Back in 2001, the first time Team USA competed at the Grand Finals, the team consisted of four drivers, three Senior MAX competitors and one Masters driver. Over time, both Team USA and the Grand Finals have grown considerably. In 2004, the Junior MAX class became part of the program. In 2005, RM1 replaced Senior MAX as the headline class before becoming it’s own class the following year as DD2. The latest addition to the series came last year in Italy when the DD2 Masters class became it’s own stand-alone class.

During that period, Team USA grew from the initial four drivers to over 20. For 2011, fewer U.S. drivers have qualified for the Grand Finals which brings the team back to a total of ten drivers over four classes. The new, leaner scale of Team USA has afforded the team some new opportunities that in the past were impractical. One such opportunity is to have the team get together for a test and team building weekend.

The initial purpose of this weekend was to allow the drivers to test and tune with the same type of equipment they will be competing with at Al Ain Raceway. However, in a greater sense, the main benefit to be derived from the weekend is a chance for the team USA members to bond together as a cohesive unit. It’s a well-established fact that a team that works together is stronger than a handful of individuals on their own. And history has proven that when Team USA members work together on chassis setups they have greater success than when they fight amongst each other.

To address the issues of team preparedness, MAXSpeed, the U.S. Distributor of Rotax MAX engines and organizers of the U.S. Rotax MAX Challenge, arranged a very special weekend of testing and team building at the Ocala Gran Prix kart track in Ocala, Florida. OGP is well known throughout the Rotax Challenge as a first class outfit and OGP owner Jorge Arellano once again stepped up and provided the team the resources and the stage to have a very productive weekend.

Friday morning started early with all team members gathering for breakfast in the catering tent just outside the hot pit. This was a good time for introductions and re-acquaintances as the team members were eagerly anticipating the events of the day. Getting things started was MAXSpeed’s Richard Boisclair who welcomed the entire gang to Ocala Gran Prix. Richard then handing out the official Team USA apparel from K1 Speed Racing Gear and set the schedule for the weekend. This was to be more than a test. The idea was to emulate the Grand Finals right down to having a simulated chassis draw and Parc Ferme. To attend to technical issues was U.S. MAX Challenge Series administrator Josh Smith.

2011 Team USA

For the 2011 Rotax

MAX Challenge Grand Finals, Team USA

will field 10 drivers. Competing on a Birel chassis in the Junior MAX category will be U.S. National Champion Dalton Sargeant from Boca Raton, Florida, Mission Viejo, California’s Jake Craig, and representing the Florida Winter Tour is Oliver Askew from West Palm Beach, Florida. For all three of these speedy young men, their trip to Al Ain represents the first time either of them has competed at a Grand Finals.

2011 marks the first time Birel has been an official chassis supplier to the Grand Finals. And this was the first time any of our three Juniors had driven the red karts from Italy. To shorten the learning curve, Chris Lobaugh from MRP, the U.S. Birel importer, flew in for the test to help the young drivers get the maximum out of their chassis. All three of these drivers are known for their speed behind the wheel,

and it showed this weekend as they continued to improve with each session. More importantly, if any of the

three lagged behind at any point, he could review data from his teammates. This allowed him to make the necessary adjustments to get right back on pace in the next on-track session.

In the Senior MAX category, Cleveland, Ohio’s Sam Beasley was able to impart some of the wisdom learned from competing in last year’s Grand Finals to teammate Kiel Spaulding. Spaulding, from Elk Grove, California, and Beasley both qualified through the US Rotax MAX Nationals and look to form a strong partnership. The two were quickly up to speed on their Sodi chassis and were very encouraged for the trip to Al Ain. Both drivers had great praise from the two Sodi representatives, Thierry Germanovich from France and Thierry Lepinne of Belgium. The “Two Thierries” liked what they saw with the team’s progress and thought they would be strong at the Grand Finals.

In the days following the private test, Grand Finals veteran Stepanova Nekeel was added to the team, bringing the number of Senior MAX drivers to three. The 19-year-old from Seattle, Washington qualified through the Championship of the America’s and has previous Grand Finals experience in both Egypt and Italy. With these three on board, our Senior MAX team looks very solid.

Kristina Vorndran, the first ever female U.S. National Champion, was the only DD2 driver in attendance at the OGP test. The 16-year-old from Dudley Massachusetts will partner with two-time Grand Finals entrant Derek Wang. The 33-year-old resident of Seattle, Washington could not make

the trip, but has experience from last year’s race at La Conca to pull from. Helping guide Kristina through the weekend and providing his insight to the rest of the team was Wes Phillips. Wes has a wealth of experience as both a driver and tuner and is a great asset to team USA. Fortunately for Kristina, the DD2 class will once again compete on the CRG chassis with which she is very familiar with. Another big positive for Kristina was that, as the only CRG driver in testing, she had a lot of attention from CRG master tuner Franco Bologna who had flown in from Lonato, Italy for the test. Franco, or “Bola” to his friends, is a mainstay at the Grand Finals and brought a wealth of experience to the weekend.

Getting acquainted with their Haase chassis for the DD2 Masters class were Erik Jackson from Long beach, California and Rene Martinelli of Tampa, Florida. for Rene, this will be the second trip back to the Grand Finals. However, it will be his first time on Team USA. Rene competed in Egypt two years ago for Team Mexico but says the U.S. is his home and he believes Team USA gives him the best chance for success. “Weekends like this are what it’s about”, says Rene, “MAXSpeed, OGP, all these guys do it right and this is the team I want to represent at the Grand Finals.”

Once in Al Ain, the DD2 masters team will be three-strong. However, for this weekend team member Todd Ulmen could not make it. Fortunately, Todd is a Grand Finals veteran and competed last year with the Haase chassis so he should fit right in. As with the other classes, the Masters also had factory help from Europe. Assisting the DD2 Masters was Haase champion driver Remôn Hannink from the Netherlands.

On Track Testing featured a “Top Gun” style format similar to the Navy’s Top Gun program. There was a simulated challenge from top class drivers that were very experienced at OGP and were running in karts they were familiar with that were tuned to optimum conditions. These drivers set the bogey times that team USA would shoot for. Driving these karts were current US Rotax MAX Senior National Champion Nick Neri, Mario Loffrado (DD2) and, initially, Oliver Askew in Junior MAX.

Oliver had been asked to set the target time for the Junior MAX group before he had actually been named to the Junior team. As such, he graciously spent the first half of Friday at OGP running his own kart before stepping into the Birel to get used to that chassis for the Grand Finals. In the case of Neri, Nick is the 2011 US Senior MAX Champion and would normally be preparing to go to Al Ain. However circumstances this year will keep him from making the trip. While it must be difficult knowing he will not be competing for Team USA this year, Nick is a true champion and will have more opportunities in the future.

As the weekend progressed, the team really started to gel. Racing drivers are normally not open to sharing their information. Yet, realizing that success of the operation rested with everyone, our drivers really started working together. By the end of the second day going over chassis setups and MyChron data was as natural as pulling up to the scales after a race.

After both days of testing the teams were treated to wonderful meals in the hospitality tent. Saturday night’s meal in particular featured t-bone steaks the size of a cadet steering wheel. Needless to say the team was very well taken care of since many of the team members were all staying at the same hotel. The bonding didn’t end at the race track and went on into the evening.

As everyone knows, these events cannot be accomplished by the efforts of just a couple people. A big thank-you goes out to Jorge Arellano and his dedicated group of workers at Ocala Gran Prix.