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Monday, January 26 2009

PSL KARTING EARNS FIRST WIN OF 2009 AT FLORIDA WINTER TOUR

 Multiple podium finishes for CRG drivers complete first double-header round at Homestead circuit

 HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA (January 18, 2009) – Another successful weekend went into the books for the PSL Karting squad as the second half of the opening round of the Florida Winter Tour (FWT) was completed at the Homestead Karting facility in South Florida. With the Rotax portion of the FWT program completed last weekend at the temporary circuit located outside the Homestead-Miami Speedway, the ‘Formula Kart Racing’ weekend classes took to the 7/10-mile course, a dance card that included PSL Karting’s CRG/Maxter packages running in the Pro Shifter and Masters Shifter categories, while the KF2, TaG Junior and Cadet drivers were aboard PSL Karting-prepped CRG machines. Cadet driver Jimmy Cabrera earned PSL its first victory of the 2009 season, while five others added podium runs of their own. 

Cabrera was the lone Cadet driver for PSL Karting, coming off an up-and-down weekend in the Micro Max category during the Rotax outing. The pilot from the Dominican Republic began the weekend by posting the fifth fastest time in Qualifying on Saturday and he would hold the position in the Prefinal. At the drop of the main event green, Cabrera jumped ahead to battle in the top-three and would remain there for the majority of 12-lap feature. Coming to the checkered flag, Cabrera was pressuring for second, who in turn was all over the leader. As they came through the final corner, the front two karts made contact and slid off-course, allowing Cabrera to drive through on the inside to take the victory. On Sunday, Cabrera ran inside the top-five until falling back in the Final to finish seventh overall. The Saturday win puts Cabrera right in the middle of the championship hunt with two weekends left on the schedule. 

The team’s Masters Shifter squad recorded exceptional results on the weekend with all five PSL-backed pilots finishing in the top-10 on Saturday. Florida pilot Doug Cox led the way for PSL, pacing the entire field as he put his PSL-CRG on the pole position in qualifying. Cox followed it up with a Prefinal victory to line up in the P1 slot for the main event. After leading the first half of the 18-lap race, Cox relinquished the position, although he would not go quietly. Cox kept his CRG nose on the tail of the leader, but he would fall short in his bid to retake the position and settled for the runner-up spot on the rostrum. The rest of the PSL squad crossed the line behind him as Denis Lachance placed third to join Cox on the podium. Michel Legrand was fourth while Martin Lachance and Mike Cunningham finished sixth and tenth, respectively. 

Sunday would bode well for three of the Masters Shifter drivers as Legrand earned himself a podium spot with a third place run in the final. Denis and Martin Lachance placed fifth and ninth. After earning top honors again in qualifying, Cox would get off the line slow in the Prefinal, falling back to fourth on the opening lap. Looking to regain the positions that he lost, Cox would spin and retire from the race.  Due to non-racing issues, Cox would not start the feature race, as would Cunningham, who was not feeling well.

 Newly-acquired driver Pier-Luc Ouellette made his debut with PSL the weekend prior in the Rotax Senior division, and the quick Canadian traded in his single-speed machine for a Maxter ICC engine to compete alongside defending Pro Shifter champion Fritz Leesmann. Ouellette, no stranger to the ICC package, was fifth fastest in the Qualifying session while Leesmann had transponder issues and would not record an official timed lap. The two would swap troubles as Ouellette retired on lap eight in the Prefinal while Leesmann ran up to fifth from the tail of the field. Ouellette took his turn at climbing through the field in the feature, managing to finish sixth while Leesmann would retire on lap nine with a clutch problem that would put him on the sidelines.

 Leesmann was able to work out all the bugs that plagued him on Saturday as he would qualify sixth on Sunday and run to third place finishes in the Prefinal and Final despite a bent steering component in the feature. Ouellette was fourth fastest in the timed session, however, he had a driver run over the back of his CRG which broke the radiator on the opening lap of the Prefinal to put him at the tail of the starting order for the feature. Thanks to a great start and early passing maneuvers, Ouellette ran into the top-five, where he would finish fifth in the final tally.

 Colorado Sprint Championship star Ben Schermerhorn joined the PSL Karting squad for his first trip to the Florida Winter Tour. Schermerhorn continued to improve each time on the track, running to finishes of ninth and seventh on the weekend. Joining Schermerhorn from the state of Colorado was TaG Junior driver Sabre Cook, both drivers working with PSL’s CRG Colorado dealer Critical Zone Racing at Grand Junction Motor Speedway. Cook was also making her first FWT start and was enjoying her first visit to the Homestead circuit. After placing 17th on Saturday, Cook picked up the pace on Sunday and ran to a 10^th place finish against some of the top Junior drivers in the country.

 Also new to the PSL Karting Florida Winter Tour team is the defending Stars of Karting TaG champion Victor Cabrera. Making the switch over to KF2, it was a solid debut for Cabrera aboard a CRG. After placing fourth in both Qualifying and the Prefinal, Cabrera ran to a third place podium finish on Saturday. Sunday was setting up to be another great run in the Final after starting fifth, however, a spin on lap four of the 18-lap event put him to the tail of the field. Cabrera came back solidly to finish 10^th overall.

The crew at PSL Karting will now take the next four weeks to prepare for the second double-weekend round of the Florida Winter Tour, set to begin on February 13-15 with the Rotax program and February 20-22 for the ‘Formula Kart Racing’ classes. The event will be held again at the Homestead Karting facility, however, the course will be run in the opposite (clockwise) direction for the first time in series history.

 For more information on PSL Karting, please contact Team Director Stephan St. Charles at 819.377.5566. You can also e-mail Stephan via Stephan@pslkarting.com   PSL Karting can be found on the Internet @ www.pslkarting.com ###  About PSL Karting:PSL Karting is one of the most respected shops and teams in the sport.  Located in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, they are a Canadian importer of CRG karts and Maxter engines, as well as a dealer and distributor for a long list of the best products in the sport such as Rotax, Arai, MG Tires, Vega, MIR Racewear and Tillett Seats.  PSL Karting is a full service operation, offering karts and parts, arrive-and-drive programs on the Stars of Karting, Florida Winter Tour and Coupe de Quebec series, engine building and tuning, and an intensive driving school that features dynamic and experienced instructors.