02/12/2007
Clark Sanchez-Figueras
Once the dust had settled on a cold and blustery Saturday race day,
heads were turning. Brazil’s Kart Mini had teamed with a newly-inspired
driver and they had made their presence felt at the first event of the
2007 Gatorz Karting Cup Rotax Championship held at the Moran Raceway
facility in Beaumont, California. Making a comeback appearance after an
almost three-year-long absence from the karting world was Clark
Sanchez-Figueras, the 2003 Stars of Tomorrow Rotax National Champion.
College and work demands had kept the 20 year old away from a steady
presence in the karting arena. He has returned in 2007 to mount a
serious challenge on both coasts. He will race in the 2007 Florida
Winter Tour Championship as well as the Gatorz Karting Cup in sunny
California, racing for Kart Mini, a Brazilian kart manufacturer with a
great pedigree of past champions.
The first Gatorz event was held in a cold and windy day in Januray. With
the technical help of Kart Mini, and of Ricardo Araujo’s Le Gree Racing
Team, Clark posted lap times that were amongst the top three in Friday
and Saturday’s practice session at Moran Raceway. Qualifying however
brought great disappointment as the clutch broke after approximately one
lap. This meant Clark would start 26^th out of 31 karts in the pre main.
What followed was the stuff of legend, as Clark carved through the
field, snaking his way up to ninth position by the checkered. The final
heat began with a heated brawl into the first corner. Once the pack
broke out of turn one, Clark emerged in sixth place and set off after
the leaders. The two karts in front held up his charge just long enough
for the three leading karts to get away to about a two second lead. By
mid distance Clark had disposed of fifth and fourth place and began to
close the gap. The gap closed to within .8 seconds but slower traffic
began to interfere and the gap widened once again. Clark finished in
fourth position, one shy of a podium finish. This result has just
stamped the name of Kart Mini on the American karting scene.
This was a great showing for the Kart Mini “Smart” chassis and for
Clark. Clark's seat time has been almost nothing for the past three
years. Furthermore, the Smart chassis is brand new to the states and a
real eye-opener for the competition. Clark found this chassis to be very
easy to tune and a pleasure to drive. He credits technical assistance
from both Ricardo Araujo and Oswaldo Negri (Kart Mini’s importer) for
his success. He especially liked the Smart’s low steering effort and
wonderful turn-in precision. Conflicting schedules during the first part
of the season means the Florida Winter Tour will take precedence over
the Gatorz Karting Cup Championship. He will return to the Gatorz
Karting Cup in April. It’s too early to say where his future is headed.
But the thought of a professional auto racing career is still burning
within this young man. |
