James Egozi (TonyKart) led early in the Final until he slipped back throughout the second half of the race. But after a chaotic final few laps, Egozi emerged with the race lead and then held on for the Mini Rok victory at Florida Winter Tour in Ocala.
A slow start from the outside lane saw Carson Morgan (Benik) slip back many spots while Jeremy Fletcher (TonyKart) took the lead. That lead lasted five laps before Egozi took over control with Kai Sorensen (Benik) making up an early three-kart battle for the lead while Morgan was doing all he could to catch up from fourth.
Morgan got his wish when Sorensen made a move on Fletcher that slowed them up enough for Morgan to catch up, along with a number of drivers in the chasing pack.
With five to go the action heated up. Positions were traded coming through the final corner and the wheels continued to touch on the main straight, ending with Fletcher and Alex Powell (Energy Kart) sliding through the grass. Powell was able to continue, but Fletcher’s race came to an end.
At the same time, Morgan went to the lead.
With the white flag waving and Morgan still leading, Sorensen made a move into turn four for the top spot. But he overshot it and ran wide allowing Brent Crews (Nitro Kart) to slip by both and into the lead. Morgan didn’t give up and he threw it in deep into five, running into Crews and pushing him wide. All of this action opened the doors for Egozi to slide on through and into the lead and Nikita Johnson (Parolin) into second and Sorensen third.
Taking a wide entry into the final corner, Egozi ensured he had a big run down the straightaway as he took the checkers ahead of Johnson and Sorensen. Paul Bocuse (Energy Kart) was a big mover in the race, jumping up twelve spots to take fourth, while Diego Laroque (Energy Kart) rounded out the top-five. Two other big movers in the race were Vinicius Tessaro (Parolin) and Jace Park (Parolin) who picked up twenty-eight and twenty-four spots respectively to finish in the top eleven.
Frankie Esposito (BirelART) was the highest finishing Canadian in twenty-first while Lorenzo Morsillo (BirelART) and Ethan Donkers (TonyKart) finished twenty-fifth and thirty-first.
Full results can be found here: http://bit.ly/2Exksl1.
Below, watch out Facebook Live stream of the Mini Rok Final. We apologize for Neelan’s shakey hands.
