MAX PAPIS RACING WITH FITTIPALDI LEADS FWT ROTAX CHAMPIONSHIP
By Max Papis Racing | February 18, 2009 at 1:12 pmMAX PAPIS RACING WITH FITTIPALDI LEADS FWT ROTAX MAX SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND TWO AT HOMESTEAD
Round 2 of the Florida Winter Tour International Rotax Max Challenge took place once again at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the weekend of February 13th-15th, however with a newly paved surface and running clockwise for the first time. Max Papis Racing with Fittipaldi left the premises leading the Rotax Max Senior Class championship after dominating the weekend.
During all practice sessions, Fabio Orsolon (Rotax Senior) was always top 5, focusing more on the set-up for the races. The new pavement made it very challenging to drivers, changing the track conditions throughout the weekend.
On Saturday, the Brazilian dominated his class, winning both pre-final and final races with a margin of victory of 4.9 seconds, and also scoring the fastest lap of the race. Also in the Rotax Senior Class, the Australian Scott Sauders was very competitive and aggressive by starting 10th and finishing in the 8th position.
In the Rotax Mini Max, MPRF was once again represented by Michael de Quesada from USA, and joining the team for the first time, Rafael Martins. The young Brazilian impressed all by qualifying 8th and finishing both pre-final and final races in 5th. Michael continues to show improvement and talent, finishing the final race in 16th place.
In the Rotax Masters, two new faces to the team, Grand-Am DP driver and team owner Carlos de Quesada, and Chapman Ducote. Carlos, who missed round one of the FWT in preparation for the Daytona 24, was very consistent throughout the weekend, but unfortunately was involved in an accident during the final race. Chapman who was also at Daytona and forced to miss round one, was new to the class. Coming from shifters, Ducote showed progress as he got more familiar with the new equipment. Both drivers did not participate on Sunday’s final race due to other commitments.
On Sunday, Fabio Orsolon (Rotax Senior) once again dominated the field and won both pre-final and final races, after an intense battle with Victor Pedrosa and Pier-Luc Ouellette. Fabio finally took the lead and won easily with a 5.9 seconds margin. Scott Saunders impressed by starting from the 3rd row and remaining consistent during the final race.
Both Rotax Mini Max drivers did not have a great day on Sunday, although Michael finished 15th after charging through the field coming from the 28th position. Rafael Martins had mechanical problems, but has proved to have great potential and determination.
Team owner Max Papis did not attend this event as he was in North Carolina with his family, happy with the arrival of his second son Matteo, but commented on the weekend, ” The team did a great job all week long, both the presentation, attitude and results showed that we are a solid organization, and I’m proud of all my crew. Fabio, assisted by our tecnical director Jeison Teixeira, was outstanding and proved again that BIREL is the winning chassis in the Rotax Challenge. Now we will shift our focus on OCALA and make good use of these weeks to further improve our organization and performance.”
The next and final round of the FWT will take place at Ocala on March 13th-15th. MPRF has 179 points lead in the Rotax Senior Class and hopes to bring home the championship trophy!
