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Russell Hamel (312) on his way to a clean sweep of the Rotax Masters class at CKI’s Grand Prix of New Jersey
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Team SSC East/CRG/Maxter really took home the hardware – and cash – this past weekend at the CKI Grand Prix of New Jersey, the team pulled off 7 wins, 2 second place finishes, 3 thirds and a total of 15 top fives. The many highlights included another dominant performance by Gary Carlton, sweeping the KZ2 class, Arie Ouimet’s clean sweep in KF2, Russell Hamel’s sweep in Rotax Master, Phil DeLaO’s winning run in KF3 and two 2nd place finishes in IAME Jr.
After taking two of the three heats in KZ2, Carlton kept getting faster and faster as the weekend played out. The pole-sitter in Sunday’s pre-final, he cruised to victory by 6.5 seconds after an early challenge by Fritz Leesman. In the final, Leesman was back on his bumper on the opening lap, but Carlton just has too much for him. He pulled away to dominated the race – winning by almost 9.5 seconds, netting the $3,000 first place purse. It was Carlton’s second straight CKI event victory.
In the highly competitive KF2 class, Arie Ouimet matched the dominance of his teammate Carlton – both drivers winning with CRG chassis and Maxter engines. Against a very talented field, he won the qualifier, then swept the three heats. In the pre-final, all 10 laps were tight, with Ouimet winning by a slim 0.489 margin; Richard Benitez landing 2nd and Brett Felkins taking 3rd. The final featured the same trio in the lead pack – Ouimet, Benitez and Felkins. A fast start landed Ouimet in first, but Felkins sprung free and grabbed the lead on the 3rd lap, with Benitez moving up to second, Ouimet dropping to third. Working on new tires, Ouimet eventually hit his groove and moved back in front. At the checkered flag Ouimet cruised to the win by 3.40 seconds, earning a $3,000 pay-day.
Russell Hamel turned in the third clean sweep of the weekend for SSC East/CRG, in the $1500 local option Rotax Masters class. He took the qualifier to gain the pole position for Saturday, when he took all three heats impressively. In the pre-final Christopher Rock was in close pursuit for the entire 10-laps. Hamel pulled out the victory by less than a second. In the final Rock and Thomas Healy gave chase, but Hamel pulled away for a six second victory.
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KF3 leader Phil DeLaO
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The KF3 class featured another round of strong competition. Aside from a spin-out in the first heat race, DeLaO won everything building up to Sunday – the qualifier and two of the three heats. The pre-final shaped up to be a classic battled between DeLaO and Taylor Miinch. For the entire 10-lap contest, Miinch would stick to his bumper. With an impressive display of skill and strategy, DeLaO would best him at the finish line to win by a slim 0.83 seconds. The final looked like another SSC East/CRG clean sweep until bad luck struck – while leading in the opening lap DeLaO lost power and was forced to retire.
Racing in the IAME Jr. class as well as, DeLaO put in another strong performance. Consistently in the top 5 in the qualifier and all three heats, he would get better on Sunday. The pre-final featured plenty of wild racing and a lead group of at least eight drivers shuffling for top spots. Contact between two competitors shook up the group, with DeLaO grabbing the second spot, battling with yet again with Miinch; and Tyler Thomas close behind. He held off charges from Thomas to take 2nd. Consistently fast, DeLaO was strong again in the final, running top three much of the race. The final lap saw some of the day’s best racing as teammate Pellegrini made a move to take second place, only to see DeLaO snag it back to claim 2nd by 0.083 seconds.
Joining teammate Carlton in the KZ2 class, Alex Manglass had a very successful weekend. Consistently fast, he qualified 2nd, won the first Saturday heat and placed 4th in the other two. In the pre-final Manglass kept his top 5 streak in tact, placing fourth. In the final he broke through to the podium, with a 3rd place result. Fellow CRG pilot Fritz Leesmann took second in both of Sunday’s contests, making it a CRG podium sweep, with Maxter engines powering the top 4 racers.
DeLaO wasn’t the only SSC East/CRG pilot tearing up the IAME Jr. class –teammate Mark Pellegrini had arguably the most impressive performance of the weekend. He booked the fastest lap times in both of Sunday’s events, he would battle DeLaO in the final, snaring 3rd place – completing an amazing ‘last to third’ charge onto the podium. Teammate Camden Geise also made a strong showing with two top 10s – taking 6th in the pre-final and 4th in the final, bringing the SSC East/CRG team three of the top four spots in the class.
In the Rotax Masters class, Thomas Healey joined the podium assault by SSC East/CRG drivers, taking 3rd place in the final, improving on his 4th place finish in the pre-final. Grant Shilling rounded out the team, breaking into IAME Sr. class top 10 in Saturday’s final heat, only to have a tough Sunday – he’ll be back strong at the next stop.
“Another a great event for the SSC East/CRG team – a dozen podiums is quite a feat,” states Dave Davies, SSC East Director of Operations. “Chalk it up to great equipment, a super job in the tent by our tuners and some terrific racing from all the drivers. We look forward more dominating weekends this season.”
About SSC East
SSC East, located in Braintree, Massachusetts, is the direct importer in the eastern half of the United States for the world’s leading kart products including Rotax/Bombardier, CRG chassis, Maxter engines, and throughout entire U.S. for Zanardi Karts, to both kart dealers and racers. Exclusively focused on kart racing, SSC East is dedicated to importing, selling, servicing and supporting kart manufacturers; it is the largest distributor of karts, engines and kart racing supplies and race organization in Eastern United States. For more information, visit http://www.ssceast.com |
