Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship - Hamilton weekend
May 28, 2006 Formula Senior drivers steal the show Launi, Fox, Marcelli and Vincec pull out all the stops HAMILTON, ONTARIO – There is a reason why the Formula Senior class is the headline class in the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship presented by Toronto Star Wheels. The throngs of fans on the fenceline at Hamilton this weekend saw great racing action in all classes, but it was four drivers in the Formula Senior final that stole the show. Round one winner Kyle Marcelli had the pole, beside him was 2004 Sunoco Team Ultra 94 Champion Frank Launi. Row two had Mike Vincec and Curtis Fox was lined up seventh. Launi took the lead, then was challenged by Marcelli numerous times, but Launi was able to take the lead back. Then Fox joined the group to make it four. The three behind Launi battled, swapped positions all trying to mount a charge on Launi. Fox made his way to second and three times he tried the same move on Launi, and Launi attacked by in the same corner to retake the lead. Finally Fox took the lead and went on for the win, but it was 22 laps of pure action. Other classes had healthy battles for the lead, and the class winners on the day were; Curtis Fox, Formula Senior, Reid Arnold Canada Junior Light, Mike Vincec, F1-K Senior, Dylan Gibson, Rotax Max Jr., and Corey Usher in World Formula Sr. Formula Senior Pfaff Fast Qualifier; Curtis Fox Curtis Fox continued his qualifying domination so far this year, with his second straight Pfaff Fast Qualifier award in Formula Senior. Behind Fox was round one winner Kyle Marcelli and Mike Vincec. Frank Launi and Corey Usher rounded out the top five. In the pre-final, fourth place qualifier Frank Launi jumped to second on the start, then overtook Fox for the lead. Fox hooked a curb a few laps later and went to the back. Marcelli vaulted to second with Fox’s demise, and he made a fantastic pass on Launi for the lead. Launi continued to pressure Marcelli for the remaining laps but was unable to pass for the win. Marcelli won over Launi and Vincec. The final prompted Paul Cooke, ASN Canada’s VP of Competition to say, “That was the hardest fought race I have ever seen.” Launi, Marcelli, Vincec and Fox did battle for 22 laps, with Launi holding the point and fending off challenges from all the other three. Finally, Fox was able to make it past for the lead – and ultimately the win. Marcelli also got by Launi as he started to struggle in the final few laps. With two laps to go, Vincec made his way past and took the final podium spot. It clearly was the best Formula Senior final ever in the series with at least 10 passes for the lead during the 22 lap final. Canada Junior Light Pfaff Fast Qualifier; Reid Arnold Reid Arnold took the Pfaff Fast Qualifier award in Canada Junior Light ahead of Rui Teixeira and Ryan Klutt. In the pre-final, Klutt led for a while before being passed by Arnold for the lead. Arnold built a lead of 2.5 seconds over second place finisher Rui Teixeira. Austin Milwain was third. Arnold won the final by 3.9 seconds over Austin Milwain and Ryan Klutt. F1-K Senior Pfaff Fast Qualifier; Mike Vincec Round one winner Mike Vincec, took the Pfaff Fast Qualifier Award ahead of Marco Di Leo and Adam Kretschmer. Vincec was never headed in the pre-final, winning by a substantial margin over Marco Di Leo and Matt France. Vincec completed the sweep by winning the final over Di Leo by 8.8 seconds. Third went to Jason France. Rotax Max Junior Pfaff Fast Qualifier; Cory Luciano Cory Luciano took his second straight Pfaff Fast Qualifier award ahead of Joshua Gilbert and Joshua Korenyi. Dylan Gibson took the win in the pre-final over Luciano and Facchini. Gibson and Luciano did battle in the final with Gibson leading going the last corner, and Luciano tried a move for the lead. Luciano spun and collected third place Gary Klutt, handing second and third to Jesse Facchini and Gregory Brenzil, who failed tech with no Rotax Passport. That gave third back to Klutt. World Formula Senior Pfaff Fast Qualifier; Adriano Bilotta Adriano Bilotta took his first Pfaff Fast Qualifier award of the season, then backed it up with a win in the pre-final over Chris Holman and Andrew Deaves. Bilotta dropped out of the final with a mechanical problem while leading. That led Corey Usher take the win over Ryan Dennahower and Chris Holman. The Pratt & Miller Team Spirit award which is awarded to the team that exhibits the highest levels of teamwork in the areas of presentation, preparation and results, went to Milwain Racing and driver Austin Milwain. GM Racing award for outstanding skills went to Curtis Fox for his outstanding performance in Formula Senior. The objective of the SRFKC is to help foster a professional environment for kart drivers; help create a positive attitude towards appearance, conduct and discipline; help foster the employment of the best practices for the safe and fair running of competitions; and help kart drivers to move up the racing ladder to automobile racing.