Goodwood Kartways had nine drivers in action at the Pan American Challenge a week ago and with the 2014 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals just one month away the Intrepid charges prepared in the best way possible: sweeping the DD2 classes and producing an epic drive in Rotax Senior. Ed Brand and Luis Schiavo were the winners, while Zachary Claman DeMelo raced from last on the grid to fourth! Having raced Grand Finals previously, each is now set for a return, though Brand is in a unique situation as he will be making just his second start in DD2!
“Before I arrived in America I wasn’t too sure about the DD2 class but straight away I got used to driving and was on the pace,” said Brand, who will be making his seventh-consecutive trip to the Grand Finals. “Each session I enjoyed more and more and was getting faster. The racing was also challenging as in a few heats I got knocked down the pack at the start but fortunately we had the pace to get back to second in each heat. In the final it was one of the hardest races I’d done, and to cross the line first in my debut DD2 race was fantastic! I couldn’t thank the team enough!”
The Intrepid Driver Program star raced the Grand Finals in Italy and Egypt as a Junior, followed with Italy, UAE, Portugal and the USA in Senior, and will now race DD2 in Spain. He’s been both third and second on the podium, and will be hoping trip seven proves lucky and leads to #1.
“I am really excited to be doing the Grand Finals in DD2,” Brand continued. “Having only done one race ‘I’m pretty inexperienced in the class, but I’m going there with a win and strong pace, so it will hopefully be a good race that adds to the success I’ve had there. Anything can happen so it’s hard to set goals, but the only podium place I haven’t finished is 1st so that’s where we are aiming for this year; hopefully we can do that.”
Schiavo will also be racing a shifter class at Grand Finals, his being DD2 Masters after he dominated the Florida Winter Tour and returned to the seat in North Carolina and did much the same thing. After qualifying third among the Master class, Schiavo ran through the heats 2-1-1 to earn pole for the PreFinal, maintained the spot in the tune-up race and then won the Final by more than five seconds.
Zachary Claman DeMelo was doing much the same in Rotax Senior, but his route was derailed on Sunday morning. After qualifying fourth and coming through the heats 1-2-1 the Canadian National Champion was also on pole Sunday morning but had a throttle cable snap in the PreFinal, forcing him to start at the tail of a 25-kart field in the Final. Quickly back inside the top ten, he ended the day fourth having produced one of the best drives of the day.
Other Intrepid drivers had runs derailed by contact, but Max Preston was one of the quickest karts in DD2 as he recovered, and John Cariati nearly ran to the DD2 Masters podium in finishing fourth. Full team results can be seen below.
While Grand Finals’ drivers head to the world’s biggest Rotax event with National teams in November, the season resumes for Goodwood/Intrepid at SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII in Nevada, Las Vegas. For more information on how Goodwood Kartways can assist you there, please contact Team Manager marco@goodwoodkartways.com and visit goodwoodkartways.com
Goodwood/Intrepid Driver Results – Pan American Challenge, North Carolina, USA
Rotax DD2
Ed Brand – 1st
Max Preston – 9th
Rotax DD2 Masters
Luis Schiavo – 1st
John Cariati – 4th
Rotax Senior
Zachary Claman DeMelo – 4th
Rotax Masters
Derick Boyle – 5th
Rotax Junior
Russell Boyle – 14th
Rotax Micro-Max
Matthew Marrocco – 15th
Juan David Martinez – 19th
*Team Facts: Goodwood Kartways is in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, where drivers can progress from turning rental kart laps to world championships. The Goodwood Kartways race team annually represents the facility at National and International Championships like the Florida Winter Tour, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Canadian National Championships and SKUSA SuperNationals.
It has also had drivers contest the Pan-American Rotax Max Challenge, the World Karting Association Manufacturer’s Cup, the Rotax European Championship, the Rotax International Open Championship and the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals. Goodwood Kartways operates in conjunction with Intrepid S.r.l. in Verona, Praga Kart, HRS Racing Engines, IMAF Racing Seats and Vega Tires.
