03/30/2007

Clark Sanchez-Figueras gave a display of a virtuoso performance.

The last round of the Florida Winter Tour Rotax Senior Championship saw young Clark Sanchez-Figueras give a display of a virtuoso performance.  For the first time this year, the California college student was able to practice on the Thursday before the event and quickly established himself as a top five candidate.  His Kart Mini Smart chassis handled beautifully throughout practice and both race days.  Clark and his mechanic Ronnie Miron, had only minor set up changes to perform in order to see Clark be amongst the fastest in the class.  Clark praised the kart’s free handling and solid construction.

On Saturday’s qualifying session a stuck brake pad ruined Clark’s chance for a front-row position and left him languishing in 12th.  Brake issue repaired, Clark put in another stirring performance in the pre main, moving up to 7th position by the checker.  In the main event, Clark fought his way past some very “wide” karts to quickly catch the second place finisher (Wes Phillips) at the rate of one to two tenths a lap.  He caught him on the last lap, running out of time to make a pass stick.  Clark finished in third place, his first podium of the season.  In the course of the main event, Clark’s LeGree Racing KartMini Smart chassis set second fastest lap of the race.  The team’s satisfaction was demonstrated on the podium with a typically Brazilian festive mood.

Sunday’s event brought a similar set of circumstance.  Qualifying saw the KartMini-Figueras combination qualify fourth on the grid.  The pre main saw Clark drop back to 12th position, from which he fought his way back up to 7th by the end.  A quick summation from Clark at the weigh in line said it all; “the brake is dragging again”.  Quick work by his mechanic Ron Miron resolved the brake issue for the main event.  This time however, the fight for the top position became a crash fest and frantic shuffling during the first two laps saw Clark pushed back a number of positions.  He nevertheless continued his aggressive attack on the field and began to dispatch of one driver per lap at times.  Once clear of slower traffic, Clark began to close on the fourth and fifth place karts at a rate of two to three tenths a lap.  His charge fell short and he finished the main in sixth place.  This brought up his point tally for the season and the KartMini-LeGree Racing-Figueras combination finished fifth in the overall championship.