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Fresh and Familiar Faces at the Front in Fall iDrive First Rounds

Fresh and Familiar Faces at the Front in Fall iDrive First Rounds

As July ended, the Fall iDrive Series was just beginning. With it came a chance for drivers old and new to show off their talent in the Kartplex’s Sodi GT-5 karts. With the third round set for August 25th, here’s what went down in the first two nights of the Fall iDrive season.

Fall iDrive Round #1

In the only split class of the night, Light, it was all about the young drivers. The teen trio of Elijah WardEvan Zarbo and Aidan RoosEvans dominated Light A all evening, keeping the rest of the field off the podium. A former Kartplex private karter in his first iDrive start, Zarbo took home the Race #1 win with an assist from RoosEvans (second), who kept them out front ahead of Ward (third). But that wasn’t going to last – Race #2 featured a total flip, with Ward victorious, followed once again by RoosEvans (second) and Zarbo (third).

Light B’s podiums both featured the elder statesman of the class, Mark Root, who won the first race and finished third in the second session. But he was the exception to the rule, with younger drivers such as Brendan McCann (first, Race #2) and Matthew Pyatt (second, both races) on the podium. Teen James Mann, who moved up to the older iDrive Series this fall after one season of iDrive Junior, rounded out the top three of Race #1 with his first-ever iDrive podium in either series.

Medium class featured a couple of consistent podium finishers – 2017 iDrive Light champion Bobby Krug doubled his pleasure with a pair of wins, while Jeremy Franko had repeat performances in third place. Charlie Keeven finished second in Race #1, while 2020 iDrive Medium champion Micah Floretta took home second in Race #2.

As the Fall iDrive opener wrapped up, the man with the most Kartplex sessions under his belt showed just what that amount of practice will get you as Mark Schwigen seized a double victory in Heavy class. Spring’s Heavy champion, Matt Zigaitis, wasn’t far behind – he placed second in Race #1 and third in Race #2. iDrive newcomer Derek Madison (third, Race #1) and iDrive regular Craig Pyatt (second, Race #2) completed the Heavy top threes.

Fall iDrive Round #2

In the second night of competition, a number of drivers continued to be dominant presences in the 2021 iDrive Series. This time, it was Heavy splitting into two groups because of a large class entry. As a result, Heavy’s deep field of skilled racers was on full display and putting on a real show. Schwigen, Craig Pyatt and 2019 iDrive Heavy champion Adam Crepin were the cream of the crop in Heavy A. Schwigen (first and third) and Crepin (third and first) bookended the podium in both races, while Craig Pyatt kept a solid grip on the second position all night.

Over in Heavy B, the tip-top twosome of Dennis Wilburn (first) and Zigaitis (second) duplicated their Race #1 podium places in Race #2. Ignite racer Randy Murdick finished just inside the top three in Race #1, while longtime iDrive Heavy competitor Steven Marshall (third) jubilantly found himself on the podium for the first time ever in Race #2.

The Medium class followed suit, as the fast, young pair of Max Swarringin (first) and Keeven (second) also posted identical finishes in both races. Third place went to Floretta (Race #1) and Mikey Wagner (Race #2), an iDrive regular who recently joined the Ignite Senior ranks.

Wrapping up the Round #2 recap is Light class, where Ward (first, Race #1; second, Race #2) kept ahead of Matthew Pyatt (second, Race #1; third, Race #2) all night. But Ward and Matthew Pyatt weren’t quite lucky enough in Race #2 – winner McCann, who started fifth and drove through the field, caught a break with lap traffic then waited until the pair’s battle gave him an opportunity to race past them. The final podium finisher of Light was Nathan Levenhagen, who rounded out the Race #1 top three in third.

iDrive’s skilled racers will be back once more on August 25th at 7 pm for Fall Round #3.

Recap by Rose vonHatten

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