US Rotax Trophy Series East Round 2 Report
June 15, 2021
Re: US Rotax Trophy Series East Round 2 Report
The second round of the 2021 Rotax US Trophy Series East visited the challenging and unique circuit at United Karting situated just outside the Baltimore, Maryland airport this past weekend. With continued mixed weather in the northeastern United States drivers endured a torrential rain on Friday practice with the weather providing sunshine until the last half of the Jr. and Sr. Max finals on Sunday, a near repeat of round one. Round 2 enjoyed an increase in participation as a whole providing growth in total unique entrants in just the first two events of the series as the Rotax platform continues to grow with confidence.
“Yet again we had challenging weather for the second round of the Trophy East Series, however all the drivers and staff navigated the weekend perfectly. The event schedule and diligence by our Sporting Director, Tim Hanen led to a calm decision to call the Sr. Max final “Wet” with plenty of time for drivers to adjust which provided for a terrific end to the event finals. Our series is maturing every round, with great racing paired alongside a competitive-friendly atmosphere.”– Justin Stefani
Micro Max
The Micro Max maintained a solid field of drivers with some of the hottest east coast drivers competing in the 7–10-year-old range. In Saturday qualifying the field enjoyed a warm and grippy circuit with Lucas Palacio taking pole position, which he backed up with two heat race wins and a final win on Sunday. In the heat races and final the battle for second was intense as Phaethon Saradpon (KR-AKT) was challenged by Marco Sammut (MDR-Kosmic), Sebastian Rist (LevelUp-Compkart) and Nathan Holy (OVRP-Benik) as Saradpon took the final in second with Sammut taking third for the final order.
Mini Max
The Mini Max was the smallest of fields with growth as young Fion Shi (Kartworkz – Compkart) and Paulie Hart (OTK – OVRP) made the trip to United Karting to get in the action. The drivers aged from 10-12 years old provided excitement with the top five drivers times separated by mere tenths the battle for first and third place was intense. Polesitter and eventual winner Vivek Kanthan was stalked by Gavin Whitt as the two battled close and fair for the entire event with Whitt slotting into a second-place final finish. Third place was awarded to Hudson Schwartz as he held off the challenge from Alexander Jacoby. The unique and accelerated points table is definitely providing excitement for the Mini category as the series is shaping up nicely with a lot of on the table with two events to go.
Masters Max
WOW – is the only way to express the battle at the front the entire weekend in the Masters Max category! Poleman John Bonanno managed to win both heat races with heavy pressure from Vincent Carey and Paul Hart. The top three drivers ran bumper to bumper with several back-and-forth passes setting up a what was nothing short of an epic final. In the final Bonanno took control with Carey close in tow, however at the halfway point it was apparent that Paul Hart had a piece to challenge for the win. Hart quickly moved into second and then challenged Bonanno, a pass in turn 4 provided contact between Hart and Bonanno allowing Carey to slip through with just four laps remaining which was just enough to allow Carey to take the win and subsequent championship points lead.
Jr. Max
The top drivers in the Jr. Max category turned up the heat right from the beginning of qualifying as the final grid as Ethan Goulart (CRM-Swiss) took pole position with a solid time. The heat races were mainly controlled by Goulart as second through fifth was packed with Lourenco, Walker, O’Clair and Rampal showing their ambitions to be winners. The weather provided a heavy drizzle halfway through the final which provided yet again some amazing excitement and a showcase of driver ability. Once the drizzle fell, Aidan Lourenco (FA – Fox) went straight to the point and controlled the final until the last lap when Goulart made his way and crossed the line as the event winner. Unfortunately, Goulart would be penalized for a misplaced front fairing, thus elevating Lourenco to the top spot followed by Jake Walker and in third place Yash Rampal.
Sr. Max
A sunny and grippy qualifying session did little to shake out the front row as it became apparent early on that battle would come down to a trio of drivers with Justin White (Kartworkz -Compakrt), Aidan Fox (Fox-FA-Kart) and Julian Peacock (OTK – Full Tilt) with White taking pole position and Fox in second. The heat races were controlled firmly by White with Fox and Peacock battling for second as Fox bested Peacock in a close battle. With a damp end to the Jr. Max final, the Sr. Max final was declared a ‘wet race’ with all drivers making the switch to wet tires for an exciting and major shakeup in the results. Aidan fox took the lead early in the final and controlled the event taking his second win of the season and the lead in the championship with Alex Dancho making a move up in the wet for second place with Julian Peacock rounding out the final in third place.
“With a major shakeup in a few of the categories, our accelerated points structure is providing a series that will go down to the final event and the championship. The excitement keeps building and we are looking forward to heading to the picturesque facility in Lafayette alongside the famous “Party-In-The-Pits” on Friday June 25 provided by the Goddard family, it’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone.” — Justin Stefani
NEXT ROUND
Round 3: Lafayette Motorsport Park | June,2021 – Full series information including entry details, prize package and regulations for the USA Trophy series along with all Rotax Racing activities in the United States will be easily accessible in one location at www.racerotax.com. Additional Rotax USA Trophy series will be announced prior to the end of the 2021 season presenting opportunities to competitors across America to compete in elevated Rotax event series with a chance to earn a ticket to the Rotax Max Grand Finals
