Aluminos, Inc.

The Aluminos/PSL Karting operation returned trackside on August 19 to compete in the sixth round of the Red Line Oil Karting Championship. The event was held at the home track of the professional race team - Simraceway at the Raceway in Sonoma, located in Northern California. A total of five drivers contested the event with the support and assistance of the experienced Aluminos/PSL Karting staff. Owner and part-time driver Rob Soares secured his second straight win in the Rotax Masters category while Carlos Calderon and Max Ellgen added podium finishes on the weekend.

Soares began the event by posting the fast lap in qualifying, a 52.267-second lap. He went on to win the opening eight-lap heat race by a comfortable margin, clocking in with the fast lap in the process. The second heat saw Soares lead the opening circuits until an electrical issue with the engine slowed his pace, dropping him down to eighth place. Solving the issue during the break, Rob was back to full speed in the main event. Quick at the start, he navigated his Aluminos-prepared GP chassis to the point and never looked back. When the checkered flag waved, Soares extended out to a two-second advantage for his second victory of the year in the series. IN the same class was a beginner racer, Billy Scott, competing in his first ever race. Under the watchful eyes of the Aluminos staff and working with Soares on set-up tips for the conditions aboard his Aluminos-prepared CRG chassis, Scott drove to 11th place finish with consistent lap times throughout the day.

The professional Aluminos/PSL Karting race team took on a packed paddock at the Superkarts! USA SummerNationals in Tooele, Utah. The Miller Motorsports Park was the site of the third and fourth rounds of the SKUSA Pro Tour on July 20-22, where the operation fielded eight drivers in four categories. Kiwi driver Daniel Bray returned to the states to record a fifth place finish in the headline S1 category with TaG Master driver Larry Fraser matching the same result.

Bray, the defending series champion, qualified third to begin Saturday’s action. He finished third in the opening heat race but struggled with too much grip in the second, dropping to fifth and holding the position through the main event. The following day was another battle trying to free up the GP chassis. Qualifying third once again, Bray suffered a two position penalty for a parc-ferme infraction. Despite his best effort, the rest of the day did not pan out as expected, placing eighth in the main event. Bray commented on the weekend, "We were OK in qualifying because we could do a good time for a couple of laps before the kart started gripping up. But it was weird. We tried everything to dial the grip out but nothing, and I mean nothing, we tried - and which would have worked at any other track - seemed to work there."

The Aluminos/PSL Karting race team recorded another successful weekend trackside, this time taking part in round four of the Red Line Oil Karting Championship at the Simraceway International Karting Center in Sonoma, California. The 3/4-mile circuit is the home track for the Aluminos/PSL Karting squad and fielded eight drivers in four divisions. Driver coach Fritz Leesmann and Aluminos/PSL Karting owner Rob Soares raised the trophy in the P1 position in their respective categories while Micro Max drivers Max Ellgen and Ethan Tavares each stood on the podium.

Four Aluminos/PSL Karting drivers contested the Pro Stock Honda category, led by driver coach/team driver Fritz Leesmann. The current Superkarts! USA Pro Tour S1 Pro Stock Moto championship leader made his second straight series start. His first event was a complete sweep on Memorial Day weekend. This time around, Leesmann was challenged but came away with the feature win and near-maximum points. Leesmann posted a 48.340-second lap in qualifying to secure the pole position by over four-tenths. After a near three-second win in heat one, Leesmann missed the holeshot heat two, finishing a close second. Running in the second position early on in the feature, Leesmann stepped up the pace in the second half of the race, taking over the lead and driving away to a two-second victory. The Diede brothers - Troy and Cody - have been working with Leesmann for 2012, competing in the S2 Semi-Pro division on the Pro Tour. The work seems to be paying off as they both have been running more consistent and have improved their race pace. They ran to finishes of fifth and sixth against a number of S1 drivers, putting in strong performances on the day. Colorado driver Cory Milne was battling for a top-five finish all day but issues at the start of the main event sidelined the rookie driver.