ANTHONY GANGI JR. WRAPS UP 2015 RACING SEASON WITH TWO TRIPS TO EUROPE AND SKUSA SUPERNATIONALS
Anthony Gangi Jr. recently completed an exciting 2015 racing season, and announces plans to race in Europe full time in 2016
After earning race wins at the Florida Winter Tour, ROK Cup USA series, and Rotax Summer Shootout, championship podiums at the Florida Winter Tour and SKUSA Pro Tour, and championship titles in the ROK Cup USA series and United States Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Nationals, top karting talent Anthony Gangi Jr. recently wrapped up a rigorous and exciting end to his 2015 racing season.
Finishing up the final races on his 2015 calendar, Gangi Jr. headed to Europe two times, representing Team USA at the ROK Cup International Final and the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals. First traveling to Italy in October for the ROK event as the ROK Cup USA Junior Champion, the Brookville, New York resident was met with a challenge.
“We were quick all week in the rain but at qualifying the track dried up,” explains Gangi’s father, Anthony Gangi Sr. “Due to the lack of experience of racing in Europe, we were taken by surprise how immediately the track got grip and therefore we missed the setup for Jr. He ended up with a bad qualifying result and struggled from there.”
Grip issues plagued Gangi Jr. in Portugal as well, this time for the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, which he qualified for after taking his third United States Rotax MAX Challenge Grand National title. Becoming the first driver to earn US Rotax National titles in the Micro MAX, Mini MAX and Junior MAX class, the karting phenom earned his berth on Team USA in the prestigious international competition.
“We were put into the first practice group which followed the DD2 rubber, making the second group much faster all week,” adds Gangi Sr. “We felt that it would not have been a problem if they were going to split the groups for qualifying into a fast group and a slow group, which they did not do. This caused us to have a very bad qualifying result, again. That combined with contact on the start of one of the heat races, which resulted in a broken rear bumper and getting a black flag, ultimately put Jr. in the LCQ.”
Gangi Jr. to Contest WSK and CIK Competition in Europe for 2016
Gangi Jr. would then complete his 2015 racing season at the ultra-competitive Superkarts! USA SuperNationals at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hungry for ultimate SuperNats glory, Gangi Jr. showed everyone what he is capable of by clocking pole position in the 70+ strong TaG Junior class. Controversy ensued in heat one, where Gangi Jr. received an unjustified penalty. No mechanical black flag was waived for a cracked fairing on the #07n Tony Kart/GT7 Motorsports entry, with officials imposing a DQ upon the conclusion of the heat. Reduced to a five-position penalty, as opposed to the win, Gangi Jr. started the main event on the outside row in the fourth position. An unfortunately timed green flag for the start, with a good part of the inside row ahead, led to a crash for Gangi Jr. costing him the win. The young talent did clock the fastest race lap while passing, ending with a top-ten finish in eighth.
Additionally, chosen as one of the 12 finalists for the 2015 Mazda Road to Indy Driver Advancement Program in conjunction with Andersen Promotions and MAXSpeed Group, Gangi Jr. was ultimately not picked as one of the four winners. However, he would like to extend his congratulations to those who were.
With Gangi Jr. having an incredible experience abroad and looking for a new challenge, the future star is pleased to announce he will contest the full 2016 racing season in Europe. Set to compete in OK (Senior) in both WSK and CIK competition with Ward Racing, Gangi Jr. will stay aboard the familiar Tony Kart chassis with Matsuura Masanori as tuner.
None of this would be possible without all the continued support Gangi Jr. has received all year from his team, crew, sponsors and supporters. Thank you to Mike Doty, Matsuura Masanori, Chad Brakens of Race Data Dynamics, Daniel Lambert (Disco Dan), Daniel and Gary Woltjer of Woltjer Engines, Nate Grindell, Mike Speed, Alex Speed, Mario Ioffredo, Jorge Arellano and everyone at OGP, GT7 Motorsports, Millwork Solutions, Holeshot Chains and Sprockets, PKT, and Hot Head Engine Preheaters.
The GT7 Motorsports Team is a proud Tony Kart and Vortex engine dealer for the US North East. For more information on Anthony Gangi Jr. please check out his website at www.GangiJr.com. For more information GT7 Motorsports please visit their website www.GT7Motorsports.com or contact Anthony Gangi Sr. at 516-635-8594 or email at agangi@mac.com.
About Anthony Gangi Jr.
Anthony Gangi Jr. is a young racing star out to set new records and earn the #1 National Ranking. With 3 International and 4 National Championships to his name, Anthony Gangi Jr. is the real deal on the path to being a superstar in motorsports!
In 2015, Anthony Jr. contested both the ROK and Rotax weekends of the Florida Winter Tour. Following that, he took on the ROK Cup USA series, and SKUSA Pro Tour events as well as the Rotax Summer Shootout and U.S. Rotax MAX Grand Nationals. Anthony Jr. and GT7 Motorsports will end their season with the ROK International Final in Lonato, Italy, the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals in Portimao, Portugal as well as the 19th running of the SuperKarts! USA SuperNationals in Las Vegas, Nevada to close out the 2015 Pro Tour.
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