Having made the switch to J3 Competition Race Department directly after Q1 of the 2010 race season, junior pilot Andrew Palmer began to find success immediately. Through the detailed managemet at J3 Competition, Palmer found his bearings and took his raw speed and turned it into a tool which allowed him to fight immediately against the best the World has to offer.

The road to the Rotax World Finals in Mauro Lecesse, Italy (La Conca Circuit) first began at the United Stated Rotax Nationals. Palmer, who had visited the circuit earlier in the season at a KF3 and subsequent Rotax Pan American event was prepared well for the national event, which takes the top three finishing drivers to the World Finals. After a few practice days at the nationals, Palmer was on point and after securing necessary results in his qualifying heats he stood in good company for the final. After the first lap of the final, Palmer marched to the lead and took a more than commanding victory which granted him the crown of the United Stated champion and the prime representative of the junior squad at the World Finals.

Fast Forward >>>>

Monday November 15

The team consisting of J3 Competition team manager, Justin Stefani; technician, David Dodson; pilot, Andrew Palmer arrived at the circuit in La Conca to survey the land which they would call ‘home’ for the seven day event. With all things looking well organized the trio took some liesurely photos and walked the famed circut as Andrew and Justin showed David the layout as they already spent time in La Conca earlier in the season. Afterwards it was off to dinner and good night of sleep before they were to receive their Sodi Kart ST-30 for the event.

Tuesday November 16

The lottery system for deciding on who received what chassis began early in the morning and Andrew drew what we hoped to be LUCKY #49! Andrew and David picked up the chassis from the extensive queue and proceeded back to the paddock, whereby the team took the chassis down to its bare elements. Completely taken apart, the team refit the material as they had done in previous testing in order to insure that everything was brought to a ‘Known’ checkpoint. A few last minute J3 Competiton and Supertune decals were applied, then it was off to a dinner at ‘Egypt’, yes that was indeed the restaraunt!:)
Wednesday November 17

The first day on track (unofficial timing) and the team encountered a brief lapse in the first session which only hindered them around two laps, thus they were able to successfully complete 14 laps. The session ended well and Andrew definitely had a nice comfort level form already been at La Conca earlier in the year. The second session improved and Andrew was on par with anyone else on track, or from what we could tell off of timing rought five other top-level drivers. The day ended with a quality debrief and the team cleaned and prepared the chassis for the following day, which would be the all-important qualifying day.

Thursday November 18

The day started off stellar (or nearly) the team held back a little for the afternoon and secured a time in the top 5 in the timed warmup. This gave the team good confirmation that the direction they were working was correct. After lunch the timed sessions began and the team fell drastically on the timechart to 39th position, which was not what the expection was. The conditions had changed for the qualifying session and at the end of the day it would be a diffciult hole to climb out of. Team Manger, Justin Stefani had this to say after qualifying, “Of course the result is not what we were aiming for and now without a doubt this will change our strategic outlook for the event. But we are certain that our driver and team is more than capable of fighting off this adversity and taking our entry to the final on Sunday.”

Friday November 19

Haven settled down, the team took to the circuit for warmup with speed and ready to attack. The first heat saw a typcial turn one debacle that saw Palmer lose some positions, but his momentum was continued and he quickly began to fight for every valuable position. Palmer marched up to fourteenth from deep in the twenties, but a last lap-last corner attempt to better one position cost young Palmer a couple positions and he quickly settled for a 17th place finish. With heat one finished it was heat two, and the team did not get the result on the start they had hoped for. An off track excursion which left Palmer navigating the field with a bent steering column lead to a finish in the twenties.

Saturday November 20

With points accrued, a spot in the last chance was inevitable. During the third heat Palmer came under fire during the entire event and was able secure a position that put himself in the top 15 for the start of the 2nd chance race. “At the point of the 2nd chance race, the decision to make the final was up to our pilot,” commented Team Manager. “We knew Andrew had the speed and it was merely taking some agression to the forefront and making the necessary adjustments to put himself in Sunday’s show.” Palmer did exactly that as he advanced position(s) on every single lap of the 2nd Chance race and secured a position in Sunday’s final. This gave new ‘air’ to the team as they shifted toward Sunday’s pre-final and final preparations.

Sunday November 21

Palmer, started the day off with a respectable morning warmup as the team then lead its way into some of Rotax’s event festivities. With two events on the slate (pre-final and final) the team knew if they took a methodical approach they could gain on the field come the final checkered flag from their 32nd starting position. At the drop of the green in the pre-final, Plamer avoided a potentially disasterous start and maintained his position, form here he was able stay out of trouble and work through several competitiors to gain valubale positions for a starting spot in the mid-20’s for the final. The final came, and the entire 20 laps were intense as Andrew advanced agressively by fending off stiff and pressure-packed competition every lap. Palmer showed a mature and agressive side as he fought for every inch on the circuit during the final and rewarded himself with a nice 14th place finish.
Team Manger, Justin Stefani commented on the overall experience and weekend, “We definitely were able to show our ability to methodically maintain our processes thorughout the event, which shows how everyone is on the same page. The event ran smoothly and from an organizational standpoint it acheived its goal. In the end I really couldn’t be any happier with how our week turned out as our driver, Andrew Palmer proved to have the perserverance of a true contender. Yes, we would have liked to have collected some shiny hardware, however, the progression which our pilot has undertaken in just seven months within our Race Department is something that brings great motivation moving into 2011.”

About J3 Competition

J3 Competition Inc. is an undisputed leader in Race Services since 2004, providing the necessary tooling and management to take drivers to the next level. Starting in 2015 through its COMPKART ™ brand, J3 Competition will provide a full line of high-quality chassis and products designed and engineered for the Karting industry alongside it potent Race Department. J3 Competition will aim to deliver the COMPKART ™ chassis line to the North American market as well as customers globally in 2015 and beyond with unprecedented performance and service. With its content, B2B, and B2C websites presently under construction, please visit http://www.j3competition.com along with all its social media outlets to stay up to date on the latest releases and happenings regarding the COMPKART brand.