Castaneda Scores Top 5 Finish in World Championship Debut

Twenty year old, Troy Castaneda, from Sacramento, CA recently competed in his first Rotax World Final Championship in which he qualified the highest ever out of any American to compete in the history of the event and finished a very impressive 5th place after starting stone last in 34th.

Every year the Rotax World Finals take place in a different country; this year, they took place in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. The Rotax World Finals are considered the “Olympics of Karting” and is where the best of the best are invited to race. Over 200 drivers from over 60 nations were represented at this prestigious event. Rotax offers the only racing series with a one make engine that is sealed to ensure fairness and a level playing field. This concept really allows driver skill and talent to shine through. At the World Finals, the field is even more leveled with every driver driving the same chassis. Each driver randomly draws their kart and motor by pulling a ping pong ball with a number written on it which corresponds to the chassis number. When the driver’s receive their kart, they must choose and mount a seat. As all of the motors and chassis’ are brand new, some assembly is still required. This ensures totally equality as each kart and motor package are distributed at random. There are 3 categories of Rotax represented; Junior, Senior and DD2. Each class is divided with 72 drivers in each group. Troy competed in the DD2 class which is the fastest Rotax class out there. DD2 stands for Direct Drive, 2 speed. This motor has 2 gears, essentially a low and high, first and second; which are activated by a paddle mechanism located directly behind the steering wheel.

The Rotax World Finals span over one week consisting of 4 practice sessions, 3 heat races, LCQ, a pre final and final. During the course of the event there are certain regulations in place that keep all motors and chassis’ as even as possible. For example, tuning the carburetor is limited to only 2 different main jets and a few clip positions. As for the chassis, you must use only what is supplied to you when you receive the kart; meaning one cannot change axles, hubs, spindles etc...

Monday is the day allocated for preparing the kart for the biggest week of the year. Tuesday consists of two practice sessions, the first being 20 minutes and the second being 15 minutes. Straight out of the box, Troy was one of the quickest drivers on track, but his session was cut short due to some motor issues. The gear box was not working properly and kept randomly popping into neutral. He was only able to complete about 5 or 6 laps before having to pull in. Diego Valverde, Troy’s mechanic and tuner, looked over the motor and everything seemed in order. He checked with Rotax and they changed a shifting mechanism on the motor to fix the problem. Believing the motor problems were behind them they set out for the second and final practice session of the day. Within one lap, they had the same issue and their day was done. After checking over everything they soon realized that the axle was sliding and this was causing the problem. Since the DD2 has no chain, there is a hub that is connected to the motor which drives the axle. If the “teeth” from the hub and the motor are not connected, there is no drive. Diego and Troy soon found out that they were not the only ones suffering from this issue; about 10 other drivers were going through the same thing.

By the third practice session on Wednesday morning everything was sorted and Troy was now looking at going out for his first “real” practice session. At the end of the 15 minute session, Castaneda was sitting 5th in his group on the time sheets. With one more 15 minute practice ahead of them before qualifying, Diego and Troy made some changes to the chassis and gearing to find the best combination of everything. At the end of the 4th and final practice, Troy was 8th on the time sheets. Next up was qualifying. Anticipating only 3 or 4 laps, Troy found a gap in the traffic to do so. Things were looking good, but the tires took much longer than expected to come in. On his fastest lap, he ran into traffic heading any faster laps. Without wanting to destroy the tires, Troy pulled it in. After the dust settled, he wound up 3rd on the time sheets, less than .05 away from pole. After combing both of the DD2 groups, Castaneda found himself 8th overall! (Since there are 72 drivers per class, only half of the field is allowed on track at one time.)

“Wow! I can’t believe it,” exclaimed Troy. “The field is so incredibly close. We were the last group out for the day and the track definitely cooled down a bit and I think that’s what caught us off guard with how long it took for the tires to come in. Nonetheless I’m excited to start the races from the 2nd row!”

Troy would be starting 4th for all of the heat races as each class is divided into 4 different groups for the 3 races.

Thursday morning, heat 1 was under way and Troy had a great start and was up to 3rd in the first lap. By the middle of the race, he was up to 2nd place chasing down the leader. With only a few laps to go, the kart fell off and Troy was passed by two karts which through him off line and out of rhythm. On the last lap again Troy was passed again and at the checkered flag he was 7th. After making some changes to the chassis and to the tire pressure they were ready for the second heat. When the lights went out, Troy had another great start from the outside second row. Although he dropped back to 5th in the opening laps, Castaneda fought hard and got back into 4th and remained there for the rest of the race.

After two great heats, Diego and Troy were looking for a top finish in the third and final heat race on Friday to get the best possible starting position for the pre final. Looking to repeat the same start from the previous day, Castaneda followed close behind the outside pole sitter. Unfortunately, the result was not the same. Someone made contact on the inside sending a couple drivers in a spin. Troy moved far to the outside to avoid a collision, but was tagged in the right rear spinning him out. Luckily there was no damage, but now he was deep in the field. Troy fought hard to work his way up and even more bad luck struck when he exited the second to last corner and the driver in front suddenly slowed. Troy moved quickly to the right, but it wasn’t enough and caught his left front tire on the rear bumper of the kart ahead. This severely bent Troy’s tire rod, but he was still able to continue. Even with a damaged kart he was still working his way through the field setting times only half of second slower than the leaders. At the end of the race, Castaneda would arrive in a disappointing 19th place. With no more racing for the rest of the day, all that was in order was to clean and prep the kart for the pre final on Saturday morning. Only 34 karts made the cut to Saturday so as long as you were within the top half you were automatically qualified to the final.

After all of the calculations were made, Troy would be starting 16th.

“It’s really crazy. One bad heat race and I end up dropping half way down the field,” said a disappointed Castaneda. “Even so, I feel that we have a fast package and as long as I get through the first corner, I can start to make my way up. Our goal is to finish in the top 8 so we can have a good starting position for the final.”
The lights went out and 34 karts headed into turn one. This time Troy made it through without a scratch, but unfortunately the biggest scratch was soon to come. On the exit of turn 2 a driver ran over Troy’s kart, destroying his radiator and ending his race in less than 10 seconds of the first lap. Being the first kart out of the race meant that Castaneda would start the main event in his first Rotax World Championship in 34th place.

Having to repair the broken parts in less than a couple hours seemed like no problem until Troy and his mechanic realized that they had to pay in cash for the parts… Troy ended up having to run in his driving suit and shoes to find a nearby atm. He was able to find one across the street, but could not get his card to work. He then ran to another hotel down the street, but was faced with the same problem. Castaneda ran back to the track looking for help. With only 15 minutes left until he needed to be in parc ferme, Troy was running out of options. There was a bank about a mile away in which he ended up taking a taxi to get to it. By the time he got what he needed and was heading back to the track, it was time for him to be at the grid. Running back to the pits with the parts needed for the repair, Diego quickly assembled everything and they made it to parc ferme just in time; the gates closed right behind them.
With a full field of the best drivers from around the world, Troy had his hands full. He had a decent start and at the end of lap 1, he was already in 28th place. His charge to the front was nothing short of a miracle; passing karts lap after lap. He was setting lap times that were consistently 2 tenths faster than the leaders. At the end of the 24 lap Rotax World Finals main event, Troy finished an impressive 5th place.

“I can’t believe it. I just focused on taking advantage of every passing opportunity,” explained Troy. “As soon as I caught up to someone, I would pass them right away. At the end of the race I had no idea what placed I finished until I got to the scales. I just want to thank everyone who helped me get here; this was a fantastic experience and I learned a lot. I’m looking forward to next year! Thank you!”

Troy is supported by Bariani Olive Oil, April Phillips Design Works, De Anza Services, The Studios, Motorsport Services and Marin Karting.

For more information on Troy Castaneda and photos from the event or for partnership opportunities please visit www.troycastaneda.com.

Also, while over in Egypt, Troy wrote a journal; to read his entries please visit www.troycastaneda.com.