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2005-2006 News Archives
JUNE 2-4 2006
CANADIAN ROK CUP ROUND
TWO REPORT
The second round of the
Canadian Rok Cup took place
in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Team Kacic had four
representatives attend this
race weekend: Dean
Clarke, Chris Cunning, Kris
Hoffbek, and Danny Kacic.
Steve Hammond also came to
crew for the team.
The weekend didn't have the
greatest start...Clarke
suffered non-repairable
engine damage during
Friday's practice sessions
which caused him to miss all
of Saturday's practice as
well, and the high
Saskatchewan winds destroyed
the pit tent overnight
Friday night.
Thankfully Team Genesis was
able to lend Team Kacic a
spare pit tent for the
remainder of the weekend.
Saturday the team began
coming to grips with the
extremely bumpy track.
Throughout the day's
sessions, eleven of
the twenty-four Rok drivers
beat the standing lap record
of 39.6 seconds.
The day's practice was
bittersweet for Kacic who
finished the day holding the
new track record of 38.7
seconds, but was suffering
from extreme pains in his
chest and back area.
The pain was so severe Kacic
was forced to withdraw from
Sunday's race and he later
found out he had broken a
rib and suffered cartiledge
and muscle damage around the
right side of his ribcage.
Fortunately, for Sunday's
events Clarke got a new
motor and was able to
compete in qualifying, heat
races, and the final.
Clarke did a great job of
qualifying just outside the
top ten and was running in
seventh position when he was
hit from behind and spun.
Hoffbek, who qualified just
behind Clarke, had a great
race and drove his way to a
ninth place finish.
Cunning had a difficult time
conquering the extreme bumps
on the track and finished
the final in twenty first
position.
Special thanks for this
weekend go to Steve Hammond
for his support in the pits,
and also to Chris Cunning
and Dean Clarke for driving
through the nights Thursday
and Sunday to transport the
team trailer and
equipment...the weekend
would not have been possible
without their efforts!
MAY 27-28 2006
SIKA RACE FIVE AND SIX
REPORT
This weekend, Team Kacic
Motorsports had newcomer
Kris Hoffbek pitting under
our tent, racing his Rok
powered kart in the senior
TAG class along with Dean
Clarke, Chris Cunning, and
Court Sauder. Clarke
dominated the class on
Saturday, taking a fairly
easy victory from the pole
in the final. Newcomer
Hoffbek was Clarke's closest
competitor, finishing second
place. Cunning had a
great race, driving his way
to fourth position, while
Sauder rounded out the top
five for race five.
Sunday saw much of the same,
with Clarke taking both
prefinal wins and walking
away with an easy victory in
the final, once again.
The rest of the Team Kacic
drivers; Cunning, Hoffbek,
and Sauder, finished fourth,
fifth, and eighth
respectively.
MAY 20-21 2006
BCKCA REGIONAL RACE
ONE REPORT FROM QUESNEL
Team Kacic
Motorsports had five drivers
attend the first regional
race of the season.
Our sole Junior Rok driver
Kyle Georgeson qualified a
solid 6th out of a field of
13. In Heat one,
Georgeson had a spin and
ended up having to start the
final from the back.
It made for an exciting race
as he carved his way through
the field.
Unfortunately the race had
to be ended prematurely due
to a red flag crash and
Georgeson was in 8th
position at the time so that
is where he finished.
Representing the Team in the
Rok class were Dean Clarke,
Chris Cunning, Danny Kacic,
and newcomer Kris Hoffbeck.
Hoffbeck, Clarke, and
Cunning qualified 7th, 11th,
and 12th, while Kacic took
the pole position. In
Heat One, Clarke had a very
impressive run from 11th to
finish in 5th position.
Hoffbeck gained one position
to finish 6th, while Kacic
dropped one position to
finish 2nd to Kevin Glover
(of Genesis Racing) and
Cunning dropped two
positions to finish 14th.
Sunday's Rok Final saw Kacic
drop out of the race due to
a clutch failure.
Clarke bettered his position
once again to finish 4th
overall, Hoffbeck fought
hard to finish in 5th place,
while Cunning worked his way
back up to 12th position.
These results give Clarke
and Hoffbeck impressive 4th
and 5th place standings in
the overall Regional Points.
Kacic was planning to also
compete in the ICC Shifter
class but decided not to
participate because the
classes were racing
back-to-back and didn't
allow time for proper
preparation. Kacic
did, however, decide to run
Sunday's ICC Shifter Final
after breaking down in the
Rok Final. He had a
great race in his
CRS-powered CRG Shifter,
starting at the back of the
field and going on to win.
Unfortunately, because Kacic
had not participated in the
prefinal, he did not get his
tires stamped and was
therefore disqualified from
the final.
Team Kacic Motorsports would
like to give a special THANK
YOU to Stella Georgeson for
keeping us fed and hydrated
and also to Ken Georgeson
for his constant support in
the pits...YOU GUYS ROK!!!
DANNY KACIC TAKING THE
WIN IN ICC SHIFTER
MAY 6-7 2006
COASTAL RACE THREE &
FOUR REPORT
AND CANADIAN ROK CUP
ROUND ONE REPORT
Six drivers for Team Kacic
Motorsports attended the
race weekend in Chilliwack
BC. Representing the
Team in both the Coastal
Spec 125 series, and the
first Western Canadian Rok
cup event of 2006 were Dean
Clarke, Chris Cunning, Danny
Kacic, and Colin Rhodes.
Kyle Georgeson raced in the
Junior Rok class and Davor
Kacic raced in the shifter
class.
The weekend's weather
wreaked havoc on the entire
event. Most drivers
switched from full rain
setup to full dry setup
numerous times throughout
the weekend due to the
on-again-off-again showers
and sunshine!
Saturday's spec-125
qualifying took place in the
sun with a drying track.
The field was a mix of rain
tires and slicks.
Clarke, Cunning, and Rhodes
all went out on rain tires
and qualified 9th, 10th, and
4th respectively, out of a
24-kart field. Kacic
chose to run dry tires and
qualified 3rd on the grid.
The prefinal was hot and
sunny, which had Kacic
taking the win, Clarke
finishing 13th, Rhodes
dropping to 14th, and
Cunning finishing 21st.
Saturday's final race saw a
good race with Kacic
battling with First Kart
driver Devon Sandeen, and
Genesis driver Kevin Glover
for the lead. Kacic
finished the race in 3rd,
with Rhodes10th, Cunning
17th, and Clarke 19th, due
to a DNF. In Rok
Junior, Georgeson suffered a
crash that sidelined his
kart for the remainder of
the weekend. Davor
Kacic performed at his usual
pace in the shifter class,
dominating his prefinals and
winning the final in his
Kacic Motorsports CRG/CRS on
both Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday morning's spec-125
qualifying session took
place in the pouring rain.
Kacic posted 3rd fastest
time, Rhodes qualified 10th,
Clarke and Cunning were 17th
and 19th respectively out of
the 24 kart field.
Leading up to the prefinal,
the weather was changing
back and forth by the
minute. With moments
to go, the sun came out hot
and strong and it looked as
though the track was going
to dry quickly.
Kacic was the only driver in
the field to make the gamble
and throw his slicks on,
hoping the track would be
dry enough after the first
few laps. It quickly
became obvious that he had
made the wrong choice;
despite the hot sun, the
track just would not dry.
Kacic struggled with the wet
conditions for half of the
race and eventually pulled
off because he felt he was
too far off the pace to
safely keep up with the
field. This heat set
the starting grid for
Sunday's Rok Cup final;
Rhodes would start 12th,
Clarke 13th, Cunning 17th,
and Kacic 22nd. The
Canadian Rok Cup round one
final was run under dry
conditions. Kacic made
a charge from 22nd to finish
in 5th place. Rhodes
and Clarke had a great
battle throughout the race
with Clarke eventually
edging out Rhodes for 8th
position. Cunning
completed the race in 16th
position. Points
collected from this final
will be combined with points
from rounds two and three
(taking place in Regina,
Saskatchewan and Edmonton,
Alberta later this season)
to determine the 2006
Canadian Rok Cup Champion,
and the opportunity to
represent Canada at the 2006
World Rok Cup Championship
in Italy.
Team Kacic Motorsports would
like to give a very special
thanks to Ken Georgeson for
all his hard work crewing
for the team and for
countless wet/dry tire and
chassis changes throughout
the weekend!!
APRIL 29-30 2006
SIKA RACE THREE& FOUR
REPORT
On Saturday the team had a
great day with Colin Rhodes,
Dean Clarke and Chris
Cunning all doing well in
the Rok class. Clarke
won the prefinal, and the
team was very optimistic
that more than one Kacic
Motorsports driver had a
chance to be on the podium
for the final.
Unfortunately, a heavy
rainstorm struck during the
final causing most drivers
to spin a number of times.
Clarke, Rhodes, and Cunning
ended up sixth, seventh, and
eighth.
Sunday saw clear sunny skies
and this time Rhodes won the
prefinal and the final was a
very exciting race with a
three-way battle for the
lead between Rhodes, Clarke,
and veteran driver Brennan
Scott. As the three
approached lap traffic,
Clarke was caught up and
spun. Despite running
the fastest laps of the
race, he was only able to
work his way back up to
third position.
Meanwhile Rhodes put the
pressure on Scott for the
lead and made a last lap
pass to take the win!
APRIL 22-23 2006
COASTAL RACE TWO
REPORT
Most of Team Kacic
Motorsports' Driver Lineup
made the trip to Chilliwack
for the second race of the
Coastal Series. In
Shifter, the team was
represented by Davor Kacic
and Dave Saruk. In
Junior Rok was Kyle
Georgeson. In the Rok
Cup were Dean Clarke, Kyle
Greer, Danny Kacic, Colin
Rhodes, and Cort Sauder.
Ken Georgeson was crewing
for his son Kyle, and
newcomer Kevin Moyer was
learning the ropes as a
crewmember for the rest of
the team.
Shifter had some great
racing in the prefinals that
lead to Kacic and Saruk
starting 2nd and 4th for the
final. Saruk had a
great start, as usual,
launching his CRG up into
2nd position, but eventually
faded back to finish 4th.
Kacic had a hard time with
his starts all weekend and
the final was no
exception...he dropped into
6th before turn one due to a
poor start. However,
this made for an exciting
race for the spectators as
he worked his way back up
through the field to
eventually take the win!
Georgeson had a great
qualifying session, landing
him in 4th position on the
grid for the Junior Rok
prefinal. Due to some
handling difficulties he was
unable to break into the top
three for the prefinal or
final, but did a great job
maintaining his 4th position
despite not being satisfied
with his setup.
The Rok Cup class had a
large field of over 20
drivers this weekend, which
made for exciting racing.
For the final, Kacic started
in 3rd position, with Greer,
Rhodes, Clarke, and Sauder
starting 8th, 9th, 10th, and
15th, respectively.
The race was extremely
exciting for the spectators,
with Kacic battling the
Genesis Racing teammates
Kevin Buchanen, Kevin
Glover, and Steve Rickman
for the lead; it was a
very close race with several
lead changes amongst the
four. Kacic was more
than pleased with such a
close battle and eventually
finished 2nd to Glover.
Greer and Rhodes had their
own exciting battle going on
for 8th position, with
Clarke following close
behind in 10th...Greer edged
out Rhodes to take the
position at the end of the
race. Unfortunately
Sauder had a DNF due to a
brake failure at the end of
the straight-away, resulting
in a fairly serious crash
involving another driver.
Thankfully, both drivers
walked away from the
accident unscathed...a
radiator and nasa panel
weren't quite so lucky!
APRIL 8-9 2006
SIKA RACE ONE AND TWO
REPORT
SIKA held a double-header
weekend in Vernon BC under
sunny skies to kick off
their season. In
attendance for Team Kacic
Motorsports at Race One on
Saturday were Dean Clarke
(#42), Colin Rhodes (#8),
Cort Sauder (#00), and Danny
Kacic (#5) racing in the Rok
Cup Class, and Kyle
Georgeson (#9) racing his
Rok in the Junior 3 Class.
Team members Steve Hammond
and Davor Kacic were on hand
to coach and crew for the
drivers, with a little help
from Davor's 3.5 year old
son Lucas! As the
newest members of the Kacic
Motorsports Team, Clarke,
Rhodes, and Sauder did a
great job representing in
the pre-finals and finished
up the day with 3rd, 4th,
and 6th (respectively) in
the Rok Cup Final.
Kacic took the win.
Georgeson's debut race with
a Rok in the Junior 3 class
was a huge success as he
swept both pre-finals and
won the final as well.
For Race Two on Sunday, the
driver lineup included
returning team-mate Kyle
Greer (#3) making his first
start of the season,
alongside Rhodes and Sauder.
Clarke was unable to attend
Sunday's events and Danny
Kacic spent the day coaching
and crewing for the team.
Georgeson once again
represented with his Rok
motor in the Junior 3 Class.
Sunday's Rok Cup pre-final
was exciting to watch, with
Greer and Rhodes battling
for the lead, Greer was able
to hold off Rhodes for the
win. In the final,
Greer once again took the
win, with Rhodes finishing
2nd, and Sauder a very
respectable 5th.
Georgeson took the win in
Sunday's Junior 3 final,
giving him a double header
sweep for the weekend.
Needless to say, Team Kacic
Motorsports is very pleased
with the weekend's results
and with this season's
driver representatives.
APRIL 1-2 2006
COASTAL RACE ONE
REPORT FROM CHILLIWACK
Team Kacic Motorsports
kicked off the 2006 season
by attending Race One of the
Coastal series in Chilliwack
BC. Representing Kacic
Motorsports in the Rok Cup
class were Dean Clarke
(#42), Colin Rhodes (#8),
and Danny Kacic (#5).
Racing in the Shifter class
was Dave Saruk (#66).
Saturday's practice sessions
were all in the rain which
did not help with the team's
race settings because come
race day (Sunday),
temperatures rose
drastically and the sun came
out! The team was
fairly pleased with Sunday
morning's qualifying
results, with Saruk
qualifying third in the
Shifter class, and Kacic,
Rhodes, and Clarke
qualifying second, eighth,
and tenth respectively in
the Rok Cup class.
Saruk had a great weekend as
Team Kacic Motorsports' only
representative in the
Shifter class for this race.
He finished third in the
pre-final and had a great
start in the final and was
able give the spectators a
good show while holding off
Augie Pietramala for Second
position on the Shifter
Podium. The win went
to veteran driver Steen
Carstensen.
The Rok Cup class was a
little frustrating for the
three Kacic Motorsports
drivers due to a poor choice
in tire manufacturer.
The team experimented with
tires this weekend to try to
get an edge on the
competition, but they soon
found out that the new tires
were slower than their usual
brand of choice.
Nevertheless, they were
fairly satisfied with the
weekend's results and took
this as a learning
experience.
In the pre-final, Kacic had
a hard time getting the
tires up to temperature and
dropped from second to fifth
in the first few laps.
As the race went on he
slowly regained his
positions to finish were he
started, in second position,
with the win going to Kevin
Buchanen of Team Genesis.
Rhodes had a minor off-track
excursion but was able to
salvage an eleventh place
finish. Clarke was
doing well in the first few
laps but was unfortunately
taken out of the competition
by lap traffic about half
way through the race.
The Rok Cup final race saw
much of the same as the
pre-final. Rhodes
gained one position to
finish tenth, and Clarke had
another DNF, this time due
to losing a chain.
Kacic again struggled with
getting his tires up to
temperature, which saw him
drop back in the first part
of the race and have to try
to work his way back to the
front. In the process
of trying to pass Devon
Sandeen for second position,
the two drivers touched
wheels sending Kacic off the
track. He was able to
rejoin the race but was well
down in the field and could
only salvage a sixth place
finish. The final
results were not exactly
what Team Kacic Motorsports
was hoping for but they were
able to learn alot from this
weekend, which was the main
goal.
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February 4th, 2006 |
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The
Rok Cup is a world wide karting series.
Championships are held in each
participating country, with the winner
of each championship receiving a
sponsored trip to the Rok Cup World
Final. In 2005, 22 countries were
represented at the Rok Cup World Final
in Lonato, Italy. In order for a driver
to qualify for the Canadian Rok Cup
Championship (a three race shootout
series) he or she must participate in a
certain number of local races in his or
her specific region. In Western Canada,
there are currently four regions:
Regina, SK area, Edmonton, AB area,
Chilliwack, BC area, and Okanagan, BC
area.
The
Okanagan Region Rok Cup series will run
in conjunction with the local Southern
Interior Karting Association (SIKA) club
races, held in Vernon, BC. The current
2006 SIKA Rok Cup schedule includes a
total of 14 races, over 7 double-header
weekends. The dates for these weekends
are as follows;
April
8, 9 2006
April
29, 30 2006
May
27, 28 2006
June
17, 18 2006
August 26, 27 2006
September 16, 17 2006
September 30 , October 1 2006
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OCTOBER 28-30 2005
ROK CUP WORLD FINAL REPORT
FROM ITALY
"As
some of you already know, I
was blessed with the
opportunity to be a CRG
factory driver at the Rok
Cup World Finals in Lonato,
Italy. For those of
you who are interested, I
thought I'd do a writeup on
the weekend's events.
First I'd like to thank
those who made this amazing
opportunity possible:
CRG, Genesis Racing, Sparco,
Chevron, Canada Springs,
VEGA, Vortex Rok, and
Precision Auto Ltd.
I was away for eight days
and was accompanied by Paul
and Steve Rickman of Genesis
Racing, Jeff Shoji owner of
Sacred Souls clothing line,
(that manufacture CRG's
clothing), and Dave Warner
fellow Canadian driver who
was a wild card entry.
The
event completely exceeded
all my expectations!
Everything and everyone were
extremely professional, it
truly was a world class
event. Racing in
Europe is almost like a
different sport, it's taken
extremely seriously and it
was as if we were at an F1
event. No matter where
we went, the public
knew why we were there and
we were consistently
swarmed with media coverage
and racing fans. The
calibre of talent amongst
the competitors was
mind-blowing! For the
introductions, every
driver's name was followed
up by some sort of World or
National title. There
were twenty-one countries
represented by a total of
seventy-nine drivers (not
including the Junior class).
Within
the CRG Factory team, I was
accompanied by the Japanese
Champion, Hara Fumihito, the
Swiss Champion, Ken Allemann,
and Canadian
wildcard
entry David Warner. We
all had the privilage of
working with CRG Factory
Mechanics and CRG Race Team
Manager, (five time World
Champion,) Danilo Rossi.
The
race weekend started off
with an engine break-in
session on Friday morning.
There was a problem with the
choke and my motor did not
run properly, therefore I
could not break it in.
Next were two practice
sessions, which were
extremely important for
learning the track, setting
up the chassis, choosing the
proper gear ratio, and of
course tuning the motor.
During Practice
Session One I continued to
complete the motor break in
but, unfortunately, within
the first couple laps the
motor started acting
strangely and eventually
quit, causing me to miss the
session. Needless to
say, the CRG team and I were
starting to get a little
frustrated with the motor
mishaps because we were
quickly running out of track
time to set up the kart. The
Vortex Rok Factory
representatives inspected
the motor and told us it
should now be okay. In
the Second Practice Session,
we expected the engine
problems to be behind us.
The session went well and we
were finally able to
complete an entire session.
The lap times were not
extremely fast but I was not
too concerned with that
because it was still
an extremely valuable
session for learning the
track and getting
information on chassis
setup. We posted a
time of 56.6, which was
about a second off the pace
at that time.
For
Saturday morning warmup, the
team had made drastic
chassis changes which seemed
to be moving in the right
direction. We went
quite a bit faster, but now
that the chassis was getting
up to speed the motor
started developing another
issue. It seemed to be
really flat on the top and
bottom end and it just did
not sound right to me.
I could also tell that the
straight line speed was just
not up to par, it felt as if
the motor was drastically
down on horsepower.
Because I was now lapping
within five-tenths of the
leaders, the team assumed it
was a gearing problem and
did not look at the motor.
For the second session, the
gear change didn't seem to
make much of a difference
but it was tough to tell
because I unfortunately got
on the gas a little too hard
coming onto the
straightaway, before my
tires were up to
temperature, and hit the
wall, ending the session and
causing a fair amount of
damage to the chassis.
I was now starting to get
very frustrated with the way
things were going. We
had just flat out run out of
time, qualifying was upon
us, I knew the chassis was
not quite right, and it had
become obvious that
something was still not
right with the motor.
The CRG crew did an amazing
job replacing the parts
broken from hitting
the wall in time for me to
make the First Qualifying
Session, but did not have
time to get into detail with
the motor. In the
first few laps of
qualifying, the motor
started acting up and was
worse than ever. I
stayed out for the entire
session, mostly to learn the
track and hopefully get more
information for the team.
I can't explain how
heart-breaking it was to be
"limping" around the track
in my own qualifying
session. Needless to
say, I posted a very poor
time, even slower than the
previous sessions. The
CRG team pulled my motor off
and had the Vortex Rok
mechanics look at it but
they still could not find
anything wrong with it.
Saturday ended with
Qualifying Heat Race One.
I was seventeenth on the
grid, and of course the
motor let me down again.
I completed the race holding
my position but could do no
better. Later Saturday
evening, my mechanic,
Daniel, finally discovered
the
problem! The coil
on the motor was defective,
causing a lack of power in
the bottom end and not
allowing the motor to rev
above 13 200 RPM, basically
causing it to act as if I
only had half-throttle.
Because of the poor
performances during Friday
and Saturday's qualifying
session, the only chance I
had to make the Final was to
be in the Top Six finishers
of the Last Chance Race on
Sunday.
Sunday
morning was filled with
promise! We had one
practice/warmup session and
the crew and I were
extremely pleased with the
motor's performance. I
posted the ninth fastest
time out of the seventy-nine
drivers so I was really
excited about the last
qualifying session because
it was my last shot at
getting a good grid position
amongst the twenty-eight
drivers allowed to compete
in the Last Chance Race to
hopefully make the Final.
I am sad to report that on
the second pace lap, my
ridiculous bad luck struck
again and the motor quit:
I didn't even get a chance
to race. Later we
found out that one of the
floats in the carburator got
hung up, causing the carb to
overflow and stall the
motor. I was pretty
heart-broken that I didn't
even get the chance to
compete, but the entire
experience was so amazing
that given the same results
I'd do it again in a
heart-beat. I still
feel I was blessed to have
been a part of the CRG
Factory Team and to have
(almost) been able to take
part in a World Championship
Race. My team-mates,
Allemann and Fumihito, came
in First and Fourth,
respectively, so I was able
to take part in the Winner's
celebration anyways!
It was a great opportunity
to even be teamed up with
such amazing drivers and be
a part of the World's Best
Team!!! Dave
Warner was unfortunately
taken out in the Last Chance
Race but still had a great
weekend because he exceeded
all the goals he set for
himself."
   
   
   
SEPTEMBER 24-25 2005
CANADIAN ROK CUP
FINAL REPORT
Team-mates
Kyle Greer, Steve Hammond, and
Danny Kacic of Kacic Motorsports
made the trip down to Chilliwack
this past weekend that they had
been waiting for all season.
The Canadian National Rok Cup
Championship Final was held at
CartBC September 24-25th,
2005. The weekend definitely
had its ups and downs. Saturday
practice was extremely hectic,
with lots of engine and chassis
tuning throughout the sessions,
and all three drivers were
confident with their setups by
the end of the day and looking
forward to qualifying on Sunday
morning.
Sunday
morning warmup did not go as
planned; all three drivers
suffered unexplainable engine
problems. This resulted in
Greer seizing his motor and
Hammond and Kacic pulling into
the pits before any permanent
damage was done to their motors
as well. With the help of Team
Genesis, Greer’s motor was
frantically rebuilt and the
other two motors were pulled
apart and thoroughly inspected
in hopes of finding the reason
for their problems. Before a
conclusion was reached,
qualifying was upon the team and
they had no choice but to just
go out and hope for the best.
Greer did
not even get two laps of
qualifying in before his motor
seized a second time, ending his
weekend. Miraculously, Hammond
and Kacic’s motors survived
qualifying, landing them in 10th
and 3rd place
respectively in a field of over
twenty drivers. The two had
only about 45 minutes to prepare
for the final main event, almost
the entire time was spent
diagnosing what the problem with
the team’s engines could be.
Hammond and Kacic were not sure
that they would even last
through the Final Race because
they still didn’t know what had
caused Greer’s motor to seize,
and what was causing their
motors to behave abnormally.
Only minutes before pre-grid,
the team discovered that a
mistake had been made with the
fuel they were all using. In
another frantic rush, Hammond
and Kacic pulled out their fuel
tanks, drained their fuel
systems, and borrowed fuel from
a fellow competitor to make it
to the pre-grid on time.
The Final
Race was very tense because of
what was on the line: a fully
sponsored CRG factory ride for
the winner at the Rok Cup World
Final in Lonato Italy, including
a Sparco racewear sponsorship
and the honour of being the only
one representing Canada at the
Worlds. Unfortunately,
Hammond’s race came to an end
when he got into the marbles in
turn six and brushed the wall.
Kacic dropped back a few places
at the start but it was a long
race and he patiently worked his
way through the field to second
place behind Devon Sandeen.
Kacic and Sandeen spent the
majority of the race lapping
almost identical lap times until
suddenly Sandeen seemed to get a
burst of speed after something
dropped from his kart. With
Sandeen taking the win, Kacic
was extremely pleased with
second place. As they pulled
into the pits for their
mandatory weigh-in, Sandeen
could not make the minimum
weight requirement and admitted
that one of his lead weights had
dropped off his kart. This
caused him to be disqualified
from the race and the Canadian
National Rok Cup Championship
and the trip to Italy to
represent Canada at the Rok Cup
World Final were awarded to
Kacic.
Danny Kacic accepts the Winner's
certificates.
RELATED ARTICLES ON THE ROK CUP
FINAL:
TheSouth
Garda Karting
TRACK
in Lonato, Italy.
Genesis
Racing
NEWS
article.
JULY 30-31 2005
COASTAL / ROK CUP ROUND
EIGHT REPORT
Kyle
Greer and Danny Kacic, from
Team Kacic Motorsports, made
the trip down to Chilliwack,
BC for a Rok Cup event for
the second time this year,
in preparation for the ROK
Cup Final coming up in
September. The main goal
for the weekend was to
gather as much information
about engine tuning and
chassis set up as possible
to hopefully give the team a
better edge for the Final.
Both Kacic and Greer had a
great weekend, qualifying 5th
and 6th
respectively, while the top
six were separated by only
half a second. Greer was
having a great final but
unfortunately lost his chain
while running in fifth
place, resulting in a DNF.
Despite not finishing the
final, Greer was pleased
with the weekend as a
whole. Kacic was very
pleased with his performance
and was able to land a
podium position, finishing
third. Although he had a
poor start, by the last
quarter of the race he was
catching second place by
close to half a second per
lap. He also ran the second
fastest lap of the weekend
during the final race.
Davor
Kacic also made the trip to
Chilliwack BC to race in the
ICC shifter class. The
weekend was bitter-sweet for
Kacic: after winning both
pre-finals, he was forced to
pull off the track due to a
flat rear tire while leading
the final race.
JUNE 11-12 2005
SIKA RACE FOUR AND FIVE
REPORT
Kacic
motorsports experienced
another outstanding race in
Vernon. The team was back
in winning form with Danny
Kacic and Steve Hammond
taking first and second
position in Saturday’s TAG
main event.
Under
the Team Kacic Motorsports
tent for this weekend’s
double-header were Kyle
Greer, Steve Hammond, Roland
Houle, and Danny Kacic.
Also running with the team,
for the first time, was Dan
Morris. Morris had a great
weekend with his best finish
this season, driving his CRG
to fourth place in the
Sunday TAG main event.
Rounding out the podium on
Sunday was the rest of Team
Kacic Motorsports, with
Hammond in third place,
Greer in second, and Kacic
making it a clean sweep for
the weekend with another
first place.
MAY 21-22 2005
BCKCA REGIONAL RACE ONE
REPORT
Team
Kacic Motorsports headed to
CartBC in Chilliwack, for
the first of the BCKCA
Regional events this
season. Representing Kacic
Motorsports in the Rok Cup
were Kyle Greer, Steve
Hammond, Roland Houle, and
Danny Kacic. Saturday’s
format was practice in the
morning, followed by
qualifying and Heat one in
the afternoon. Hammond was
team Kacic Motorsports
highest qualifier, with a 7th
position, while Houle
qualified 16th.
Greer was unable to attend
Saturday’s events and Kacic
suffered
electrical/carburetion
problems and did not post a
qualifying time. This meant
Kacic had to start at the
back of the field in Heat
one.
Heat
one saw Hammond battling
intensely with a Genesis
driver, with lots of passing
back and forth over the
eighth place position and
Hammond finally getting the
best of the battle. Houle
had a frustrating first Heat
due to a loose fuel tank
which resulted in him not
completing the race. Kacic
got off to a good start,
working his way from the
back of the field into sixth
position before the
mysterious electrical
problems that had plagued
him in qualifying
resurfaced, but with only a
few laps to go he was able
to maintain his position.
Sunday
morning’s warmup session
took place in the rain.
None of Team Kacic
Motorsports drivers took
part in this session as they
were fairly confident the
rain would let up and the
final Heat would be a dry
one. This turned out to be
correct and the team felt
fairly confident going into
the final Heat with Hammond
making some last minute
jetting changes, Houle
getting his fuel tank fixed,
and Kacic believing his
electrical issue was sorted
out. It seemed only Greer
had his work cut out for
him, starting from the back
of the field after not
attending Heat one.
The
final had it all, from
heated battles to a
controversial red flag
ending. Greer’s charge from
the back came to an abrupt
end with a collision in turn
one, he was able to continue
but was well down in the
field. Houle enjoyed a good
race that placed him just
out side the top ten.
Hammond placed tenth but
felt he was lacking some
speed due to incorrect
carburetion modifications.
Kacic had an intense battle
with a Birel driver for
fourth position until he
again faced the electrical
problems he thought were
solved and had to pull off
the track. The race came to
an end under red flag
conditions due to a four
kart collision that brought
out the ambulance. No one
was injured, but the race
was past half way so the
officials declared it a
finish.
MAY 8-9 2005
SIKA RACE TWO AND THREE
REPORT
In the
TAG class for Saturday’s
SIKA Race Two, Team Kacic
Motorsports was represented
by Danny Kacic, Steve
Hammond, Kyle Greer, Roland
Houle, and Allan Monty
(normally a shifter driver,
trying his hand at TAG this
weekend). Team Kacic
Motorsports driver Davor
Kacic took on the Shifter
class.
In the
first heat, Davor Kacic
started third and finished
second. In the middle of a
battle for the lead during
the second heat, his race
came to an end when the
bottom end of his motor let
go. The crew worked
frantically to do an engine
swap in time for the third
and final heat. Luckily,
the field of shifter drivers
was not very big so Davor
was able to work his way
forward from the back of the
pack. He had an intense
battle for the lead that
lasted right to the
checkered flag where he took
the win from veteran driver
Augustino Pietramala.
The TAG
class was more competitive
that usual with out-of-town
Arrow team arriving to
compete with the local
drivers. Qualifying heat
one had Kacic and Greer
beating out the competition
for positions one and two,
with Hammond and Houle
taking sixth and eleventh,
respectively. Heat two saw
Greer and Kacic switching
positions for first and
second again, with Hammond
and Houle coming in sixth
and twelfth. The third and
final heat was fairly
uneventful with Team-mates
Kacic and Greer taking first
and second, while the Arrow
team took third and fourth,
and Hammond again finishing
in sixth position.
Sunday’s SIKA Race Three saw
Davor Kacic switching from
the Shifter class to make
his debut in the TAG class.
Heat one took place in the
rain, Steve Hammond had an
intense battle with
team-mate Danny Kacic,
swapping positions a number
of times with the win
eventually going to Danny
and Hammond coming in a
close second. Kyle Greer
finished sixth and Davor, in
his ROK debut, came in
seventh. The morning rain
cleared up in time for Heat
number two. After making a
few changes to the chassis,
Davor felt a lot more
comfortable in his new class
and was able to work his way
up to third position, with
Hammond and Greer finishing
fourth and fifth
respectively and Danny
taking the top podium
position. This gave Team
Kacic Motorsports four out
of the top five places in
the TAG class. The starting
grid for the final heat saw
Danny and Hammond taking the
front row. Off the green
flag, the two went side by
side into turn one and Danny
spun after being tapped from
behind, allowing Hammond to
take the lead out of turn
one. As Danny was trying to
fight his way back up
through the field, he fell
victim to electrical
problems and was unable to
finish the race. Team Kacic
Motorsports team-mates Greer
and Hammond had a great
battle for second position,
with Hammond beating out
Greer to finish two and
three. Davor took his ROK
to a fifth place finish and
#65 Houle had his best
finish to date, bringing
home an eighth.
MAY 9 2005
CANADIAN SPRINGS SPONSORS
ROK CUP
We are
pleased to
announce another large
corporate sponsor to the ROK
Cup Western Canada. Canadian
Springs Water, a division of
Danone Foods Canada have
agreed to support the
karting series which ranges
across three provinces. The
Rok Cup will enjoy a
shootout at the end of the
year where the lucky winner
will enjoy a trip to the ROK
CUP World Final at the
recently announced South
Garda Karting facility in
Lonato, Italy, the heart of
european karting. “We are so
blessed to have the support
of great companies like
Canadian Sprinigs, Chevron,
CRG, Vega, Vortex, a | | | |
