J3 Competition Race Department brought its core pilots in addition to several new pilots to the opening two rounds of the 2011 FWT in Orlando, Florida this past month. With drivers entered in both weekends (Formula Kart and Rotax), J3 Competition and its Kosmic brand was able to secure over thirteen podium finishes between the two weeks’ worth of events. Rounding out the senior contingent was newcomer Nicolas Morales who showed good speed with a qualifying effort of second on Sunday, which unfortunately ended in an on track accident.
Finishing out the lineup during the Formula Kart weekend was Mini RoK standout Patricio O’Ward. O’Ward took to the Orlando circuit with the speed to fight for victory on both Saturday and Sunday. In a thriller on Saturday, O’Ward took home a solid second place finish which he backed up with another podium finish of third on Sunday to keep himself well within the championship hunt heading into Palm Beach.
Switching gears to the Rotax weekend, J3 Competition entered a total of 10 drivers between the Micro, Mini, Junior, and Senior Max divisions. With weather conditions changing and neutralizing J3 Competitions advantage during Friday’s qualifying rounds the team made the best of it as they knew the remainder of the racing would take place in dry conditions.
The event started off with a full field of 34 Micro Max competitors where J3 entered young Swedish pilot Rasmus Lindh and Canadian Max Deangelis. Lindh was the forerunner from the onset as the young Swede started off with a hard fought battle on Saturday which resulted in several lead changes and a second place finish in the final. On Sunday it was much of the same as Lindh battled hard against two other drivers to take a late race move and finish in second place yet again, which puts Lindh in the top three in the championship fight. Fellow teammate Deangelis bested his efforts on Sunday with a finish of 15th.
In the Mini Max competition J3 Competition had Patricio O’Ward entered aboard his familiar Kosmic chassis. O’Ward started the weekend out with P1 in qualifying for Sunday’s event; however a technical disqualification outside of the teams control forced the talented pilot to start last in Sunday’s LCQ. Saturday was a better picture as the team worked diligently to secure the necessary setup as O’Ward took home a very impressive finish of second. Returning to Sunday, O’Ward battle through to win the LCQ and start 28th for the pre-final. With solid consistent finishes, O’Ward rounded out the final in a very impressive 6th place which now puts O’Ward second in the championship chase.
In the Junior Max category J3 Competition had Tristan DeGrand alongside newcomers Alex Guenette and Gustavo Lima. Qualifying put all three drivers in good positions to battle for solid results during Saturday and Sunday’s events. DeGrand put two impressive drives in on Saturday and Sunday, but unfortunately due to mechanical problems the former FWT champion was unable to secure a result representative of his speed. Alex Guenette took home a respectable finish of seventh on Sunday and now looks to settle in with the team for Palm Beach and the remainder of the 2011 FWT. Brazilian newcomer Gustavo Lima showed great speed with a solid 11th place finish on Saturday and now will look to improve upon his surroundings for the remaining two events of the 2011 FWT.
Rounding out the event was the teams Rotax Senior line up consisting of Andrew Palmer, Alessandra Madrigal, Kara Guenette, and Nicolas Morales. The squad garnered their best result with Madrigal coming from 32nd in Sundays final to secure a solid 6th place finish. Morales bested his weekend by qualifying third for Sunday’s final, but on track incidents sidelined his hopes for a solid result. Consistently positioned in the top seven nearly every session, Andrew Palmer was well on his way to a stellar result in Sunday’s final; however, another competitor thought better and sent Palmer spinning at the half way point. Palmer would recover and take a respectable result. In her senior debut, Kara Guenette showed speed as she qualified in the top twenty both days with a finish of 18th directly behind Madrigal in Saturday’s final. Look for the rookie squad to be back in action and improving at the second round in Palm Beach.
Also to be mentioned are the great results collected by the Kosmic drivers of Advanced Karting, whereby Daniel Formal took home Sunday’s win and the points lead in Rotax Senior while fellow teammate Nicolas Latif secured two podium finishes as well. On Sunday, Rotax Masters driver Brent Harper took a commanding position with his victory and thus a solid position in the championship hunt moving into Palm Beach.
“The opening round of the FWT has given us good insight into the direction of our team and drivers. We are confident moving toward the second round in Palm Beach that our processes and speed will fully unveil itself on the top step.” Commented Justin Stefani, J3 Competition team manager.
For further information regarding J3 Competition Race Department please email them at Technical@J3Competition.com. For inquires on all other product lines including the 2011 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.
