PR: Maranello North America Welcomes Two New Drivers for Florida Winter Tour Finale

As the Florida Winter Tour rolls into Ocala Gran Prix for the Rotax Max Championship finale this weekend, Maranello North America will not only be competing for championships in both the Rotax DD2 and DD2 Masters categories, they will also welcome two new drivers to the team. The third and final round will be contested under a new race format that opens up the championship chases where team drivers Fred Woodley (DD2) and Mikko Laine (DD2 Masters) are looking to move up the rankings towards the top step of the podium.

Last month it was a very strong showing by the Maranello North America drivers who showed great speed in both the wet and dry conditions. The results didn’t quite show in the Final races, but Woodley and Stuart Clark (DD2 Masters) scored substantial PreFinal victories in Saturdays very tough wet conditions before Robert Wickens (DD2) battled hard for a third place podium effort in the Final. On Sunday, Laine left his mark on the DD2 Masters field with a smooth victory performance to keep him in the championship hunt.

Woodley and Laine will once again lead the team this weekend along with Elvis Stojko (DD2 Masters) and Ryan MacDermid (Junior) also continuing on from the opening two races.

Joining the team in Ocala, Tyler Rushton will make his first start of the season with Maranello North America while Ethan Simioni is lined up for his debut with the team. Both drivers will compete in the Rotax DD2 category replacing Wickens who is absent this week due to his DTM duties. Also absent this weekend is Stuart Clark after a pair of tough weekends for the two-time Canadian National Champion.

The new event format will see the drivers qualify on Friday afternoon including a SuperPole for the top-six in each category. Saturday will feature three heat races for every driver before Sunday’s PreFinal and Championship Finals. For those interested in watching the action from home, you can visit http://floridawintertour.com/live to follow along the Maranello North America drivers.

Trevor Wickens, Maranello North America Team Manager:
“In Orlando the team was very strong, we saw Mikko taking a massive victory and Robert on the Podium. But on top of that, we had Fred and Stu both taking substantial wins in the Prefinal before bad luck plagued them in the Finals. Heading into Ocala we will be looking to be on the podium once again.”

Interested in joining Maranello North America? Arrive and Drive opportunities and Prime Power Racing Engines are available. Contact Trevor Wickens by email today, trevorwickens@gmail.com.

Finlands Mikko Laine is looking for another DD2 Masters victory in Ocala (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)