San Diego, California
March 31, 2009

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

The FX Racing Makita Team joined Round 3 of the SuperKARTS! USA ProKart Challenge SoCal series at Grangé Motor Circuit, running drivers in the S4 and TaG Masters classes. The story of the weekend has two sides — one a dominant performance from first qualifying to the final checkered flag and the other a back and forth battle all weekend long against competitors and the proverbial “two dollar part.” The track, located just North of Victorville in Apple Valley, rises up out of the shimmering heat and dust like an oasis in the California desert. Although off the beaten path, Grangé offers a challenging 8/10ths mile technical track layout and well appointed pit facilities that make this a racer’s paradise.

Conte Dominates The Weekend
2008 PKC SoCal S4 Champion Philip Conte (Makita/TrackMagic/MidCities Honda) put his mark on the S4 class in a big way, only missing the top of the timesheets once, and then only by less than 2/20ths of a second in Practice 2. Every other S4 session for the event saw Conte out in front.

Qualifying put everyone on notice that the Lakewood, CA driver was going to be tough to catch as Conte put it a flying lap that was almost 6/10ths faster than everyone else. Working with mechanic Greg Marlow, the FX Racing Makita Team driver had found the right setup to tame Grangé’s 14 turns and used it to full effect.

Conte led the field off the line in Heat 1 and was never challenged, taking fast lap and crossing the finish line 5 seconds ahead of second place finisher Ken Schilling. Conte again led from the green flag for Heat 2, taking another fast lap and finishing 2.5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

Going into the Main, Conte and mechanic Marlow had worked their strategy to full effect, conserving the left front tire in the Heat races to ensure the grip was there for another win. When the green flag dropped, Conte brought all the preparation, tuning and strategy together and tied it off with stellar driving to deliver another fast lap and the win – 10.9 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.  

Solid Day For Wiener Blunted By Mechanical Failure
FX Racing Makita Team driver Steve Wiener (Makita/Trackmagic) faced battles on two fronts for Round 3 of the PKC SoCal championship. On one hand he had the tough competition in the TaG Masters class and on the other hand, the proverbial $2 part.

Working with mechanic Brad Bowman, Wiener dialed in the kart during the practice sessions, taking P2 at the end of final practice, just under a second of the pace of session leader Rob Soares. The back of Soares’ #66 kart would be a target for the FX Racing driver throughout the day as Wiener posted P2 in Qualifying, 7/10ths off of pole.

Wiener started Heat 1 from second on the grid and took off after Soares. The FX Racing driver was unable to catch the #66 but held on to second until a last lap pass by Jeff Bobbitt moved Wiener down to 3rd at the checkered flag. Wiener started Heat 2 from P3 on the grid and moved up to second on lap 6 before being sidelined with a broken throttle cable.

Starting the Main from the back of the grid, Wiener set off to work his way back to the front. The San Diego, CA driver began moving up the field, making passes and keeping on track when others didn’t to end the day in 4th.

Ready to compete at the front? FX Racing has a proven record of building champions and we can develop a championship program for you. Whether you are looking for a career in motorsports or just making your kart racing more enjoyable, our team of professionals can maximize your experience. For more information, visit www.fxracingusa.com.