Jamaican representatives Alex Powell, Beckham Toupikov, Collin Daley Jnr and Ryan Lue all made their 2019 season debuts at the SKUSA Winter Series event held at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex in Miami, Florida on January 11th and 12th.
Racing in his 6th ever event, Beckham qualified 13th in the Micro class on Saturday then finished 9th in the Pre-Final and Final. On Sunday he repeated his qualifying position; 13th, then finished 12th in the Pre-Final and 9th again in the Final. “He is the most inexperienced driver in the event. Track is very fast and it tested Beckham’s driving skills to the max” reported his father Dmitri Toupikov. “There were 5 or 6 drivers that came down from Mini to Micro; that stiffens the competition even more but he pushed hard”
Ryan Lue raced in the KA100 Jr/Sr class, qualifying 10th on Saturday, finishing 6th in the Pre-Final and 5th in the Final. In Sunday’s Round 2, he qualified 13th, then finished 13th in the Pre-Final and 11th in the Final. “Our motor was definitely down on power and getting weaker” reported Craig Lue “there was nothing that Ryan could do; it was just one of those weekends. He drove well despite the lack of power.”
Switching from Shifter to the very crowded X30 Senior class, Collin Daley jnr qualified 30th in his group for Round 1 on Saturday, placed 18th in his Pre-Final then 22nd in the Final. For Sunday’s Round 2 he qualified 25th, placed 12th in his Pre-Final then finished 15th in the Final. “Not quite the results we were hoping for but a great effort from everyone on the team.” reported Colin’s team DRT Racing.
Returning to the Mini class, Alex Powell qualified 3rd for Saturday’s Round 1, briefly led the Pre-Final before finishing 5th, then drove from behind to claim 2nd place on the Final podium. On Sunday he qualified 7th; “In the Pre-Final Alex got hit from behind which sent him sideways on top of his teammate Nikita Johnson. When the kart landed it bent the axle and after two laps the chain came off” reported John Powell. Alex was credited with a DNF. “In the Final he had to start from last and worked his way up to 9th but two karts in front of him crashed; he had to slow down and go around them and lost three positions.” Alex Finished 12th as the final was reduced by four laps due to the event running late.
Beckham and Ryan will be returning to Miami to contest Rounds 3 & 4 on February 8th to 10th, Collin will race in the ROK Florida Winter Tour while Alex will fly to Italy to prepare for the WSK Championships.
The JMMC congratulate all four racers for their results and wish them good luck for a safe and successful season.
Pictured: Top left; Alex Powell on podium with 2nd place trophy. Top center” Alex Powell in kart. Top right; Ryan Lue in pre-grid area. Lower left; Beckham Toupikov reviewing race footage, and in action. Lower right; Collin Daley Jnr in action.
