Gianfranco Mazzaferro, a member of the Ferrolati Corse Karting Team, put the wraps on a grueling double set of race weekends at the challenging Homestead Karting Complex that played host the most recent rounds of the Florida Winter Tour. The internationally acclaimed winter series saw 24 karts take in the Formula Kart TaG Junior class followed the next weekend by 48 karts lining up in the Rotax Max Junior category. GF and tuner Nick Cosco continued to develop their Junior program with engine builder Alex Vincent and the trio were able to show speed and made the most of each race.
“We had decent weekends but we are still not getting the results we would like,” comments Mazzaferro. “We had a tough outing in the TaG Saturday final and bent the chassis. We are fast at times and just need to put a race together. Our Rotax program is really good but I am having to drive my way forward in the finals, which is tough. We are making lots of passes and just need to start little further forward to get the results we are looking for.”
GF and the Ferrolati Corse Karting Team were greeted with unusually cold temperatures for south Florida to start the Formula Kart weekend. On Saturday a seventh on qualifying was backed up by fourth in heat race one. Heat race two was more difficult with GF hitting the strip on lap one in 16th place and getting back to 10th before the checkerd flag. The points tally had GF starting in fifth for the final but it all went wrong in turn one as a big crash had Mazzaferro out off action and scoring a DNF. In the Sunday set of racng action Mazzaferro would set the sixth fastest lap in timed qualifying and backed that up with 8th in heat race one. Heat race two was a challenge for GF as he was only able to finish in 12th. The final was another tough battle as the talent rookie losing out in the turn one mess but able to move forward, grabbing spots in the closing laps to finish in 15th.
A quick trip home to Montreal for exams had GF return to the Sunshine State for the Rotax weekend and fresh start. Friday qualifying proved to be a challenge with GF only able to grab 22nd for Saturday and 18th for Sunday prefinal races. In the Saturday prefinal a nice run had GF move up ten spots quickly to settle for 13th at the line. The final was a great battle but the rookie racer was only able to grab one spot to cross in 12th.
The Sunday prefinal was a difficult session as GF battled to a 22nd finish. The final was a last chance to make some noise and GF was ready to move forward. With lots of work ahead in the final from deep in the field this time GF finally got the start he had been looking for as he crossed the stripe on lap one already in 10th place and looking for more. Engaged in a great dual inside the top, GF moved as high as seventh before settling for 11th at the flag.
“The Rotax Sunday final was a good way to end off the weekend,” smiled Mazzaferro. “We finally got a good start and stayed out of the corner one mess. As we improve our qualifying we will improve our finishing position, so that’s the next step for me. The more important thing for me right now is being competitive and learning the Junior package. I really want to thank everyone at Ferrolati Corse Karting, especially Nick and Alex, for all their help and support.”
GF and the Ferrolati Corse team will head back to Florida for the final round of the Florida Winter Tour taking place at the amazing Ocala Gran Prix located in Ocala Florida in mid March.
For more information about Gianfranco, visit his website at gianfrancomazzaferro.com. For more information about the Ferrolati Corse Racing team, visit their website at ferrolaticorse.com.
