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

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

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

Condensing the weekend to beat some sever weather, ROKKERs had a jam-packed day of competition as the first on track session began at 8am and the final one concluded just before 5:30pm. In a race to beat an incoming storm with high winds and heavy rain, ROK Cup USA officials canceled Sunday’s racing but managed to salvage a full event weekend by just the elimination of one heat race. With picture perfect weather greeting teams and competitors on Saturday, it was the on track action that really heated up as race winners were crowned at the Isle Casino in Pompano Beach.

ROK VLR Junior – Nash Motorsportz
Prefinal
It was all Caleb Gafrarar (RPG) in the VLR Junior prefinal as he jumped out to the lead from his pole position and never looked back to take the win by .551. Helio Meza (Iron Rock Motorsports) advanced three positions and then held off the advances of a hard charging Ayden Ingratta for second as Ingratta scored the fastest lap of the race. Cooper Shipman put a pair of Iron Rock Motorsports drivers in the top-five in fourth with Charlie Smith (Nash Motorsportz) crossing the line in fifth.

Final
It was Gafrarar who led the field to the green flag and throughout the opening lap, but it was Helio Meza who slipped by on the entry to turn three on lap two to assume the point. Christian Quijano (Supertune) would have trouble and fall from inside the top-ten to the tail of the field as Ayden Ingratta, Cooper Shipman and Steven Miller (CDR) ran third through fifth. The top-three would begin to open a gap as Ingratta got by Gafarar for second on lap six. Charging forward, Ingratta made his bid for the lead on lap eleven bringing Gafrarar with him as the top drivers moved to first and second on track. The Speed Concepts Racing duo of G3 Argyros and Christian Cameron were on a tear as well as they had each moved forward seven positions and into the top-ten by three quarter race distance. On lap thirteen, Gafrarar had closed the gap to Ingratta as he was only .137 in arrears as Meza was another .248 behind as the battle ensued. Ingratta went purple on lap seventeen to claim the fastest lap of the race as Gafrarar took that back a lap later. Gafrarar went to the lead on the start of lap eighteen as he and Ingratta swapped the top spot, but it was Ingratta who would get back by in turn five and Meza would also advanced forward a few corners later. In a dramatic final half a lap, Meza would move to the point to take the win ahead of Gafrarar and Ingratta. Charlie Smith was able to hold onto fourth just ahead of Shipman as Argyros advanced forward eight positions to finish sixth. Following the race and post-race technical inspection, Ingratta was labelled as disqualified and dropped to the tail of the field elevating Smith into a podium position and Argyros into P5.

ROK VLR Senior – RTD Media
Prefinal
Jeremy Fletcher (Gary Willis Racing) was the driver to beat throughout the VLR Senior prefinal and he made it look easy. Opening a half a second gap on the second-place driver by the end of lap one, Fletcher was more than a second in front by the completion of lap five. Driving to the checkered flag, Fletcher scored the prefinal win ahead of a trio of Rolison Performance Group drivers in Wes Duchak, Chase Hand and Grace Hemmerde as the top-four remained unchanged from their start positions. Adam Ali (Racing Edge Motorsports) climbed three positions to enter the top-five to start the main event inside row three.

Final
Jeremy Fletcher continued his winning ways in the VLR Senior category as he jumped out to the early lead and by the end of lap four, was nearly 1.5 seconds ahead of his closest rivals. Chase Hand was able to get around Wes Duchak for second early on but was unable to keep pace with Fletcher. Fletcher continued to open his lead of more than 2.5 seconds by lap seven as he made it a snoozer up front. The RPG duo of Hand and Duchak ran nose to tail as they were three seconds ahead of their teammate, Nolan Allison. The front four remained static but behind them, it was Rocco Pasquarella (CDR) who moved into fifth after gaining four positions. Fletcher scored the win with Hand, Duchak, Allison and Pasquarella rounding out the top-five.

Briggs & Stratton LO 206 Senior
Prefinal
Mick Gabriel (AEM Karting) was able to score the prefinal win as he and Jed Perkins (Perkins Racing) disposed of pole sitter Dylan Amundsen (MGM) who closed his prefinal in third. Ruben Caceres Jr. (Chad Dokken Racing) maintained his fourth place starting position to finish fourth while Miguel Ruiz (Jam Racing / TB Kart) moved forward one position to finish fifth.

Final
Gabriel and Amundsen were the drivers to beat in the 206 Senior main event as they worked together to draw away from the rest of the field. Opening a six second gap to the third-place runner of Jed Perkins by lap eight, the gap continued to increase as the race wore on. Miguel Ruiz held his own in fourth as Gregory Campos (Piquet Sports) gained five position to move into fifth. Amundsen took the lead on lap eleven, but Gabriel regained the top spot on lap twelve as he went on the defensive. Amundsen was able to get by midway through the final lap as the pair made contact. Gabriel was able to hang on and drive to the victory with Amundsen in second and Perkins in third rounding out the podium. Ruiz and Campos finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Briggs & Stratton LO 206 Master
Prefinal
While Jed Perkins finished second in 206 Senior it was James Perkins (Perkins Racing) who won 206 Masters as he scored the prefinal victory by nearly three seconds over Ron Reiter (VTM). Alexander Dal Bon (Team Dal Bon) finished .029 behind Reiter as he earned himself a P3 starting position for the main event. Ruben Cherres gained eight position to close his prefinal in fourth, just ahead of Matthew Del Sol (Del Sol Racing).

Final
Ruben Cherres moved forward four positions in the 206 Masters main event as he took the lead and looked to be the man for the win. However, late in the race, James Perkins rose to the challenge and slipped by Cherres to claim his first Florida Winter Tour race win of 2022. With the top five drivers gaining positions from where they started to where they finished, it was Ron Reiter in third, Alexander Dal Bon in fourth and Jorge Ruiz who rounded out the top-five.

ROK Mini – SpeedLab Racing
Prefinal
Luis Umana Sanchez (Orsolon Racing) and Oliver Wheldon (JC Karting) broke away from the rest of the Mini Swift ROKKERS as they looked to make it a two-horse race upfront. Stretching the gap to over two seconds to the third-place driver, Wheldon suddenly slowed on lap six and retired from the prefinal. Sanchez ran alone upfront as Salvador Della Vecchia (San Antonio Racing) was second and looked to close the gap in the late stages of the race, turning laps three tenths of a second faster than the leader on occasion. Sanchez held on to score the win with Della Vecchia in second. Isaac Malcuit (AKT) claimed the third position on track as Asher Ochstein (Supertune) gained three positions to finish fourth with Gianmatteo Rousseau (AM Racing) in fifth.

Final
The Mini ROK drivers at the front of the field were able to have a great start as first through fourth remained in their starting positions as the first lap was complete. Behind them there was some carnage as Oliver Wheldon was hard into the barriers as several drivers took evasive action in a multi-kart incident. Upfront it was Luis Umana Sanchez who led Salvador Della Vecchia, Isaac Malcuit, Asher Ochstein and Max Cristea (BirelART/PSL Karting), the only driver in the top-five to gain any positions. Della Vecchia moved to the point at mid-race distance as Malcuit followed him through to the second position. Cristea advanced forward a couple more positions to third but a few laps later fell back one courtesy of Ochstein. Della Vecchia led by half a second with two laps to go and that gap closed to .218 for the start of the final lap. Keelan Harvick moved into the top-five as he aimed for a podium result. It was a drag race to the line and Malcuit got the best of Della Vecchia for the win. Luis Umana Sanchez finished third and would join them on the podium as Harvick and Gianmatteo Rousseau rounded out the top-five. Following the main event Harvick was pushed back to sixth for a driving infraction.

ROK Shifter Master – PSL Karting
Prefinal
Falling from his pole position to second on the start, Patrick-Otto Madsen (ANSA) regained the lead on lap three as he was able to sneak by the #508 entry of Scott Presti (VTM). Madsen was able to hold on to the lead to score the win as Presti and Cole Mathewson (ANSA) finished second and third respectively. Rene Martinelli (TB Kart USA) climbed forward from his P5 starting position to finish fourth as Juan Unigarro (San Antonio Racing) was fifth. Following the prefinal, Madsen was given a two-position penalty that elevated Presti and Mathewson to first and second.

Final
It was Scott Presti who took his VTM Racing Engines machine to the holeshot in ROK Shifter Master as Cole Mathewson slotted into second. Rene Martinelli rocketed off the line to gain one position and run third while Daniel Dibos (Dibos Racing) gained two to move into fourth. Patrick-Otto Madsen looked to be a contender for the win but a retirement on lap four saw him classified in 14th. Farshad Bagheri (TB Kart USA) was on a move and moved to sixth after starting tenth as Nico Rondet (ANSA) ran fifth but was the fastest kart on the track on lap nine. The top-five would remain static from mid-race distance until the final lap as Mathewson had an engine issue and pulled to the side of the track. Presti went on to take the win with Martinelli in second, Dibos third, Bagheri in fourth putting three TB Karts in the top four and Francesco Vassallo (PSL Karting) fifth. Post-race technical inspection would find Martinelli to be non-compliant and removed from the results elevating Bagheri to the FWT podium, Vassallo to fourth and Barry Primus fifth.

ROK Senior – Racing Edge Motorsports
Prefinal
Matheus Morgatto (AM Racing) rocketed to the lead at the start of the ROK Senior prefinal as Jeremy Fletcher (Gary Willis Racing) was turned around in turn four and fell to the back of the grid. Diego Ramos (Racing Edge Motorsports) assumed his position in second as he tried to keep pace with a rapid Morgatto but was to no avail. Morgatto would easily drive to another win on the weekend with Ramos in second, Marjin Kremers (PSL Karting) in third, Alessandro De Tullio (Parolin USA) fourth with Thomas Nepveu (Coy Motorsport) gaining nine positions to finish fifth. After falling to 26th during the opening lap melee, Fletcher rebounded to finish 16th.

Final
Matheus Morgatto started the main event looking to have a perfect day and was off to a good start as he took the lead on the opening corner and worked hard to build a gap on the rest of the field. Growing that gap by .364 over Marjin Kremers, who was around Diego Ramos early, the front three drivers were just ahead of Thomas Nepveu and Nick Brueckner (Orsolon Racing) as they pushed De Tullio down to sixth. By lap seven, Jeremy Fletcher was back up to eighth as he charged his way forward, but it was all Morgatto out front. Continuing to increase his lead, De Tullio was able to get by both Nepveu and Brueckner as they battled as he was back up to fourth.

As the laps continued, it was all Morgatto as he outpaced his rivals by a tenth or two per lap en route to victory by more than two seconds. Kremers was able to hold onto the second position ahead of Ramos in third as the trio rounded out the podium. De Tullio recovered to finish fourth as Nepveu edged Lucas Mendes (REM) and Gianluca Savaglio (REM) out for fifth.

ROK Master – Orsolon Racing
Prefinal
William Isaias (International Motorsports) continued his dominance in ROK Master as he converted his pole position into a prefinal win outpacing Renato David (Orsolon Racing) for the victory. David was able to cross the line second ahead of Scott Roberts (Speed Concepts Racing). Daniel Robertson (RPG) slotted his machine into the fourth position ahead of Mario Barrios (RPG) in fifth.

Final
It was a contact filled start at the front of the ROK Master field, but all drivers made it through the first corner unscathed. William Isaias retained his front of the field presence as he led the group while Renato David and Scott Roberts slotted into second and third. By lap eight, the front three remained unchanged but David was beginning to put pressure on Isaias while Roberts ran half a second in front of Mario Barrios and Rob Maier (RPG), who had each gained one and three positions respectively.

On lap eleven, David went purple to score the fastest race lap, but it was not enough to make a move by Isaias. Keeping his cool and maintaining pressure, David needed 19.5 laps to make a move by Isaias as he went on to score the win. Scott Roberts maintained his starting position to finish third as Barrios outpaced Daniel Robertson for fourth. Robertson received a post-race penalty that knocked him back to P7 and elevated Rob Maier into fifth.

ROK Micro – Mosport Kart Centre
Prefinal
Troy Ferguson (Team Benik) continued to have his way with the Micro ROK field as it was a dominating performance in the day’s prefinal. Moving to the point from his pole position starting spot, Ferguson scored the win by nearly eight seconds over Maxwell Macha (SLA), who gained six positions and will start the main event from the outside of the front row. Tyrone Kemper Jr. (AKT) advanced one to finish third while Drew Walz (Mottazsport/RDX) dropped two positions to be classified in the fourth position. Canadian Rocco Simone (Parolin USA) was able to move forward and finish fifth.

Final
Troy Ferguson would not get the start he needed as he was pushed wide in corner two falling to second. With the rest of the field mounting an attack, Ferguson was able to keep them behind and in the process, move back to the front, a position that he was comfortable with all weekend long. Maxwell Macha slotted his machine into the second position as both Drew Walz and Rocco Simone were able to get by Tyrone Kemper for third and fourth. On lap three, Walz and Ferguson would make significant contact as both were forced to retire opening the door for Kemper and Simone to move back into second and third. Some new names appeared in the top-five by lap four as Eli Steinbruch (Piquet Sports) gained five positions to fourth and Gavin Dakay (Zanella Racing) was up nine to fifth.

At mid-race distance, Macha had opened a gap of half a second as Simone was able to get back by Kemper for P2. By the end of lap nine, the front four were separated by .488 as the race was on for the win.  Simone would get by Macha during lap ten to take the lead as Matheus Ramalho (REM) moved to third on the same lap and Jose Carlos Murad (Supertune) advanced forward to fifth. Macha was back into the lead on lap eleven disposing of Simone as the hard-fought battle upfront brought more drivers into contention. When the checkered flag flew, it was Macha ahead of Kemper and Simone on the podium as Murad and Ramalho finished fourth and fifth. Maxwell Macha was the first to receive the checkered flag but unfortunately a post-race penalty knocked him down to fourth and awarding the win to Tyrone Kemper Jr. with Simone and Ramalho on the podium in second and third.

ROK Junior – Rolison Performance Group
Prefinal
Ayden Ingratta controlled the ROK Junior prefinal from the green flag until the penultimate lap when Sebastian Wheldon (JC Karting) arrived on the scene. As the duo ran side-by-side and passed one another multiple times on the final circuit, it was Wheldon who would take the win. Ingratta held on to second as the front two were nearly ten seconds ahead of the third-place driver Jorge Ortiz (Supertune) and Joao Vergara (Orsolon Racing), who gained an astounding seventeen positions over the fourteen-lap race to finish fourth. Michael Costello put his Team Benik entry in the fifth position. Vergara was dropped to tenth on the results sheets after penalties were applied elevating Costello and Enzo Vidmontiene into fourth and fifth.

Final
Sebastian Wheldon would lead the ROK Junior field to the green flag for the weekend’s main event as Ayden Ingratta started alongside on the front row. It was Jorge Ortiz in P3 who got into the back of Wheldon on the start that caused a chain reaction incident shuffling up the top-five. It was Steven Miller who led lap one gaining six positions followed by Enzo Vidmontiene in second. Ortiz recovered to hang on to third while Ingratta and Wheldon fell to fifth and sixth behind G3 Argyros (Speed Concepts Racing). Vidmontiene took the lead on lap two as he and Ortiz were by Miller while Ingratta and Wheldon also moved up to fourth and fifth. Ingratta then moved by Miller to slot into third as he looked like he could be the driver to beat early on. By the end of lap four, Caleb Gafrarar was up eight spots and into the top-ten while the next circuit saw Ortiz and Ingratta move by Vidmontiene.

As the action continued, Wheldon moved forward again into the fourth position pushing Miller back to fifth. Lap seven saw more positions changed as Ingratta moved to the point ahead of Vidmontiene and Ortiz as the action was furious in the top-ten. Ingratta opened a small gap by mid-race distance but nothing that could be classified as comfortable as the drivers were getting organized behind him to mount another charge. Some hard racing on lap thirteen saw Ingratta and Ortiz open a one second gap on Wheldon who was by Vidmontiene for third. On lap fifteen it was Ortiz who was to the front, disposing of Ingratta while Wheldon slowly began to close the gap on the front two. Ingratta and Wheldon would both get by Ortiz on lap eighteen. A bold move by Ortiz on the final lap saw him get by Ingratta who lost momentum and fell victim to the field behind him. Wheldon crossed the line in second while Vidmontiene added his first ROK Junior podium. Miller was able to hold on for a fourth-place result as Ingratta settled for fifth. Gafrarar was the biggest mover of the main event up eleven positions to finish sixth.

Official results saw Ortiz with a four position penalty for contact, elevated Wheldon to the win, Vidmontiene to second and Miller to complete the podium.

ROK VLR Master – ROK Cup Canada
Prefinal
Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart) led from the drop of the green flag and took the VLR Master prefinal win but was under pressure the entire time from Rob Maier (RPG). Maier went for the win on the final lap but Mardan was able to get back by to take the win. Cayden Goodridge (Goodwood Kartways) and Galo Barros (VTM) each gained three positions to finish third and fourth respectively as Ruben Cherres (SLA) was fifth.

Final
It was a flag-to-flag run for Laurentiu Mardan in the VLR Master category as he proved to be the class of the field all weekend long. While Rob Maier pushed him every step of the way, it was Mardan who was able to put his Tecno Kart at the top of the results sheets. Cayden Goodridge was the best of the rest as he finished on the podium, just ahead of Ruben Cherres, who was able to slip by Gallo Barros (VTM Racing Team) on the second to last lap. While the field was small in size, the top two drivers put on a show that rivaled one of the best of the weekend.

ROK Shifter – PSL Karting
Prefinal
Jake French (PSL Karting) scored the holeshot and took the lead as the ROK Shifter drivers went to green but could not hang on for long as Daniel Formal (Leading Edge Motorsports) was able to aggressively get to the point on lap five. After trying to get by in the infield, Formal outbroke French into turn one to move forward. With the front two battling, AJ Myers (Magik Kart) was able to bring himself back into play briefly but would eventually finish third behind Formal and French. Davide Greco put a pair of PSL Karting drivers in the top-five gaining six positions to finish fourth while Gian Taurino (Magik Kart) earned himself a fifth-place finish.

Final
From the outside of the front row, it was Jake French who scored the holeshot to take the lead but Formal would get back by before the end of the lap. Contact between Davide Greco and AJ Myers would see the defending Florida Winter Tour champion out in turn two. Formal led French with Greco, Giano Taurino and Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) inside the top-five. The biggest mover over the opening pair of laps was Tahlon Yockel (Leading Edge Motorsports), who was up ten positions to ninth and Vincenzo Sarracino (VS10 Karting) who gained eight to run in P12.

Formal continued to pull away lap-after-lap and by the end of the thirteenth circuit, he had opened a 2.167 gap on French. Greco was behind French a similar distance as the top-four remained unchanged. Behind them, Collin Daley (DRT Racing) was by Musgrave for fifth as the fourth through seventh battle was an intense one. Formal drove to an easy win with French in second and Greco in third. Collin Daley would hang on for fourth with Musgrave just behind in the fifth position.

With the first round of the Florida Winter Tour now complete, ROKKERs will shift their focus to next month and another temporary circuit at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

*All results unofficial at time of posting

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