Confident in his own abilities, Thomas Nepveu came to the Ocala Gran Prix circuit this weekend with a clear goal: to be able to win in Sunday’s final. Following the previous rounds, the team has been working hard on the kart to gain speed and get better results. Unfortunately, a broken drive chain while running 3rd with two laps to go in the Pre-Final relegated him to the back of the field for the start of the Final. Starting from 19th place for the 20-lap Final, Thomas Nepveu climbed back up to 8th place by the end of the race, a feat of driving and effective kart settings that was good for the morale of the whole team.
Weekend Action According to Thomas Nepveu(extracts)
“We worked on the kart when we arrived in Ocala mid-week in order to correct the slight lack of speed we have been experiencing since the start of the season, checking out the engine, ignition, carburetion and chassis. Friday’s practice went well, but I was still missing the mark by a little bit, which always left me hungry as well as stuck during timed sessions behind slower drivers who were difficult to overtake on the very tight circuit,”said the driver who ultimately achieved a 6thposition in the last Friday practice session, demonstrating real progress.
“I set the second fastest time in the Sunday morning warm-up, which looked great for the Final. I started the 20-lap race from the 19th and last place on the grid and gave it all I had as overtaking is not easy on a tight track like Ocala. I was losing a little bit of time when I was passing someone, and I’m sure we were good for a Top-5 finish if I had started from the middle of the pack, especially as by now the kart was running much better than in the first races of the season.”
The team played some smart tactics for the Pre-Final and Final. The number of tires allowed for a weekend event is limited in ROK, forcing teams to choose when and how to use their last set of new tires by the end of the weekend. As the Ocala track has only two right-hand turns and five left-hand ones, the right-hand tires wear out faster than the left-hand ones. There was only one set of new tires left for the Pre-Final and Final, so the team decided to use new tires on the right and used but good tires on the left for the Saturday Pre-Final. The strategy worked perfectly as Thomas Nepveu climbed from ninth on the grid to third place in that Pre-Final before the chain broke. They used the same tactic for the Final and it again worked out well – a smart way to get the most out of his last set of new tires, and one that allowed Thomas Nepveu to make the final push through the field.
Another impressive fact is that Thomas Nepveu lost almost 6 seconds to the leader on the first completed lap, as he was stuck behind the pack. He finished the twenty laps 5.4 seconds behind the winner, having not lost any time to the leader as he worked his way through the field from 19th to 8th place – a remarkable drive on his part and a sign that the kart is moving close to fully competitive again. The times for each lap also indicated that he closed in on karts in front of him and passed them without hesitation once he had cleared the heavy traffic at the start of the race.
Karting Championships
Participating in three championships over the summer adds up to 23 professional events over the season(13 in karts and 10 in USF2000 cars). Each weekend is composed of multiple practice/qualifying sessions, Pre-final and Final races depending on each series’ rules. The considerable amount of racing time, plus the hours spent on simulators, will certainly accelerate Thomas Nepveu’s learning process given the high level of competition in every series.
Driving Instructor
Thomas Nepveu’s personality and technical knowledge also make him an ideal driving instructor, capable of transmitting his knowledge while making the student and the family comfortable during these important and often emotionally charged moments. Thomas Nepveu began working with novices in the spring of 2019, when he was only 14 years old, and continues to do so for the BCR(Ben Cooper Racing) race team.Last winter, with he even helped somePSL Kartingdrivers at a track in addition to taking care of his own machine(track walks, debrief meetings after each track session).
2021 Thomas Nepveu Karting Schedule
Date | Track | Location | Series | Event | Final 1 | Final 2 |
Jan. 8 to 10 | AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex | Homestead, FL | SKUSA | Winter Series Rounds 1&2 | 14 | 24 |
Jan. 16 to 17 | Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park | Pompano Beach, FL | ROK | Florida Winter Tour | 28 | – |
Feb. 9 to 14 | AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex | Homestead, FL | SKUSA | Winter Series Rounds 3&4 | 15 | 7 |
Feb. 18 to 21 | Ocala Gran Prix | Ocala, Fl. | ROK | Florida Winter Tour | 6 | – |
Mar. 19 to 21 | Ocala Gran Prix | Ocala, FL | ROK | Florida Winter Tour | 8 | — |
Mar. 26 to 28 | Nola Motorsport Park | New Orleans, LA | SKUSA | Winter Nationals | ||
May 22 to 23 | Utah Motorsports Campus | Utah | SKUSA | Spring Nationals | ||
Aug. 11 to 15 | New Castle Motorsports Park | New Castle, IN | SKUSA | Summer Nationals | ||
Oct. 16 to 17 | GoPro Motorplex | Mooresville, NC | USPKS | The Carolina Grand Prix | ||
Nov. 6 to 7 | Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NE | ROK | ROK the Rio | ||
Nov. 20 to 21 | Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NE | SKUSA | Super Nationals |
Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship
Thomas Nepveu’s plans for the 2021 season call for him to participate for the first time in the eight (8) weekends of theUSF2000series(for a total of 18 races), the first of the four steps on the Road to Indy Program on the way to a career in IndyCar, the fastest and most prestigious single-seater series in North America.
The USF2000 professional-level series uses technically advanced cars that are all identical, and feature a reinforced carbon fibre central tub, adjustable front and rear spoilers, a sealed 175 hp engine and a six-speed gearbox with paddle shifters on the steering wheel, driver-adjustable front-rear braking distribution, and adjustable suspensions. The complexity of the car’s settings and the analysis of driving and track performance data allow young drivers to learn how to refine their driving skills and gain a deeper understanding of the technical aspects of such sophisticated machines.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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