Two Podium Finishes Highlight FDM's Results at ROK the RIO
The 2020 running of Rok Cup USA’s Rok the Rio went off without a hitch in Las Vegas, NV November 4-8. FDM fielded 10 drivers in the event with goals of race wins and podium finishes. The weekend was highlighted by two 2nd place podium results, with great speed and heat results across the board. Our team worked hard, constantly digging for more speed throughout the week, and eventually were able to capitalize on two podium results.
100cc Masters
Two drivers contested the 100cc Master division for FDM, Adam Kasick and Travis Lowe. With both drivers aboard the potent COMPKART Covert 3.0 chassis, our pace early looked strong. Lowe started the week with a 7th place effort in qualifying. Unfortunately, a myriad of engine issues had Lowe struggling to progress forward in the field. After taking multiple penalties in the heats to start last for an engine change, T-Lowe worked his way to a respectable 7th place position at the end of the final. Adam Kasick was a late entrant to the event, arriving on Thursday and missing the official practice day. After qualifying 9th, Kasick went to work on moving up. Consistent progression through the heats, and a great final saw Adam claim second place at the end of the weekend to stand on the podium, and go home with a $1,000 payday.
Masters ROK
Martin Pierce started the weekend off on a tear in Masters ROK, securing the pole position. Pierce closed out the heats with 1 victory, and secured a front row starting position for the final. Off the start, Martin slotted into second position and went to work chasing down the leader. After a poorly timed pass from the driver in third, the gap to the leader opened up. Resuming second place, Martin then went to work on the race leader, but ran out of time after reducing the gap from over two seconds to just 1.3 by the end of the race. Martin surely will be back to contest again next year and hunt for that top step of box.
100cc Senior
Four drivers contested the 100cc Senior category for FDM. Everest Fedler was the team’s top qualifier in the tightly contested field, locking down 7th. Everest had strong showings in the first two heats before crashing out of the third heat. This incident left Everest fighting from the tail end of the field in the final, where he retired early. After showing top 5 and top 3 speed all weekend, these results were not indicative of the pace. Jackson Dunn qualified 29th, and kept working forward through the heats. A brilliant result came in the 4th heat race, when the rain came down in Las Vegas. Jackson is an absolute bullet in the rain, and finished 4th in the heat. Unfortunately, just like his teammate, Jackson was forced to retire in the final.
J3 Competition’s Nathan Martin showed great pace all weekend. After qualifying 33rd, Martin knew he needed to advance in the heat races. Nathan moved up well throughout the first two heats before incidents sidelined him in the second two. Due to the two DNFs Nathan started the final all the way back in 41st position. Showing the true pace he had all weekend, Nathan advanced 19 positions in the final to finish 22nd. Baden Dunn showed some good pace throughout practice and qualifying, only to be involved in an incident in the first heat. The incident left Baden with a broken wrist, and did not allow him to compete in the rest of the event. Look for Baden to come back stronger than ever in 2021.
Mini ROK
FDM’s sole Mini Rok entrant was Gavin Whitt. Gavin competed in his first national level event and showed up ready to put the work in. After qualifying 24th, Gavin dug deep through the heats and improved upon his pace and racecraft alike. Gavin finished the final in the upper half of the field in 14th. Look for this young driver to continue to improve and challenge at the front of the grid in 2021.
Micro ROK
Rhys Bowman also competed in his first national event, with him seeing action in the Micro Rok category. Qualifying in 22nd, Rhys went to work in the heat races. Keeping it clean off the starts, and finding more pace every race, Rhys went on to finish the 4 heats in 25th, 17th, 13th, and 10th, which truly highlights the progression he made during the race week. Bowman started 16th in the final, and moved up a couple spots to grab 14th position.
Junior 100cc
A tough weekend unfolded for Phoenix’s Cooper O’Clair after initial pace started out strong. Cooper qualified in the top 15 and looked to move up throughout the heat races. Progressing nicely in heat 1 finishing 12th, and hanging on to 16th in heat 2, Saturday would see the weekend start to slip away for O’Claire. A crash in heat 3, and a rain race on slick tires in heat 4, would leave Cooper with a 20th place starting position for the final. Unfortunately Cooper could not make it past a turn 2 altercation on the start of the main, and was forced to eventually retire.
From the 2020 ROK the RIO, FDM would like to thank our chassis supplier COMPKART for the consistent and fast material, as well as the superb trackside support. Our engine suppliers Tru Tech Racing Engines, P1 Engines, and Woltjer Racing Engines for the power needed to compete up front. Thanks as well to our team mechanics, Dante Yu our data engineer and driving coach, our drivers, families, and supporters. FDM relies on a collective of professionals week in and week out to achieve high level results.
Forward Direction Motorsports hosts a retail store, online store, service department, and racing team out of our facility in Centennial, CO. We are a COMPKART authorized reseller, ROTAX authorized service center, and dealer for many karting products. For more information on FDM, our winning race program, our services and products, please visit www.fdmkarting.com or contact us at info@fdmkarting.com or 720-323-3650.