2025 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour – Speedsportz Racing Park – Round 3 – Race Report

Report by: RTD Media
Photos by: Canadian Karting News

The 2025 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour (FWT) came to a close this past weekend as round three was completed at the Speedsportz Racing Park near Houston, Texas. With seven classes on the docket, seven drivers earned coveted FWT victories as 2025 champions were crowned. Making history as the first Florida Winter Tour outside the state of Florida, the Speedsportz Racing Park staff were gracious hosts as ROK Cup USA capped off their winter season.

“Congratulations to all of our round three winners and our 2025 series champions,” expressed Mike Burrell. “A lot of our series champions have gone on to make a career in motorsports, and this could be the first step in these drivers’ professional racing careers.”

With the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour now in the books, series officials will shift their focus to the start of the 2025 ROK Sonoma season and the prestigious ROK Vegas event later this year.

Orsolon Racing ROK Micro
Qualifying Results

1. Alvaro Medeiros – 58.900
2. Ayax Capitan Garduno – 59.020
3. Mason Brody – 59.140
4. Samuel Chaverri – 59.210
5. Brody Stoffel – 59.210

Main Event Starting Grid

1. Brody Stoffle
2. Mauro Nario
3. Ayax Capitan Garduno
4. Alvaro Medeiros
5. Zev Godschalk

Main Event:
With the ROK Micro prefinal taking place on Saturday afternoon, drivers lined up Sunday for their last opportunity to score a Florida Winter Tour victory in 2025. Courtesy of his prefinal win, Brody Stoffle led the field to the green flag with Mauro Nario to his outside. Row two saw the likes of Ayax Capitan Garduno and Alvaro Medeiros while the Benik Kart duo of Zev Godschalk and Dutch Westbrook occupied row three.

When the green flag flew, Stoffle jumped to the lead as carnage ensued behind him as several cars came together at the opening corner. Mederios slotted into the second position at the expense of Nario. Liam Francisco was on the charge as he moved into the fifth position on lap four, and Stoffle continued to lead the Orsolon Racing trio. Francisco was up to fourth on lap five as Mason Brody moved to sixth, with Garduno settling into the fifth position. Alvaro Medeiros jumped to the lead on lap seven pushing Stoffle back to second as it was three karts bumper-to-bumper up front. The top three had opened a seven-second gap on the fourth-place runner of Francisco as Stoffle regained the lead on lap nine as Nario helped push him through, on route to setting the fastest lap of the race. Nario and Mederios were not only battling for the race win, but also the championship as Stoffle controlled the pace. Stoffle began to defend as the final stages of the race approached as he looked for the FWT win. With two laps remaining, the top-three remained locked as it was still any driver’s race. Wheel-to-wheel on the final lap, Stoffle put his CRG exactly where he needed to and scored his first FWT win ahead of Medeiros, Nario, Francisco, and Brody.

The Orsolon Racing ROK Micro Florida Winter Tour Champion is Alvaro Medeiros.

PSL Karting ROK GP Junior
Qualifying Results

1. Eli Steinbruch – 52.240
2. Erik Doan – 52.270
3. Cole Medeiros – 52.390
4. Sarah Bradley – 52.400
5. Alexander Vanchev – 52.400

Main Event Starting Grid

1. Sarah Bradley
2. Cole Medeiros
3. Erik Doan
4. Alexander Vanchev
5. Nico Kotowski

Main Event:
After a strong prefinal, Sarah Bradley rolled into Sunday’s main event with the pole position. Canadian Cole Medeiros lined up second, and after scoring the fastest lap in the prefinal was motivated to earn the victory. Row two was occupied by Erik Doan and Alexander Vanchev as Nico Kotowski lined up fifth with Jose Schirmer to his outside.

A six-kart pile-up in turn one saw several karts fall down the running order as Vanchev moved to the point, disposing of the prefinal winner Bradley. Cole Medeiros moved into the second position with Bradley finally settling into the third position ahead of Tristan Murphy and Eli Steinbruch. Vanchev had opened a lead of just over a second by the completion of lap four, with the top-seven separated by less than three seconds. Vanchev continued to turn fast lap after fast lap as he continued to open the gap on the rest of the field as Bradley began to pressure Medeiros. Bradley was by Medeiros on lap nine, but the gap was two-seconds to Vanchev up front. Bradley was able to go quicker on lap 11 and lap 12, but time was running out. Murphy went purple on lap 12 to turn the fastest race lap. Vanchev responded on lap 14, going a tenth faster than Bradley behind her. Stretching the lead to more than two seconds again on lap 17, it was now Vanchev’s race to lose. Medeiros was by Bradley on lap 19 for the second step of the podium, but Bradley moved back to second on the next lap bringing Murphy with her and pushing Medeiros down to fourth. Vanchev went on to score the win as Bradley battled hard to finish second. Tristan Murphy was third on the road ahead of Medeiros, who had done just enough to claim the title as Elie Steinbruch finished fifth.

The PSL Karting ROK GP Junior Florida Winter Tour Champion is Cole Medeiros.

SodiKart / Velocity Racing ROK GP Pro
Qualifying Results

1. Ryan Norberg – 51.50
2. Blake Nash – 51.79
3. Ayden Ingratta – 51.91
4. Oliver Mrak – 52.06
5. Victor De Alencar – 52.07

Main Event Starting Grid

1. Blake Nash
2. Ryan Norberg
3. Ayden Ingratta
4. Victor De Alencar
5. Oliver Mrak

Main Event:
It was the Blake Nash and Ryan Norberg show in the ROK GP Pro class as the duo battled it out all weekend long. Heading into Sunday, Norberg had the upper hand courtesy of his prefinal win, with Nash starting alongside him in the front row. Ingratta, who ran third all weekend long, finished third again in the prefinal and started the main event from P3 on the grid. Ayden Ingratta, who battled De Alencar early in the prefinal, started third, just ahead of the row two occupant Victor De Alencar and fifth place starter Oliver Mrak.

Norberg quickly jumped to the lead as Nash tried to get to the bottom in turn one to make sure he did not lose any positions. Norberg led early, with Nash in second and De Alencar in third, but an aggressive Ingratta put the bumper to De Alencar to move back by on lap two. Norberg and Nash had opened a two-second gap by the end of lap three over Ingratta as it looked like it was a two-kart race up front. Nash banged his way to the front with ten minutes to go as he shouldered his way to the lead as Norberg fell to the second position. Behind them, everything remained static, with Ingratta third, De Alencar fourth, and Mrak in the fifth position. The two leaders remained in lockstep, separated by inches at the halfway mark. Norberg got into the back of Nash, spinning him off the track, but let up as he knew he was in the wrong. Letting Ingratta by and falling back in line behind Nash, Norberg assumed responsibility for his mistake in one of the most professional ways possible. Ingratta was to the lead, but Nash was a second back with Norberg on his bumper as they looked to close the gap back to the leader. Nash was quicker than Ingratta and had closed the gap to less than half a second with two laps remaining. Nash made a move on Ingratta for the win and was into the back of him with Norberg by for the lead ahead of Nash, De Alencar, Mrak, and Ingratta, who dropped to fifth. Following post-race penalties that affected the top three on track, De Alencar was awarded the win ahead of Mrak and Mingham Xu. Blake Nash dropped to fourth on the results sheet but maintained his championship, while first on the road, Ryan Norberg, was classified fifth.

The SodiKart / Velocity Racing ROK GP Pro Florida Winter Tour Champion is Blake Nash.

AM Engines ROK Mini
Qualifying Results

1. Cooper Lorenzo Lopez – 57.69
2. Nico Salazar – 57.81
3. Kimo Ahmad – 57.83
4. Alex Chandler – 57.85
5. Aston Wyatt – 57.89

Main Event Starting Grid

1. Cooper Lorenzo Lopez
2. Jayden Francisco
3. Alex Chandler
4. Cameron Johnson
5. Nico Salazar

Main Event:
Converting his pole position in qualifying into a pole position in the main event, Cooper Lorenzo Lopez had navigated the three ROK Mini heat races and prefinal to maintain his position. Jayden Francico, who scored the fastest lap of the ROK Mini prefinal started second for the main event with Alex Chandler and Cameron Johnson third and fourth after their prefinal results. Row three saw the likes of Nico Salazar and Asher Pavan as the green flag flew for the final ROK Mini session of the Florida Winter Tour.

In a waved off start after contact in the middle of the pack, Lopez was able to find his way to the front as Francisco slotted into the second position. Alex Chandler and Nico Salazar were having a great battle for third, but it was Lopez who was able to pull away up front. Chandler was by Francisco for second at the completion of lap two as Simon Kline was into the fifth position. Lopez had opened his lead to more than a second on lap three as Salazar and Kline were by Francisco for third and fourth respectively. Francisco was back to third a lap later as he trailed Lopez and Chandler Aston Wyatt, who was up 13 positions and into seventh after starting shotgun on the field. Kline made a bold move to slot into second as the top-ten were separated by 2.8 seconds. Wyatt was up to fourth a lap later and had the fastest lap of the race. With five minutes to go, Lopez led Kline, Wyatt, Chandler and Francisco. Lopez had broken clear of the battles behind him and was almost three seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Lorenzo went on to take the win ahead of Kline, Francisco, Wyatt and Ahmad. Following the race and post-event penalties, Lorenzo Lopez kept the win ahead of Kline. Ahmad was the benefactor of other penalties to finish third ahead of Salazar and Francisco.

The AM Engines ROK Mini Florida Winter Tour Champion is Jayden Francisco.

Rocket Racing ROK VLR Masters
Qualifying Results

1. Brent Harper – 55.68
2. Mark Pavan – 55.92
3. Ademar Calligaro – 55.93
4. Scott Falcone – 56.13
5. Evan Kozak – 56.85

Main Event Starting Grid

1. Brent Harper
2. Scott Falcone
3. Mark Pavan
4. Ademar Calligaro
5. Randy Rogers

Main Event:
Dominating the weekend, Brent Harper began his quest for the round three Florida Winter Tour win from the pole position courtesy of his prefinal win. To his outside was round one victor, Scott Falcone, with Mark Pavan and Ademar Calligaro in row two. Row three saw Randy Rogers on the inside with Evan Kozak on the outside.

Harper jumped to the lead up front as the championship battle would be between Falcone and Pavan, with Falcone in second place and Pavan in third. Calligaro slotted himself into the fourth position ahead of Rogers in P5 early on. Harper had more than a second lead after two laps as he looked to run away and hide. Early on, it was a pretty stagnant race with Harper and Falcone out front and Falcone faster than the leader.  Falcone made a successful bid for the lead on lap nine, pushing Harper down to second. Calligaro was by Pavan for third on lap ten, while Kozak was pushed by Rogers on the same lap. Falcone and Haper were seven seconds ahead of the third-place runner, while Calligaro, Pavan, Kozak, and Rogers were all together on track for the final step on the podium. When the checkered flag flew, it was Falcone ahead of Harper, Calligaro, Pavan, and Kozak.

The Rocket Racing ROK VLR Masters Florida Winter Tour Champion is Mark Pavan.

Rolison Performance Group ROK VLR Junior
Qualifying Results

Group A

1. Luca Popescu – 54.14
2. Eli Steinbruch – 54.21
3. Franco Escotto-Lechuga – 54.26
4. Juan Paramo – 54.29
5. Felipe Benito – 54.40

Group B

1. Alexander Vanchev – 53.78
2. Tristan Murphy – 53.83
3. Nico Orbezo – 53.85
4. Ruben Gutierrez – 53.88
5. Andrew Yao – 53.89

Main Event Starting Grid

1. Alexander Vanchev
2. Nico Kotowski
3. Ruben Gutierrez
4. Tristan Murphy
5. Marco Romero

Main Event:
Nico Kotowski scored the fastest lap of the prefinal but crossed the line second behind Alexander Vanchev, who scored the pole position for the ROK VLR Junior main event. With Vanchev and Kotowski on the front row, row two would see Ruben Gutierrez and Tristan Murphy, with Marco Romero lining up fifth beside Cole Medeiros.

Vanchev lead earlier after a great start as Kotowski looked to be slow off the line, falling to third. Ruben Gutierrez was able to go from third to first on the opening lap to lead lap one with Vanchev falling to second ahead of Kotowski, Romero and Andrew Yao as Murphy fell to sixth. Romero was up to third on lap two, pushing Kotowski down to fourth and Murphy was by Yao for P5. Vanchev was by Gutierrez for the lead on lap four. On lap six, Vanchev fell back to fourth as Gutierrez, Romero, and Kotowski had pushed by to take over the top-three positions. Murphy went purple on lap six to score the fastest race lap so far, and on lap seven, was able to push Vanchev back to third. Gutierrez continued to lead up front, but Romero moved to the point on lap eight pushing Gutierrez down to second, just ahead of Vanchev. Lap nine saw Romero hold on to the lead as the front ten were nose to tail with Vanchev moving back to second ahead of Murphy, Kotowski, and Gutierrez. Vanchev found his way back to the lead on lap ten, bringing Murphy with him. Romero dropped to third but stayed in contact with the leader as positions were swapping lap after lap. The top-five remained unchanged on lap 11 as drivers were getting organized for the last six minutes of racing action. The top-three had broken away a little, and Murphy went on the attack. Taking the lead on lap 14, Murphy led ahead of Vanchev, Romero, and Gutierrez as he clawed his way back into contention. Kotowski was out after an issue on track, promoting those behind him. Murphy led as it looked to be a four-driver race for the win. With two laps to go, Murphy went defensive, but Vanchev tried his move, as the two made contact. Vanchev was airborne and spinning off the track, to the advantage of Romero, who was able to get by for the lead. Romero now led Gutierrez, Murphy, Nico Orbezo, and Luca Popescu. Romero took the win, his first FWT junior victory ahead of Murphy, Gutierrez, Orbezo, and Nathan Dupuis.

The Rolison Performance Group ROK VLR Junior Florida Winter Tour Champion is Alexander Vanchev.

Nash Motorsportz ROK VLR Senior
Qualifying Results

Group A

1. Jordan DiLeo – 54.21
2. Sydney Cassels – 54.36
3. Rahim Alibhai – 54.41
4. Aidan Shimbashi – 54.42
5. Felipe Aguilar – 54.480

Group B

1. Diego Ramos – 53.72
2. Oliver Mrak – 53.85
3. Sebastian Garzon – 53.95
4. Mauricio Hernandez – 53.96
5. Chace Gassiot-Lee – 54.050

Main Event Starting Grid

1. Diego Ramos
2. Chace Gassiot-Lee
3. Mauricio Hernandez
4. Oliver Mrak
5. Sebastian Garzon

Main Event:
Diego Ramos has been the driver to beat in Texas and proved that point by dominating the heat races before taking the prefinal win and accompanying main event pole position. Chace Gassiot Lee proved that he had the pace to fight Ramos, crossing the line second in the prefinal to earn a front-row starting spot for the ROK VLR Senior main event. Mauricio Hernandez slotted into the inside of row three next to Oliver Mrak and Sebastian Garzon as the VLR Senior drivers were the final main event of the series.

To nobody’s surprise, Ramos was out to the lead early as he was the dominant driver all weekend long. Mauricio Hernandez slotted into second on the start, taking advantage of his third-place starting position. Oliver Mrak was able to jump ahead of Gassiot-Lee for P3 on track with Gazon in the fifth position. Ramos was going purple, lap-after-lap and stretched his lead to more than three seconds after only five laps. The battle for second was an intense one as second through seventh were inseparable. Garzon was able to get by Gassiot-Lee for fourth on lap sixth. Mrak and Hernandez battled hard for second, with Mrak getting airborne after heavy contact. Ramos was now up front by five seconds with Garzon, Gassiot-Lee, Jordan Di Leo and Joshua Soumvalis now inside the top-five. Aidan Shimbashi was by Soumvalis for fifth on lap ten as drivers began to get aggressive and defensive. Di Leo was by Garzon and into third. Rahim Alibhai pushed Garzon by Di Leo pushing him back to fifth. Drama on lap 13 ensued as Santiago Fernandez cut the track to avoid contact in front of him but fell to tenth in the running order. The front three of Ramos, Gassiot-Lee, and Garzon remained unchanged on lap 14 as Di Leo was back by Quentin Angelli for the fifth position.  Ramos was comfortably out front by more than seven seconds with five laps remaining and was aiming to close his championship-winning season with another victory. The battle on the track was for positions fourth through tenth as six drivers were separated by less than two seconds. In the closing stages, Mrak was by Di Leo for the fourth position. Ramos went on to take the win ahead of Gassiot-Lee, Garzon, Mrak, and Di Leo.

The Nash Motorsportz ROK VLR Senior Florida Winter Tour Champion is Diego Ramos.

Not competing in Texas was the Briggs 206 Senior class. Based on the first two event weekends, Dylan Amundsen is your 2025 Florida Winter Tour champion.

Complete weekend results can be found HERE.

With the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour now in the books, series officials will shift their focus to the start of the 2025 ROK Sonoma season and the prestigious ROK Vegas event later this year. For more information on both, please visit www.ROKCupUSA.com.