The DeFrancesco duo was back on track this past weekend for rounds three and four of the Formula Kart Productions Florida Winter Tour (FWT). Taking place at the Homestead Karting Complex in the shadows of the famous Homestead-Miami Speedway, DeFrancesco Racing (DFR) with team drivers Devlin and Lachlan DeFrancesco would see action in the Vortex TaG Cadet division.

Taking to the track for Thursday and Friday's test sessions, Devlin would once again show the speed to run with some of the fastest cadet drivers in the country. Turning times quicker than a majority of the field, Devlin would look to gain as much speed as possible and give himself a chance at the event day's pole positions. Younger brother Lachlan, who was at the Homestead facility a few weeks prior for the Florida Karting Championship Series (FKCS), would continue to develop and work towards strong results. With a talented field of nearly 30 drivers, Lachlan would consistently run inside the top fifteen in his only his second year of competition.

Saturday would be the best day for results on this weekend, as Devlin would score another podium finish while Lachlan would come home 17th. After qualifying third during Saturday morning's official qualifying, the 12-year-old would improve in the heat race to cross the stripe in second. Starting from the front row for the main event, Devlin would take the lead early and maintain the point for the majority of the race. With a timing and scoring issue, Devlin was biding his time in second place before the checkered flag was displayed with no warning after only fifteen completed laps. Waiting for the final few circuits to make his move, Devlin was never given the chance and came home second.

A little deeper in the field, Lachlan, at only eight years of age, improved from his morning qualifying effort. After turning the 21st quickest time to line up inside row eleven, the up-and-coming pilot improved seven places to claim the 14th position. Looking to continue his march forward in the main event, Lachlan would come under heavy pressure, as wheel-to-wheel action would heat up, as he would fall back three positions to 17th.

Back on track for Sunday, the temperatures fell and the wind howled as both drivers continued to look for strong results. Unseasonably cold and windy in the Miami, Florida area, both Devlin and Lachlan would look to find the necessary grip to turn fast and consistent race laps.

Opening the morning with a successful warm-up session, the DeFrancesco duo had a disappointing qualifying run as Devlin was in unfamiliar territory, outside the top ten, and Lachlan was deep in the field in 22nd. Taking back to the paddock area to improve their Supertune USA powered Top Karts for the prefinal, Devlin drove like a seasoned veteran as he marched his way forward to a top five result while Lachlan once again improved on his qualifying effort to come home in the 20th position.

With great pressure to succeed by all drivers in the paddock, sometimes racing luck isn't on your side and this is the least that could be said for Devlin on this day. After taking the green flag from inside row three, Devlin moved from the fifth to the third position in corner one before contact was made in turn two and the youngster was sent into a spin and quickly fell to the tail of the field. As karts streamed by the stranded driver, Devlin would regain a running position outside the top twenty-five and would be forced to try and move forward.

Running with unfamiliar drivers, Devlin made short work of a few slower competitors as he sliced and diced his way through the field. With a host of drivers spread out over the 7/10ths of a mile facility, Devlin would be forced to catch and pass lap after lap, which hindered his progress. When the final checkered flag had flow, the 11-year-old multi-time race winner would come home 13th.

Steadily improving throughout the weekend was Lachlan DeFrancesco. Driving on a challenging permanent parking lot facility where curb hopping and hard braking is a must, Lachlan is in the process of following in his brother's footsteps. Improving one more position from his prefinal result, Lachlan recorded two top-20 results on the Formula Kart weekend.

The DeFrancesco brothers will enjoy no time off, as they will both be back at the same Homestead facility this coming weekend for the Florida Winter Tour Rotax weekend. With Devlin currently sitting second in the Rotax Mini Max overall point standings, he will look to come up victorious and set the stage for an epic championship battle next month.

For more information on DeFrancesco Racing, please contact Andy DeFrancesco via e-mail to Info@DFRUSA.com or visit them online at www.DFRUSA.com.

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