ANTHONY GANGI JR. YEAR END REPORT
The G7 Motorsports team, along with driver Anthony Gangi Jr., put the wraps on an outstanding, yet challenging third season of racing as they ended the year just as it started; on the podium. Running in five different classes in four different series, 10-year-old Gangi Jr. criss-crossed the United States looking to build on a stellar 2010 campaign. Anthony Jr. was able to hit the podium on 14 occasions in 2011, racking up seven major victories through the Florida Winter Tour, WKA Manufacturer's Cup Series, Pan American Challenge, US Rotax Grand Nationals and the SuperKarts! USA SuperNationals.
"We knew that 2010 would be a tough year to follow. It really was a dream season," comments Anthony Gangi Sr. "We ran a lot of different races and different packages this year to broaden our program. We learned a ton and had some great results along the way. The move to Mini Max at the end of year was good preparation for the 2012 season."
The 2011 season started at the Florida Winter Tour with Anthony Jr. running in both the TaG Cadet and Rotax Micro Max classes. In the TaG Cadet class, Gangi Jr. finished inside the top ten in all six rounds with a fourth place finish in the series opener being his best result. That effort earned him fifth place in the overall TaG Cadet Championship in his first series run in the Vortex Mini Rok package. In Micro Max, Anthony Jr. was looking to defend his 2010 class title and opened the series with double podiums in January at the Orlando Karting Complex. In round two Saturday racing action disaster struck as Gangi Jr. was shown the wrong flag while leading the field into the final laps and exited the track a lap early suffering a 27th place finish. The 2010 Micro Max National Champion bounced back the next day to take second in Sunday round. Heading into the final weekend, Anthony Jr. had a shot at the title but knew he needed a stellar weekend to close the gap. A hard fought final run at the Ocala Gran Prix saw the young driver take sixth and third in the final weekend to secure third overall in the Micro Max class championship.
Another solid series for Gangi Jr. was the reformed Pan American Challenge, were he earned three wins in four starts in the Micro Max class, including a sweep of the weekend at Michiana Raceway Park. The other finish was a second place, putting Gangi Jr. at the top of the Micro Max standings heading into the Finale. The G7 Motorsports team decided to move to the Mini Max class for the Finale taking place at New Castle Motorsports Park. While the results where mixed, the team learned what they need to do to be competitive in 2012.
Next up was a trip west, where Anthony Jr. had a solid US Grand Nationals held at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah as he ran at the front of the field all week long. In the prefinal the 2010 National Champion ran a perfect race as he took the win and led the field from pole in the final event of the weekend with a second national title on the line. Anthony Jr. would lead the opening eight laps of the final then moved to second for a last dash to the checkerd flag. In the end Gangi Jr. had to settle for fourth, leaving his charge one corner too late.
The G7 Motorsport Team wrapped up the year with a trip to the SKUSA SuperNationals XV held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Anthony Jr. was on pole for the Super Sunday final in his first visit in 2010 and wanted to back up that performance in 2011. And back up that performance he did, as Anthony Jr. ran great all weekend, running at the front throughout the heat races and taking third place in the red-flag shortened race earning a trip to the post race podium.
"The mistake at the Florida Winter Tour was defiantly the low point of the season. That cost us a second title for sure," smiles Gangi Jr. as he prepares for 2012. "I think the high point might be the SuperNationals. Getting on the podium this year was great."
2012 has big changes in store for G7 Motorsports as they rebrand to become GT7 Motorsports with the addition of cadet driver Dylan Tavella to the program. Also, the team will make the switch to the Tony Kart chassis beginning with the 2012 Florida Winter Tour as team looks to extend it's success and build their racing program. Both Dylan and Anthony Jr. will be in action for both weekends of 2012 Florida Winter Tour racing taking on the Formula Kart classes in TaG Cadet and then the Rotax weekend in Micro Max with Dylan and Mini Max with Anthony Jr.
"Everyone is really excited about 2012. This is a very exciting year for Dylan," comments GT7 Motorsports principal Phil Tavella. "Teaming up with Anthony Jr. will be great for our program and I am excited about the direction we are taking with the move to Tony Kart."
