A learning weekend for Thomas Nepveu with a 7th grid spot for his first race in the shifter rok class and an unsatisfactory ending to the final race

First round of the ROK Cup USA Series Florida Winter Tour - Isle Casino Circuit (Pompano Beach, Florida)

Pompano Beach (Florida, United States) - January 17^th, 2021. Thomas Nepveu and his team worked on their kart set-up throughout the three-day event of the first round of the ROK Cup USA - Florida Winter Tour, held on a tight course created in the large parking lot at Isle Casino in Pompano Beach, just south of Miami Beach. Over Friday's practice session (January 15^th) aboard his Birel Art kart in the Shifter ROK class, the quickest machines in the event, Thomas Nepveu experienced some handling difficulties, especially coming out of the slow corners. The PSL Karting team tackled the issues and gradually corrected them between on-track practice sessions on Friday and at the end of the day, as well as on Saturday morning (January 16^th) between qualifying races Q1 and Q2.

Q1 et Q2 on Saturday morning (January 16)

These adjustments transformed Thomas Nepveu's kart into a competitive machine, as demonstrated when he tuned in the quickest lap time in Q3 and finished 7^th in Q4, thus earning himself the 7^th spot on the starting grid for Sunday's final race. That was well within reach of the leading group for the 20-lap final race (Check out page 2 for more details according to Thomas on how the weekend went).

"I'm really happy with the work the whole team did in this first race for me at this high level in the Shifter class. We worked hard and managed to qualify 7^th, in good position for a top-5 finish in the final. I made an excellent start from 7^th on the inside lane and moved up to 4^th on the first lap by passing people on the inside. I lost a few places on the following laps then all the drivers stopped blocking the inside by lap 6 and we all settled down to the normal quicker racing lines. I then got bumped off the track and lost about 30 seconds. I pitted and went back out again only to be bumped a second time. We then decided to retire from the race, with a pretty banged up machine. I'm really happy with the work we did over the weekend to improve the kart in this first race for me in the Shifter class, the top American competition level. Even if it had not ended the way we wanted it to, we'll be ready for the next round in a few weeks," said Thomas Nepveu.

Our result for the whole weekend is all the more deserving for everyone concerned, as this was Thomas Nepveu's third event in his career at the wheel of a "Shifter" kart and it was at the top level in America. During almost all of his 300 or so career races, the young driver was at the wheel of more conventional direct drive karts, with a fixed final chain drive (no gearbox) and a single rear brake. These shifter karts add 8 extra horses (from 35 to 43), a six-speed gearbox, front brakes, and a manual clutch. These are all new variables that need to be optimized and used optimally by the driver. Thomas Nepveu obviously adapts quickly to such changes.

Next Events

Thomas Nepveu and his team will be back in Florida for the third and fourth rounds of the SuperKarts! USA - Winter Series held at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex (Florida) on February 12^th to 14^th. On the following weekend, the second round of the ROK Cup USA - Florida Winter Tour will take place from February 18^th to 21^st at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg (Florida).

The weekend events according to Thomas Nepveu (extraits)

Friday (January 15^th): "I had to adapt quickly to the new type of kart on the very tight track, where I had to use the first of six gears in the gearbox in the three slowest corners, which is very rare for us. The first gear ratio must be just right for me to be at the minimum of the ideal power range (12,000 to 13,700 rpm) to optimize my corner exit. I use a "diamond" type of line in the turns, braking very hard on entry and then changing direction abruptly at the corner apex, where I am almost stopped, and then accelerate as hard as I can in an almost-straight line along the next straightaway. You have to be exactly at the right rpm (just above 12 000) when you accelerate on the exit. You must know the track to decide what ratio you need to install in the gearbox in time for qualifying the next day. It's extremely difficult to overtake on this 17-corner and 0.74 mile (1.2 km) track, and you must always stay on the clean side of the track as it is very dirty and slippery when we change lanes to overtake. In addition to opening the gearbox to change gears, we also suspension and chassis settings, and I expect better results for Saturday's qualifying races."

Saturday (January 16^th): "This was a good day for us as we started out with a better machine than yesterday after work the team put in last night. I managed to fight my way up from the mid-pack with better and better results in each of the four qualifying races, especially in the two afternoon qualifying sessions. The gearbox ratio we installed on Friday night and some minor carburettor adjustments worked great. Two good starts from the inside row in Q3 and Q4 allowed me to move up the grid. Q4 went really well as I started 9^th in the inside lane and was able to move up to 6^th before my increasingly worn tires slowed me and left me in 7^th place at the end. I still managed to keep a group of three faster drivers behind me, keeping 7^th place for the grid for tomorrow's 20-lap final race."

Thomas Nepveu 2021 Karting Results

High resolution photos: https://cutt.ly/cjU8Ebm
Photo credits: Canadian Karting News

Additional information

Thomas Nepveu Career Path and Results

Born in Oka (Quebec), Thomas Nepveu has always shown a great interest in extreme sports, starting with small motorcycles on dirt tracks. He quickly moved on to karts first in the Montreal area, then on to provincial and national series, and to the United States and on other continents.

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 some drivers from PSL Karting (PSL Karting) at a track in addition to taking care of his own machine (track walks, debrief meetings after each track session).

2020

• Single seater debut in the Mexican F4 series at the Autodromo de Querétaro, Mexico
• 1 victory and 2 podiums out of 3 races
• Victory in the ROK Fest East series - Charlotte (NC) (ROK Senior class)
• 6^th in Championship
• 1 pole out of 3 races in ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour (ROK Senior class)
• 6^th and 1 podium (3^rd) out of 4 races SKUSA Winter Series
• 8^th and 2 poles out of 6 races in the SKUSA Pro Tour

2019

• Transition to Senior class
• Canadian Karting Champion
• Canadian Shifter Open Champion
• Two top-5 finishes in the SKUSA Pro Tour (Senior class)
• Qualified for the Final in the WSK Euro Series (Sarno, Italy)

2018

• US Open Champion
• 3^rd in the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour series
• 4^th in the Max Challenge class at the Rotax Grand Final (Brazil)
• 15^th in the CIK-FIA World Championship OKJ (Sweden)
• 5^th in the ROK the Rio (Las Vegas)

2017

• Transition year to the Junior class (12 to 16)
• 1^st in the Florida Winter Tour (2^nd round)
• 2^nd in Eastern Canadian Karting Championship

2016

• Debut with PSL Karting
• Youngest driver (11) on the Canadian Karting Team
• Champion in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship with 7 victories in 7 races, a first in this event
• Champion at the Mini Swift Super Nationals
• Runner-up in the Mini Max world championship
• Team Canada finishes first of 54 countries in the (Rotax) World Championships with Thomas Nepveu the top Canadian finisher in the Mini-Max class

2015

• Transition year (11 to 13 class)
• Quebec Cup runner-up
• 4^th in Eastern Canada Championship
• 3^rd in Canadian Championship

2014

• Quebec Cup champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 3^rd in Canadian Championship
• 3^rd in Florida Winter Series (first podium in the United States)

2013

• Wins all Canadian championships in the 9 year-old class
• Quebec Cup champion
• Western Canada champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 6^th in the Micro Max class at the Rotax Grand Finals in New Orleans, Louisiana

2012

• First year in racing, in the Micro Max class, in Quebec and Ontario
• 5^th in the Quebec Cup

The X30 S Kart Driven by Thomas Nepveu in SuperKarts USA

The Birel ART go-kart in the X30 S class raced by Thomas Nepveu in the SKUSA series, the quickest machine in the series, uses a 125 cc two-stroke engine that delivers its 35 hp directly to the rear axle via a chain (called "Direct Drive"), and uses a single brake disc on the rear axle. Thomas Nepveu's past record confirms that he masters these super fast machines and starts every race with a solid option on a top-5 finish.

These machines look simple at first glance with their lack of conventional suspension, but they are very complex to set up. In order to obtain the ideal behaviour on a given track, we work to obtain the ideal flexibility of the assembly by changing or adjusting different components: the chassis support crossbar at the front, the tightening of the chassis bolts, the thickness and width of the rear axle, the buckets and uprights of different stiffness, the variable wheelbase, the rubber and tire pressures, the ground clearance, the rigidity of the hubs, the carburetion and ignition, the gear ratio of the transmission chain.

The X30 S 125 cc engine delivers great power over a wide RPM range (from 7,000 to 16,000 rpm) and the fixed final gear dictates an almost round cornering trajectory to maintain the highest possible constant speed in order to keep the engine within this optimum power range and optimize re-acceleration on corner exit.

The Shifter ROK Kart Raced By Thomas Nepveu In the ROK Cup USA Series

The Birel ART kart used by Thomas Nepveu in the 'Shifter ROK' class differs from a classic direct drive kart by adding a six-speed gearbox and a manual clutch to transmit its 43 hp to the rear axle, in addition to two disc brakes at the front and an adjuster to set the front-rear distribution of the braking forcer.

As in a conventional kart, the shifter kart adjusted using the same variables as on conventional go-karts, as well as selecting the six ratios of the gearbox, adjusting the clutch for the starts, and setting the front/rear distribution of braking effort.

About PSL Karting

PSL Karting is a company based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, that specializes in the preparation and support of drivers in karting races, in addition to acting as a North American distributor and managing the official Birel ART racing team in America via a nationally ranked racing team whose objective is to develop young drivers and promote Birel ART products. Founded in 1999, PSL is recognized in the North American karting market with its advanced distribution system for selling chassis, accessories, components and equipment for kart and single-seater drivers.

Over the years, the team has grown from a simple store to a large warehouse/workshop with a full-time professional team. In addition to its distribution activity, the PSL racing team has won numerous national and regional karting championships over the last 10 years and offers preparation and track support services that have helped produce some of the best drivers in the world. In 2015, PSL partnered with Birel ART and All Road Management, a group responsible for the success of Formula 1 drivers such as Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo, Pastor Maladonado and the late Jules Bianchi.

In the medium term, PSL is focused on growing Birel ART and the new Ricciardo Kart line in North America, creating a strong brand presence in all its markets and offering tailored services to customers at all levels of karting and motorsports.

CONTACT

Jessica Ménard, Les Equipes Caissie-Menard inc.
Business consultant - Thomas Nepveu Motorsport
Cell.: 819.448.6514 - E-mail: jmenard@caissiemenard.com