The first CIK-FIA authorized World event to land on American soil since the 1998 Formula C World Championship took place this past weekend in Millville, NJ. The event was the second leg of the WSK World Cup and the event provided a dramatic result. Standout American junior pilot Tristan DeGrand became the first ever junior pilot to podium at an FIA authorized World Championship event.
The star-studded field and amazingly well-organized event started off early on Wednesday with free preactice all they way until Friday’s offical timed sessions. With ample time the team spent two full days of testing different options in order to reach a successful setup for each driver. On Thursday it was apparent that in his sixth international event, DeGrand was going to be a forerunner as his speed was amongst the lieks of Verstappen, Hiltbrand and others. DeGrands’s teammate Andrew Palmer who was taking part in his first international event showed good speed and progression as he was hovering around twelftth place. While team member Alessandra Madrigal was battling a rib injury, which occurred the prior week at NJMP and with the physical demands of the ciruit, this would prove to be a major setback for her.
Moving to the final timed sessions, which are operated much like the final timed sessions of a Formula 1 weekend it was proudly American Tristan DeGrand topping the charts in both sessions. The exciting living timing format included with sector times allowed for excitement to build in the final session with Verstappen initially P1 until DeGrand entered the hot grid for a quick change. With three minutes on the clock, DeGrand returned to the circuit and proceeded to go purple in the first two sectors and green in sector three to stop the clock as the fastest KF3 pilot by over two tenths!
Saturday comprised of qualifying and three heats for all categories. After a successful morning session the team felt strongly about its run during qualifying. DeGrand ended the session in fifth place as Palmer ended 20th and Madrigal further down in 23rd. The heats proved to be a brutal battle for all competitors as DeGrand took 4th in the first heat but altercations in the final two heats put the pilot in a difficult position heading into Sunday. Palmer and Madrigal had their fair share of battling in the heat race with difficulties as well making their charges for Sunday equally difficult.
Sunday was a new day for the team with DeGrand starting 15th for the pre-final he made arguably the drive of the weekend as he marched to 5th place in the final classification to secure a solid starting position for the final. Madrigal unfortunately had to retire after her pre-final effort due to her injury thus sidelining her first international final. Palmer made a nice march through the pre-final field advancing from 23rd to 16th once again gaining valuable positions.
The final is where the fireworks were provided as Tristan DeGrand fought off a difficult start losing positions to fight his way back to the top five before Fioravantti unsuccessfully attempted to rid DeGrand while battling for 4th place. DeGrand gained composure and ran back down Fioravantti and Orudhezev to take the final spot on the podium in dramatic fashion. As DeGrand took the circuit for the final lap making history, the American fan base erupted as he took the checkered flag to complete the final. A truly memorable sight appeared in Millville New Jersey when ‘Old Glory’ was sent waving above DeGrand for the first time in Karting history.
DeGrand’s teammate Andrew Palmer was the second highest finishing American has he progressed to a solid top fifteen finish in fourteenth. Palmer will now focus his efforts on preparing for the remainder of the 2010 season as he heads to Italy for the Rotax World Finals.
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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.
