3 podium for PSL Karting at the Florida Winter Tour in Homestead

2009 January 16th

The 2009 season kicked off for the Quebec-based PSL Karting in the sunshine state during the opening weekend of the Florida Winter Tour (FWT), which was held at the Homestead Karting facility, just south of Miami. The first event of a double-weekend in Homestead featured the Rotax Max program and PSL was busy supporting 17 drivers racing in four different categories. Newly-acquired Pier-Luc Ouellette and FWT veteran Rene Martinelli each debuted with the team by standing on the podium while Florida’s Jesus Rios Jr. added a top-three run of his own.

New PSL Karting pilot Pier-Luc Ouellette earned a podium finish on Sunday to place himself on top of the Senior Max championship standings

Ouellette led the way for PSL in the Rotax Senior category in his first event with the Canadian CRG importer. A sixth in Qualifying on Saturday put him on row three for the first wheel-to-wheel action. A tough start, however, put Ouellette back to 10th after the opening lap. Putting his world championship talent to good use, he climbed his way up to the top five and eventually to third place when the checkered fell after 15 laps. Another tough start put Ouellette to sixth at the start of the final, but again he would recover up to the third position, grabbing a position on the podium at day’s end. Pier-Luc would nearly repeat his podium run on Sunday as he battled in the top-five all day, placing fourth in both the Prefinal and Final. Ouellette’s results put him on top of the championship standings by a five-point margin with four races to decide the chase.

Fellow Canadian Massimo Scotti put in two solid performances in the Senior division as well. Scotti was top-10 throughout Saturday, placing eighth in the Final. Sunday was a tough go around, especially after a DNF in the Prefinal that put him at the tail of the grid. In just two laps of the 20-lap feature, Scotti was into the top-20 and well on his way to an impressive 12th place finish. Defending FWT Pro Shifter champion Fritz Leesmann tried his hand at the Rotax package for the first time with mixed results. Saturday was a tough day, the nation’s #6 ranked shifterkart driver recorded a DNF in the feature after starting 14th. He would fare better on Sunday with a 10th in Qualifying that would lead to him crossing the line 14th in the main event.

Prince Edward Island’s Gerald Caseley made his first career FWT start and he was able to qualify his way into the action on both days. Recording finishes of 21st and 17th against a very stout field, Caseley will look to improve on these results next month. Juan Sebastien Villamil had a similar outing, qualifying in the top-10 on both days, which would lead to finishes of 16th and 30th in the feature races. It was even a tougher event for Jean-Francois Valour, Dominic LeGrand and Frederico Moreno. Valour placed 19th in the main event on Saturday, but troubles would keep him out of the action on Sunday. LeGrand would not qualify for the A-main, but he recorded the B-main victory on Saturday. This momentum led to him transferring from the LCQ on Sunday into the main event action, but recorded a DNF in the feature. Moreno was unlucky as well, as he did not transfer to the A-main on either day, but he will look to rebound in February.

The four drivers flying the PSL colors in the Masters category put in impressive results during the opening weekend. Martinelli led the way on Saturday in qualifying by grabbing with the pole position, which he would turn into a Prefinal victory. A 20-lap battle for the feature win would ensue between Martinelli and Paul Montopoli. After multiple lead changes, Martinelli would have to settle for the second step of the podium despite clocking his fastest time on the final lap. The following day, Martinelli was sixth in the timed session but he drove his CRG to second in the Prefinal. Running in the second spot in the main event, Martinelli spun on lap four which resulted in him falling to the 30th. He would eventually finish 22nd.

FWT Rotax Masters vice-champion Denis Lachance put himself in the title chase with a solid opening weekend. Lachance ran in the top-five for the majority of the event, placing fourth on both days. Martin Lachance was also a top-10 challenger this past weekend. Running right around the top-10, Lachance recorded a DNF on Saturday, however, he recovered on Sunday for an eighth place finish. Michael LeGrand put in two great qualifying efforts both days, placing ninth in the timed sessions. The racing portion, however, would not fair as well, running 17th on Saturday with a DNF on Sunday.

The PSL Karting Junior duo of Jesus Rios Jr. and Tommy Beshro were back in action for this Rotax competition. Rios Jr. used his experience from the 2008 Rotax Grand Finals in LaConca, Italy and home track expertise at Homestead to secure the pole position on the opening day. A runner-up in the Prefinal set him in good position to challenge for the win in the feature. After a fierce 20-lap battle, Rios would settle for third but he would later be removed in tech after they discovered his clutch had been assembled incorrectly - a non-performance gained condition. Beshro started slow, qualifying mid-pack and finishing 18th in the Prefinal, however, he would muscle his way to eighth in the main event. On Sunday, Rios would remedy the engine issues and return back to the front of the field, battling within the top-three. When the final checkered fell, Rios edged out the competition for the second spot in the final order. Beshro again started the day out just off the pace but he recovered to start the feature in 11th. Poised for another driver forward, his day would end on lap 10, placing 29th.

FWT newcomers Cezar Garzia and Keegan Doublesting were unable to qualify into the Junior A-mains but they would record top-10 finishes in the B-Mains during their first weekend on the Tour. Another newcomer in the Mirco Max category was Jimmy Cabrera. After a solid outside pole qualifying effort, Cabrera was shuffled back in the Prefinal and recorded a DNF in the Final. Sunday faired better with a solid run within the top-10, placing sixth in the main event.

The PSL squad will now swap out the Rotax machines for the ‘Formula Kart’ weekend portion of the Winter Tour double-weekend schedule, which is set for January 16-18 at the Homestead Karting facility. Ouellette will return to compete in the Pro Shifter category aboard a PSL CRG/Maxter machine alongside Leesmann, the defending class champion. The Masters Shifter category will see a strong PSL contingent as the Lachance brothers will return, joined by LeGrand, while Doug will team up with the trio, all looking to earn the team its second straight class title. Recently acquired national star Victor Cabrera will contend the KF2 division with PSL. The defending Stars of Karting TaG national champion has signed on with PSL for the Tour although future plans remain uncertain. Also scheduled to return is young Jimmy Cabrera, who will enter the Cadet division. Joining the PSL squad will be members of the Colorado PSL/CRG partner Critical Zone Racing from Grand Junction Motor Speedway. Colorado state champion Ben Schermerhorn will contend the Pro Shifter Category, Mike Cunningham is scheduled to run in the Masters Shifter line-up and Sabre Cook will represent PSL and Critical Zone Racing 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 @ http://www.pslkarting.com <http://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.