RMCGF: Morgado in DD2 Masters Cruise Control; Rudolph Races Into Saturday

It’s been a very quiet weekend for the Rotax DD2 Masters division in Valencia, Spain. Slightly overshadowed but the three younger and more competitive divisions, the Masters don’t quite get the attention they deserve from those in attendance. But that hasn’t stopped them from putting the gas pedal down and pushing their Praga karts to the limits.

Rotax DD2 Masters A vs D Heat:

The First group of DD2 Master drivers hit the track with Cristiano Morgado (South Africa) leading the way onto the circuit. Morgado lead the race from start to finish with no sign of conflict for the third heat in a row. A great battle between Primoz Matelic (Slovenia) and Ryan Urban (New Zealand) found Matelic landing second place, with Urban third. Rounding out the top five was Luis Schiavo (Venuzuela) and Jeremie Charon of France. As for the North Amercians it was Stuart Clark landing twentieth position respectively as he was involved with some bumping early on that held him up. Erik Jackson (USA) finished in the 26th position followed by Kenneth Maxfield (USA). Their Team USA teammate Derek Wang suffered some bad luck leading to a 32nd place finish.

Rotax DD2 Masters B vs C Heat:

The second DD2 Masters heat was secured by Aussie Adam Hunter followed by Irish driver Martin Pierce. Mikko Laine had a fantastic drive battling hard and landing a third place finish for the Finnish driver. Charlie Hipp (France) scored a fourth place while is was New Zealand driver Tiffany Chittenden rounding out the top-5. Disaster struck for Team USA driver Alan Rudolph when his kart would not start for the heat race resulting in the driver not even being able to start the race. Canadian Paul Carvalho scored a 23rd place finish followed in by a pack containing his teammate Francis Mondou who finished 27th respectively. Two team USA drivers were involved in chaos resulting in a 32nd place finish for Mike Jones and a 35th for Mike Greene.

Canadian Paul Carvalho’s first trip to Rotax Grand Finals ended with a solid effort in the DD2 Masters LCQ. (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

Heat Race Rankings:

Morgado appears to be well on his way to his fifth Rotax Grand Finals title as he has been flawless thus far. He will start Saturdays PreFinal from the pole position with Martin Pierce along side. Mikko Laine and Primoz Matelic fill row two while Tiffany Chittenden is enjoying an excellent week and starts fifth beside Martin Henry.

No driver from North America was ranked inside the top-28 forcing all of them into the Last Chance Race.

Click Here for Heat Race Standings (Unofficial)

Rotax DD2 Masters Last Chance Race:

The DD2 Master LCQ had all of the fans standing as the drivers hit the track. Spectactors could be seen running to the stands to cheer on teammates and drivers as the rain lifted slightly. Guillaume Berteaux (France) followed by Hamish Leighton (Austria) Priit Sei (Estonia) scored the first three transfer spots as all drivers played it safe to secure their positions. Jan Andreasen (Denmark) was able to lock down fourth with Steven Ellery (Austria) fifth. Team USA member Alan Rudolph who had started in 24th position put on the drive of the day as he managed to find that ever so crucial transfer spot in sixth position. Emotions ran high as Rudolph crossed the line securing his way to the final after what can only be described as a disastrous week. A number of DD2 Master drivers were unfortunately eliminated from competition after the LCQ race, Derek Wang (USA), Stuart Clark (CAN), Mike Jones (USA), Paul Carvalho (CAN), Kenneth Maxfield (USA), Francis Mondou (CAN), Erik Jackson (USA), Bobby Greene (USA) all raced their final laps at the 2014 Grand Finals.

It was a nail-biter for Alan Rudolph, but a stellar drive in the LCQ made him the only North American to transfer to the main event in DD2 Masters (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)