“We haven’t been on track but the shop always has something on the go when we’re home,” said Team Manager Trevor Wickens over the weekend. “We’ve had Mechanic’s Courses running, been building new chassis’ and been hard at work on our Prime Power program. We’ve also received some upgrades from CRG, and can’t wait to start testing in Florida. We haven’t been to West Palm in a couple years, but the last time we were there we had very good speed and results. The whole Prime team flies out Tuesday and will be at the track Wednesday for setup and day one. We’ve got the bar set much higher this time out!”

Seven of the team will see action in DD2, a class where Enrico Menotti sits sixth in the championship, the highest standing of any Prime Kartsport FWT driver. After a top-five finish in race one at Orlando, Menotti had worked to P4 through the Sunday prefinal and survived a turn one fiasco in the final when the effort turned all-for-naught a few turns later. The third-place kart spun exiting turn three, and collected three karts behind, Menotti’s among them.

“The first round went okay, but the Sunday crash on the first lap left me a little banged up,” Menotti said in summing up his opening weekend. “The Orlando track was a first for me and it proved to be quite an experience. The wind and the rain were a drag, but the night races were a blast to participate in. This weekend the weather is looking better and I’ve raced PBIR once before so it should make for a good time. I’m really looking forward to it!”

Menotti will be joined in DD2 by Brendan Bain, Eric Simon, Blake Reith, Marcel Pogany, Tyler McEwan and Curtis Fox, the latter pair working in a very unique arrangement. Fox is actually tuner to McEwan, and takes to the track in practice sessions working in a coaching role from the driver’s seat before racing on his own.

“It’s the best way to coach,” Fox said of being on track to lead and observe. “We tried it last year at Mirabel racing in Quebec, and in the final we ended up third and fourth! The opportunity to race at PBIR came when I found out Trent University had reading week the week of the race, so we are going to try it again. I’ve tuned for people at PBIR before but never raced it. It seems like a very unique track and I’m interested to see all the changes since I was last there.”

After a successful shifter career, Fox dabbled in DD2 the past few seasons while turning to wrenching and prepping for first-year studies in Business Finance at Trent. Though he hasn’t been in a kart since the 2009 Canadian National Championships, he’s confident he’ll be quickly on the mark in Florida. “The skill is always there, and if anything, I have learned more in the last two years about the technique for making a kart fast than when I raced frequently,” he said. “Stepping back from racing and watching, coaching, and tuning, has made my race-craft even better.”

Races are the best way to form a team of drivers and technicians. This is why SRT decided to fill out its 2010 calendar. The season for KF drivers will start in a few days’ time, with an important event, the Lonato Winter Cup (I), a way to go back on track and a first occasion to verify in racing conditions, against major international teams and on “their” reference track, if winter tests have been productive. The entire SRT team will race during the whole WSK Euro Series (from March to June), between Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Without forgetting France of course, since Sodi is going to line up its official team at the French Championship, from May to October. As far as FIA-CIK races are concerned, SRT will be fighting on all the fronts, starting from the European qualifying rounds for KF3 and KF2 in the UK in early May, and finishing with the European Championship final round in Genk (B) in July. In KZ2, the European Championship will see the team in Sarno (I) in April and in Varennes sur Allier at the end of June for the final.

Then, it will be time to go to the next level for the World Cups. KF3 will be the first to debut in Braga (P) in mid-September and then it will be the turn of KF2 in Zuera (E), the following week. Participation to the World Championship for Super KF has not been decided yet. Gildas Mérian, President of Sodikart, confessed recently that he also wanted to enter the new World Championship for drivers under 18… so definitely an exciting programme for the team in 2010!

As for drivers, SRT will rely on Anthony Abbasse’s experience and determination in KZ2. He is not interested in walk-on parts: he will be there to win. When the KZ2 stops, Anthony, who has now become “team captain”", will be on the tracks to follow closely the young drivers of his team.

In KF2, by recruiting Belgian Sébastien Bailly (winner of the French and Belgian Championships in 2009), Sodi has acquired a talented, reliable and experienced driver. Sébastien will certainly be the leading driver of the team in this category, where he will also be in the company of a very young and brilliant driver from Equipe de France FFSA, Alex Baron, and Californian Andrick Zeen. A revelation in KF3 last year, Alex has everything he needs to fully express his talent this season within the Sodi team, a challenge that will motivate him more than ever. As for US driver Andrick, he will continue his fast learning of continental karting and should collect the fruits of his hard work soon. His presence in Europe testifies to the close links that Sodi wishes to maintain with the US and the GPhactory team.

Pierre Gasly, member of Equipe de France FFSA Karting and third at the last World Cup, will be the official driver of the brand in KF3. Given his ultra-fast progress in 2009 and his comprehension and adaptation skills, Pierre should be able to bring some nice results to the team this season.

“I basically look at each racing series we are participating in like I do a company I get behind in the business world,” said team namesake Andy DeFrancesco. “If I see strong leadership and a solid model, I’ll try to assist where I can to enhance the experience for all competitors through sponsorship, not just for my family or our team. It’s rewarding to be involved with motorsport, and as most know, we’re a racing family and my boys are passionate about the sport! Most importantly, I think support should start at the club level and go from there. That’s what leads to great regional and national events!”

Starting at the base and expanding upward is a process DeFrancesco is familiar with, as he has gradually expanded his involvement in karting since being introduced to the sport, and now his DeFrancesco Racing operation is being cast much the same. Placed in the hands of American karting legend Bobby Wilson, DFR is growing from year to year, yet remains just a fraction of what he sees it being in the end.

“We are a budding race team with great talent, not only in terms of our drivers but in our team personnel as well,” Wilson said during a rare weekend off from racing. “I would have to say we are far, far away from the team that I envision us being, but we will eventually get there building one piece at a time. It takes dedication and a lot of hard work from everyone involved in an organization to realize team goals, but we are putting all the right people and programs in place. We had some bumps in the road to begin 2010, but we’ve had some great results as well, and things are very positive going forward from here.”

After three race weekends in January, the DFR February schedule will once again have three race weekends as the team returns to both Formula Kart and Rotax Max Challenge weekends of the FWT before running the second round of the CKI Florida Cup. One driver who can’t get back to action soon enough is Kyle Kirkwood. The Cadet/Mini-Max driver recorded four podiums from six starts in January, including a Rotax win at Orlando.

“Kyle has done an excellent job and has been a great addition to our team,” Wilson said in assessing the opening month for Kirkwood. “He is a very smooth and fluid driver, which makes him very easy to work with. Scott Schmidt has done a great job keeping him at the front, and he has been nothing but impressive in his last two outings. He always seems to stay cool and calculated, and that is what keeps him at the sharp end of the field.”

Beginning the season in FWT Vortex TaG Cadet, Kirkwood was on pole and ended the day second on the podium at Orlando. A retirement followed on Sunday, but a week later in Mini-Max action he was right back at the front in a field of 44. After a ninth on Saturday, he qualified third on Sunday, advanced to second in the prefinal and won the Final while setting the fastest lap in the field. Two more podiums followed as the Florida Cup opened at Homestead, and Kirkwood had a monthly tally of two poles and four podiums with a RMC win. It puts him firmly in the championship hunt in all three classes as a new month dawns. Junior driver Dore Chaponick Jr. also raced all three Florida events during the month and also began his 2010 from pole.

“Dore has been Mr. Excitement!” Wilson said. “The emotional roller coaster this boy has put us through is nothing short of Six Flags! He just wants to win and is always trying his hardest to bury the competition. He’s always quick and we have very high expectations for him. He is very good during briefings and applies things on track immediately. He’s very young in the junior ranks, but he still finds his way toward the front every race.”

The Florida driver battled through the stormy weather of opening day to take fourth at Orlando, and repeated the run on Sunday to take the Championship lead in IAME Junior. The Rotax weekend also began strong with a top ten, but Chaponick’s Sunday run ended early. At Homestead for Florida Cup, Chaponick was on the podium on Saturday and was sixth on Sunday in race two. Devlin DeFrancesco was the other team driver to make six starts, with a hospital stay thrown in between Orlando and Homestead! After a fifth and fourth to start the season, illness had him running less than his best from that point forward. Cole Glasson, Jack West and Andrew Hawkins also ran the FWT Rotax Max Challenge, but none dialled in the results they were working for.

DeFrancesco Racing returns to action this weekend at the second round of the Florida Winter Tour, with Kirkwood, Chaponick and DeFrancesco beginning the month for the team at Palm Beach International Raceway. Glasson will join in for the Rotax Max Challenge weekend. The team will close the month at Homestead and round two of the CKI Florida Cup.

DeFrancesco Racing January Results:

Florida Winter Tour Formula Kart Weekend
Kyle Kirkwood 2nd 12th P4 in Cadet Championship
Devlin DeFrancesco 5th 4th P5 in Cadet Championship
Dore Chaponick Jr. 4th 4th Junior Championship Leader

Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge Weekend
Kyle Kirkwood 9th 1st P4 in Mini-Max Championship
Devlin DeFrancesco 30th 33rd P32 in Mini-Max Championship
Cole Glasson 29th 11th P18 in Mini-Max Championship
Dore Chaponick Jr. 8th 31st P12 in Junior-Max Championship
Jack West 27th 18th P24 in Junior-Max Championship
Andrew Hawkins 31st 33rd P33 in Senior-Max Championship

Championship Karting International Florida Cup
Kyle Kirkwood 3rd 3rd P4 in Mini-Max Championship
Devlin DeFrancesco 18th 18th P17 in Mini-Max Championship
Dore Chaponick Jr. 3rd 6th P4 in Junior-Max Championship

In addition to the live streaming, PolePositionTV has integrated two of the most popular social media sites into the broadcast, Facebook and Twitter, to provide viewers with access to live updates and the ability to make comments and submit questions during the event. Even though Facebook and Twitter have become popularized among all ages in 2010, they’re still very much the domains of a younger demographic and reaching out to younger karters and youth in general is of prime importance to CKI.