SKUSA WinterNats Round 2 Report
- Details
- Created on Wednesday, 06 February 2008 20:28
- 06 Feb
The emerging Team Aluminos kart racing team (www.aluminos.com) traveled to Qualcomm Stadium this past weekend to compete in the second round of the Superkarts! USA WinterNational Championship Series, running on a wide and fast temporary circuit laid out on the facility’s expansive parking lot. Coming off a solid series debut at the opener in early January, the team again proved that they are set to become a powerhouse on the circuit, posting a pair of wins and a handful of podium finishes during a weekend that saw sunny skies on Saturday and challenging rain and cold on Sunday. The team performed well under the watchful eyes of GP Racing’s Beppe Cavaciuti and his son Gian, who flew in from Italy to support the team, which utilizes their chassis line.
Team Aluminos driver Brad Dunford
Aluminos welcomed rookie senior driver Scott Rossi under the tent for this weekend, and the Canadian delivered the squad with a pair of S1 wins, outrunning the competition on Saturday before hitting the track as the only brave pilot in the class in Sunday’s downpour. Rossi proved his driving abilities and the quality of the GP package when he laid down amazing laps that left the paddock chasing him around the soaked track.
G1 sophomore Blair Chang turned in a great performance on Saturday, stepping up to score another podium finish with an impressive runner-up finish on Saturday. In the Stock Honda classes, Brad Dunford showed good speed in both the wet and the dry, posting a top-five result on Saturday before running to fourth in the rain on Sunday. In S4, Phil Dunford returned to competition after a four-year absence to join his son Brad on-track and the veteran drove to the podium on Saturday, taking third in class.
In the strong TaG Senior division, Harley Owen spring-boarded off his fourth place finish at the series opener in January by again running in the top-five. Another strong outing looked in the cards for the young Arizona pilot, that is, until the bolts backed out of his rear sprocket, sending the chain awry and putting Owen on the sidelines with eight laps to go. On Sunday, Owen slipped him his rain suit to get some much needed rain experience, as this outing was his first opportunity to run in the wet.
Continuing to establish its position in the sport, Aluminos Inc. is a manufacturing and distribution company specializing in kart racing specific products, based out of San Ramon, CA. The nucleus of the company began as an asset purchase of a portion of Ron White’s Mirage Motorsports by Aluminos’ Rob Soares. A fixture in the US karting scene for the last five years, the former owner of GP kart importer KLS Racing has returned to the competition side of the sport, creating the Aluminos Trackside Support and Arrive & Drive programs while working with GP Karts and KLS Racing. Soares has put together a veteran support team, which includes veteran national frontrunner Tom Dyer, noted engine builder and tuner Vince Mandarino and mechanic George Tavares. As a well-respected driver and coach, Dyer also works with the team drivers on-track as well as in the trailer in deciphering the information they collect from their top-notch data acquisition equipment.