RMCGF: Ups and Downs in DD2 Masters Qualification

Wednesdays low temperatures proved to be a challenge for drivers in DD2 Masters. With the morning practice sessions in the books, drivers had completed their last chances to finalize any testing before qualification.

Claiming the top spot in Rotax DD2 Masters was four-time Rotax Grand Finals Champion Cristiano Morgado of South Africa with a lap time of 55.947 seconds. Morgado has been consistently at the top of all practice sessions so it was no surprise to see the veteran claim P1 in qualifying. Second place was earned by Aussie driver Adam Hunter who pushed hard to beat Morgado in the closing laps but still came up over a tenth of second back. Third was Mikko Laine of Finland who was +0.240 off the fastest time. Sandwiched between two Finns was Primoz Matelic of Slovenia in fourth and Antti Ollikainen fifth.

It was a challenging day for North American DD2 drivers as the best qualifier was Canadian Stuart Clark, who wound up 21st and American Derek Wang in 24th, the only two in the top-half of the grid. The biggest surprise of the day came when American driver Alan Rudolph was excluded from qualifying after the he attempted to tighten a wheel on the pre-grid after leaving Parc Ferme. This in international rules is a violation which resulted in Rudolph being put to the very bottom of the results.

Drivers will now be divided into four groups for the heat races. The respective group for each driver is listed below.

North American Rotax DD2 Masters Qualifying Results:

21. Stuart Clark (CAN) +0.614 (A)
24. Derek Wang (USA) +0.648 (D)
43. Mike Jones (USA) +0.840 (C)
51. Paul Carvalho (CAN) +0.998 (C)
53. Erik Jackson (USA) +1.132 (A)
55. Francis Mondou (CAN) +1.188 (C)
63. Bobby Greene (USA) +1.606 (C)
68. Kenneth Maxfield (USA) +2.802 (D)
72. Alan Rudolph (USA) DQ (D)

Click here for full unofficial results

Stuart Clark will start each of his heat races from 11th as the Canadian posted the 21st quickest time in Qualifying. ABOVE: South African Cristiano Morgado is seeking his fifth RMCGF title after qualifying on the pole in DD2 Masters. (Photos by: Cody Schindel/CKN)