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2-16-12 Leading
Edge Motorsports Kicks Off 2012 at Prokart Challenge
Northern California-based operation supports solid field of
Intrepid drivers at Buttonwillow
The 2012 is officially underway for the Leading Edge Motorsports
operation following last weekend’s Superkarts! USA ProKart
Challenge opening event at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park
facility outside Bakersfield, California. Team principle Greg
Bell fielded a team of eight drivers, all competing aboard LEM-prepared
Intrepid karts, with a number of competitors utilizing the fast
and reliable Leading Edge Power engines in the Stock Moto and
TaG categories. In each of the five classes LEM drivers competed
in, the Intrepid karts were among with quickest on course
including a pole position and number of fast laps throughout the
heat races and features. The end results did not favor the squad
this weekend, aside from a strong overall performance by LEM
newcomer Jack von Quillich.
“It’s great to get the 2012 season going. We’ve been working
hard in the shop to prepare for the year, including work on the
2012 Intrepid chassis line and fine-tuning our Leading Edge
Power engine program,” stated Leading Edge Motorsports owner
Greg Bell. “After we shook off the dust in the first few
sessions at Buttonwillow, our drivers really showed the speed to
contend for podium finishes. Some of the results we left with
weren’t the greatest, but our drivers recorded fast laps in the
races to further prove our packages are among the quickest out
there. Our drivers made great progression over the winter and
this season is looking exceptional for the Leading Edge
Motorsports operation.”
The category where victory was in the grasp of LEM drivers was
the TaG Master class. With plenty of experience and solid track
record in the TaG categories, including the SKUSA Pro Tour
championship with Brett Felkins in TaG Senior, LEM and Leading
Edge Power’s success is beginning to trickle to the other age
divisions. Randy Froom and Paul Hohlbein were mounted in LEM
Intrepid karts with Leading Edge Power Parilla Leopard engines
for the weekend. Froom showed speed out of the trailer, posting
the quick lap in qualifying with a 49.735-lap. Hohlbein was just
two tenths off, sitting fourth in the session order. Froom led
the field to the green flag for the opening heat race, only to
be shuffled out of the lead and back to fourth on lap two.
Hohlbein was one of the drivers taking advantage, moving to
second and holding ground to the checkered flag as Froom
finished fourth. The second heat, Hohlbein stayed in the
runner-up spot while Froom was making his way forward early
until contact took him out of the race on lap three. Forced to
run in a back-up chassis, Froom drove forward in the feature
race and scored the fast lap of the race while finishing
seventh. Hohlbein experienced his bad luck of the weekend after
getting shuffled out at the start of the main event. Able to
hold on through the incident, he drove a hard-fought sixth place
finish.
New to the LEM tent for 2012 is TaG Cadet driver Jack von
Quillich. A full-time competitor last season for another
operation, JVQ was unable to reach the podium in six ProKart
Challenge North events. In his first outing on a Leading Edge
Motorsports Intrepid, Jack qualified second against a number of
returning contenders from 2011. Holding the position through the
two heat races, JVQ was in a tight 15-lap battle for the second
step of the podium. Falling to fourth at one point, Jack was
able to edge out the competition at the line for the runner-up
position, scoring his first ProKart Challenge podium of his
career.
There is no doubt that throughout the season in TaG Senior, a
Leading Edge Motorsports Intrepid will be within the hunt.
Unfortunately, bad luck kept the three drivers under the LEM
tent in Buttonwillow off the podium but their speed showed
throughout race day. Second year Senior driver Kathryn Cornell
led the squad as she was seventh, just off the times set by
second and third place finishers in the SKUSA Pro Tour
championship last season. Mason Marotta and new LEM driver AJ
Juergens missed the set-up and were off the pace some. Cornell
advanced in the opening heat, finishing fourth and was credited
with fast lap of the race while Marotta pushed forward as well,
into seventh after 10 laps. An opening lap incident took Cornell
and Marotta out of contention in heat two, allowing Juergens a
chance at the top-five, finishing sixth. Marotta showed why he
is one of the top drivers in the series, matching the times set
by the leaders and advancing from 25th to ninth in the 20-lap
feature. Both Cornell and Juergens were inside the top-10 when
their misfortunes happened, ending their races short. Despite
the tough results, all three showed the speed to contend and
should battle for podium finishes next month.
Leading Edge Motorsports will have representation in the S4
Master Stock Moto category this year, thanks to longtime comrade
Trevor McAllister returning to the shifterkart ranks for 2012.
After shaking off the rust, McAllister proved why he was one of
the top drivers of his time and still has some left in the tank.
Qualifying 12th, T-Mac worked his way forward in the heat races,
up to fifth after the second 10-lap moto. McAllister was primed
for a podium finish up until lap six when another driver made
contact with Trevor, sending him off track and out of the race.
It was a disappointing finish for the veteran combination of
T-Mac and Bell, but progress was made throughout the day to
ensure stronger finishes in the future.
Rounding out the lineup in Buttonwillow was TaG Junior driver
Shelby Freese. Making her first ProKart Challenge start against
a strong field, Freese continued to improve each session out,
eventually recording her fastest laps of the weekend in the main
event, finishing 14th.
Leading Edge Motorsports will now prepare for the next round of
the series, March 23-24 at Willow Springs Kart Track in
Rosamond, CA. In addition to the new PKC event, LEM is gearing
up for a full assault at the SKUSA Pro Tour series and the start
to a number of regional programs throughout the Northern
California area.
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