Trackside US Trophy Final Saturday Report
August 23, 2024 – Article by EKN David Cole
The 2024 Rotax Max Challenge US Trophy Final, hosted by Race Rotax, completed a busy and beautiful day of racing on Saturday at the New Castle Motorsports Park. Drivers had five sessions on the day at the New Castle, Indiana facility that included warm-up, qualifying, two heats and a Prefinal to set the grids for the main events on Sunday. The weather was warm, hitting the upper 80s, however a breeze kept things much more comfortable than expected. The five categories battled on track all day, setting up who will be fighting for the six Rotax Grand Finals tickets up for grabs on the final day of action of the event.
Oliver Hodgson (CompKart) came into the event as the two-time defending race winner in Senior MAX, already holding a Rotax Grand Finals ticket won in Quebec. The only blemish on the day for the British driver – who is set to be part of Team USA receiving his license from the United States this year – was in qualifying where Brazilian Diego Ramos (PSL / Birel ART) was able to secure fast time with a 1:03.594 lap time. Hodgson was second in the session, but was able to come away with both heat race wins after early battles with Ramos. Starting the pole position for the Prefinal, Hodgson went wire-to-wire to a 1.4-second advantage to retain the top spot on the grid for the main event. Ramos settled for second with Canadian Jensen Burnett (REM / Kosmic) driving up from sixth to third. Burnett is making his Senior debut on the weekend, leading those drivers who are seeking a Rotax Grand Finals ticket. Up seven spots to fourth was fellow Canadian Griffin Dowler (Apollo / Tony Kart) with Canadian Karting Championships ticket winner Timothy Pernod (PSL / Birel ART) dropping to fifth. Two tickets to the Rotax Grand Finals are up for grabs, with Burnett and Dowler in those positions heading into Sunday’s main event.
Nixx Eggleston seeking a second straight trip to Rotax Grand Finals in Junior Max (Photo: EKN)
It was essentially a two driver battle in the Junior MAX division, despite a handful of drivers battling at the front all day. Isaac Malcuit (PSL / Birel ART) edged out last year’s Team USA member Nixx Eggleston (Ruthless / Exprit) by only two tenths of a second in qualifying as Malcuit’s 1:05.273 was quickest. The top seven were only separated by 77 thousandths at the end of the session. Eggleston would lead only the final lap with a great outside move around Malcuit to secure the race win in the opening heat. Malcuit would take over the race lead on the final lap of Heat #2 from Ryusei Sawada (CompKart), the Japanese driver who is part of the EXGEL Motorsport Driver Exchange Program. Eggleston was pushed back to fifth in the race. Malcuit was on the pole position for the Prefinal, however, a carburetor issue dropped him to the tail of the field coming out of the first corner. He eventually retired and will start the main event from 15th. Up front, Eggleston helped to push Sawada away from the rest of the field, making his move on the final lap to secure the lead and the race win. Sawada finished second with Jackson Gibson (Ruthless / Exprit) winning the battle over Canadian Final winner Antoine Lemieux (REM / Kosmic) and US Trophy East champion Davin Roberts (RPM / Tony Kart).
John Bonanno became the driver to beat in Masters Max (Photo: EKN)
It was a race sweep for John Bonanno (Fulkrum / CompKart) on the day in Masters MAX. The US Trophy East champion and the only Rotax Grand Finals ticket holder in the field was second in qualifying to Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart USA), who laid down a 1:05.127 lap time. Bonanno was able to get ahead of Mardan by the end of both heat races to secure the pole position for the Prefinal at the end of the day. Bonanno was able to go wire-to-wire as Mardan fell back to 7th early on in the race. Mardan fought back up to finish second ahead of Christopher Mann (Ruthless / Exprit) with Ben Cruttenden (Supertune / Parolin) in fourth and Bill McLaughlin (Supertune / Gillard) in fifth.
A strong performance on the day in Mini Max by Nico Kotowski (Photo: EKN)
Nico Kotowski (JNM / Sodi Kart) has put himself into the role of driver to beat in the Mini MAX division. The driver from New York set fast time in qualifying with a 1:09.093 to clear William Vetor (JHDD / Alonso Kart) and US Trophy West champion Jaxon Porter (Ruthless / Parolin) by 76 thousandths. Vetor came away with the win in Heat #1 ahead of Kotowski and Porter. Kotowski was able to get away in the second heat race to maintain the pole position for the Prefinal. A race long battle ended with Kotowski escaping with the lead late and claiming the race win ahead of Porter with Olivier Chasse (HMP / Kart Republic) holding onto third with Canadian Open winner Jeremy St-Cyr (PSL / Birel ART) fourth and Vetor dropping to fifth.
Hudson Howard will lead the Micro Max field to the green flag on Sunday (Photo: EKN)
