Round 4 - Qualifying – BURRIS ENDS MATTA’S QUALIFYING DOMINANCE

Round 4 - Qualifying – BURRIS ENDS MATTA’S QUALIFYING DOMINANCE
Tues 5 Jun, 5:02 PM

Comfortably clinching Pole Position in the past two consecutive races, Ty Matta’s dominance in qualifying has ended with a magical lap of 1:06.654 set by Pensque pilot, Kurt Burris, that allowed him to claim his first career pole. Kurt’s qualifying lap was only .010 off the world qualifying record of 1:06.644 set by Matta at Round 2 of the World Championship. The American hero looked extremely fast and confident as he spoke with the press after his qualifying run.

“I am delighted to claim my first career pole today. I have always said that we have a very competitive package and just needed a few tuning sessions with the Burris Tires to make it perfect. I think we may have reached perfection today and I am very confident for the race later today.”

Fans around the world may have a new hero to cheer. Jeremy Drew had a successful debut, qualifying his Birel/Rotax package in second place, .607 off pole, but still ahead of the Filipino-Mexican-American, Ty Matta.

“This new guy, Drew, is no rookie” said Steve Lee, a local race fan. “This year’s world championship has been dominated primarily by drivers powered by Leopard and here comes a new guy in a Rotax qualifying for the first time in the most competitive series in the world in second place – it is impressive!”

Ty Matta was not happy with the balance of his kart. “Obviously I am not happy with my qualifying performance today but I know what went wrong and we are going to make some changes. I don’t think I had the right axel and I am confident that the Renawlt engineers will find a way to make some adjustments prior to the race today.”

Filling out the second row, Brian Phillipsen will start the race next to Matta. Phillipsen had a qualifying lap time of 1:07.558, his personal fastest qualifying lap time of the year. “I am not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing” said the 8-time World Champion. “Usually I do really when in a race when I qualify poor. I don’t care about qualifying, I focus on race set-up, but starting in the second row is positive and I will be ready to challenge my teammate later today.”

The third row will be filled by Jack Kirkpatrick (1:07.733) and Alex King (1:08.068). The contrast there is that this is Kirkpatrick worst qualifying position and King’s best qualifying position to date. “I am definitely under powered” complained the Irish pilot, Kirkpatrick. “We have been have issues with our engines and we have a new engine today that I have never tested. It is not working out well. The team will have to find an alternative for today and focus in finding a better chassis set up to compensate for the lack of power.” Despite attaining his best qualifying result, the Brazilian, was not happy. “Sure, it is positive that I have improved my qualifying performance but I am not going to be satisfied until I get pole. I am very happy with my new MAXX powered engine but the kart is still very nervous coming out of the turns and that is how I lost time today. I thin if the team can find a solution to that, we should be able to move up a position or two in the grid during the race.”

Another driver that significantly improved his qualifying performance was the Toyoda pilot, Dennis Ubersetzig. The German driver clocked his best time of 1:08.086 which was good enough to set the 7th fastest lap of the day, Dennis first top 10 qualifying performance.

“I am very pleased with my performance today and the work of Toyoda Racing Development. They have worked very hard and we have a competitive package today. We don’t have the best package, but it is a competitive one.”

Pherrari brought Steve Dzurilla to Round 4 to partner up with Jack Kirkpatrick in an attempt to regain momentum in the Constructors Championship. “Qualifying in 8th is not where I like to start but considering I am debuting in the series today I must say it is an acceptable result” said Dzurilla. The Pherrari temp driver was quick to point out his position within the team: “I am here to race for Pherrari. Team orders are illegal in this series and I am not here to assist Kirkpatrick, I am here to do whatever it takes to get points for Pherrari. I hope that I can impress them so they will sign me for a permanent position for the remainder of the season. Time will tell.”

Mucca Rosso pilot, Steve Thompson, struggled during open practice but managed to qualify his kart in 9th place with a lap of 1:08.997, his first top 10 qualifying performance.

“This is a very competitive series, extremely competitive so a top 10 here is worth a top 3 or a podium in any other racing series. I am happy with my performance today. We have a very tight budget but our team work really well with the limited resources we have. The goal for the race is to finish within the top 10.”

Jason Bunch made his debut in the world championship by claiming the last spot in the top 10. Bunch had a qualifying lap time of 1:09.012.

Qualifying Results –

1 - Kurt Burris – 1:06.654
2 - Jeremy Drew – 1:07.261
3 - Ty Matta – 1:07.268
4 - Brian Phillipsen – 1:07.558
5 - Jack Kirkpatrick – 1:07.733
6 - Alex King – 1:08.068
7- Dennis Uebersetzig – 1:08.086
8 - Steve Dzurilla – 1:08.328
9 – Steve Thompson – 1:08.997
10 - Jason Bunch – 1:09.012
11 – Brad Bowman – 1:09.022
12 - H.A. Arnarson – 1:09.032
13 - Larry Hayashigawa – 1:09.086
14 - Art Laski – 1:09.438
15 - Craig Pfeifer – 1:10.253
16 - Tony Sinicropi – 1:10.306
17 - Cory Murdock – 1:11.583
18 - Donald Amigliore – 1:11.750
19 - Mike Taylor – 1:16.461
20 - Billy McAllister – no time
21 - William Watson – no time