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Prime Powerteam Hunting for Championships in 2017
Prime Powerteam will be looking for race wins and championships in literally all classes this season.
A strong start to the year for Prime Powerteam included a podium appearance at the Florida Winter Tour and the Hamilton, Ontario based race team is hungry to continue the momentum when the Canadian season gets underway in only a few weeks.
Featuring a full lineup of drivers spread across all Briggs and Rotax categories will see a strong showing of BirelART karts powered by Prime at all major events in 2017 including the Canadian National Championship, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Champion Ron Fellows Karting Challenge, Vega Cup, US Open and SKUSA SuperNationals.
An off-season switch to BirelART brought a fresh look for Prime Powerteam and a handful of new team drivers for 2017 that have joined the Red Army.
“Never in my life as a team owner or manager have I felt so confident heading into a racing season. With incredibly strong driver lineups, and technical partnerships with BirelART, Ogden Engines (Rotax) and Pro Racing Engines (Briggs) we have all the key elements in place for a record season.”
-Trevor Wickens
Prime Powerteam Manager
Rotax Team Lineup: Hungry for top results
In Rotax DD2 the team will be led by Ethan Simioni and Justin Luik. Both are competing in the second season of DD2 and will be championship contenders. Simioni enjoyed a very successful FWT where he ended off the tour with a third place finish in both the race and the championship. Making his DD2 debut, Randy Tang will join the duo this season.
Rotax Senior will see Justin Ovejero alongside new recruit Cole Hooton. After strong seasons in 2016, both have the speed and potential to be consistently be in position for the podium in 2017.
In the refreshed Rotax Mini-Max category, Prime has five drivers that look to dominate the podium. Marcello Paniccia and Adam Moor are experienced young guns while Frankie Esposito, Connor Pritiko and Lorenzo Morsillo look to make their mark as they tackle the category for the first time.
Rounding out the Rotax classes, MacKenzie Clark and Zachary Vanier will compete in Rotax Junior. Clark graduates from Mini-Max while Vanier is new to the team after taking home the Briggs Junior Canadian Championship in 2016. A full time effort in Rotax this year should see Vanier on the podium.
Photo courtesy: Prime Powerteam
Briggs & Stratton Team Lineup: Primed for success
A trio of drivers will represent Prime in Briggs Senior, led by Ryan Kimber. High praise for Kimber comes from Wickens who has watched his driver grow in across the spectrum. Zach Boam is back for a second season with Prime along with Hunter Gibson, however both will compete a limited schedule with the team.
“With moments of stardom in 2017 Ryan [Kimber] will be working with National teammates to show that he will be consistently fighting at the front in 2017. Also, without a doubt we are looking for gold in 2017 with arguably the strongest Briggs Junior pairing on the grid!”
As the defending Canadian Champion, Zachary Vanier is looking to defend his crown with Jordan Prior as a teammate. Wickens has big expectations from the pairing who know how to finish on the podium.
On top of the full-time lineup of drivers, Prime has a number of drivers planning on running part time schedules in 2017. These drivers include: David Barnes (Briggs Junior), Liam Ortlieb (Briggs Junior), Dominico Petrucci (Briggs Junior), Fernando Taveres (DD2 Masters) and Hunter Gibson (Briggs Senior).
Rich Folino is new to the National scene but his speed will surly put him in position to fight for good results while contesting in Briggs Masters.
Prime Powerteam will also take part in the Vega Cup with Ethan Simioni contesting in the newly developed shifter kart program. Simioni competed in the ROK Cup portion of the FWT in ROK Shifter and will be a championship candidate.
With chassis support from BirelART, Prime will have engine support from Ogden Engines for all Rotax engines along with PRO Racing Engines preparing the Briggs & Stratton LO206 powerplants.
The team is has a few spots remaining for drivers looking to compete in full championship in 2017.
For more information about the Prime Powerteam and how to join the race team, contact trevor@primepowerteam.com.
