(Photo: Kart360.com and CanadianKartingNews.com)
“2015 race winners will rejoin Indiana based squad next season”
Payton Durrant and Ugo Ugochukwu rejoin Team Koene USA in 2016
With the 2015 karting season all but complete and the 2016 campaign just around the corner, Team Koene USA is happy to announce that Payton Durrant and Ugo Ugochukwu will be back with the squad next season. Building upon their success, the duo will look to continue the strong results from the driver development program that Koene USA has become known for over the past years.
Both multi-time race winners in the Team Koene USA program, Ugochukwu will look to continue his winning ways in North America while also competing in several European karting events while Durrant will move to the junior ranks and will look to gain experience and impress all in his rookie campaign.
“We are very pleased to have Payton and Ugo back with Team Koene USA in 2016,” explained Team Principal Mike Maurini. “Both drivers have blossomed in the Koene USA program and both will be fighting for championships this coming weekend at the US Open of Las Vegas with Durrant sitting third in the Rotax Mini Max championship standings and Ugochukwu on top in Rotax Micro Max.”
While both drivers have been successful in 2015, they have both taken much different routes in their rise to the top. Durrant scored multiple victories at the 2015 Rotax Challenge of the Americas en route to a second place result in the championship points battle. Heading into US Open competition, the Utah resident claimed the inaugural victory in Dallas before standing on the podium in Colorado. An intense battle at the annual United States Rotax Grand Nationals saw Durrant close to the front of the field throughout the weekend as he claimed a top-five finish and now he is set to compete in Las Vegas twice within the next month. Tackling the US Open finale, the Tony Kart driver will look to battle hard for the series crown in his final Mini Max race before entering the TaG Junior class at the annual SuperKarts! USA (SKUSA) SuperNationals.
Ugochukwu started the 2015 karting season off on the right foot by claiming the Rotax Micro Max championship at the annual Florida Winter Tour. From there, he went on to claim race wins in the World Karting Association Manufacturers Cup, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship and US Open programs while attaining podiums in the ROK Cup USA and United States Pro Kart Series. Currently the point leader of the Rotax Micro Max division entering the US Open finale, Ugochukwu will look to cap his season off with another championship. Ugochukwu is also set to contest the SKUSA SuperNationals in the IAME Mini Swift TaG Cadet class.
In 2016, Durrant will compete in the Rotax Junior class at the Rotax Challenge of the Americas, the US Open, Rotax Summer Shootout and United States Rotax Grand Nationals. He will also see action in the TaG Junior class for the entire SKUSA Pro Tour. Looking to fill in some off weekends, Durrant may see action in other national level karting programs and get his feet wet in a European karting event or two.
Ugochukwu will join Team Koene USA for the ROK Cup USA portion of the Florida Winter Tour and the SKUSA Pro Tour. Also seeing action in the ROK Cup USA, World Karting Association and United States Pro Kart Series programs, the up and coming motorsports star will compete in the entire CSAI Italian Championship and select other events in the European karting scene.
Maurini added, “These are just two drivers of several that will be with Team Koene USA in 2016. We look forward to helping them continue to achieve their goals and stand atop the podium in some of the biggest karting events in North America.”
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