GP Racing and Syazwan take RMC Round 1 Victory

Syazwan Mohd Noor established himself and his GP Racing GP10 as the combination to beat in the junior class in Malaysia with a dominant display during the 1st round of the Rotax Max Asia and Malaysia championship at Speedway Plus Circuit in Kuala Lumpur on 12th March.
In DD2 Syazwan showed very good speed for most of the weekend but was plagued by gear selection problems. In the final, Syazwan took the lead initially but the problems resurfaced and he had to retire from the race.
In the junior class, Syazwan and his GP Racing GP10 dominated from the start of the weekend and set the fastest lap in all sessions and races. In the pre-final, he initially was led by main rival Gilbert Ang but passed after a few laps and gained enough lead to cruise to an impressive victory. The final was more straightforward, Syazwan taking an immediate lead and pulling away to a very comfortable win, with Gilbert again finishing 2nd. Syazwan said after the race: “My new GP10 was really good all weekend and I always felt in control. The DD2 was disappointing but if I win next time I’ll recover most of the points lost today. It’s great to be leading the junior championship but Gilbert and some of the others are tough competitors so I have to keep practicing and improving”.
Team Manager John King said “Syazwan will now be the clear favorite for the championship so there’s a lot of pressure on him and the team but I’m sure we can all cope with this. Syazwan’s driving was tremendous – in the final once he established a small lead, he consistent set laps fastest than any of his competitors could match and ended up with an unassailable lead. All the hard work he’s done during testing to get the right set-up for the kart really paid off. The new GP10 was simply amazing – Syazwan looked like he was on rails all weekend. “
The new DD2 driver from Singapore KEN SMITH in his first race in DD2 start dominating the DD2 class but have to settle to 4th place due to wrong flagging by marshals and due to throttle jam at the Finals.
He was doing fastest lap through out the heats and went in to finals with high hope to rapping up for GP for 1st and 2nd with shyswan for the DD2 but has to settle for 4th place. Overall we are very happy with our team performance.
GP RACING ASIA
Kapila Jayasiriwardena
Managing Director
GP RACING ASIA

Team News: Evolution Karting/GP Chassis - Florida Winter Tour Palm Beach Report

Evolution Karting driver Kurt Mathewson scored two wins in the Masters Shifter and scored two second place finishes in Stock Moto at Palm Beach International Raceway February 20-21 during the second round of the Florida Winter Tour Series. In addition, Innsfil Karting/GP Canada driver Zach Meyer scored two second place finishes in the KZ2 category.

While he swept the pre-final and finals both days, it was far from easy for Kurt Mathewson as Canadian Michel LeGrand pushed him hard both days. Unfortunately for Michel he was involved in a three kart accident at the start of the Sunday Final and couldn’t continue.

In the Stock Moto class it was a two-kart battle between Lucas Johnson and Cole Mathewson. Cole missed his flight to Florida and only arrived with enough time for two practices on Friday, which had him a little behind on adjusting his chassis to the track. Johnson was the better of the two both days, but Cole closed the gap each time they were on the track and pushed Lucas hard in the Sunday final but still had to settle for second.

With their results this weekend, Kurt Mathewson leads the Masters Shifter division with a wide margin. Cole Mathewson also leads the Stock Moto division with a 50 -margin over Vicki Brian Hagar and Carly Mandarino in third. Lucas Johnson is 115 pts back due to a DNF and a technical DQ in first two races last month in Orlando. In KZ2 Zach Meyer leads the category with a 175-point margin over Matthew Di Leo.

Evolution Karting is the Midwest based importer for GP Chassis and is looking to build their presence with strong support from the GP factory in the shifter categories as well as the non-shifter classes as well. Plans are to compete in the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup series beginning in April at the South Bend round as well as the SKUSA Pro Tour Series.

Anyone interested in information on the GP chassis for shifter, TAG, Yamaha or cadet classes should contact Kurt Mathewson at kurt@evolution-karting.com or visit http://www.evolution-karting.com

Florida Winter Tour Orlando Report

Canadian GP Racing Karts driver Zack Meyer kicked off his 2011 karting season with a dominating performance at the opening round of the 2011 Florida Winter Tour at the Orlando Kart Center. Meyer, was quick from the opening session and ended the double race weekend with two poles, two pre-final wins and two final wins.

"It's a great way to start the year," Meyer said after Sunday's final. "We were fast right off the trailer. I have to thank Joe Launi for all his hard work on our GP Racing Karts program this winter at the Innisfil Indy - it really paid off this weekend."

On Saturday, Meyer dominated the KZ2 class, and repeated the performance again on Sunday with none other than Williams F1 driver Rubens Barrichello taking the runner up spot. "It was great to have a F1 driver - Barrichello - in the race today. I just had to keep pushing hard for the win."

Meyer will have to put the opening weekend behind him quickly as he now prepares to mount his GP Racing Kart Rotax DD2 to compete in the opening round of the FWT for the Rotax classes.

"This weekend will be as tough as the first round of the KZ2 class," Meyer said. "There are lots of good drivers in good equipment in DD2, but I am confident in my GP Racing Kart and Joe Launi to help me get to the front this weekend."

http://www.ekartingnews.ca/