Fresh off a dominating performance in the Rotax and TAG classes at Daytona, the Arrow Racing Karts/BTK Motorsports Team was looking to continue their streak heading into the Florida Winter Tour. And that they did.
The highlight race of the first two rounds in Orlando was most certainly the epic duel in Rotax Senior by Arrow/BTK racers Kenneth Hildebrand and IndyCar Series/Indy 500 Champion Dan Wheldon, who battled throughout the Rotax weekend. These teammates traded the lead throughout the race and ran each other hard, yet clean, with Hildebrand edging Wheldon by .096 seconds at the line. To make the victory even more impressive, the duo finished nearly five seconds clear of third place - reigning series champion Fabio Orsolon. The second day wouldn’t be as kind to Wheldon, as he was taken out at the start of the prefinal, but came from last in the final to finish 10th, matching the leader’s pace. Hildebrand would recover from a tough start in the final to finish second and grab the overall point’s lead, with Wheldon sitting third.
Arrow young gun Pato O’Ward had a great start to his pursuit of the TAG Cadet and Mini Max championships by finishing third and fifth in TAG, and third and fourth in Mini Max. O’Ward also had a pole and showed great pace throughout both weekends. The young Arrow driver currently sits third in both championships.
Mario Garcia had a good showing in Rotax Masters with solid finishes of fifth and sixth respectively.
During the Formula race weekend in Pro Rotax, Kenneth Hildebrand dominated the final by nearly a 10-second margin of victory, with teammates Victor Pedrosa and Sam Beasley finishing second and third respectively, to make it an all Arrow X1/BTK Rotax podium. Hildebrand would go on to finish second on day two by a mere .137 seconds, with Beasley capturing the fifth spot. Hildebrand’s results would award him the points lead in Pro Rotax.
Beasley certainly stole the show in Leopard Senior by grabbing his first major win in the Senior ranks. Pedrosa finished second on the first day. On day two, Pedrosa took the pole position by nearly half a second over David Jurca. Unfortunately, Pedrosa was not allowed to compete in the final after an altercation instigated by a rival driver. Look for Pedrosa to rebound strongly at the first CKI event in Homestead.
RaceSport/Arrow drivers Butch Landers and Jim Machul were the class of the field in Stock Honda with Landers taking the victory on Saturday, with Machul taking top honors on Sunday to complete a great weekend for these two drivers. Machul carries the points lead into Moroso in a pleasing performance for Arrow Racing Karts.
Beasley Motorsports/Arrow driver Matthew Tifft had a great weekend in Iame Junior with a second place finish in his FWT debut. BTK/Arrow pilot Luca Forgeois drove from last place in Iame Junior to Santino Ferrucci’s bumper in the rain, only to lose his neck collar in the closing laps in a “what could have been” performance. Forgeois and Tifft continue to impress as they gain more seat time and Arrow Karts looks forward to watching these emerging drivers continue their progression through the sport as both have incredibly bright futures ahead.
Arrow Racing Karts would like to congratulate BTK Motorsports and all of the Arrow participants at the first FWT round in Orlando and say thank you for all of their hard work and dedication. We look forward to a promising 2010 racing season.
For more information on Arrow Racing Karts or BTK Motorsports, please visit www.arrowkarts.com or www.btkmotorsports.com or call BTK at 256.351.075 |
