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| October 29, 2007 News |
| Stefan Rzadzinski Shares His Experiences from Italy and the US |
Western Junior karter Stefan Rzadzinski has had a busy couple of weeks as fresh from returning from the Rok Cup International Final in Lonato, Italy, he was off to Las Vegas to race the Snap-on Stars of Karting JICA final. He won the award at the final round of the Rok Cup Western Canada, and collected the prize a week ago. Here are Stefan’s notes from the two major events, the first two races he ever contested outside of Western Canada.
I was on a busy schedule throughout the past weeks with little rest at all. We arrived in Italy on October 7th, and without an engine as airport security would not let it pass. Within a day and with help from Genesis/CRG, the team had two engines lined up and we were assured that we would be racing in the Rok Cup. By the time Thursday came, the kart was ready and my first Italian karting experience came in a wild 52-kart motor break-in session. The day also included a welcoming and a track review by Marco Ardigo, the 2007 World Champion! On Friday the first official practice session began and I was learning a very different driving style that would be necessary to be competitive throughout the event. In the four sessions on track, I learned many things in a short period, as ultimately there was no other option.
Saturday brought a whole different dimension to the weekend as finally there was racing. After Qualifying 10th in my group and 17th overall, I was to start the first heat in 12th position. However, trouble starting the engine off the grid let the field go by and I was unable to retake my position in the grid and started in the last row, 34th overall. I managed to fight through the field and finish in 17th position, but the early problem was a disappointment which hurt throughout the entire weekend. In the second heat I started and finished in 12th, which gave me enough points to automatically make the final and give me a prefinal grid position of 21st.
Sunday was the big day and in the prefinal I had high hopes. This was not to be, however, as the carburetor vent on my kart was open and spilling fuel onto the right rear tire, causing the kart to be very unstable throughout the twisty corners of Lonato's South Garda circuit. This slight problem led to a half spin coming into ‘Box Corner 6', a tight hairpin after a fast section of the track. This half spin caused me to lose all momentum and put me two karts from the rear of the 34 kart grid. In the remaining laps I was on doing damage control and ended up coming back to where I started, in 21st position. This would be my starting position for the Rok International Final.
The Final race was a new thing altogether as the Junior drivers lined up on the grid after the country parade during the lunch hour. I had a good start, gaining positions in the first two corners, but a corner three wreck dashed my hopes of keeping with a quick pack. I avoided it around the outside, but left the racing surface to navigate through the carnage. This again dropped me two karts from the last position running, 31st position. In the remaining 15 laps I managed to put on a strong performance and climb through the field up to 17th position. This was a successful run despite the unavoidable cost of positions for keeping the kart on the track. In the end, I came out with invaluable experience and knowledge of the different driving in Europe. I look forward to next year’s Rok Cup Championship and hopefully racing in Italy again.
Just one weekend after my first international experience at the Rok International Final came another new experience, a first time run in the Stars of Karting series at the National Final in Las Vegas with a debut in the JICA class. By Friday I was out on track but unfortunately, due to clutch issues, I missed the first two sessions of practice and had to use session three to break in. For sessions four and five I was able to get up to speed, with tuning of the engine a big part of the learning curve on the day.
Saturday brought forth a new challenge in qualifying as I incurred a Finals penalty and was bumped down to 29th. Racers who do not compete in three Stars events during the regular schedule all get the same penalty at Finals and go backward. If that weren’t bad enough, a flu bug hit me hard on Saturday, but there was no way I was going to miss my first chance to race with the Stars. Though sleep was a major priority throughout the day, I was looking to progress as much as possible in Heats one and two while also gaining experience with the JICA engine. In Heat 1, I from 29th to 22nd position, and in Heat 2 two I managed to fight to 20th position, though I don’t remember much of it with all the sleep!
Sunday was a new day and I was feeling slightly better for racing. In Heat three I got off to a good start and moved up through the field, only to become involved in a battle which put me into the barriers on the front straightaway. This misfortune hurt my qualifying totals, and I would start 27th for a pair of main events. In Final One, I was involved in another tangle which ended with my spinning while stuck on a pylon. This dropped me last, and eventually mechanical problems led to retirement. Final Two was a much better race and I managed to climb through the field to 16th at the checkered flag. It was a good way to end the weekend and a fantastic end to a world wide racing trip.
I would like to thank CSP Engineering Ltd., Grase Industries, Stratotech Park/Wild Rose Karters Association, and Genesis Racing for their support throughout my pair of weekends. Please visit my new web site http://www.rzadracing.com to see many more photos and for all the latest news on the upcoming 2008 season. |
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