ProKart Racer Perspective

In Friday free practice Gmo clocked through in session one in the 16th spot with a time of 1:44.199. The team made some nice changes and Raimondo went to seventh in the second session with a time of 1:43.294. The solid practice runs set the Raimondo up for a strong run in Saturday qualifying. As the time qualifying session progressed Raimondo didn’t find the pace he was looking for and would settle for 16th putting him outside row eight for the standing start.

“Qualifying was not the best for me. Adjusting to the different rubber and grip level threw my limits off a bit, and by the time I finally re-established everything, it was too late unfortunately,” commented Raimondo after the morning session. “The lap I did however, was somewhat consistent to my practice lap that put me in seventh, so I’d like to see it as something positive.”

In race one it was a hard fought battle from the start as Raimondo looked to move forwarding heavy traffic and keep the car under him. Making steady progress was the order of the day and in the closing stages the 19-year-old driver had made his way up to 12th position. Running in tight formation looking for more spots before the checkerd flag, the car directly in front of Raimondo spun on the last corner causing Raimondo to check up and allowing the two drivers behind to pass on the straight away. At the flag it was Gmo crossing the line in 14th spot as completing all the scheduled laps.

“Race 1 was a bit unfortunate for me, even though I gained positions from where I started, the end of the race was unlucky,” continued Raimondo. “The start was good, the pace was good, and I gained positions throughout the race. Out of all the situations I could control, the race was quite good.”

Sunday round six competition would be one of best races this season for the rookie driver. The race would go very well from the start with Gmo grabbing spots early on as he worked traffic. Moving up 10 positions in the first 2 laps starting from 16th showed that the car was good and the team was on it’s game. At the line it was Gmo finishing in eighth to crack the top ten and secure some championship points.

“Near the end of the race is when everything started to become difficult,” commented Gmo. “The rear tires were starting to overheat a bit from the constant battling with other drivers, and the heat started to take effect.”

Raimondo was able to collect some valuable points and now sits in 16th in the overall championship points standings and third in the Rookie Championship chase. Gmo has score rookie points in all six rounds of the Formula 3 Italia series.

“Finishing well in the points shows great foresight for the races to come. Mugello is next on the list and judging from our results this weekend, I have a feeling it’s just going to get better.”

Up next is the fourth weekend being held at the Mugello Circuit, which will host rounds seven and eight on July 25th and 26th. Race fans can follow all the racing action of the Formula 3 Italia Series by visiting www.f3italia.it to view races online.

Carrying the American flag in KZ2 was Californian Gary Carlton. After scoring the pole position in qualifying, Carlton recorded a heat win and was classified second heading into the Prefinal. From there, Carlton led most of the Prefinal until the last lap when he was relegated to the second spot. From the outside of the front row, Carlton paced the field to begin the 16-lap main event. Posting the fast laps of the race back to back, Carlton’s lead was sixth-tenths after four laps.

From there, his lead was around two tenths with Tony Kart’s Rick Dreezen and Carlton’s CRG teammate and Prefinal winner Jonathon Thonon in pursuit. With two laps to go, Thonon advanced to second and began pressuring Carlton. The following lap, Thonon was able to get by Carlton in turn three. Carlton fought back but was unable to return the pass. In the final few corners, Dreezen ran into the back of Carlton, forcing him wide and pushing back to third. Thonon would take the victory with Dreezen and Carlton completing the podium.

The day began on a good note for American Phil DeLaO (Top Kart) as he started off winning the Second Chance Heat race to continue on to the Prefinal. Fellow American Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) was classified seventh to begin the Prefinal. DeLaO kept improving each session out and advanced up to 22nd while Menezes dropped to 11th. In the main event, Menezes was as high as sixth he retired on lap seven. DeLaO took advantage of a number of drivers falling out, moving forward to end up 10th. Tony Kart drivers Chris Lock and Luke Varley scored the top two spots in the feature with Jordan King (Birel) making it three British drivers on the podium.

In KF3, Tristan DeGrand (Tony Kart) continued to have a tough weekend. Moving up to 19th in the Prefinal, DeGrand was out of the running in the main event on lap four. Raquel Martinez (Top Kart) was 27th in the Prefinal and improved to 20th in the main event to complete her first international event. Robert Visoiu (Tony Kart) came away with the victory over Max Verstappen and Damiano Fioravanti (Tony Kart).

For Gianmarco “Gmo” Raimondo, his Italian heritage and passion for racing will come together this weekend as he looks to move up in the rookie standings. Sitting in third spot, Raimondo is just three points back from second place. Raimondo will also look to score his first championship points this weekend at a track he knows well.

“We need to close the gap from third to the rookie title and gain some points for the overall championship,” comments Raimondo from his new home in Italy. “I like the track and we have tested here already this season.”

A favorite stop on the Formula 3 Italia Series calendar, the long history and great name that is Imola provides an air of energy and excitement for all the drivers. For Raimondo, who carries the colours of both Canada and Italy on his helmet, success this weekend is important for his season. Preseason testing with Team Lucidi will give Gmo some valuable knowledge and confidence heading into the weekend.

“With such a high passing and challenging track, I believe the races in Imola will be very interesting,” continues Raimondo. “The testing experience and the work done with driver coaches and engineers has properly prepared me for this race weekend.”

Coming off two solid runs through the field in Hockenheim, Gmo will look to improve in qualifying and put himself at the sharp end of the grid to score maximum points. As the 29-car field looks to make up ground on series leaders, every lap will be key as drivers face two tough rounds of racing at the demanding high speed circuit.

“The physical preparation I’ve done at Formula Medicine the past week has also given me the confidence needed to come out of this weekend with good results,” states Raimondo on enroute to Imola. “A demanding track like Imola requires the driver to be in top physical and mental condition.”

Race fans can follow all the racing action of the Formula 3 Italia Series by visiting www.f3italia.it to view races online.

To prepare for the opening round of the WSK World Series – set for June 30-July 3 – Menezes ran the final two WSK Euro Series events aboard his Tony Kart chassis powered by Vortex. The two races would be the 15-year olds first KF2 starts in Europe, having run the KF3 division in the previous three seasons.

The last race in Sarno, Italy was Menezes’ best showing. Starting out classified 21st in qualifying out of 56 drivers, Menezes posted top-10 results in his four heat races to earn the 20th grid spot for the Prefinal. Menezes was involved in an incident to fall back to the tail of the field. From there, he advanced back forward to finish 18th in the difficult 12-lap run. Top cap off the solid weekend, Menezes was moving forward in the main event, up to 12th only to be hit again and dropped to 22nd. In the end, Menezes managed to cross the line 16th in the final tally, just one spot out from earning a championship point.

“Sarno was a great weekend for me and the Tony Kart Racing Team,” commented Menezes. “I was able to overcome some adversity and produce my best results in KF2 thus far. The Genk and Sarno weekends were a great warm-up for the World Series. I’m looking to racing on the new circuit in Portugal and begin battling for the world championship.”

The event is set to begin Wednesday, June 30 with practice. Qualifying will be conducted on July 1 with the heat races to take place on July 2. The Prefinal and Final races will run on July 3. A complete schedule of the event can be view at the series website – wskarting.it. You can follow Menezes progress throughout the weekend live with the series scoring feed: http://www.wskarting.it/livetime.asp

Gustavo is able to compete at this level thanks to his many sponsors, including Tony Kart USA, Red Bull, UP Racing, Safety Park Inc., K1 Speed, K1 Race Gear, Tony Kart Racing Team, On Track Promotions and Oakley. Additional information on Gustavo Menezes can be obtained from his personal website, http://www.gustavomenezes.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/gustavom28

Inspired by taking 3rd place in a club event at the same venue just a week beforehand, Jack built on this early promise with another fine performance during Saturday’s timed qualifying session by being fastest in his group and third-quickest overall.

Despite enjoying pole position for the first of his two preliminary heats, he had to keep a cool head as a crash brought out the red flags and his engine temperature soared. “I didn’t have a clue what was going on. We weren’t told where to stop on the circuit so we all just drove round slowly. Because the air was so warm and the low speed, I couldn’t cool the engine enough and the data-logger showed that the temperature was over 60 degrees. Eventually they stopped us and that allowed the engine to cool down a little. At the re-start I got the jump and was in the lead and had just started to pull away when the race was red-flagged again. They stopped us and we took the re-start in single file. That was still a bit wild but I got a really good start and won from there.”

A collision whilst contesting the lead in the second heat saw Jack’s kart throw its chain and put him out of the race. This affected his aggregate score to determine his grid position for the pre-final and he found himself on the 10th row of the grid – “My mechanic said to me before the start, ‘go out there and entertain them (the crowd). There was no pressure on me, so it was just a case of doing my best.”

Despite starting in 19th place he produced a storming drive and carved his way up to the order to take an excellent 4th position, after 24 gruelling laps in the 30 degree heat.

Starting from the outside of the second row for the main final, the Accent Banking and Rollersigns-supported driver knew that he needed to sweep across to the inside line quickly if he was to avoid losing places – or worse, risk a crash as the field bumped and bored for position through the first three corners. As the field swarmed into the first bend, he had already chopped across to the right-hand side of the track and escaped the crash that removed the drivers who had started immediately behind him.

“I slotted in behind the driver in 3rd but dropped to 5th. We lost time fighting each other over 4th but once we’d settled down we soon caught the 3rd-place man. We were both able to pass him but by then the pack behind had started to catch up. I had to keep a cool head and make sure I kept my place. I managed my tyres and made sure my lap times were consistent and brought the kart home in 3rd”

“It was a good result for my first time with the team (in the Super 1 series) and I’m really happy because it also moved me into championship contention. I’m going to really push now.”

Next weekend (3/4 July) sees Jack competing in North Wales, when the Bernie Ecclestone and Lewis Hamilton-backed Formula Kart Stars championship resumes at the picturesque Glan Y Gors circuit.