ProKart Challenge South Grange Report
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- Created on Friday, 02 April 2010 21:05
- 02 Apr
Fernando Diaz scored win number two on the year in the G1
category (Photo: Tony Leone - sixspeedphotos.com)Team Aluminos continues to march on as the third month of the season draws to a close. For a fifth straight event, Team Aluminos leaves the race track with victory in hand, this time doubling up at the ProKart Challenge South event at Grange Motor Circuit in Apple Valley, California. Aluminos manager Rob Soares strapped on the helmet for the first time in 2010 and dominated the TaG Masters category while G1 driver Fernando Diaz returned to the team for a sweep in his division. S1 pilot Brad Dunford kept his name in the title chase with his second podium on the year in the headline division.Diaz missed the second round of the PKC South program but showed little weakness in his return aboard an Aluminos prepared entry. A lap of 52.680 was best in the qualifying session and put him on the pole position for the opening heat race. Nearly leading all the laps, Diaz ran to a 1.703-second victory in the opening stint. Heat 2 saw Diaz trailing early on as the off-pole man jumped the start and held the early lead. After some exchanges for the lead, Diaz crossed the line second but was awarded the win following the official’s penalty on his competitor. The 20-lap feature would then be a great showdown between the two. Running second for the first half of the race, Diaz stepped up his game. After the two exchanged the lead, Diaz confirmed the position as the white flag flew. Holding off the final lap charges of the current defending champion, Diaz got to the line 0.209-seconds ahead to score his second victory of the season.
ProKart Challenge North Round 2 Report
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- Created on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 17:01
- 17 Mar
Jeff Smith scored his second straight S4 feature win (Photo: Tony Leone - sixspeedphotos.com)Smith’s weekend wasn’t a complete sweep like his round one victory. Aboard a new Mirage kart for the first time, prepped by the Aluminos staff, Smith was narrowly edged out for the top spot in the morning qualifying session. Falling back to third on the opening lap of the first heat, Smith knifed his way to the point by lap three. Hounded through the remaining laps, Smith was able to post the fast lap of the heat to make some space before taking the checkered flag. With a better start from the pole in heat two, Smith was once again at the point, leading all eight laps while recording another fast lap for the win. With momentum on his side, Smith drove a smart and error free 20-lap feature race to score his second straight victory and the first in North America for the Mirage brand, running similar lap times to his first two heat races.
ProKart Challenge South Willow Springs Report
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- Created on Monday, 15 March 2010 19:45
- 15 Mar
Aluminos driver Larry Fraser claimed the runner-up spot in the competitive TaG Senior category (Photo: Tony Leone - sixspeedphotos.com)Another successful weekend went into the books for Team Aluminos following the second round of the ProKart Challenge South program. Challenging weather conditions put the Aluminos squad to the test at the Willow Springs Raceway kart track in Rosamond. Following solid testing sessions in the previous weekend, the result saw five drivers in an Aluminos entry battle for victory three categories.Scoring the best result for the squad was veteran Larry Fraser who came away from the wet and rainy weekend with a runner-up finish in TaG Senior. Fraser started out the day second in qualifying in what would be the wettest conditions of the day. Once the green flag waved on the race action, Fraser led seven of eight laps in the first heat race to take the win by a tight 0.123-margin. Heat two looked to be a repeat of the first until a lap two spin sent him off-track. Falling down the order, Fraser was able to climb back and finish fourth, setting the fastest laps of the race. A great opening circuit of the 20-lap feature race put Fraser to the point quickly and engaged in a strong battle with two competitors for the lead. Never having a chance to break away, Fraser fought hard throughout the main event to take the checkered flag in the second position.
ProKart Challenge North Round 1 Report
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- Created on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 19:56
- 23 Feb
Aluminos driver coach Fritz Leesmann sat back into the seat to
score the inaugural S1 victory in ProKart Challenge North historyThe opening round of the SKUSA ProKart Challenge North program on February 13 was a successful event for the Team Aluminos squad. At the Jim Russell International Karting Center in Sonoma, California, Team Aluminos used their home track knowledge to put three of their five drivers competing on top of the podium, with a runner-up finish added in for good measure. Team tuner Fritz Leesmann scored the headline S1 victory with Jeff Smith and Larry Fraser scoring wins in S4 and TaG Senior.Leesmann, an ICC standout the last few years, made his Stock Moto debut aboard an Aluminos-powered entry. Out of the box race day, Leesmann was the driver to beat as he posted the fast lap of the qualifying session - a 48.909. He would go on to lead all eight laps of the opening heat race, however a fault at the start cost him two positions in the finishing order. Leesmann battled back in the second heat to reassume the point by lap five, en route to the win. In the 20-lap feature, Leesmann was untouchable as the NorCal native posted the fast laps of the race to score the win by over eight-seconds.
“It was great to get back into the seat as it’s been a few months for me,” stated Leesmann following the event. “Aluminos gave me a chance to get back in and have fun. The Aluminos stock moto engine package is awesome so all I had to was fine-tune my CRG chassis throughout the event. If feels good to be on top of the podium.”