Prime Kartsport – Florida Winter Tour Palm Beach International Raceway Preview

“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.”