The famed South Garda Karting facility in Lonato, Italy played host to the 2010 International ROK CUP championship over the weekend of October 16-17. Hosting four categories of intense competition with competitors from over forty countries totaling 306 pilots, this year’s event was one for the record books. J3 Competition took an active part in this year’s event on several fronts with the highlight being the entry of Patricio O’Ward in the Mini ROK category.
The Mini ROK category which is growing at a rapid rate across the world including the United States pairs young cadet drivers with the proper horsepower and weight combination to hone their skills. The Mini ROK is an air cooled 60cc electric start engine that offers equality, consistency for the cadet category drivers to compete on an equal platform.
O’Ward who not only joined the Race Department at J3 Competition for the event, but also will be part of the team through the 2011 season. Coupled with the knowledge and guidance of J3 Competition, O’Ward took to the track on Wednesday ‘free practice’ as he set his sights on competing against the world’s finest 8-11 year old pilots. After Wednesday O’Ward and the team were making solid ground on the Kosmic/Vortex package and heading into Thursday the team felt confident. Once again the team moved through its progressions on Thursday as they went through a solid test program which isolated key variables moving into Friday.
Friday provided phenomenal weather and the team began the day with what it developed the previous days of testing, however Friday was the day when it counted – official qualifying. The young O’Ward did not miss a beat as the team methodically moved forward and approached qualifying with high hopes and a highly quantified setup. Situated from a random draw, O’Ward was forced to qualify in group one, which the team knew would be an immediate disadvantage. However, young O’Ward laid down a solid time while navigating traffic to secure third in his group and tenth overall.
“We felt confident about our position moving into qualifying, however, when you have to make your attempt in group one its highly difficult, not to mention navigating around 34 other drivers on the circuit too”, commented Justin Stefani. “Ironically we had the delay on our UNIPRO set at a different position on the circuit and this actually gave us a time good enough for 3rd, but with the traffic the tenth place effort was solid and very acceptable.”
The heats faired a mix for O’Ward as in the first heat his time was good enough to challenge for the victory, but the fierce battle gave the young driver good experience against international competition and thus he secured eighth place. In heat two, disaster struck as two pilots collided on the main straight at the drop of the green flag, thus collecting O’Ward which resulted in a DNF and 33rd classification. Moving into the last heat O’Ward needed a solid run in order have a chance for qualifying for the final. O’Ward did what he needed to do by securing another eighth place finish which coupled with his qualifying position rewarded him with a 28th grid position for Sunday’s final. After the disaster in heat two the team was happy to have rightfully qualified for the final.
As the team rose for Sunday it was clear that it was going to be a full-wet condition day of competition. Once the team arrived to the circuit they prepared the chassis for the morning warm-up and the brief session gave them the data to make the final setup change necessary for the final. Starting deep in the field O’Ward began to capitalize at the drop of the green flag by methodically dissecting and dismantling the competition. As the white flag flew O’Ward was in fourth place and he quickly ensued in a battle with eventual winner Hansen which resulted in O’Ward spinning. However, O’Ward regained and crossed the line in sixth place (from 28th). After post –tech the first and second place drivers were disqualified for illegal mechanical infractions and thus O’Ward was moved to fourth place in the official standings. Along with a solid finish, O’Ward took the honors of taking the fastest lap of the final by nearly one tenth of a second, thus proving the knowledge and material provided by J3 Competition to its drivers is second to none in the world.
For further information regarding the Team of the Year – J3 Competition please email them at Technical@J3Competition.com. For inquires on all other product lines including the 2010 Kosmic Racing Kart line, Vortex Engines, ROK Series Engines, Unipro Lap Timers, IBEA, JHC, OTK Kart Parts, and Tranzformer products please contact the Sales Department at; Sales@J3Competition.com or 814-864-1846.
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.
