PSLKarting.com

Wednesday, February 18 2009

RIOS VISITS VICTORY LANE FOR PSL KARTING AT FLORIDA WINTER TOUR Four drivers represent Canadian CRG importer on the podium in Homestead

HOMESTEAD, FL (February 16, 2009) – Reaching the halfway point of the 2009 Florida Winter Tour, the PSL Karting squad is looking solid in the championship hunt following the ‘Rotax’ weekend of the series, held at the Homestead Karting facility on February 13-15. The event was a first for the series, running the 7/10-mile circuit in the reverse direction following a recent repaving. The six PSL drivers in the paddock were up to the challenge and stepped up their games, contending for victories in four divisions. Standing on top of the podium at the end of the weekend was Junior driver Jesus Rios Jr., bringing PSL Karting another FWT triumph.

 The Florida driver, no stranger to the Homestead facility, put his CRG machine fifth in the opening qualifying session. After advancing up in the Prefinal to start the main event in third, an opening lap incident collected Rios and damaged his kart severely. After making repairs, he was forced to restart the race from the tail of the field. With strong determination, Rios muscled through to ninth to help save a large amount of championship points that would have certainly be lost. Sunday would be Rios’ day to shine. Putting in the third fastest lap of qualifying, he endured a 15-lap battle in the Prefinal that resulted in him sliding through for the victory on the final lap to start the main event on the pole position. From there, Rios would go untouched to pull out to a four-second victory in the 20-lap main event.

 The Rotax Senior drivers for PSL put in a solid effort on the weekend. Former Rotax DD2 World Champion Pier-Luc Ouellette came into the weekend with the target on his back, leading the championship after the opening rounds. Starting Saturday’s Prefinal in 11th, he was involved in contact on the opening lap and would not continue, classified 34^th in the final tally. In world championship form, Ouellette battled back to place 12th in the feature. This left Mexican star Rodolfo Camarillo alone at the front. A seventh in qualifying put Camarillo in the lead fight in his 2009 Florida Winter Tour debut. He put his skills to work, advancing to second in the Prefinal, which led to a hard-fought third place podium run in the main event.

 Ouellette would put the first day behind him and come out strongly on Sunday as the driver to beat , putting down the quickest lap in the qualifying session. After leading the first seven laps of the Prefinal despite an obvious issue with his PSL entry, Ouellette would settle for third. Making the necessary change for the main event, Ouellette came back to finish second for another trip to the podium. Camarillo look poised to challenge on day two after qualifying tenth, however, contact in the early stages of the Prefinal dropped him to the tail of the field. In the remaining laps, he advanced back up to 19th. That would all be for not as contact again in the feature put him in chase mode, ending the day in 20th. 

Stittsville, Ontario’s Tom Cadieux made his Rotax debut this past weekend in Homestead. The longtime ICC driver had a rough introduction to the Senior division, unable to make the final on day one. On Sunday, Cadieux transferred through the Last Chance Qualifier and would go on to finish 21st in the feature. 

Riding on his win last month in the Cadet division, Jimmy Cabrera looked to turn the victory in success on the Rotax side in the Micro Max division. Cabrera ran inside the top-five throughout Saturday’s events until he was involved in an opening lap incident in the feature that put him on the sidelines before completing a lap. The youngster returned to the front of the field on Sunday, recording a third place finish in the feature for his second podium of the short season. 

Masters driver Rene Martinelli put himself into the championship fight with a strong performance on Saturday. Following a seventh in qualifying, the Florida resident advanced up to second in the Prefinal to put him in the fight for the victory. In the feature, Martinelli would lead 13 of the first 15 laps of the race until getting shuffled back to fourth on lap 16. He would hold that position, gaining valuable points on the championship leader. On Sunday, however, he would lose the points that he had gained. Showing his racing skills are far sharper than his qualifying prowess, Martinelli went from 11th to first in the Prefinal to start on the pole position for the main event. The new starting procedure for the Florida Winter Tour would hurt Martinelli at the start of the feature as while he tried to remain below the enforced starting speed limit, he was constantly being pushed from behind as he tried to slow the field down. After the flagman threw the green flag, Martinelli fell back to third as they crossed the line and was later taken out by more drivers behind him into the opening corner. This put him at the back of the field and he would recover to finish 18th. 

This coming weekend, February 20-22, the second round of the Florida Winter Tour ‘Formula Kart’ categories will be featured at the Homestead facility. Ten drivers will be under the PSL Karting tent with Fritz Leesmann and Ben Schermerhorn returning in Pro Shifter. They will be joined by the latest addition to the PSL roster, former karting standout and open wheel star Matt Lee. Douglas Cox will be the lone Masters Shifter driver, while Victor Cabrera and Jimmy Cabrera will return in KF2 and Cadet. Jesus Rios Jr. will contend the KF3 division for the first time and Colorado’s Sabre Cook will be joined by Carlos Abreu and Havert Algarin in TaG Junior.

 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.