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2-3-12 Ocala
Gran Prix Scores 28% of Podiums at FKCS Opener
"A great start to the 2012 Florida Karting Championship Series
for OGP"
Fresh off a very successful opening to the 2012 Florida Winter
Tour, the Ocala Gran Prix (OGP) squad wasted no time in adding
to their results this season. Competing at the Homestead Karting
Complex on the grounds of the Homestead Miami Speedway, OGP
drivers took the Florida Karting Championship Series by storm
scoring 15 podiums, six pole positions and five main event
victories.
"This was a great start to the 2012 state season as well as some
invaluable testing for our drivers who compete in the Florida
Winter Tour," expressed Ocala Gran Prix Team Manager Nate
Grindell. "We had a large tent of drivers but everyone worked
very well with one another by sharing data and setup advice."
The most dominating performances were in both the Rotax Senior
and TaG Senior divisions where Ocala Gran Prix drivers covered
the podium. In Rotax Senior, Nick Neri claimed the win after
garnering the pole position earlier in the morning and was
joined on the podium by Brandon Salyer and Andrew Evans. Anne
Hayden had a strong race to come home sixth while Jonathon Kotyk
and Mark Dismore Jr. crossed the stripe tenth and 11th
respectively.
The six same drivers would compete in TaG Senior scoring similar
results with Neri taking the pole position and win ahead of
Evans and Kotyk, who rounded out the podium. Salyer made it four
OGP drivers in the top four with Anne Hayden coming home seventh
and Dismore Jr. crossing the stripe in 13th as he utilized Mojo
tires while testing for the upcoming Florida Winter Tour.
Ocala Gran Prix would also enter four drivers in each of the TaG
Junior and Rotax Junior divisions. Scoring both pole positions
was recent Florida Winter Tour winner Oliver Askew but they
turned into second and third place podium results. Female pilot
Ashley Rogero rebounded from a disappointing 17th place finish
in TaG Junior to score an impressive second in Sunday's Rotax
event while Alex Hornborg would place sixth in the TaG division
and 11th in Rotax. Tony Kart newcomer Brian Lockwood came to
grips with his new chassis and team scoring seventh and ninth
place results over the weekend.
Nick Neri and John Dalton would score another two pole positions
and two main event victories for the squad as Neri claimed the
top spot in the Shifter category while Dalton had a clean sweep
of the day in TaG Heavy. Dalton would also see action in the
Rotax Masters class where he finished sixth behind OGP's Jason
Heffner in fifth and Jerry Brown, who scored his first FKCS
podium result with a third. Heffner would return to the track in
the TaG Masters category to take home a fourth place finish.
Young driver Olivier Bellanger was the class of the field in the
TaG Cadet category taking home the pole position and heat race
win. Driving away from the field in the final to cross the
stripe as the winner, Bellanger would receive a post race
penalty and be classified in the second position.
Florida Winter Tour participants Mathias Ramirez and Mikey
Hornborg would see action in the Rotax Mini Max class as both
drivers scored top ten results. Ramirez started his FKCS
campaign off with a solid second place result while Hornborg
improved from a disappointing qualifying effort to claim the
tenth position.
Ramirez would see action in another two divisions over the
weekend as he managed to take the victory in a hotly contested
Yamaha Junior Sportsman class. Looking for his third podium of
the series opener, Ramirez would fall to seventh in the final
Cadet Junior Sportsman classifications.
Subbing for the injured Dylan Genarro, Ocala Gran Prix driver
Hunter Folsom would look to score points towards the end of the
year title. Competing in the Rotax Micro Max, Cadet Junior
Sportsman and Yamaha Junior Sportsman divisions, Folsom managed
to take home three top ten results that included a tenth, tenth
and fourth in his respective classes.
Grindell added, "It was a good weekend for the team in regards
to results and we have some momentum moving towards the next
round of the Florida Winter Tour. I am hoping that we can
continue our success there."
Back in action in two weeks time, Ocala Gran Prix will head back
south to the Homestead Karting Complex. Entering twenty-one
drivers in the Florida Winter Tour Rotax weekend, Ocala Gran
Prix will look to build from their eight podiums and four wins
in the first round at the Palm Beach International Raceway.
For more information on Ocala Grand Prix, OGP race team
opportunities and info on how to get into karting, please visit
Ocala Gran Prix online at www.OcalaGranPrix.com or contact them
at 352.291.0600 or via e-mail to Info@OcalaGranPrix.com.
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