Rubens & AJ @ Florida Winter Tour
Rubens Barrichello and AJ Allmendinger competed at the opening round of the Florida Winter Tour in Orlando last weekend. Barrichello competed in KZ2/Shifter, while AJ raced TaG.
Above: Williams F1 ace Rubens Barrichello joined the RDD Motorsports team in Orlando, competing in the KZ2 class and finishing second in the final.
press release
RDD Motorsports of Deerfield Beach, Florida, one of North America’s top driver development programs, wrapped up a successful opening weekend of competition that included a special guest driver.
Three RDD Motorsports drivers made their official debut on the Tony Kart chassis and were joined under the tent by Williams F1 driver Rubens Barrichello. Running in the Formula Kart classes at the opening weekend of the Florida Winter Tour being held at the Orlando Karting Center, the team was very happy with the weekend and was buoyed by the excellent results. For his part Barrichello stepped into the shifter class, consisting of KZ2 and Moto packages, and ran a very consistent day. In timed qualifying Barrichello would set the second fastest lap to start the prefinal from the front row. The 19-year-veteran of over 300 Grand Prix starts would take second in the prefinal and again launch from the front row, this time for the final. After 20 laps of the tough Orlando circuit it was “Rubino” capturing the second step on the podium.
“We are very happy with how the Tony Kart worked at our first big race of the year,” comments RDD Motorsports owner Andre Serra. “It was really nice to have Rubens (Barrichello) under the tent. It really added some extra excitement to the weekend.”
In TaG Cadet, Logan Sargeant would set fast lap on Saturday morning for round one qualifying to earn pole position for the prefinal. He backed that up with a win in the prefinal. From pole position in the final Logan had a great run to open the season with a podium finish crossing in third at the line. On Sunday it was P3 for Logan in timed qualifying followed by second place in the prefinal. From the outside front row for the Final, Logan charged forward to take the win and a second straight podium to open the season.
Above: Logan Sargeant celebrates his win. Just as well he doesnt race AKA!
Dalton Sargeant took to the Leopard TaG Junior class aboard his new Tony Kart for his first major event as a Junior. Round one Saturday action was rough for the new pilot as he qualified in ninth spot in the 13-kart field and then went sixth in the prefinal. Dalton would end the day in seventh in the final and look to make some changes for the Sunday races. On Sunday Dalton would improve to seventh in qualifying and then go fourth in the prefinal. In the final a nice battle at the front would have Dalton cross in fifth to grab a nice top five finish.
Sebastian Ordonez made his first start in the TaG Senior class aboard the Tony Kart chassis using a Parilla Leopard power plant. On Saturday the talented teen got off to a great start taking pole with fast lap in qualifying and then winning the prefinal. In the final Ordonez pulled out to a huge lead by midway and was looking good for the opening win. With just a few laps left, the chain came off and sidelining his kart. Ordonez was able to get back on track and finished in the 16th spot in the 19-kart field. On Sunday Ordonez would clock in the fifth fastest lap in qualifying and then move to second in the prefinal. From his front row spot Ordonez charged to the lead early leading the event and taking the win and getting a little redemption from Saturday. Overall the RDD Motorsports Team took four top fives and three podiums to start the season.
“It was a good weekend to build on. We learned a great deal about the kart,” continues Serra. “This Formula Kart weekend will put us in great position for the Rotax classes coming up this weekend.”
