Canadians Curran and Simard Part of Koene USA for Florida Winter Tour

Two weeks into 2017 and the engines are already starting to fire.

As teams begin to announce their rosters for winter karting programs down south, two notable Canadian drivers have joined an American powerhouse team for the Florida Winter Tour.

Ontario’s Dale Curran Jr. finished out the season with Koene USA and has confirmed more races with the OTK outfit while Quebec’s Tommy Simard is a newcomer to the team. Simard made his return to karting at the ASN Canadian Championships last summer and is aiming for a full season of Rotax Junior competition.

From the Koene USA press release, some kind words have been said about Curran.

“The Canadian, Dale Curran Jr., will join [James] Egozi in the Mini ROK class on the first weekend of the double race format before upping the ante and making his mark in the Rotax Mini MAX class. Claiming the runner-up position at the US Open of Las Vegas in 2016 and showing well at both the SuperKarts! USA SuperNationals in Las Vegas as well as the MAXSpeed Entertainment Collective Test in December, Curran has the speed to run at the pointy end of the field. With that speed and the coaching direction from Team Koene USA personnel, goals are set high for the Tony Kart driver as he enters his final year in the Cadet ranks.”

The Florida Winter Tour kicks off this coming weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in south Florida. CKN will be there for both weekends of racing action.

Tommy Simard (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)