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CHAMPION RACING/INTREPID USA SCORES THREE WINS AT FLORIDA WINTER TOUR

Intrepid chassis runs up front at Moroso Motorsports Park event

 Canadian Jordy Vorrath is already on form to begin 2008, driving his Champion Intrepid to a Pro Shifter win at Moroso (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

Champion Racing/Intrepid USA continued its run up front during the second round of the Florida Winter Tour, held at the Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida last weekend. Eight drivers returned to the Champion tent, all running the Italian-made Intrepid chassis, collecting a total of six podium finishes including three victories, one each by Pro Shifter pilot Jordy Vorrath, Stock Moto driver Bryan Eady, and KF2 competitor Joey Wimsett. 

Leading the Champion Racing/Intrepid USA squad in the headline Pro Shifter class was Vorrath. The Canadian was fast all weekend long with Champion Racing’s Garrett Napier turning the wrenches, beginning on Saturday with a fourth-place qualifying run. Turning the fastest laps of the day, the former ICA national champion advanced to the top spot in the Prefinal and led the majority of Final for his first win of the season. Sunday looked to be the same as the previous day, starting fifth in the Prefinal and then running to a fourth place finish. Biding his time inside the top-five and waiting to advance, the throttle cable on Vorrath’s potent entry snapped and cut his Final short of the win. 

Californian Bryan Eady was the class of the field in the Stock Moto. Looking to extend his winning streak after sweeping round one in Homestead, Eady led all on-track sessions Saturday to earn his third straight victory. Sunday looked to be a duplicate after qualifying on pole and earning the Prefinal win. In the Final, however, the competition stepped up to steal the win, pushing Eady to a runner-up finish, still an excellent result. Heading into the final FWT round, Eady has a 25-point advantage in the championship chase. 

Four drivers competed in the popular Spec Racer division, led by Ben Searcy. The Alabama pilot was up front all weekend long with Leading Edge Motorsports’ Greg Bell providing the tuning, just one spot away from victory both days. After qualifying second on Saturday, Searcy held the spot throughout the day. Sunday began with Searcy topping the timing sheet in the morning qualifying session. The Prefinal and Final, however, would see Searcy finish in the runner-up spot. The previous weekend during the FWT Rotax program, Searcy and Champion Racing Team Manager Rodney Berryhill put in two solid performances, finishing eighth and sixth on the weekend and recording the highest finishes for a U.S. driver. 

EKN Awards Rising Star nominee Joey Wimsett was quick as well, doing double duty with Spec Racer and KF2. The Oregon driver recorded finishes of 13th and eighth in the TaG division. In KF2, Wimsett drove to victory on Saturday, however, he came in underweight after losing some hardware off the kart during the race. Sunday would see no issues, as Wimsett drove to the fast lap and main event victory. 

Zane Heathcott and Blake Teeter continued to gain experience racing against the tough competition in the Spec Racer class. Heathcott scored finishes of 24th and 15th while Teeter was 17th both days. 

Champion’s pair of Cadet drivers continued to shine, recording four more top-10 finishes. Broc Yocum was fifth and eighth on the weekend, while Mason Chelootz drove from 18th to sixth on Saturday while running seventh at the checkered flag on Sunday. 

The Champion Racing/Intrepid USA team will now begin to prepare for the final round of the Florida Winter Tour, set to battle on March 14-16 at the Ocala Gran Prix facility.

CHAMPION RACING/INTREPID USA MAKES SUCCESSFUL 2008 DEBUT

AT FLORIDA WINTER TOUR

Five podiums including two main event wins highlight solid weekend

Champion Racing/Intrepid USA made its 2008 debut at the second leg of the opening doubleheader of the Florida Winter Tour this past weekend, racing at the karting facility at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Nine drivers ran aboard Intrepid chassis, collecting a total of five podium finishes including two victories by Stock Moto driver Bryan Eady. 

The NorCal driver - running under the Intrepid USA banner with Leading Edge Motorsports, the Northern California Intrepid distributer - made the long journey from California to Florida to make his Winter Tour debut. After just missing the pole position in qualifying on Saturday, Eady was unstoppable, leading all of the racing laps in the Prefinal and Final. Sunday was no different, except Eady this time put the Intrepid machine on pole en-route to sweeping the day’s racing action. pictured  - Broc Yocum’ – Champion Cadet driver Broc Yocum drove his Intrepid to a pair of top-10s in Florida                                                         

The three other podiums on the weekend came from Oregon’s Joey Wimsett. Running both Spec Racer and the new KF2 class, Wimsett had a busy but successful weekend. In KF2, Wimsett ran the new Parilla engine and recorded a runner-up result on both days. Spec Racer was not as easy though. After qualifying seventh on Saturday, carburetion problems took him out of the Prefinal early. Wimsett put the hammer down in the Final, working from 26th to 11th in 20 laps. 

After making a switch from the Parilla Leopard engine to the Vortex Rok TT on Saturday night, Sunday’s results showed better. Qualifying third, Wimsett grabbed the lead early in the Prefinal and drove away with the win. It seemed as a carbon copy in the main event until second place was able to close the gap. Over the last few laps, they swapped for position with Wimsett settling for second as they crossed the line. 

Three other Champion Racing drivers joined Wimsett in the Spec Racer division - Ben Searcy, Blake Teeter, and Zane Heathcott. Coming off a top-10 performance during the FWT Rotax weekend (top United States finisher on Saturday), Searcy was 10th on Saturday followed by an 11th on Sunday after starting at the tail end of the 35-kart field. Teeter recorded finishes of 13th and 18th, while Heathcott was 18th on Saturday and 19th on Sunday. 

The team’s two Cadet drivers - Mason Chelootz and Broc Yocom – were both aboard the new Intrepid Maky model and were each running in the lead pack all weekend long. Qualifying fifth and sixth, respectively on Saturday, Yocom came out on top with the Prefinal victory. As most Cadet races are, the field in the Final was never set for more than one lap as Yocom was shuffled back to finish eighth while Chelootz crossed the line sixth. On Sunday, the duo was again inside the top-10, Chelootz ran to a third in the Prefinal while Yocom had spark plug issues, recording a disappointing DNF. After assessing the problems before the Final, Yocom powered his way up to a sixth place run from 20th, while Chelootz saw the checkered flag one spot back in seventh. 

The headline class of the weekend - Pro Shifter - saw a lone Intrepid driver take to the track, former ICA National Champion Jordy Vorrath. After recording the most wins on the national scene in 2006, last season was filled with ups and downs for Vorrath. Looking to start the new season off right, the Canadian put his Intrepid on the outside of row one during Saturday’s Qualifying. Leading the opening nine laps of the Prefinal, Vorrath was shuffled back to fourth, where he would finish. Getting ready to grid for the Final, Jordy immediately jumped from his ride as he found that the airbox cradle was blocking the shifter lever. With the start of the race aborted, Jordy got his kart going but was forced to start from the rear of the field. By lap four, Vorrath was up to 13th after starting 28th. When the chequered fell, he worked himself into the sixth spot. It was a very impressive performance.      Pictured - Mason Chelootz got his Florida Winter Tour off to a good start with a sixth and a seventh in Cadet competition

Sunday would see rain setups for Qualifying with Vorrath ending the session in ninth. Starting the Prefinal on wets, Vorrath drove to sixth as the track began drying toward the end of the 15-lap race. In the Final, Jordy was settling in the fourth spot when, on lap six, another driver made contact with him heading into turn one. The result put Vorrath on the sidelines for the remainder of the race. 

The Champion Racing/Intrepid USA team will now begin to prepare for round two of the Florida Winter Tour, set for February 15-17 at the Moroso Motorsports Park karting facility.

Photos Credit: On Track Promotions – www.otp.ca