2022 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour – Tropicana Field – Round 2 – Saturday Report

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

Temps in the high 60s and near perfect conditions greeted ROKKERs for Saturday’s wheel-to-wheel action and after a racy Friday, the action heated up today. With two heats setting the grid for the prefinal that ran late in the day, the final grids for tomorrow’s main events are now set. Read how today went below.

ROK VLR Junior – Nash Motorsportz
Heat #2
Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts Racing) jumped to the lead as a ton of action happened behind him. By the end of lap two, Camryn Reed (Iron Rock) had jumped nine positions forward, Helio Meza (Iron Rock) five, Steven Miller (CDR) three and Brayden Domingue (Iron Rock) ten to run in the top-five. As the twelve lap race wore on, the drivers sorted themselves out as Ingratta led until Meza was able to sneak by on lap eight. Ingratta finished second ahead of Reed, Cooper Shipman (Iron Rock) and Miller.

Heat #3
Similar to heat two, Ingratta jumped out front early as his teammate G3 Argyros slotted into second to make it a Speed Concepts Racing 1 – 2 early on. Argyros jumped to the point on lap five and two laps later, Steven Miller got around Ingratta who was in trouble. Ingratta retired a few laps later and a lap after that, Miller was also out of contention for the win falling to 11^th. Argyros easily drove to his first heat race win of the weekend with a 3.195 gap over Shipman, Meza, Charlie Smith (Nash Motorsportz) and Graham Trammell (RPG).

Prefinal
It was Shipman who jumped out to the lead in VLR Junior and instantly went on the defense to hold competitors at bay but that lasted one lap before Meza was able to move to the point. Ayden Ingratta started mid-pack due to a heat three DNF and was out of the race due to contact on lap one. Charlie Smith and Camryn Reed slotted into third and fourth, just ahead of Graham Trammell in fifth. The front four drivers would break away from the rest of the field and have a race of their own as they all looked to position themselves for the main event pole position. At mid-race distance, the top four were separated by .674 as the running order remained unchanged. Lapped traffic would come into play on the final lap as Meza was able to get by without any issues as he went on to score the win. Reed would finish second ahead of Charlie Smith, G3 Argyros and Christian Cameron (Speed Concepts Racing) as Shipman fell from second to sixth.

ROK VLR Senior – RTD Media
Heat #2
Jeremy Fletcher (Gary Willis Racing) controlled the pace early in heat two as Ryan Norberg (RPG) was forced to move forward from his P4 starting position. By the time he had moved into second, Fletcher had opened a 1.4 second gap on his closest rival while Calum Baxter (Racing Edge Motorsports) was a similar distance back. Norberg closed to the rear bumper of Fletcher in the closing laps, but Fletcher was able to hold on and take the win by .091. Norberg finished second ahead of Baxter, Adam Ali (Racing Edge Motorsports) and Brooke Berry (Iron Rock).

Heat #3
Fletcher looked to remain perfect on the day as he led the opening five laps of heat two. Norberg was able to move to the front on lap six, but Fletcher would lock onto his rear bumper in attempt to make a late race charge. Fletcher moved back to the lead on lap eight while Norberg set the fastest lap of the race on lap ten. Fletcher would hang on for the win followed by Norberg, Weston Duchak (RPG), Daniel Ali (Racing Edge Motorsports) and Gracian Rzedzian (Tecno).

Prefinal
After qualifying on the pole position and sweeping the three heat races, Jeremy Fletcher led the VLR Senior drivers to the green in today’s prefinal. After only two laps, Fletcher and Ryan Norberg had opened a massive gap on the rest of the field as they would look to battle for the win and ultimate pole position for tomorrow’s main event. With the pair upfront, five drivers would battle for third as the racing was aggressive lap-after-lap. Weston Duchak moved to third and was able to separate himself from Callum Baxter, Ali and Rzedian and by mid race distance, Fletcher and Norberg had a more than six second advantage. As Fletcher went on the defensive with two laps to go, it was Norberg who was looking for a way by as the two made slight contact on the final lap in the fourth corner. Fletcher would hang on for the win with Norberg in second, Duchak third, Baxter fourth and Gracian Rzedzian in fifth. Following the race, Duchak was relegated to sixth for a penalty on track elevating Ali to fifth.

ROK Mini – SpeedLab Racing
Heat #2
Contact in the opening corner sent the front row down the running order as Carson Weinberg (Speed Concepts Racing), Isaac Malcuit (AKT) and others were involved. Sarah Bradley (Parolin USA) jumped to the front followed by Salvador Della Vecchia (San Antonio Racing) and Ty Fisher (Speed Concepts Racing), who was up eight positions in the early stages. Bradley drove to the win with Della Vecchia in second. Weinberg recovered to come home third as Max Cristea (PSL Karting) and Acen Dramaliev (Tecno Kart) rounded out the top-five.

Heat #3
Jack Iliffe (Iron Rock) was the man on the move in the second Mini ROK heat as by lap four he had moved from fifth to third while scoring the fastest lap of the race. Carson Weinberg led early but was disposed of by Iliffe on lap six only to retake the lead two laps later. Weinberg scored the win over Iliffe, Della Vecchia, Bradley, and Malcuit. Following the heat, Weinberg was relegated to third for a push back bumper penalty.

Prefinal
Weinberg would begin his quest for the prefinal win from the inside of the front row alongside Della Vecchia but it was Sarah Bradley who would flex her muscles on the start moving from third to second in the opening corner. Della Vecchia was able to pull in behind to third while Luis Sanchez (Orsolon Racing) advanced three position on the opening lap to fourth. Bradley jumped to the lead on lap three as the front six were separated by less than a second. Sanchez advanced forward one more position to third by lap five as Jack Iliffe disposed of Della Vecchia to move back to his original starting position of fourth. Bradley and Weinberg opened a one second gap by mid race distance over the third place driver as they looked to be the pair that would fight it out for the win. Ilffe moved forward again on lap seven and a momentum loss by the two leaders brough the front three together again. The trio would battle tooth and nail on the final circuit with Weinberg emerging as the victor ahead of Bradley, who led much of the race. Iliffe slotted into P3 ahead of Malcuit, Sanchez and a hard charging Asher Ochstein (Supertune) in sixth.

ROK Shifter Master – PSL Karting
Heat #2
It was Jordon Musser (PSL Karting) who led flag-to-flag in the ROK Shifter Master class as he has dominated the event weekend so far. Cole Mathewson (ANSA) and Nicolas Bedard (PSL Karting) rounded out the top-three as they remained unchanged from their starting positions while Nico Rondet (ANSA) and Rene Martinelli (TB Kart) finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Heat #3
Like a broken record, Musser jumped out to lead when the green flag flew and never looked back. Mathewson was able to keep pace early on but by mid race distance, Musser had opened an insurmountable lead of over one second. Musser would drive to his third heat race win in as many races as Mathewson held on for second. Canadian Nicolas Bedard held Daniel Dibos (ANSA) at bay for P3 as Rene Martinelli inched closer to the front with another fifth place result.

Prefinal
The Jordon Musser show continued in the ROK Shifter Master class as he rocketed off the line, controlled his position and opened a gap of over a second by the end of lap two. Rene Martinelli moved forward through the heat races and started on the outside of the front row, quickly getting in line behind Musser at the exit of the first corner. Cole Mathewson took advantage of some contact in the first corner to move from sixth to third in the open lap as Juan Unigarro (San Antonio Karting) was fourth with Bedard in fifth. Dropping down the order to sixth was Farshad Bagheri (TB Kart), who closed the first lap in the third position. Musser was in a different zip code by mid-race distance having already opened a gap of nearly five seconds as Martinelli had a hard charging Mathewson on his rear bumper. Martinelli had his hands full as third, fourth and fifth were all in a line and attacking hard. Musser would go on to take the win as Martinelli would hang on to second ahead of Mathewson, Unigarro and Bedard.

ROK Senior – Racing Edge Motorsports
Heat #2
The ROK Senior start was an aggressive one as the front five got away clean, but contact resulted behind them. Matheus Morgatto (AM Racing) assumed the position at the front with Alessandro De Tullio (Parolin USA) in second as the front two had opened a one second gap on Diego Ramos (Racing Edge Motorsports) in third. Jeremy Fletcher (Gary Willis Racing) advanced forward three positions by mid-race distance to run fourth ahead of Lucas Mendes (Racing Edge Motorsports). Morgatto handily drove to the win ahead of De Tullio, Ramos, Mendes and Fletcher.

Heat #3
It was a disastrous start for Morgatto and De Tullio as they were both out on lap one which will hurt their chances at victory tomorrow. Opening the door, Diego Ramos drove to the heat three win. Lucas Mendes was able to cross the line in second ahead of Adam Ali (Racing Edge Motorsports), who gained six positions to finish third. Jeremy Fletcher continued his presence at the front of the field with a fourth place result while Cameron Weinberg and Jack Jeffers finished fifth and sixth for Speed Concepts Racing. Following the heat, Santiago Fernandez (Alessandros) was elevated to fifth after Fletcher was relegated to seventh due to an on track penalty.

Prefinal
Diego Ramos controlled the ROK Senior field early, but it was Matheus Morgatto who recovered from his heat three DNF to take the Senior ROK prefinal win. Though he was not the fastest kart on the track, Morgatto disposed of Ramos in the late stages to earn the main event pole position. With Ramos holding on to the second position, it was De Tullio and Kremers, who were also involved in the heat three incident, driving forward to third and fourth as they gained eight and nine spots respectively. It was a perfect drive forward from all three of the young talents as they were able to weave their way through the competition to better their chances for a victory tomorrow. Lucas Mendes and Jeremy Fletcher were the biggest losers in the prefinal as they each fell three positions and will start tomorrow from fifth and sixth. Following the prefinal, De Tullio would receive a driving infraction penalty and fall down the result order to 14^th.

ROK Master – Orsolon Racing
Heat #2
Scott Roberts (Speed Concepts) took the lead from William Isaias (International Motorsports) early on but by lap four, Isaias was back to the point and Roberts was down in tenth. Danillo Ramalho (Racing Edge Motorsports) slotted into second ahead of Renato David (Orsolon) while Frank Runco (Checkered Motorsport) and Glauber Granero (Orsolon Racing) made their first appearances in the top-five. Isaias drove to the win as David scored the second position as well as the fastest race lap. Ramalho settled for third with Runco and David Laplante (Premier Karting) in fourth and fifth.

Heat #3
Isaias led the first five circuits of heat three before Ramalho slipped by to take the lead at the mid-race distance. Renato David ran third and Federico Montoya (Alessandros Racing) inserted himself into the top-five moving forward two positions to fourth while Danny Robertson (RPG) fell to fifth. Ramalho completed the quest for the win holding Isaias at bay as David, Montoya and Robertson rounded out the top-five.

Prefinal
Renato David jumped to the lead in Master ROK and opened a gap as he was consistently one of the fastest drivers on the track. Even though Isaias fell to just inside the top-five, he matched David’s pace as he looked to move back to the front of the field. As David led, his gap to Ramalho grew to more than 1.1 seconds. Isais was able to get by Ramalho on lap eleven as Montoya was able to move forward with Glauber Granero to fourth and fifth. As the front three remained unchanged, the battle for fourth and fifth raged on. David would drive away with the victory and pole position for tomorrow’s main event while Isaias, who has been dominant all weekend, will line up on the outside of row two. Ramalho solidified the inside row two starting position alongside Montoya as Granero and David Laplante will occupy row three.

ROK Micro – Mosport Kart Centre
Heat #2
Jackson Morley (Prime Power Team) jumped from fifth to second on the start of the second Micro ROK heat, but it was Rocco Simone (Parolin USA) who led early. Tyrone Kemper (AKT) and Aleksandr Ratushnyy (U-Race) advanced forward 12 and 15 positions in the first four laps. In the end, it was Matheus Ramalho (Racing Edge Motorsports) who scored the win over Simone and David Zhao (Goodwood Kartways), Kemper and Ratushnyy.

Heat #3
Simone would not be denied in heat three as a great opening lap and first half of the race awarded him with the win at the end of the nine-lap heat. A hard charging Ramalho closed the gap to finish second by a scant .008 as Drew Walz (Mottazsport) beat Jose Carlos Murad (Supertune) and Jackson Morley in fifth.

Prefinal
Starting from the second position, it was Rocco Simone who assumed the point at the front of the field, like what he has done for a majority of the weekend. Leading the first four laps, Ramalho was able to sneak by on lap five while Decklan Deonarine slotted into third. Jose Carlos Murad was on a mission gaining ten positions in the opening four laps to move to fourth as Drew Walz soldiered on in fifth. The front two would open a significant gap with four laps remaining as they would make it a two horse race for the win and main event pole position. With the duo getting by lapped traffic on lap ten, they were set to fight it out to the finish. It was Ramalho who would try to defend on the last lap, but Simone was the eventual winner. Deonarine finished second ahead of Murad, Walz and Tyrone Kemper.

ROK Junior – Rolison Performance Group
Heat #2
It was Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts Racing) who rocketed out to the lead in ROK Junior heat two but by the end of lap five the top five competitors were separated by only one second. Jorge Ortiz (Supertune) kept Ingratta honest for the first half of the race pressuring him with each passing lap. Steven Miller (CDR) slotted into the third position while Michael Costello (Team Benik) was fourth. Ortiz moved to the point on lap nine bringing Miller with him and that is how they finished. Ortiz took the win ahead of Miller, Ingratta, with Leonardo Escorpioni (Zanella Racing) and Charlie Smith (Nash Motorsportz).

Heat #3
It was once again Ingratta and Ortiz at the top of the race order in ROK Junior heat three as Ingratta would hold Ortiz back after the Supertune driver gained five positions early on. Clearly the class of the field, Ingratta and Ortiz opened a 2.5 second gap to third with two laps remaining before the duo duked it out to the finish. Ingratta would hang on for another heat race win ahead of Ortiz. Joao Vergara (Orsolon) passed Michael Costello on the final circuit bringing Sebastian Wheldon (JC Karting) and Steven Miller with him as Castello fell to sixth.

Prefinal
The ROK Junior prefinal was set to be a battle between Ingratta and Ortiz but it was Ingratta who did not make it through the first lap. Ortiz stole the lead as Joao Vergara gained three positions to move into second. Steven Miller asserted his presence in the top-five in the third position while Teddy Musella (RPG) benefited five positions early on to run fourth. Michael Costello led the next train of karts as his Team Benik entry was turning laps as fast as the leader. Ortiz would hang on to score the prefinal win and main event pole position ahead of Vergara and Musella. Steven Miller fell one position in the latter stages of the race to finish fourth while Costello gave himself a shot to challenge for the win finishing fifth.

ROK VLR Master – ROK Cup Canada
Heat #2
Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart) scored his second heat race win in as many races as he led flag-to-flag to assume control in the VLR Master class. Cristian Vomir (Tecno Kart) was the best of the rest in second, over three seconds behind Mardan and Mark Pavan (Goodwood Kartways) who finished third. Cayden Goodridge (Goodwood Kartways) and Aelex Dal Bon (Los Brothers) finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Heat #3
It has been all Mardan in VLR Masters as a sweep of the heat races has awarded him the pole position for the prefinal later today. Vomir and Pavan were able to hold station in second and third respectively as Aelex Dal Bon and Cayden Goodridge were able to work their way back into the top-five.

Prefinal
It was Mardan who made the VLR Master prefinal boring, leading flag to flag yet again. Unchallenged throughout the day, Mardan has swept every on track session of the weekend and will look to do the same during tomorrow’s main event. Cristian Vomir continued his progress in the second position, but it was Dal Bon and Andrew Valenzano (Nolan Bower Motorsports) who moved to third and fourth respectively. Cayden Goodridge finished fifth.

ROK Shifter – PSL Karting
Heat #2
After the first start was red flagged sue to an on track incident and eventual removal of one driver from the event weekend, AJ Myers (Checkered Motorsports) would take advantage of start number two and jump to the lead from his outside front row starting spot. It was Myers ahead of Daniel Formal (Leading Edge Motorsports) and Collin Daley (DRT Racing) who was around Jake French (PSL Karting) at mid-race point. Myers went on to take the win ahead of Formal, Daley, French and Vincenzo Sarracino (VS10 Karting).

Heat #3
AJ Myers took advantage of his pole position starting spot to jump the lead ahead of Formal in the third and final ROK Shifter heat race. Formal followed closely as he looked to pressure his rival into a mistake, but it never happened. Myers was able to hold on to score the heat win with Formal and Jake French in arrears. Vincenzo Sarracino battled hard to see if he could crack into the top-three but had to settle for fourth when the checkered flag flew while Giano Taurino (Magik Kart) climbed into fifth gaining three positions over the twelve-lap race.

Prefinal
AJ Myers started from the dirty side of the racetrack, but it was no problem going into the first corner. Taking the lead and never looking back, Myers was out to a half a second advantage by mid-race distance over his nemesis Daniel Formal. Jake French tried to keep pace with the lead duo but ultimately fell back, nearly into the clutches of Collin Daley (DRT Racing), who gained three positions in the first seven laps. With a track that features limited passing opportunities in the fast shifter kart class, Myers was able to keep Formal behind him as only one driver was able to gain positions in the top-six. When the checkered flag fell, it was Myers who took the win over Formal, French, Daley and Giano Taurino.

ROKKERs will be back on track tomorrow for a single wheel-to-wheel session in each class. As the most important day of the weekend, Sunday will see round two race winners crowned as the series crosses over the two thirds completion distance. For a complete set of weekend results, click HERE.

*All results unofficial at time of posting