2022 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour – Isle Casino – Round 1 – Friday Report

2022 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour – Isle Casino – Round 1 – Friday Report

Daily Report by: ROK Cup USA
Photos by: Canadian Karting News

It was a jam-packed day of competition to open the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour with warmup, qualifying and a pair of heat races for all classes. A schedule adjustment will see the weekend end on Saturday due to severe weather coming into the area as ROKKERs will complete both the prefinal and main events tomorrow as race one winners will be crowned.

ROK VLR Junior – Nash Motorsportz
Qualifying Results

  1. Caleb Gafrarar – 48.809
  2. Cooper Shipman – 48.828
  3. Charlie Smith – 48.998
  4. Ayden Ingratta – 49.012
  5. Christian Cameron – 49.041

Heat #1
From his pole position, Caleb Gafrarar (RPG) drove to the heat one victory as he pulled away from his competition to take the checkered flag by 2.802 over Iron Rock Motorsports’ Cooper Shipman. Nash Motorsportz driver Charlie Smith wasn’t the fastest driver on track but managed to maintain his P3 starting position to finish third as Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts Racing) crossed the line in fourth. With the front four finishing where they started, Helio Meza advanced forward one position to finish fifth.

Heat #2
Caleb Gafrarar would go two-for-two in the heat races as he added the VLR Junior heat two victory. Helio Meza leveled up four positions to come home second as Ayden Ingratta gained one position to finish third. Charlie Smith fell one position to close his day in fourth while Cooper Shipman dropped three positions to finish in the fifth position.

ROK VLR Senior – RTD Media
Qualifying Results

  1. Jeremy Fletcher – 48.814
  2. Wes Duchak – 49.169
  3. Grace Hemmerde – 49.454
  4. Adam Ali – 49.454
  5. Chase Hand – 49.487

Heat #1
It was another pole position converted to a heat race win in the second wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend with Jeremy Fletcher (Gary Willis Racing) outpacing the rest of the field to take the heat one win. Wes Duchak (RPG) was able to be the best of the rest to finish second ahead of his RPG teammates Chase Hand, Grace Hemmerde and Nolan Allison. Larry Pegram (Pegram Racing) leveled up seven position to come home sixth as he was the biggest mover of the race.

Heat #2
It was a perfect day for Fletcher as he added the heat two race win to his heat one victory and pole position as Wes Duchak maintained his position in second. RPG drivers Chase Hand and Nolan Allison each gained two position to finish third and fourth while Grace Hemmerde dropped two to finish fifth. Jonathan Ocasio improved five positions to come home seventh to be the biggest mover.

Briggs & Stratton LO 206 Senior
Qualifying Results

  1. Mick Gabriel – 54.939
  2. Dylan Amundsen – 55.392
  3. Jed Perkins – 55.547
  4. Ruben Caceres Jr. – 55.684
  5. Gregory Campos – 56.040

Heat #1
While Mick Gabriel (AEM Karting) scored the pole position, he was unable to hang on to the top spot once racing began. Falling to third by the end of the first heat, it was Dylan Amundsen (MGM) and Jed Perkins (Perkins Racing) who stole the show to finish first and second. Ruben Caceres Jr. (Chad Dokken Racing) maintained his fourth place starting position to finish fourth while Gregory Campos (Piquet Sports) came home fifth.

Heat #2
Returning to the top of the result sheets in heat two was Mick Gabriel as he scored the second 206 Senior heat win. Dylan Amundsen finished just .043 in arrears of Gabriel while Jed Perkins and Ruben Caceres crossed the stripe in third and fourth. Miguel Ruiz (JAM Racing / TB Kart) was the only driver in the top-five to advance as he moved up one spot to fifth.

Briggs & Stratton LO 206 Master
Qualifying Results

  1. Matthew Del Sol – 56.382
  2. James Perkins – 56.455
  3. Jason Abrams – 56.473
  4. Alexander Dal Bon – 56.569
  5. Marcelo Campos – 57.069

Heat #1
Matthew Del Sol (Del Sol Racing) pushed his entry to the 206 Masters heat win as James Perkins (Perkins Racing) was able to hold on to second. Jason Abrams (Nolan Bower Motorsports) crossed the line third as the front three remained unchanged while Jorge Ruiz (TB Kart USA) broke into the top-five climbing to fourth and Alexander Dal Bon (Team Dal Bon) claimed the fifth position.

Heat #2
James Perkins climbed to the top of the results sheets in the second heat of the weekend as he disposed of Matthew Del Sol. It was Jason Abrams who was the best of the rest in the third position, just ahead of Jorge Ruiz and Alexander Dal Bon.

ROK Mini – SpeedLab Racing
Qualifying Results

  1. Isaac Malcuit – 51.786
  2. Oliver Wheldon – 51.925
  3. Luis Umana Sanchez – 52.042
  4. Salvador Della Vecchia – 52.054
  5. Gianmatteo Rousseau – 52.150

Heat #1
Oliver Wheldon (JC Karting) jumped up from his P2 starting position to take control of Mini ROK and score the heat one win over pole position winner Isaac Malcuit (AKT). Luis Sanchez (Orsolon Racing) finished only .249 behind the race winner but third on track as Salvador Della Vecchia (San Antonio Racing) outdueled Gianmatteo Rousseau (AM Racing Team) for fourth and fifth respectively.

Heat #2
Luis Sanchez was able to narrowly beat Oliver Wheldon to the checkered flag in heat two by a scant .043 as Isaac Malcuit was another two tenths of a second back in third. It was Salvador Della Vecchia who was able to cross the line in the fourth position as he and Gianmatteo Rousseau maintained their starting positions to finish in the top five.

ROK Shifter Master – PSL Karting
Qualifying Results

  1. Patrick-Otto Madsen – 47.149
  2. Scott Presti – 47.274
  3. Cole Mathewson – 47.276
  4. Daniel Dibos – 47.358
  5. Juan M Unigarro – 47544

Heat #1
Patrick-Otto Madsen (ANSA) inherited the pole position in ROK Shifter Master after Rene Martinelli (TB Kart USA) was disqualified and was able to turn that into a heat one victory. Scott Presti (VTM Racing) finished .856 in arrears of Madsen to come home second but .520 ahead of Cole Mathewson (ANSA) in P3. Daniel Dibos (Dibos Racing) finished fourth as the front four remained unchanged with Nico Rondet (ANSA) gaining three positions to finish fifth. Martinelli gained seven positions to recover to P7.

Heat #2
Madsen was able to go two-for-two in the heat races as he took the ROK Shifter Master victory over Scott Presti and Cole Mathewson. It was Juan Unigarro (San Antonio Racing) who was able to advance one position forward to finish fourth as Morne Van Taak led Rene Martinelli finished fifth and sixth for TB Kart USA.

ROK Senior – Racing Edge Motorsports
Qualifying Results

  1. Matheus Morgatto – 47.377
  2. Alessandro de Tullio – 47.414
  3. Marjin Kremers – 47.461
  4. Diego Ramos – 47.528
  5. Gianluca Savaglio – 47.541

Heat #1
It was AM Racing driver Matheus Morgatto who pushed to a 3.694 second win in the first Senior ROK heat of the day as he was able to hold off the advances of Alessandro De Tullio (Parolin USA). Diego Ramos (Racing Edge Motorsports) moved forward to finish third as Jeremy Fletcher (Gary Willis Racing) and Nick Brueckner (Orsolon Racing) advanced forward three and four positions respectively to finish fourth and fifth. Following the heat and penalties, Fletcher would drop to sixth while De Tullio would be classified in seventh bringing Marjin Kremers to P3.

Heat #2
Morgatto added another heat race win to his resume put his AM Racing machine at the front of the field as he and De Tullio finished first and second on track. Jeremy Fletcher rebounded from his heat one penalty gaining four positions to finish third as Marjin Kremers (PSL Karting) fell to fourth just ahead of Diego Ramos (REM).

ROK Master – Orsolon Racing
Qualifying Results

  1. William Isaias – 48.575
  2. Scott Roberts – 48.791
  3. Renato David – 48.884
  4. Mario Barrios – 48.923
  5. Miguel Mier – 49.083

Heat #1
The top four in the ROK master class remained unchanged from qualifying as William Isaias (International Motorsports) led Scott Roberts (Speed Concepts Racing), Renato David (Orsolon Racing) and Marrio Barrios (RPG). Daniel Robertson (RPG) was one of the very few drivers to move forward in heat one advancing forward two positions to finish fifth.

Heat #2
After a red flag on lap three for a flip involving Miguel Mier and an eventual restart, Isaias was able to jump to the point and control the pace of the second ROK Master heat. Renato David improved from his third place starting position to come home second as Scott Roberts fell to third. Glauber Granero (Orsolon Racing) was the biggest gainers of the heat advancing forward six positions to finish fourth with Rob Maier (RPG) in fifth.

ROK Micro – Mosport Kart Centre
Qualifying Results

  1. Troy Ferguson – 53.250
  2. Matheus Ramalho – 53.709
  3. Drew Walz – 53.742
  4. Santiago Diaz La Vega – 53.850
  5. Tyrone Kemper Jr – 54.620

Heat #1
Tory Ferguson (Benik) turned his pole position into a heat one race win taking top honors by a 4.127 gap. Tyrone Kemper Jr. (AKT) pushed his machine forward three positions to finish second as he narrowly beat Drew Walz (Mottazsport). Matheus Ramalho (REM) fell two positions to fourth while Eli Steinbruch (Piquet Sports) advanced forward four spots to come home fifth.

Heat #2
Troy Ferguson put Team Benik on the top in the second Micro ROK heat as he went on to take his second race win of the day as Benik drivers bookended the top-five. Drew Walz was able to slot into second ahead of Matheus Ramalho in third. Maxwell Macha (SLA) advanced into the top-five to cross the stripe in fourth as Royce Vega earned his first top-five result of the weekend in fifth.

ROK Junior – Rolison Performance Group
Qualifying Results

  1. Ayden Ingratta – 47.993
  2. Sebastian Wheldon – 48.026
  3. Fernando Luque – 48.265
  4. Teddy Musella – 48.328
  5. Joao Vergara – 48.405

Heat #1
Speed Concepts Racing driver Ayden Ingratta continued his winning ways as he scored the ROK Junior heat one victory after starting from the pole position. Sebastian Wheldon (JC Karting) started second and finished second as he just beat Fernando Luque (Supertune) in third. Team Benik’s Michael Costello and Enzo Vidmontiene finished fourth and fifth. Following the race, Costello was given a five second penalty elevating G3 Argyros (Speed Concepts Racing) to fifth.

Heat #2
Ayden Ingratta was back on top in the second ROK Junior heat as he went two-for-two on the day like many of the other winners. Sebastian Wheldon followed Ingratta for the second of two heat races to cross the line in P2 while Jorge Ortiz gained six positions to finish third for Supertune. It was a pair of Supertune drivers in the top-five with Luque continuing his front of the field presence in fourth and Team Benik’s Michael Costello in fifth.

ROK VLR Master – ROK Cup Canada
Qualifying Results

  1. Laurentiu Mardan – 50.291
  2. Rob Maier – 50.424
  3. Cayden Goodridge – 51.072
  4. Jason Abrams – 51.337
  5. Ruben Cherres – 51.717

Heat #1
It was Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart) who scored the VLR Master heat race win as he led flag-to-flag to score the win ahead of Rob Maier (RPG) and Cayden Goodridge (Goodwood Kartways). It was a spread-out heat as the top-five were separated by 23-seconds at the end of the race with Jason Abrams (Nolan Bower Motorsports) fourth as Peter Cook (McCrone Motorsports) gained three positions to finish fifth. Following the heat, Abrams was given a two-position penalty and fell to fifth.

Mardan was back on top in VLR Master as the top-three drivers would remain unchanged with Rob Maier and Cayden Goodridge in second and third. Ruben Cherres (SLA Racing) moved forward one position to finish fourth while Peter Cook advanced forward three spots to finish fifth.

ROK Shifter – PSL Karting
Qualifying Results

  1. Daniel Formal – 45.693
  2. Jake French – 45.798
  3. Vincenzo Sarracino – 46.086
  4. Davide Greco – 46.127
  5. Collin Daley – 46.197

Heat #1
It was Daniel Formal (Leading Edge) who stole the show in the always competitive ROK Shifter as he and Jake French (PSL Karting) would go toe-to-toe again rekindling their battle from ROK Vegas last year. Formal would take the checkered flag just ahead of French and Davide Greco (PSL Karting). 2021 champion AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) climbed three positions to finish fourth ahead of Giano Taurino (Magik Kart USA).

Heat #2
It was Danial Formal who started on pole, but it was Jake French who was leading by mid-race distance as he went to on to score his first race win of the weekend. Vincenzo Sarracino (VS10 Karting) followed French across the line for the third position on track while AJ Myers was up four to finish third. Giano Taurino was back in the top-five with a fourth-place finish as Formal would drop to finish fifth.

With weather moving into the area for Sunday, ROK Cup officials decided to forgo heat three and complete the race weekend on Saturday. Always working for the racer, the ROK staff adjusted on the fly to provide the best possible conditions for teams and competitors heading into the main events.

*All results unofficial at time of posting

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