Croc Promotion drivers on the move at 2023 ROK Sonoma Season Opener!

Kartspeed Croc Promotion team drivers had their ups and downs during the rain-soaked season opener at Sonoma Raceway. We had two drivers in ROK Shifter Senior; Long time Karter and single speed national champion Michael Avansino along with Colin McGrath who is brand new to the shifter ranks, this being his first shifter race.

-Colin comes in with a steep hill to climb, joining the very fast Senior ROK Shifter class at Sonoma. After winning the ROK GP senior class in 2022 Colin aboard his Kartspeed Croc Promotion Kart, he has been working very hard to get up top speed in his new Croc Promotion Shifter as soon as possible.

-Torsten Olsen joined the very popular and talent filled 100cc senior field for 2023 after coming in 2nd in the 2022 ROK Sonoma ROK GP Senior class aboard his Kartspeed Croc Promotion machine. Not having any winter testing aboard his new 100cc kart meant expectations were not high coming into Round One of the Season at Sonoma Raceway.

Senior Shifter-

Avansino put his Croc Promotion ROK Shifter on pole during a rain soaked qualifying session! During the heat race Michael battled for the lead with long time Pro Shifter driver Brian Keck, before an unsuccessful battle with a curb put Michael out in the mud and unable to continue. After struggling with some engine issues just prior to the main event, Michael started at the back of the field. He worked his way up to P-3 before the engine let go leaving Michael on the side lines for the rest of the main event. Next time…

-Colin McGrath qualified 6th in Senior Shifter and had a very good heat race as he battled the wet track and the other drivers to finish a satisfying 3rd place! Everyone was happy for Colin with a great result in such brutal weather conditions and racing against some very, very fast shifter drivers. For the main event Colin finished in 4th after battling the drying track, worn out rain tires and an overheating engine. Overall, a great first shifter race for Colin!

100cc Senior

-Missing qualifying, and thus starting in the back of the 17 kart field, Torsten Olsen Torsten did an excellent job with his Kartspeed Croc Promotion Vortex VLR in the heat race battling with the changing track conditions as well as the on track competition. No easy task and with so much to learn with his new kart/engine package we were all very impressed with the Heat Race results. In the main event Torsten ran as high as 4th place as he battled Max Schmidt and Flavio Aquini. A small error put Torsten off track and out of the fight for third place but he battled back to finish a very, very respectable 5th place for his first ever Senior 100cc race. Nice Job Torsten!

Next ROK Sonoma Race is April 7th and 8th…so stayed tuned for the next show!