Mike Vincec: 2011 Season Review
Tweetpress release
As one of Canada's most decorated kart racers, Mike Vincec continues to make waves in every event he enters. 2011 was no exception for the PSL Karting.com team member, as the talent was able to score one of the most prominent titles in North American karting as well as a big street race victory while on Canadian soil. A few bumps along the way have Vincec geared up for 2012, as he will again take on prestigious events across North America and beyond, as he looks to add to his already impressive racing resume.
Above: Mike Vincec started off 2011 by taking the Florida Winter Tour Rotax DD2 Championship and will be back in 2012 to defend his title
pic - Cody Schindel / Autosports Media Group
Starting off 2011 with a new team and new chassis, Vincec would make a statement by putting his PSL Karting CRG in contention for both main event wins at the opening rounds of the Florida Winter Tour (FWT) in Orlando back in January. Having to settle for two second place finishes in the Rotax DD2 class, the 20-year-old driver came back at the Palm Beach rounds with a dominating performance. A near sweep on Saturday, only missing the pole position by 0.012 seconds, and a sweep on Sunday put Vincec in solid contention for the overall championship title. A near disastrous hit from behind during the final at the penultimate round in Ocala nearly dashed Vincec's championship hopes, but a brilliant drive from the back of the pack to finish in fourth sealed the deal. With enough points in hand, the Stouffville, Ontario resident locked up the championship and proudly earned top honours as Florida Winter Tour Rotax DD2 class champion.
With the DD2 championship in hand, Vincec would take to the Canadian karting scene for 2011 by contesting the Rotax Senior class in the ultra-competitive Eastern Canadian Karting Championship (ECKC). Taking on one of the toughest grids in all of North America, Vincec would start off his Canadian campaign by posting the second quickest time at the series opener at home track Goodwood Kartways. A technical infraction in the prefinal put the talent last on the grid for the main event, as Vincec would charge through the field to take 11th at the checkers. A new day at Goodwood saw the PSL/CRG pilot rebound by again scoring the off-pole position in qualifying, second in the prefinal and matching that during the final to earn a podium finish. At PSL headquarters in Trois-Rivieres for the third round of the ECKC, Vincec would have a day to forget after posting eighth in qualifying and then DNFs in the prefinal and final during the rain-soaked event.
A rainy third event at Mosport would see Vincec post fifth in qualifying, move up to second during the prefinal but then fall down to ninth for the day's main event. Back at Mosport for a doubleheader weekend, things looked to turn around for the 2008 eKartingNews.com Driver of the Year. Going second quick in qualifying and then backing that up with a prefinal win, Vincec's luck would run out in the final as he ran uncontested to take the win, but an unattached airbox would end up disqualifying his effort. After a disappointing run at the series finale in Mont-Tremblant, Vincec would find himself ninth in the overall ECKC Rotax Senior championship standings.
Mid-season Vincec would take to the streets of Trois-Rivieres for the annual 'Mini Monaco'. Here, Vincec along with his PSL team dominated the event, taking the ProShifter/ICC win by nearly two and a half seconds among a throng of fans who gathered at the new venue along the GP3R circuit. Vincec's win at the famed event certainly solidified his existence as one of the greatest shifter kart pilots in North America.
Above: Vincec ended his season at the SKUSA SuperNationals, taking on the best KZ2 pilots in the world
pic - Cody Schindel / Autosports Media Group
A few months later and again contesting the Rotax Senior class, this time at the 2011 ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Championships at Mont-Tremblant, Vincec was looking to add another national title to his resume. Going ninth quick in official qualifying, the 2006 Canadian National ICC Champion would go on to post 3-10-5 in the three heat race flights. Dropping back to 15th during the prefinal, Vincec would recover and take a respectable fifth place finish at the premier Canadian event.
Rounding out his 2011 season at the biggest karting event on the calendar, Vincec headed to Sin City for the 15th running of the SuperKarts! USA SuperNationals. Taking on the toughest shifter kart drivers in the world, Vincec started off with a solid top-ten qualifying effort after he posted the eighth fastest time. From there the karting ace only mustered 15-7-30 in the three heats, relegating him to 17th for the start of Super Sunday's final. Jumping towards the top-ten on the opening lap, Vincec was knocked back to 24th on the next flyer. Matching the pace of the leaders and hoping to make up some ground, Vincec worked all the way back to 11th only to soon retire after an engine failure.
"It was great to win the FWT DD2 Championship which provided me with a chance to head to the Rotax World Finals again in Al Ain, UAE, however we were unable to put enough sponsorship together to get us to the event," commented Mike. "So we decided to race the SKUSA SuperNationals in the KZ2 category, which I haven't raced in almost three years. It was an unbelievable thrill to know I could still run amongst the best who run the class continuously throughout the year, so I hope I'll be able to get the chance to maybe do some more racing in the KZ category in the future again."
2012 will see the talented driver back with PSL Karting, with continued support from CRG. Set to defend his Florida Winter Tour DD2 championship, Vincec will again start the year off in the Sunshine State in just a few week's time before returning to Canada for the ECKC and Canadian Nationals during the spring and summer months.
"The season overall has had many ups and downs but we're still here running to win as many championships as we can," continued Mike. "I can't thank Mr. Tinini at CRG, Dominic, and everyone at PSL Karting.com and The Decal Zone enough for all the support this past season. It's been amazing and I hope that I can continue racing and representing everyone to the best of my abilities. Thank you all!"
For more information on Mike Vincec, please visit www.mikev.ca.
About Mike Vincec:
Mike Vincec is the reigning 2011 Florida Winter Tour Rotax DD2 Champion and in 2008 earned the title of Snap-On Stars of Karting National ICC Champion. He also raced select events in 2008 for the CRG Racing Team in Europe going on to being named the 2008 eKartingNews.com Driver of the Year. In 2007, Vincec represented Team Canada at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Al Ain, UAE. In 2006, Vincec was the Canadian National ICC Champion. He is also a six-time Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship class champion and the only driver in the series history to win three championships in one season in three different classes. Vincec is proud member of the PSL Karting race team and races with support provided by CRG.
