Aluminos, Inc.

It was a busy two weeks for the Team Aluminos squad as they contested two events roughly 500 miles apart on two different types of courses. Following a strong showing at the second round of the ProKart Challenge North event in Sonoma, California, the team loaded up to head down San Diego for the fourth event of the ’09 ProKart Challenge South program. A 1-mile temporary circuit situated outside the Qualcomm Stadium would be the site for the April 25 event with eight drivers sporting the Team Aluminos colors. Second year S3 driver Brad Dunford earned his first podium trip of the season with his third place run, while Jeff Smith earned his third straight runner-up finish in the S4 category.

Under the watchful eyes of the Aluminos staff over the last two years, Dunford has continued to make strides in his driving, race craft and understanding about chassis tuning. The Cypress, California driver qualified fifth in the lining up behind his fellow championship contenders. Dunford would gain one spot in the opening heat and two more following a great start for the final heat to line up second for the feature. After another great start to begin the 20-lap feature, Dunford engaged in a race long battle for the podium that resulted in a third place finish, gaining some valuable championship points.

It was another successful weekend for the Team Aluminos Arrive and Drive program at the second round of the SKUSA ProKart Challenge North series, contested at the Jim Russell International Karting Center on the grounds of the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Recent testing by the Aluminos staff proved to be a key factor in the strong performances by the drivers and crew on April 18. Driver coach/tuner Tom Dyer helped the drivers adapt around the 3/4-mile circuit quickly, as he has recorded many laps around the course. Engine specialist George Tavares keeps the packages running strong all weekend, while top shifter kart driver Fritz Leesmann provided superb help throughout the weekend. GP Kart importer AJ Noud of Rocky Mountain Kart Works was also on hand to offer support to the Aluminos squad.

Returning to the driver’s seat in his 2009 debut with a victory last month, Team Aluminos manager Rob Soares was back behind the wheel in Sonoma. The defending PKC North TaG Masters champion skipped round one to focus his efforts on the Arrive and Drive program. Soares was back behind the wheel with the Aluminos staffed and equipped to handle round two. Aboard his Aluminos GP Kart machine, Soares repeated the same feat he did during the Grange weekend by sweeping each session. In qualifying, his fast lap was roughly half a second quicker than his closet competitor. The pace laps of the heat races were as close as anyone got to Soares in the heat races, as he took the wins by one-second and six seconds. The feature was all Soares as he piloted his Aluminos entry to a 17-second victory.

The Team Aluminos Arrive and Drive program is considered to be in good hands judging by the performance of the drivers under the tent each weekend, along with the recent performance of team manager Rob Soares. The third round of the ProKart Challenge South program commenced at the Grange Motor Circuit on March 28 with Soares producing what he preaches with a dominant performance in the TaG Masters category. Following his lead, three Aluminos drivers scored a top-five finish - two of which earned trips to the podium.

The tone of the weekend began in qualifying with Soares brushing off the rust from not racing since last season’s PKC North finale in September, posting a scorching lap to earn the top qualifier honors by over seven-tenths. He continued the fast pace into the opening heat race as he went flag-to-flag for the win by a margin of six-seconds. The second heat race was a copy of the first except Soares stretched out to nearly a 10-second advantage. The 20-lap feature saw no challenges for the Aluminos leader as he went on to take his first feature win of the season by 14-seconds.

The S4 contingent for Team Aluminos has had a solid start to the 2009 PKC South season with a driver representing the team on the podium at the two opening rounds. The third event of the year saw two making a trip to the post-race ceremonies with Jeff Smith and Phil Dunford placing second and third. Dunford showed the way in qualifying for the team as he placed fourth in the order, just ahead of Smith with Aluminos driver and round one winner Peter Workum in seventh.