Round five of the 2013 Florida Winter Tour hit the track at Ocala Gran Prix on Saturday under very sunny skies. Quite possibly the best weather the Tour has seen this year, and the drivers paid Mother Nature back by providing some very exciting racing.
In TaG Cadet, it would be GT7 Motorsports teammates Anthony Gangi Jr. (TonyKart) and Giovanni Bromante (TonyKart) capturing the front row in the morning Qualifying session.
Gangi Jr. took the lead going into the first corner of the first TaG Cadet heat as we was followed by Giovanni Bromante and Michael d’Orlando (Kosmic). On lap three d”Orlando would get by Bromante for second and both D’Orlando and Gangi would start to gap the field at the front. d’Orlando would move into the lead by Gangi Jr. going into the first corner on the next lap. Gangi however didn’t wait long to retake the top spot as he would make the same move d’Orlando pulled on him the lap before. D’Orlando would fall down to fifth as Guilherme Romano Peixoto (CRG), Mathais Ramirez (TonyKart), would all move into the top five. Ramirez who started down the order was able to get into the second position during the closing stages of the race but he would not be able to make a move on Gangi who would take the heat win.
Gangi Jr. once again would take the lead from the start of the second TaG Cadet heat, this time ahead of Dylan Tavella (TonyKart), Bromante, d’Orlando and Peixoto. Peixoto would take the fourth position away from d’Orlando on the second lap as up fron the GT7 trio would continue to lead. Ramirez once again work his way up the field as he took the fourth position away from Peixoto, but Peixoto would come back a few corners later to retake the position. Bromante then started to lose pace and he would fall to fifth behind the four kart lead battle. Peixoto then took the first position away from from Gangi Jr. with Ramirez following him into the second position. On the final lap Ramirez move to first going into the fourth corner as Peixoto would battle hard for second with d’Orlando giving him a hard time for the position. At the line it was Ramirez ahead of Peixoto, d’Orlando, Bromante and Tavella. as contact late in the final lap sent Gangi Jr. to the seventh postion.
All his hard work in the hear races paid off for Ramirez, as he would start the Final from the pole-position. Unfortunately for Peixoto, he would fall victim to a mechanical woe on the pace lace and forfeit his off-pole starting position. Anthony Gangi Jr. would take the lead away from Ramirez on lap four but a driver error would send the Championship leader to the third position behind D’Orlando shortly after. On lap eleven. Brueckner got by Gangi for the third position, but at this point of the race Ramirez would pull away to a one-second lead ahead of d’Orlando. Canadian Antonio Serravalle (TonyKart) would put in the fastest lap of the race as he drove up to the third position ahead of Brueckner and Gangi Jr. With the three battling for third, David Malukas (Birel) and Vincenzo Sarracino (TonyKart) caught the trio putting Brueckner in third ahead of Malukas, and Sarracino. Rameriez would take the win ahead of d’Orlando, Sarracino, Malukas, and Serravalle. Unfortunately for the Championship leader Gangi he would fail to eighth position but should be strong in Sunday’s race action.
