Fort Lauderdale, Florida – It was a successful start for Team Benik at the opening round of the Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) Pro Tour this past weekend. Taking on NOLA Motorsports Park near New Orleans, Louisiana, Troy Ferguson was the big winner for the Team Benik squad as he led the way with one pole position, one heat race win and two main event victories to leave the first event weekend as the SKUSA Pro Tour point leader as several Benik Kart drivers and team members were present at the front of the field.
“What a weekend for Troy and the rest of Team Benik,” explained Nick Mitchell. “He has shown speed all year long but at NOLA, he was able to put it all together. To win a SKUSA race is difficult, but to sweep the weekend is extremely difficult, and I think this will be a big confidence boost for many events to come. We also showed speed in several other classes and crossed the finish line first on occasion, but some penalties hurt us.”
Ferguson’s pace started on Friday as he topped the time charts in the final unofficial practice session leading into the weekend. With weather moving into the area overnight and a ninety minute delay due to rain, storms and lightning, Ferguson remained poised as he rocketed his way to the pole position in the Micro Swift ranks by over two tenths of a second. Continuing his dominance in the Micro Swift class, Ferguson scored the fastest lap in the prefinal en route to the victory and pole position for the day’s main event. Ferguson once again proved his prowess on Sunday, this time in dry conditions taking the lead from his inside front row starting position and never looking back.
It wasn’t just the Micro Swift drivers who showed speed for Team Benik. X30 Junior driver Brandon Carr qualified third and won the prefinal. In the main event he managed to battle for the win eventually crossing the line in the second position. Zach De Melo won the X30 Senior prefinal on Saturday before a bumper penalty moved him to 11th and flexed his muscles on Sunday ending the day in P5 before another post-race bumper penalty moved him down the order. Royce Vega earned a pair of top-ten results in Micro Swift including a solid fourth place finish on Sunday while X30 Junior drivers Carr and Enzo Vidmontiene also earned seventh and ninth place results. Vega proved that the Team Benik Micro Swift program was in top form as he and Ferguson ran first and second in Saturday’s main event before an on track incident relegated him down the running order and out of contention for a podium result.
Joining Team Benik on Sunday was Dalton Haines in the X30 Senior category. Instant improvement saw Haines qualifying first in group and sixth overall before a solid fourth place result in the prefinal. Unfortunately, luck in the main event was not on his side.
Mitchell added, “We had several strong runs ruined by penalties and errors. It could have been an even better weekend for Team Benik, but I think we proved we have what it takes to compete at the top level of karting in North America.”
Are you are interested in being part of Team Benik? For more information on the BENIK Kart or Team BENIK, please contact Nick Mitchell via e-mail to Info@Benik-Kart.com or by phone at 561.348.4406. To keep up to date with news, photos, results, and information on Team Benik, please follow them on social media by searching ‘Team Benik’.
