Aluminos Doubles Up in Win Column at ProKart Challenge South
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- Created on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 16:00
- 01 Jun
Brad Dunford en route to his second PKC South victory of the season in S1 (Photo: dromophotos.com)Coming off a successful opening round of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour, the Aluminos operation made a quick turn-around to contest the organizations ProKart Challenge South event at the Streets of Willow circuit in Rosamond, California this past weekend. With just four drivers, Aluminos left the Southern California complex with a number of fast laps and two victories - thanks to S1 driver Brad Dunford and G1 pilot Peter Workum.One element of the race weekend that Dunford has mastered under the Aluminos tent of late has been qualifying. Recording a track record at the recent SKUSA Pro Tour, Dunford continued that trend in Saturday’s qualifying session by dropping the fast lap of the day (1:16.196) and posted fast lap in each race. After starting heat one on the pole position, Dunford battled for the win up until lap seven when his engine quit due to a faulty stator. The Aluminos engine crew went to work and had his powerplant ready to go by the start of heat two. Dunford knifed his way up to third at the end of heat two and was in position to battle for the victory in the main event. Engaged in a three-kart battle throughout the 16-lap feature race, Dunford sat second as they received the white flag. At the optimal moment, Dunford slid by for the lead and took the checkered flag for the second time on the year.
Peter Workum swept the action in G1 for his second win of the year (Photo: dromophotos.com)Workum made the move to the G1 division this season and has taken on the extra horsepower very well. Throughout the Streets event, Workum was the top of the results sheets in the class. Workum put down a lap time of 1:17.772 during qualifying to secure the pole position. Despite getting challenged early in the heat races and the main event, Workum drove stellar in the second half of the races to secure the feature victory and event sweep.Phil Dunford and Jonathan Allen made up the S4 Master Stock Moto contingent for Aluminos on the weekend. While qualifying was not the best for both, they began working their way forward through the heat races. Dunford was able to work his way up to the seventh position by the end of the day, felling more comfortable with the road racing style of karting and producing a solid result at the same time. Allen was advancing up into the top-10 by the main event when he was forced to pull off after losing power. Later it was discovered that Allen’s engine suffered an electrical problem. Both will look to improve their results in the final two regional events of the season.
Aluminos will spend the next two weeks preparing for the next event, taking the crew to the ‘Biggest Little City in the World’ - Reno, Nevada for the third round of the ProKart Challenge North program at the Desert Park Raceway on May 27-28. Aluminos is accepting any inquires for any type of specific Arrive and Drive packages for the upcoming ProKart Challenge events and the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals in July. Any interested parties wishing to learn more about this professional team are asked to contact Aluminos at 925.786.7865 or visit them online at http://www.aluminos.com as well as sending Rob Soares an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Working with Aluminos for the past three seasons, Peter Workum has built a diverse karting CV (Photo: dromophotos.com)Aluminos Driver Spotlight - Peter WorkumHailing from Paradise Valley, Arizona, Peter Workum entered the karting scene a bit later than most do in their racing career. After putting together a decorative CV in rally racing for a number of years - including a runner-up in the 2004 North American Rally Championships in the Open division - Workum desired a way to better his driving skills. Learning how karting helped developed some of the most established racers in the world, Workum sought out the sport in the Phoenix area in 2008. Toward the end of the season, Workum was introduced to Rob Soares and the Aluminos operation and the partnership began working in 2009. Racing the S4 Master Stock Moto category, Workum finished fifth in the ProKart Challenge South standings with one win and runner-up in the PKC North program with five podiums. Last year, Workum finished sixth in the PKC South program despite missing one round and then finished third in TaG Master with three podiums in five PKC North events.
To help diversify his racing resume, Workum jumped up to the G1 category for the 2011 season. Despite missing the opening round of the ProKart Challenge South season, Workum is now leading the point standings with a runner-up and two straight main event victories. With the absence of the category at the recent SKUSA Pro Tour event, Workum went back to the TaG Master category where he ran inside the top-10 against some of the best driver in the country.
“When I finished up my career in rally, I really wanted to take the time to learn how to drive like the kids who were beating me,” commented Workum. “I had to go back to school and the Aluminos crew was a perfect match to further my scholastic racing program. I’m fully committed this season to learn the craft of the G1 machine with the help of Rob Soares and Tom Dyer. They helped me win in S4, TaG Master and now G1. With each weekend at the track, our goal is to further develop my skill behind the wheel.”
Workum hopes to compete in the G1 category throughout the season in PKC South, but will fall back on the TaG Master in the Pro Tour if the option is not there. There is a chance Workum and Aluminos will be at selected one-off events and Workum is sure to be there in full force, anticipating another challenge to tackle.