Over the weekend the Formula Kart Productions Florida Winter Tour held their final round for their Formula Kart program in Orlando, Florida, USA. The three round international championship kicked off back in January in Homestead before stop two in Ocala and finally round three in Orlando.
While many Canadians and racers in general use the opportunity to prepare for the FWT Rotax weekends that follow, a handful of drivers also took a shot at the class championships in their respective divisions, where three of the prestigious “FWT Championship Palms” will be heading back to Canada. Here is our breakdown.
Consistency Helps DeMelo Earn TaG Senior Title
What originally kicked off as an opportunity to test out his new Goodwood Kartways Intrepid Kart, Zachary Claman DeMelo of Montreal, Quebec immediately posed as a championship threat in TaG Senior after standing on the podium in the opening round. He then stood on the podium twice more in Ocala.
Fast forward to Orlando and DeMelo needed to perform in order to win the title, and he did just that. On Saturday DeMelo dominated, taking the win in fine fashion. Sunday kicked off the same way with DeMelo winning heat one and although he came up just short of the victory, finishing second in the Final was enough to score him the title, his third major championship in the past twelve months.
d’Orlando Brothers Complete Impressive TaG Cadet Campaign on the Podium
In the Vortex TaG Cadet division, the youngest competing at the Florida Winter Tour, the class was dominated by Michael d’Orlando and his Koene USA TonyKart. d’Orlando, who is a dual-citizen, flies both the Canadian and USA flags when he races. On his path to championship glory, d’Orlando scored four race victories plus two runner-up results, a truly outstanding run.
Not to be left out, Michael’s younger brother Nicholas was also very impressive and he joined him on the Championship podium finishing third overall. Also in the run was Matthew Latifi, who utilized the chance to test more than race, still coming home sixth in the championship.
Stock Moto Championship for Matthew Di Leo
While on hiatus from his Indy Lights racing team, Matthew Di Leo used the Florida Winter Tour to stay in action and jump back into a racing kart. The driver from Innisfil, Ontario took on the Stock Moto division and ultimately came home with the Championship via four race victories and a third.
Often battling with the Open Shifter drivers and making a run at the overall victory, Di Leo was very strong aboard his Praga Kart.
