PSL Karting Claims FWT Championship with Pedro Cardoso

One week ago PSL Karting claimed another international title. The operation out of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec is an international powerhouse, attending every major event across North America with Canadian and international drivers from around the world. This years campaign at the popular Florida Winter Tour was no different with a huge lineup of drivers operating out of the PSL Karting tent aboard CRG karts.

Brazilian driver Pedro Cardoso has been familiar face under the PSL tent over the years. He claimed an FWT Mini-Max title a few years back and entering this years Tour, was an immediate title contender in Rotax Junior.

Victory eluded Cardoso and PSL at the opening round in Homestead, as Cardoso was forced to settle for two runner-up finishes whilst leading on the final lap of both Finals. But Cardoso battled back and scored a big win at round two in Ocala and entering the series finale Cardoso had a comfortable lead and the championship his sights.

Only needing one race in Orlando to secure the title, Cardoso won the Prefinal on Saturday, however he faded to finish fifth in Final. But that was enough for the Brazilian driver and PSL to score their second title together.

Pedro Cardoso scored a triumphant victory in Rotax Junior in Ocala to help him secure the title
(Photo by: Cody Schindel/CanadianKartingNews.com)

Following the championship podium on Sunday, we caught up with Pedro to discuss his championship.

How does it feel to win your second FWT title?
It feels awesome. After winning my first FWT title in Mini-Max, it’s great to win another with PSL Karting and CRG against a field made mostly up of OTK products. 

What does this mean for the rest of your season now that you are qualified for the Rotax Grand Finals?
For sure it means quite a lot to me, now I don’t need to worry about trying to get a Grand Finals ticket and can focus on my car driving in England.

What adversities did you feel challenged you the most in this championship?
The most difficult part was being one of the few drivers in CRG and showing everybody else that the chassis is the best. PSL/CRG has now won the first two Rotax Grand Finals tickets in Rotax Junior, with Thomas Preining winning in Las Vegas and now me.

Where do you go from here? Who do you need to thank for supporting you?
From here I will go to England to start my car career, the first race is this week. I need to thank the whole PSL Karting team, especially Andrew, Dominic, Stephan, Bruno, Jaco from JVD Power that supported us with amazing engines, and my mechanic Vince. For sure he is one of the best tuners in the world!

We also caught up with PSL Karting Team Manager Andrew Campbell:

“We entered the final round of FWT with a small lead, however we still did not have the Championship locked up. This year’s field of Junior’s was very competitive. With more teams taking their programs a step further, it forced everyone to have all their equipment sorted. As most spectators have noticed, we’ve put a tremendous effort into the development of the CRG in the Rotax program, one in which paid off with our first Championship on our all new CRG X-28 chassis.

The track conditions, in regard to rubber, at Orlando this year, were probably the most extreme we’ve seen since Homestead. Aside from the tuning aspect, 98% of the speed was found with drivers adapting their style to the increased grip levels, regardless of chassis brand. Cardoso took to this quite naturally, as he very is used to these conditions in Brazil.

Cardoso has been a big part of PSL for a few years now, first developing our CRG Hero (micro/mini/cadet) chassis and now our CRG X-28 (Junior max/TaG). His talents are limitless at this point in his racing career, and we are wishing him the best of luck in his next stage of cars.”