crosslink) had a solid start gaining three positions and holding his own at the front of the field. Connor Zilisch (Mike Doty Racing) fell back from his pole position to outside the top-five but was able to work his way forward to fourth ahead of a hard charging Diego Ramos (REM).

Zilisch was the first to cross the line but would be classified in fifth after the final results were tallied for heat three. Alex Stanfield would be awarded the win as he and Luke Lange put Team Crosslink first and second. Ryan Norberg finished third as Thomas Nepveu was fourth, just ahead of the penalized Zilisch.

Zilisch started the prefinal from the inside of the front row and lost the lead early but managed to retake the top spot on lap three as the Senior drivers got racy. Zilisch drove to the win ahead of Alex Stanfield as he and Diego Ramos moved forward to finish second and third. Ryan Norberg was able to maintain his position in the top-five with a fourth-place finish and will start the main event from the outside of row two as Thomas Annunziata moved his way forward to finish fifth.

Orsolon Racing Master ROK
It was all Renato Jader-David (Orsolon Motorsports) in heat two as he jumped to the front in the opening corner and never looked back. Danillo Ramalho (REM) secured the second position on track as Mario Barrios (Team Crosslink) held his own in P3. Scott Roberts (Speed Concepts Racing) advanced forward from seventh to fourth while Magno Gaia (Orsolon Racing) finished fifth.

Ramalho drove forward to top the results sheet in heat three for Master ROK. Scott Roberts (Speed Concepts Racing) was able to work his way forward for second as multi-time race winner Renato Jader-David finished third. Magno Gaia put a second Orsolon Racing entry in the top-five in P4 as Danny Robertson (Rolison Performance Group) gained five positions to finish fifth.

Renato Jader-David jumped to the lead at the start of the prefinal but was only able to hold the point until the mid-race distance when Danillo Ramalho made his bid for the top spot. Moving to the lead and maintaining a two-kart length gap until the final two laps, Jader-David was able to get back to the lead as Ramalho pressured for the final lap. Banging wheels through the last few corners, Ramalho took the lead and the prefinal win as Jader-David finished second. It was a great battle between Gaia, Roberts, Barrios and Mier as they were three wide on several occasions before Barrios left the track for the pits with an issue. Roberts went on to score the third position on track ahead of Mier and Gaia, who secured top-five starting positions for tomorrow. Gaia received a penalty post-race as he would be pushed back from fifth to seventh in the final results.

Zanella Racing Micro ROK
Max Cristea (Magik Kart USA) held his own at the front of the Micro ROK field as he continued to add to his results resume with a heat race win. Marco Romero (Zanella Racing) also advanced forward one position to finish second as Gianmatteo Rousseau (Nitro Kart) crossed the line third ahead of polesitter Augustus Toniolo (Rolison Performance Group) and Alessandro Truchot (Parolin USA).

Cristea went two-for-two on the day as he scored another heat race win ahead of Zanella Racing’s Marco Romero. Rousseau gained two positions to add a third-place finish to his P2 result in heat two while Truchot gained four more positions to finish fourth, just ahead of pole position winner Augustus Toniolo.

Marco Romero led the prefinal and opened a half second gap on the second-place driver and looked comfortable with good speed as he passed mid-race distance. Polesitter Max Cristea ran second behind Romero as Alessandro Truchot and Gianmatteo Rousseau had an intense battle for the third position. Romero would take the win putting his Benik at the top of the charts ahead of Cristea as Truchot was able to outduel Rousseau for P3. Augustus Toniolo finished fifth and will shift his focus to tomorrow.

Speed Concepts Racing Junior ROK
In his first event with Team Felon, Jeremy Fletcher climbed seven positions in the Junior ROK heat two to reach the checkered flag first. Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts Racing) was able to battle forward to cross the line in second as Noah Baker (Supertune) advanced forward six positions to third. Jorge Ortiz (Supertune) had an incredible drive gaining nineteen positions to finish fourth as Paul Bocuse (Speed Concepts Racing) led early but dropped four late in the race to come home fifth.

Ayden Ingratta put Speed Concepts Racing on top in the third and final heat race of the day as championship point leader Paul Bocuse had an issue and failed to finish. Noah Baker gained seven spots to finish second while Jeremy Fletcher gained five to finish third. Logan Toke (Ryan Perry Motorsports) leveled up seven spots to finish fourth while Jack Jeffers (PSL Karting) gained eight to break into the top-five in fifth.

The Junior ROK polesitter was never pressured as he led flag-to-flag to take the prefinal win for Speed Concepts Racing. Supertune’s Noah Baker was able to move forward one position to finish second with Logan Toke advanced two positions to cross the line in P3. Jorge Ortiz gained more than thirty positions in heats two and three, and managed to level up seven more in the prefinal to finish fourth, passing Paul Bocuse in the final laps who came home fifth.

PSL Karting Shifter ROK
It was AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) that showed up to race on Saturday as he jumped to the top of the ROK Shifter timing sheets and did not look back. Securing the heat two victory, Myers beat Danny Formal (ANSA Karting) and Mathias Ramirez (Speed Concepts Racing), who each fell one spot while Austin Garrison (Rolison Performance Group) maintained his starting position to finish fourth. Jake French had a solid drive forward gaining five positions to end his heat in fifth.

Formal rose to the top of the charts in heat three as he beat heat two race winner AJ Myers. Jacob Gulick (Rolison performance Group) gained two positions to finish third, just ahead of Ramirez and Michael Stevens (PSL Karting), who gained three positions to enter the top-five.

In the Shifter ROK prefinal, it was AJ Myers that moved to the point after polesitter Danny Formal had a terrible start and fell back to P8 by the time he got to turn three. Jacob Gulick moved to second as Jake French closed the opening lap in third. Moving to second at the start of lap three, French was able to advance forward to second as Formal quickly worked his way back up to fourth. In the end, Myers was able to take the win and elusive pole position for tomorrow’s main events as Ramirez advanced forward to finish second ahead of French, Formal and Gulick. Following the prefinal, French was  given a two position penalty for on track contact and pushed back to the fifth position.

For complete weekend results, click HERE.
For complete weekend schedule, click HERE.
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*Results Unofficial