2026 ROK Cup Usa Florida Winter Tour RD2 – Weekend Report

Prepared by: RTD Media / ROK Cup USA
Photo Credit: Canadian Karting News

With much of the United States in a deep freeze, the same could be said in Florida, as the second round of the Florida Winter Tour kicked off at the Orlando Kart Center. With hoodies and winter jackets worn throughout Friday, temperatures warmed throughout the weekend, as did the on-track action. With qualifying and a single heat race on Friday, Saturday saw ROKKERs compete in heats two, three, and the prefinal, setting the grids for Sunday’s main events. With 175 entries and 11 of them becoming Florida Winter Tour winners, the series will now shift its focus to the final event weekend at the T4 Kartplex.

“It was another good weekend of ROK racing,” expressed Mike Burrell. “Another weekend of positive comments coming from the paddock, which makes the hard work worth it. We have one more event weekend to go to crown the 2026 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour champions. Congrats to all the round two winners!”

ROK Shifter Masters

Qualifying:

1. Cole Mathewson – 52.13
2. Skitchy Barnes – 52.35
3. Matias Bonvin – 52.54
4. Juan Esteban Unigarro Martinez – 53.01
5. Luis Quinones – 53.48

ROK Shifter Super Masters

Qualifying:

1. Morne Van Taak – 52.44
2. Ryan Coberly – 53.67
3. Edgardo Ortiz – 54.02
4. Gonzalo Aponte – 54.39

KZ Shifter

Qualifying:

1. Vaughn Beesley – 51.32
2. Domini Karai – 51.45
3. Blake Horseman – 52.45
4. Paulie Hart – 52.49
5. Joao Alves – 52.54

Final

Running all three shifter classes together on track, Dominik Karai (Velocity Racing), Skitchy Barnes (Maranello), and Morne Van Taak (VTM Racing) earned the main event pole positions after claiming top honors in their pre-finals. Karai would lead the KZ class to the green flag followed by Paulie Hart (Maranello), Vaughn Beesley (VTM Racing), Blake Horseman (Maranello) and Joao Alves (D2 Motors), who had a scary incident in the prefinal. With Barnes taking top honors in the ROK Shifter Masters prefinal, he would lead that class to the lights ahead of Cole Mathewson (Rocket Racing Company), Luis Quinones (LFB Racing), Matias Bonvin (LFB Racing), and Juan Esteban Unigarro Martinez (VTM Racing). Van Taak secured the main event pole position after sweeping the heat races and prefinal in the ROK Shifter Super Masters class alongside Ryan Coberly (VTM Racing Engines) and just ahead of Edgardo Ortiz (VTM Racing Engines) and Gonzalo Aponte (AKT), who was disqualified in tech after the prefinal.

The 14-minute-plus-two-lap main event got started with some drama as Karai had spun on the warmup lap but an aborted start allowed him to retake his position at the front of the field. Karai got the holeshot to maintain his lead in the KZ class while SkitchyBarnes did the same in the ROK Shifter Masters class. Mathewson and Barnes went wheel-to-wheel at the end of lap one, making slight contact, but no harm, no foul. Karai led up front over Horseman, Hart and Alves in the KZ class while Shifter Masters was led by Barnes over Mathewson, Bonvin, Quinos and Martinez. Moren Van Taak was well out front in the ROK Shifter Super Masters class with Aponte and Ortiz in podium positions after the first few circuits of the main event. After only four minutes of racing, Karai opened his lead to three seconds over Horseman as he was looking to run away and hide. Horseman was forced to the sidelines on lap six with a mechanical issue moving Hart and Alves into second and third. Barnes and Mathewson were engaged in an intense battle for the win in Shifter Masters, but Super Masters competitor Van Taak was able to get between the two, ceasing the battle slightly. Aponte retired with an engine issue on lap ten as the leaders in their respective classes remained unchanged. Karai led by ten seconds after 13 laps, with Hart and Alves in P2 and P3, with Barnes leading Mathewson and Bonvin in Shifter Masters. Van Taak was dominating ROK Shifter Super Masters and barring a mechanical failure would earn the victory. Karai scored the KZ win ahead of Hart and Alves while Barnes beat Mathewson and Bonvin in ROK Shifter Masters. Van Taak won ROK Shifter Super Masters ahead of Ortiz and Aponte. Following the race, both Barnes and Mathewson were handed three-second penalties for jumping the start, but based on the gap on track, Barnes kept the win with Mathewson falling to third behind Bonvin.

AM Engines – ROK SV

Qualifying:

1. Alan Isambard – 52.924
2. Caden McQueen – 53.188
3. Davin Roberts – 53.529
4. Blake Nash – 53.261
5. Edgar Rodriguez – 53.267

Final

With three heat races and the pre-final in the books, the grid was set for the ROK SV class, with Alan Isambard (Rocket Racing Company) taking the pole position after his pre-final win. Caden McQueen (Velocity Racing) was the best of the rest in the Pre-Final to start the main event on the outside of the front row with Davin Roberts (Privateer) in the third position. Behind Roberts, Chace Gassiot-Lee (Team Benik) would start ahead of Black Nash (Nash Motorsportz) and Sebastian Vaneges (Rocket Racing Company) in the fourth position, with Nash and Vaneges occupying row three.

Isambard and McQueen were wheel-to-wheel in turn one as McQueen was trying to hold his position around the outside. In doing so, Roberts pushed his machine inside at the exit of turn two to take over the second position, pushing McQueen to third. McQueen was by Roberts into turn four on lap two with Vanegas and Gassiot-Lee rounding out the top-five. Isambard had opened a half-second gap early on, but with McQueen in second, the gap shrank to .275 at the end of lap three. McQueen took the lead on lap four to put his SodiKart up front as Nash Motorsportz driver Levi Sanghera was by Gassiot-Lee for fifth. Venegas was the quickest kart on track, closing in on his RRC teammate of Isambard, with the top-three separated by only seven tenths of a second after six laps. McQueen had started to open the gap up front, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap seven, but Roberts stole those honors a lap later. Blake Nash was able to move himself into the top-five, disposing of his teammate Sanghera up front, and McQueen stretched his lead to over half a second. On lap 13, Isambard began to cut into McQueen’s lead, turning a faster lap than the leader, but McQueen answered a lap later. Roberts had caught Vanegas and was looking to make the pass and stand on the FWT podium. Vanegas was on the defensive, knowing that Roberts was quicker as he defended into all the key passing zones and looked over his shoulder. A beautiful crossover lap with two laps to go saw Roberts move past Vanegas, while McQueen was well up front. McQueen drove to the win with Isambard and Vanegas rounding out the podium after an outside move in turn 13 for Vanegas. Roberts crossed the line fourth with Nash rounding out the top-five. 

Rocket Racing – ROK GP Junior

Qualifying:

1. Jordyn Martin – 54.03
2. Tristan Murphy – 54.19
3. Nico Kotowski – 54.20
4. Nico Orbezo – 54.22
5. Asher Pavan – 54.41

Final

The ROK GP Junior class was led to the green flag by Nico Kotowski (Trinity Karting Group) courtesy of his strong performances through the heat races and pre-final win. Kotowski managed to hold off a hard-charging Tristan Murphy (Ryan Perry Motorsports) to earn the win and main event pole position, with Nico Orbezo (Iron Rock Motorsports) and Jordyn Martin (Rocket Racing Company)taking the green flag from row two. Valentino Santillan (Hotz Driver Development) had a strong drive to finish fifth and started his main event from the inside of row three.

The inside line had a great start as Kotowski jumped to the lead with Orbezo moving into second before the entry of the first corner. Murphy slotted into the third position, but a few corners later, was pushed to fifth courtesy of Valentino Santillan and Josh Bergman (MPG Motorsports) moving by for third and fourth, respectively. Murphy was back to third at the end of lap two as Santillan was fourth, just ahead of Jordyn Martin (Rocket Racing Company) in fifth. Kotowski led by .63 after three circuits as Orbezon was nearly a second ahead of Murphy in third. Jordyn Martin moved to P4 on lap five in her final kart race before jumping to single-seater formula car racing full-time later this month. Kotowski had a small gap up front, but Orbezo chipped away at it to eventually take the lead on lap ten, bringing Murphy with him into second. Kotowski had fallen to third and into the clutches of Martin as it was a four-kart battle up front with four minutes plus two laps to go. After 12 laps, the top-four were separated by only .52. Kotowski passed Murphy on lap 13 to move into the second position as it was still anyone’s race. Martin was by Murphy in turn five to move into a podium position as the on-track action was heating up. As Kotowski and Orbezo battled, their momentum was slowed, allowing Martin to take the lead with three laps to go. Orbezo was by Martin with three laps to go to take the point with Martin, Murphy, Kotowski, and Bergman inside the top-five. Orbezo led as the white flag flew, as Martin defended for second, allowing the leader to open a gap. Orbezo drove to the win with Kotowski getting by Martin in the final corner for second as Murphy and Santillan rounded out the top-five. Following post-race penalties, Orbezo kept the win with Martin and Murphy on the podium in second and third, and Kotowski and Santillan rounding out the top-five.

Orsolon Racing – ROK Micro

Qualifying:

1. Alessio Tosti – 1:00.16
2. Leandro Ramirez – 1:00.28
3. Jack Kotowski – 1:00.38
4. Emmett Dalton – 1:00.53
5. Franco Schiavo – 1:00.55

Final

The youngest drivers at the 2026 Florida Winter Tour put on a show in round one, and Sunday’s second main event of the season was another classic. Looking to follow in his older brother’s footsteps, Jack Kotowski (Trinity Karting Group) came up one position short at the end of the pre-final, crossing the line in the second position. The race win and pole position went to Emmett Dalton, but Kotowski was awarded the win after a post-race penalty to Dalton, relegating Dalton to P3 in the final results. Romeo Ferrante (Orsolon Racing) was elevated to second, and Braxton Shiflett (Norberg Karting Academy) finished fourth and lined up on the outside of row two for the final, with Max Santana (Team Benik) looking to mount his charge for the win from the fifth position.

With a little bit of a shorter race in the ROK Micro category, Kotowski brought the field to the green at a slow pace and was able to use that to his advantage to keep the lead into turn one. Kotowski led lap one ahead of Ferrante, Franco Schiavo (TW Racing), Shiflett and Santana. Just like his brother, Kotowski was able to open a gap early on, leading by .48 after only two laps. Ferrante closed the gap on Kotowski on lap five, with Santana and Shiflett moving by Schiavo, moving forward inside the top-five. As Kotowksi and Ferrante battled hard in turns four and five, Santana moved to the lead, but it was short-lived with Kotowski and Ferrante back into first and second a few corners later. Ferrante and Santana were by Kotowski into turn four on lap six, with Santana making a move into turn five to the lead. With a ton of action at the front of the field, Santana led Kotowski, Schiavo, Shiflett, and Dalton. Kotowski was back to the point on lap eight with Santana second and locked to the leader’s bumper. Shiflett was by Schiavo on lap nine to take over the third position with Kotowski and Santana pushing hard up front. Shiflett went purple on lap ten, earning the fastest lap of the race, with Santana taking the lead at the start of lap 11, pushing Kotowski to second. Kotowski was back by Santana a few corners later to retake the lead with three laps to go. Kotowski was immediately on the defense as Shiflett moved by Santana for the second, but that was short-lived as contact jumbled the order yet again. With two to go, Kotowski led Santana, Schiavo, Shiflett and Leandre Ramirez (Velocity Racing). Kotowski and Santana had opened a small gap to the P3 driver as the white flag flew for the final lap. Kotowski continued to defend, but Santana forced his way by and to the lead in turn five. Kotowski retook the lead into turn eight and defended down the back straight. A lot of contact on the last lap saw Kotowski take the win ahead of Ferrante, Schiavo, Ramirez, and Dalton. Due to a penalty following the race, Schiavo was dropped down the running order with Ramirez moving to third, Dalton fourth, and Alessio Tosti fifth.

ROK Mini

Qualifying:

1. Vincente Aguilar – 59.19
2. Colton Bruck – 59.31
3. Dutch Westbrook – 59.35
4. Aidan Go – 59.37
5. Lenox Lockhart – 59.37

Final

With a tight field in ROK Mini, it was Cooper Lorenzo Lopez (Privateer) who won the prefinal and led the field to the green flag for Sunday’s main event. Dutch Westbrook (Team Benik) started the main event from the outside of row one. Vicente Aguilar (AM Engines) and Lennox Lockhart (Parolin USA) locked themselves into row two after finishing third and fourth in Saturday’s prefinal. Izko Alonso (AM Engines) was set to start fifth, but that position was awarded to Colton Bruck (Parolin USA) after a post-race penalty in the pre-final that relegated Alonso to eighth on the grid.

Lopez jumped to the lead from his pole position, bringing the third-place starter of Aguilar with him and into second. Westbrook fell to third but was able to settle himself and move to the rear bumper of the leaders. After just two laps, Westbrook had fallen back by over half a second from the lead duo. Bruck ran in the fourth position with the Nash Motorsportz driver Hudson Hidalgo in fifth. Westbrook went purple on lap four as he began to close the gap. Lopez led by .63 over Westbrook who was by Aguilar for second. Westbrook was continuing to lap two-tenths of a second faster than the leader brining the gap down in his quest for a FWT win. Aguilar continued to run in the third position with Bruck and Lockhart in fifth. A lap later, Lockhart was in fourth, bringing Aidan Go with him, and into the fifth position. Westbrook made his move for the lead on lap eight, but Lopez went back to the point a few corners later, allowing Aguilar to keep close in third. Go was by Lockhart for fourth on lap nine, hoping for some attrition in front of him so he could potentially stand on the podium, but up front, it was a three-driver race. Westbook took the lead into turn five on lap 11 and would look to take the win with four laps to go. Westbrook chose not to defend, but Lopez stayed glued to his bumper, pushing rather than overtaking. With two to go, Westbrook led Lopez, who led Aguilar, with the top three separated by .49. Westbrook defended into turn nine, losing all his momentum and allowing Lopez back by for the lead as the white flag flew. Lopez now led Aguilar, as it was these three drivers for the win. Westbrook outbroke Lopez to take the lead, but Aguilar took advantage of the momentum loss to sneak by on the exit to score the win. Lopez crossed the line second ahead of Westbrook, Go, and Lockhart.

ROK VLR Senior

Qualifying:

1. Chase Hand – 55.27
2. Mauricio Hernandez – 55.30
3. Santiago Fernandez – 55.43
4. Collin Lloyd – 55.46
5. Joaquin Gorlero Pizarro – 55.60

Final

With a couple of the heat races coming down to the final lap to determine the victor, the ROK VLR Senior main event was one of the most anticipated races of the weekend. Chase Hand (Norberg Karting Academy) led the field to the green flag courtesy of his pre-final win with Santiago Fernandez (Calkev) lining up to his outside. Sebastian Garzon (Orsolon Racing) slotted into the inside of row three alongside Mauricio Hernandez (D2 Motors) with Collin Lloyd (Velocity Racing) starting fifth.

Chase Hand jumped to the lead from his pole position starting spot as he led from Garzon, Fernandez, Lloyed, and Hernandez after one lap. Hand opened a gap on lap two to lead by .75 as Garzon needed to defend his position. Hernandez was passed by Lloyd in turn four on lap three as Fernandez was passed by Garzon on the same lap. Hernandez pushed Garcon back another position on lap three as he took over the third position but some more action later in the lap saw Lloyd in the third position ahead of Hernandez and Garcon. Fernandez was a tenth faster than Hand on lap four, closing the gap slightly as he was pushing hard to close the gap and give himself a chance at the win. A lap later, he closed the gap by another .19 and trailed by .68 after five laps. Collin Lloyd was showing speed back in fourth as he was the quickest kart on track and just after doing so, moved to third but was 2.7 seconds behind the lead duo. Hand continued to lead Fernandez, Lloyd, Hernandez, and Garzon with five minutes plus two laps remaining. It was a two-kart battle up front for the win with about five laps remaining as Fernandez was by Hand into turn four on lap 13. Hand wasted no time in retaking the lead a few corners later as Lloyd closed the gap by half a second as the lead duo battled. After taking over the top spot, Hand pushed hard and reopened the gap to Fernandez by .49 with three laps to go. Hand was calm, cool, and collected upfront, driving to the win over Fernandez, Lloyd, Hernandez, and Garcon.

Rolison Performance Group – ROK VLR Masters

Qualifying:

1. Danillo Ramalho – 56.66
2. Laurentiu Mardan – 56.79
3. Paul Elefonte – 57.05
4. Sal Ditta – 57.21
5. Ale Xavier – 57.38

Rolison Performance Group – ROK VLR Super Masters

Qualifying:

1. Mario Barrios – 57.12
2. Scott Falcone – 57.24
3. Gabreil De Lucca – 57.73
4. Alexander Dal Bon – 57.84
5. Pablo Cevallos – 58.59

Final

The ROK VLR Masters and Super Masters drivers would be on track together for their main event, but they would be scored separately. The VLR Masters class would be led by Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart USA) as he won the prefinal with a last lap pass on Danillo Ramalho (D2 Motors), who would start second in the main event. Paul Elefonte (Rocket Racing Company), who led the prefinal early, slotted into the third position with Sal Ditta (Goodwood Kartways) to his outside and just ahead of Dan Devereaux (DDR). Scott Falcone (Orsolon Racing) started from the pole position in the VLR Super Masters class, as Mario Barrios (Rolison Performance Group) was to his outside. Alexander Dal Bon lined up third for the main event, just ahead of Pablo Cevallos (OrsolonRacing) and Andrei Isac (Tecno Kart USA).

The 14-minute-plus-two-lap main event saw two classes on track at the same time but scored independently. Mardan led the field to the green flag. Mardan jumped to the lead with Elefonte moving to second in turn one, with the fifth-place starter of Sal Ditta moving to third. Scott Falcone had some trouble on the opening lap in the ROK VLR Super Masters class, handing the lead to Mario Barrios, who started second. Ramalho took the ROK VLR Masters lead as Mardan waved him by. Elefonte continued to run third in class with Ditta and Dan Devereaux rounding out the top-five. Barrios led the Super Masters division by a big gap over Gabriel De Lucca, Alexander Dal Bon, Andrei Isac, and Daniel Canales. Ramalho opened a 1.7-second gap over Mardan as Mardan led by two seconds over Elfonte in an equally spaced race. Barrios continued to lead the Super Masters class ahead of De Lucca and Dal Bon. The closest battle on track was between Ditta and Devereaux, who were bumper-to-bumper and ranked fourth and fifth in the ROK VLR Masters category. With a win out of sight, the pair were hoping for some attrition in front of them, to maybe move into a podium position. Dal Bon retired from the Super Masters main event with a missing front bumper on lap 12 as Devereaux was by Ditta for fourth. Ramalho handily drove to the ROK Masters victory ahead of Mardan, Elefonte, Devereaux, and Ditta. In the ROK VLR Super Masters class, it was Barrios with the victory ahead of De Lucca, Falcone, Isac, and Canales.

Nash Motorsportz – ROK VLR Junior

Qualifying:

1. Isaac Malcuit – 55.68
2. Nico Orbezo – 55.77
3. Emilio Bolanos – 55.86
4. Santiago Orioli – 55.86
5. Tristan Murphy – 55.89

Final

The final main event of the weekend was the talent-filled ROK VLR Junior class as 41 ROKKERs took to the track for their chance at a Florida Winter Tour victory. Leading the way to the green flag was Cole Anderson (Norberg Karting Academy), with Isaac Malcuit (MDR Karting) slotting into second and on the front row for the final. Tristan Murphy (Ryan Perry Motorsports) and Nico Orbezo (Iron Rock Motorsports) were third and fourth, with Maxwell Macha (Parolin USA) rounding out the top-five.

The final on-track session of the day was the 41-kart ROK VLR Junior category, with Isaac Malcuit leading the field to the green flag. Malcuit led at the end of lap one, but it had all kicked off behind him with Anderson moving to second, Darren Kidd (BJR) to third, with Murphy and Macha rounding out the top-five. Round one winner Nico Kotowski, who started mid-pack, had fallen to 39th after a lap, but would look to salvage as many points as possible to keep his championship hopes alive. Kidd and Murphy were by Anderson on lap two, pushing him to fourth, just ahead of Macha. Malcuit was taking advantage of the battles behind him as by the end of lap four, he had already opened a large gap of 1.86 seconds over Kidd and Murphy. The top-five remained unchanged through the end of lap six, as Malcuit’s leading gap was now 2.74. Murphy was now clear from the battle of Kidd but was considerably off pace compared to Malcuit up front. With the gap now 3.51 with five minutes plus two laps until the checkered flag, it was Malcuit’s race to lose. Satiago Orioli (Velocity Racing) moved into fifth on lap nine and gained another position on lap ten to run fourth as Macha followed him through with both moving by Kidd and pushing him outside the top-five. Orioli was on a charge and into third position on lap 11 as seven or eight drivers were fighting for the final podium spot. With the battle getting dicey, Nico Orbezo (Iron Rock Motorsports) and Nash Motorsportz driver Cameron Johnson had moved into fourth and fifth with Anderson, Kidd, and Macha falling down the order. Johnson was by Orbezo with three laps to go and into the fourth position as Nico Kotowski had battled his way back forward and into 19th. With two laps to go, Malcuit could put it on cruise control with a 4.5-second lead, but the battle was on behind him. Malcuit drove to the win over Murphy, Orioli, Johnson, and Orbezo. Oriolli was handed a bumper penalty post-race, pushing him to fifth and elevating Johnson to the podium in third and Orbezo into fourth.

The third round of the 2026 Florida Winter Tour will take place March 6-8 at the T4 Kartplex, with registration opening on February 15. Stay tuned to the ROK Cup USA website and social media pages for news, information, and more.

About the Florida Winter Tour

The Florida Winter Tour, organized by ROK Cup USA, is one of the most established and competitive winter karting series in North America. The championship attracts top-level teams and drivers from around the world, offering a professional environment, a competitive atmosphere, and valuable early-season seat time across all ROK categories.

For more information on ROK Cup USA, please email Info@ROKCupUSA.com or visit www.ROKCupUSA.com. Be sure to follow ROK Cup USA on social media by searching ‘ROK Cup USA’.