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November 08, 2022 16 min read
Main Events
ROK VLR Junior – Nash Motorsportz
Main Event Starting Grid:
At 9:00am PDT, the ROK VLR Junior drivers started the day's first final on the track. Jesus Vasquez, who started on pole, quickly pulled away from Stephen Eisert and Helio Meza to take the lead. After two laps, a slight gap had developed between Caleb Gafrarar and Oliver Wheldon as they engaged in combat (JC Karting). Vasquez was able to open up a little gap on Meza, who was by Eisert for third, allowing Wheldon to pass Gafrarar for fourth.
Some mid-pack cars were eliminated from contention due to some contact, but attention was on the second and third-place drivers who had started to cooperate to overtake the leader. On the fifth lap, a trio of drivers were now running nose to tail, making it a three-kart race up front. Gafrarar's RPG driver appeared to be having trouble with speed early on, thus Ernesto Rivera was beside him for P5. On lap seven, Meza led the duel for second through fifth place while Vasquez jumped out to a lead of half a second. As Meza passed Vasquez on lap 11 by three tenths of a second to close the deficit in half, Vasquez had established a seven-tenth lead on his competitors, who were preparing for a potential attack behind him. When Wheldon passed Eisert for third place on lap fourteen, it was another lap later and another tenth quicker for the three drivers in pursuit. With five circuits remaining, the top four positions were still up for grabs as Wheldon made a second move into second, giving Vasquez a breathing space of little over half a second. Vasquez was being slowly reeled in by Wheldon, who was pushing hard, but time was running short. With two laps left, the race for the ROK VLR Junior championship was only a few kart lengths away. In turn six, Wheldon caught up to Vasquez but was unable to pass. Vasquez held off Wheldon in the last turn as he made a run to get up to the #877, but he lost the drag race to the finish line by.031. Your ROK VLR Junior Champion for 2022 is Jesus Vasquez. Vasquez continued to win the race ahead of Wheldon and Eisert despite a few technical violations involving drivers in the top five that were discovered after the race. Keagan Kaminski (GFC) was moved to fifth place, making Caleb Gafrarar the new fourth-place finisher.
Podium:
ROK VLR Senior – Full Throttle Karting
Main Event Starting Grid:
After passing Caleb Shrader, who started in the pole position, Jeremy Fletcher and Chase Jones advanced from their P2 starting positions to take the lead. By the end of lap two, Shrader had dropped back to fifth, but on lap three, Hand and Shrader passed Cole Shroeder (Ruthless Karting) while Fletcher pursued Jones for the lead. On lap 6, Fletcher was able to reach the point since the top five were so close to one another. Chase Hand made contact on lap eight, losing momentum and dropping to position eight on the circuit, but he quickly gained it back and maintained his position. Adam Ali and Frankie Mossman (Team Benik) were able to climb up to fourth and fifth place respectively at the halfway point of the race while Fletcher and Jones went side by side and established a gap on the third-place runner Shrader. For a few laps, the front nine remained unchanged, but Mossman was flexing his muscles and showing speed to narrow the gap as he sought to contend for the victory. With five laps remaining, the competition heated up again as the top six drivers were separated by less than one second. On lap 15, Mossman became the first to move up, moving up to fourth. Then, as Shrader was moved from third to fifth, propelling Mossman and Ali into a potential podium position, side-by-side racing was secured. With two circuits remaining and three different chassis brands represented in the top three, things would become confusing on the last circuit. In turn eight, Mossman would take Chase Jones with him and go by the name Fletcher. Jones was able to pass Mossman into turn ten after defending through turn nine and losing speed, while Fletcher did the same two corners later. Over Fletcher, Mossman, Adam Isambard (ANSA), and Adam Ali, Jones would prevail. Mossman was docked two positions following the race for using a pushback bumper that propelled Isambard to the third step of the podium ahead of Ali, who finished in fourth.
Podium:
ROK Mini – Speed Concepts Racing
Main Event Starting Grid:
Isaac Malcuit was quickly eliminated by Carson Wienberg for the lead, and Gage Korn quickly followed suit, demoting Malcuit to third. By the end of lap four, Canadian Ty Fisher (Racelab), who had entered the top-five early, was in fourth place, with the first three having opened a more than three-second gap on the rest of the field. Turner Brown, who started in fourth place, Michael McHaughy, and Cason Hodge were all sidelined and eliminated from the race after colliding with one another. Up front, nothing changed until Lucas Palacio of Prime Powerteam moved ahead of Tristan Murphy of Parolin USA to claim sixth. Weinberg continued to lead Korn and Malcuit with nine circuits remaining as they had created a six-second gap on Ty Fisher in fourth, who was at the head of a train of four further karts. The frontrunners had a low-key race as Malcuit patiently overtook Korn for second and then passed Weinberg for the lead on the same lap. With five laps remaining, Weinberg regained the lead in turn 12 and drove another lap while the front three ran side-by-side. Fisher lost to Lucas Palacio for fourth, while Tyrone Kemper Jr. (Team Benik) advanced to fifth. With four circuits remaining, Korn took the lead when Weinberg and Malcuit made contact, opening a.484-second margin as he pursued a ROK Vegas title. With two laps remaining, Weinberg took the lead after Malcuit and Weinerg collected themselves and caught Korn. Weinberg defended as Malcuit drove around the outside down the back straight to take the lead and never look back as they approached the white flag. Malcuit won, and Korn overtook Weinberg to claim second place in the penultimate turn. With Kemper in fourth and Palacio in fifth place, Weinberg managed to hold on for the third spot on the podium. After the race, Weinberg was given a penalty that caused him to drop to fifth place on the standings, moving Kemper and Palacio up to third and fourth, respectively.Podium:
ROK Master Shifter- ANSA Karting
Main Event Starting Grid:
Matthew Hamilton, who started in pole position, was tardy off the line as Antonio Pizzonia surged ahead from his off-pole starting position to grab the lead. Musser moved up to second and Hamilton fell to third as Pizzonia took the lead. In front of Kevin Woods (Ron White Racing), who finished in fifth, Neil Joseph was able to maintain his place in fourth. Bud Grossenbacher and Rene Martinelli of Racelab, who had been running in the top ten all weekend, had to leave the race early because contact destroyed their chances of finishing in the top five. Musser trailed Pizzonia by a tenth of a second, while Hamilton was third with a tenth of a second deficit. The leading four were within 1.8 seconds of one another in the twenty-five-lap final, evenly spaced and clocking laps, but fifth was a further four seconds back. By lap 13, Musser had reduced the margin to less than four tenths of a second, making it appear as though there might be a two-driver race for the victory. There were now three cars within 1.5 seconds of the lead with ten laps remaining. As the drivers approached lap 20, the only thing that had changed was that Pizzonia had widened the margin over Musser to one second since he appeared to be unstoppable up front. With three laps left, Hamilton would squeak past Musser to take up second place, but up front it was all Pizzonia. Prior to Hamilton and Musser, Pizzonia won his first ROK Vegas championship, and Neil Joseph and Kevin Woods completed the top five.
Podium:
ROK Senior – Racing Edge Motorsports
Main Event Starting Grid:
Despite Diego Ramos passing Zachary Claman-DeMelo on the opening lap and Jack Jeffers passing Frankie Mossman to take fourth, Marijn Kremers kept the lead he had earned from pole position. On the third lap, DeMelo was able to overtake Ramos as Mossman passed Jeffers for fourth, moving Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts) up to fifth. A lap later, Jeffers was eighth in the running order as he tried to pick up the pace. On lap five, DeMelo outran Kremers in speed. A lap later, at turn nine, Ramos followed DeMelo through to take the lead. As the fight between second and third place in ROK Senior intensified, Kremers and Mossman passed Ramos on lap eight. Ingratta was passed by RPG's Ryan Norberg for sixth place as DeMelo widened the deficit to almost 0.5 seconds. On lap 10, Mossman and Norberg both maneuvered to take up positions second and fourth, allowing DeMelo to take the lead by seven-tenths of a second. Midway through the race, when he started to catch up to DeMelo, Mossman displayed incredible speed. On lap 11, Norberg cut two tenths off his advantage while simultaneously making a push to pass Kremers for third and pass Mossman for second on lap 13. Before a mistake allowed Mossman and Ramos to overtake Norberg for second and third, they had closed the distance between themselves and DeMelo by the start of lap fifteen. Mossman was eliminated from the race after colliding with Claman-DeMelo, and DeMelo dropped to 19th as a result. Ramos gained the advantage over Norberg and Nate Cicero (Rolison Performance Group) thanks to the other drivers' crashes, while Kremers and Ingratta finished fourth and fifth. On the twenty-first lap, Norberg and Cicero passed Kosmics for first and second place, with BirelARTs coming in third and fourth. In order to take what could be the third position on the podium, Kremers was able to pass his PSL Karting partner. With two laps left, Matheus Morgatto overcame Ingratta and Ramos to climb up to fourth, but he was unable to overtake Norberg. Norberg wins the match, followed by Cicero, Kremers, Ramos, and Ingratta, giving RPG a one-two finish. Nate Cicero received a three-position penalty after the main event, dropping him to fifth on the standings and elevating Kremers and Ramos to the podium. Ingratta dropped to fourth when Morgatto also received a multi-position penalty.
Podium:
ROK Master – Orsolon Racing
Main Event Starting Grid:
The afternoon's main events would begin with the ROK Master class, with Martin Stone and freshly crowned 2021 ROK Vegas ROK VLR SENIOR Champion Renato Jader starting from the front row with William Isaias. In the opening round of corners, Jader took the initiative and passed Stone to take the lead. Derek Wang had moved up to third place by lap four, but he found it difficult to stay up with the front two as a gap started to form. After only eight laps, it appeared that Jader and Stone would compete for the ROK Master title because they had a four-second lead over third. Jader led Stone, Wang, Isaias, and David Laplante on the tenth lap (Premiere Karting). They continued to pace three tenths of a second faster per lap than their competitors as the lead between the first two drivers remained at half a second. Until lap seventeen, when Laplante passed Isaias for fourth and set his sights on a potential podium, the race remained steady. With five laps remaining, Jader was still in the lead by a few kart lengths even though Laplante had passed Wang for third. Jader defeated Stone, Wang, Laplante, and Isaias to win the ROK Vegas championship in a comfortable manner.
Podium:
ROK Micro – GFC Karting
Main Event Starting Grid:
Strong throughout the entire weekend, Royce Vega claimed the lead at the start of the ROK Micro drivers' main event, bringing Jaxon Porter along with him behind Canadian Rocco Simone. On the first lap, Troy Ferguson, Tristan Murphy, and Cason Hodge all overtook Nico Orbezo as Julian Sanchez (GFC) was compelled to withdraw. On lap two, Simone passed Porter again as he tried to stay up with Vega. On lap three, he took the lead while Porter dropped to second and Vega to third. The top of the field was competitive as Porter took the lead on lap four, forcing Simone back to second and allowing Michael McGaughy to into the top five. The Micro ROKKERs were putting on a display as Royce Vega moved up to second on lap five, then to the lead on lap six as Porter was moved back to third and Simone back in second. As things began to calm down a bit, there was no change in the top five on lap 7, but Antonio Pizzonia and Jaime Garcia advanced in the top ten to take ninth and tenth, respectively. On the third lap, McGaughy finally showed up, moving up to third but remaining 1.6 seconds behind the leaders. As McGaughy was the fastest driver on the course, the 1.6-second margin was now down to 1.1 at the halfway point of the race and then down to.650 just one lap later. Ferguson started making advances on lap 11, moving up from sixth to fourth. Later, McGaughy made a drive forward, outdistanced Simone and Vega for the lead. Simone was able to pass McGaughy, who had the fastest lap of the race, with five laps remaining, and he was leading the three Micro drivers who were vying for the victory. A lap later, McGaughy returned the favor by positioning his #61 car in front of the pack. On the opening circuit of lap fifteen of the race's eighteen, McGaughy was in front of Simone, Vega, Alex Procuna (FLC), who had made moves to climb up into the top five, and Orbezo. When the white flag was raised, Simone was in the lead, but Vega overtook him at turn three of the final lap. The top eight would proceed two at a time as each driver fought to hold onto or defend his position while maintaining momentum. To make it a Parolin 1 - 2 - 3 finish, Procuna crossed first at the finish line ahead of McGaughy and Maxwell Macha (SLA Racing). Prior to Simone, who made contact with Vega on the last lap, Nico Orbezo would finish the day in fourth place. The Team Benik member Troy Ferguson, who was airborne with two turns remaining but was able to hold on, finished ahead of Vega in seventh place. Procuna maintained the lead over McGaughy and Orbezo after the post-race technical inspection, while Ferguson and Vega came in fourth and fifth.
Podium:
ROK Junior – Rolison Performance Group
Main Event Starting Grid:
Drivers were moving too quickly in the tram lines, so ROK Junior's first try at a start was aborted. However, Jorge Ortiz and Steven Miller got off to a decent start on attempt number two. On the first lap, both Leonard Escorpini (Zanella Racing) and Ryan Maxwell advanced two positions, pushing Sebastian Garzon to sixth. On the third lap, Ortiz turned purple and pulled away from Miller by three tenths as Garzon passed Maxwell and Escorpini and dropped to third. On lap three, Ortiz and Miller were three seconds ahead of Garzon, but on circuits four and five, Garzon set back-to-back fast laps. The two athletes in the lead proved to be the best in the field because the rest of the Junior ROKKERs were unable to keep up with their frenetic pace. As the number of laps increased, Miller appeared to be patiently driving Ortiz away from any challenges from behind. On the ninth lap, Ernesto Rivera moved up to P4 ahead of Maxwell, while Caleb Gafrarar fought for seventh place behind Escorpini. Escorpini overtook Maxwell on lap 12 to move up to position five, and Gafrarar did the same on lap 12 to move up to sixth. With ten seconds left, Ortiz and Miller were alone in the lead, with Garzon leading Rivera and Escorpini for the third and final podium spot. Gafrarar made a move for sixth on lap 17, and Miller attempted a move for the lead into turn one but failed and was forced to reposition himself. After losing some momentum, Ortiz started the twenty-first lap with a two-kart length lead, but by the time the lap was over, Miller had caught up to him and was now right on his bumper. A lap later, as Garzon settled into third, Rivera and Garzon switched places before doing the same. Two laps remaining, Miller was now focusing on Ortiz or the back of the field because one of these two drivers may win the ROK Vegas championship. As they approached the white flag, Ortiz defended admirably into turns six and nine in order to keep Miller behind him. At the beginning of the last circuit, Rivera was passing Garzon for third place as Ortiz was in front performing a defensive driving masterclass. For Speed Concepts Racing and Speed Lab Racing Engines, Ortiz won by.041, while Garzon overtook Rivera for the final podium spot and Caleb Gafrarar completed the top-five.
Podium:
ROK VLR Master – Mosport Karting Centre
Main Event Starting Grid:
Ben Cooper and Matt Johnson took advantage of their front-row starting positions to surge ahead in the ROK VLR Master class. It was a five-kart train in front after just three circuits, but on lap five, everything got going. Cooper fell back to P4 as Matt Johnson took the lead, advancing Laurentiu Mardan to second and Mike Smith to third. As Smith, Cooper, and Adam Kasick (FDM) passed Mardan on the following lap, Johnson kept the lead and Mardan fell to fifth. A lap later, Cooper was back in second. On lap eight, disaster struck as Cooper crashed into Mike Smith in turn six and dropped to eleventh, allowing Kasic to pass him for second and Mardan to retake third. Following the contact, Smith moved up to fourth while Ian Koentges finished fifth. At the halfway point of the race, Koentges passed Mardan for fourth place while Johnson and Kasick had created a one-second advantage to him. Mardan fought his way back to the bumper of second position as the leaders dueled on lap 12. Johnson kept the lead up front as Cooper moved up from ninth to eighth in just a few circuits, running a second quicker than the leaders. Cooper was 5.3 laps out of the leader with a few laps to go, but he had the speed to close the distance while Koentges and Smith passed Mardan for third and fourth. On the fourteenth lap, Kasick took the lead, moving Johnson to second. Cooper then narrowed the distance to 4.9 seconds. Johnson was once again in the lead with five to go, followed by Kasick, Koentges, Mardan, and Smith. With four laps remaining, Koentges had moved into second place, followed by Kasick, and Cooper was within 3.5 seconds. Smith slowed at the start of lap seventeen, allowing Cooper to pass for fifth and ultimately serving his future penalty on the track as the leaders battled it out. Johnson led Koentges with two to go, but Cooper was only two seconds behind at the finish line. At the start of the penultimate lap, Kasick lost a little ground to the leading two drivers, but he made up lost position in the turns one to three complex as Cooper caught the tail of the leading group of four drivers. Koentges got by Johnson on the final corner to win the ROK Vegas Championship beating Johnson by .03. Kasick was forced to settle for third as Mardan and Cooper were fourth and fifth.
Podium:
ROK Shifter- PSL Karting
Main Event Starting Grid:
Billy Musgrave would lead going into the first corner, but as Kyle Wick was trying to pass AJ Myers, Musgrave made a daring move on the inside of turn four to take the lead. Lap one was led by Musgrave, with Wick in second, followed by Myers, then Oliver Askew (GFC). On the following lap, Wick and Musgrave were racing together when they made significant contact with the barrier in turn four, allowing Myers to quickly take a commanding lead. Gaining ground, Jake French passed Askew, Marijn Kremers (PSL Karting), and Remo Ruscitti to take second place (Italian Motors). By lap five, Myers had a lead of more than two seconds over Askew, who was the next-fastest kart on the course behind Kremers. As he had some distance to close on French, Ruscitti was the next driver to turn purple on lap six. Although Kremers was steadily gaining ground on Myers, his transponder was malfunctioning, which put him at the bottom of the charts. With ten seconds left, he and Askew appeared to be gaining ground on Myers. On laps 15 and 16, respectively, Kremers and Askew reduced Myers' lead by three and two tenths of a second, with the top 10 drivers remaining unchanged. With eight laps remaining, Myers was able to push hard and keep up with the pace of the cars behind him to maintain the lead for one lap, but he lost three tenths on the following lap. Seven laps remained in the race, and the second through sixth-place drivers maintained their organization to pursue Myers. Again, Kremers and Askew outpaced Myers because the difference was under one second and Ruscitti beat French for fourth. With four laps remaining, the top seven were all together and separated from one another by just 2.2 seconds, putting pressure on Myers. The first four were slightly ahead of fifth with three to go, and it was time to throw everything on the line. Ruscitti stayed close, but Myers maintained the lead in front of a charging Kremers and Askew. With three laps remaining, Kremers drove wide in turn nine and lost a little ground, but he soon made up the lost distance, passed Myers before the start of the final lap, and defended valiantly to claim the ROK Vegas victory. Ruscitti, Askew, Myers, and Hunter Pickett were the next to cross the finish line, in that order, followed by Ruscitti. After a protracted assessment and delay in announcing the winners, Kremers was chosen as the victor over Myers, Askew, Pickett, and French.
Podium:
Click HERE for all the ROK Vegas Presented by Radical Cup weekend results.
This is a summery of an article appearing on the Rok CUP USA website and the original version can be found here.
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