Well, the first race of the season for me is in the books. In some ways, actually a lot of ways, I’m glad it is. It rained the entire weekend and our teams luck was somewhere in Kansas. If anyone finds it please forward it to the next race! There were some exciting races, however, for the J3 Competition race team the weekend couldn’t come to a close any faster. The team could only muster a few top 15’s and when your used to winning – mediocrity is not acceptable. The event with all the rain still stayed on schedule, and I have to give them credit for a job well done.
Some notables, Canadian Eric Gerrits finished on the podium with a third place place in the Spec racer class and Britain’s Alexander Simms was a treat to watch in the rain. Next on the docket will be Arizona, should be dry I hope. Anyone who wants to see top notch racing should make a point of trying to come out and watch one of these events – it is quite a show.
A little bit of everything
What an event! Some of the biggest names and Teams are here and everyone is trying to show their dominance early. In the Shifter and ICA classes, there were a lot chance takers early on. A few pooched engines and your fair share of spins were on the docket for the day. I noticed quite the aggressive driving which really doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but it makes for entertaining practice sessions.
The J3 Competition.com team had it’s ups and downs for the day. A few spins, and even a bent frame were just the norm it seemed. My driver, Victor Cabrera, showed brilliant speed during practice and sits comfortably in the top dozen drivers; but as the day came to a close – so did the nice weather. Last rounds of practice were held in the rain which created some mild chaos as everyone again tried to show who was king. Rain seems to be the weather of choice for the weekend, and with over 50 entries in most classes, setup and qualifying are going to be at a premium. Canadians to watch for, as far as I could tell, come from the province of Quebec. Tomorrow should prove to be both entertaining and interesting to say the least, so hold on boys and girls – this one is going to be a wild one!
BouRan to the Stars
BouRan Data Services own Petri Ranta has finalized a deal with the J3Competition.com race team based out of Erie, PA. To be a tuner for an up and coming Junior driver. The deal, finalized late last night, consists of BRDS owner Petri Ranta Tuning for Puerto Rican Victor Cabrera for the entire IRL/Snap on Tools sponsored Stars of Karting Series. All eight races, spanning from North Carolina to California, will be hotly contested by the best that karting has to offer. J3Competition team principal Justin Stefani, along with partners Jim and John Giacomelli, had an excellent 2005 season and are looking to build on the momentum from last year and hope that the team of Cabrera – Ranta will bring home the JICA championship from one of the crown Jewels of racing. The first leg of the series is in Norman, Oklahoma; on the weekend of March the 17 -19. Watch for updates as Petri will try to give daily reports to the garage during the race weekend.