Intense race weekend for Thomas Nepveu

2021-02-14

"... my 16-position move up through the field on Saturday leaves us on a positive note - we will be ready for next week at Ocala!"

15^th and 7^th place finishes in Rounds 3 and 4 of the SKUSA Winter Series
February 12 to 14, 2021 - AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex (Florida)

Homestead (Florida, United States) - February 14, 2021. Thomas Nepveu was back this past weekend on the 0.7 mile, 11-turn kart track at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex for the third and fourth rounds of the now legendary SKUSA Winter Series (Superkart! USA - X30 Senior class). Over Friday's practice and Saturday's races, Thomas Nepveu and his PSL Karting crew worked hard to recover the 0.2 sec. lap time deficit against the quickest machines. During the Saturday Final race, the young driver from Oka demonstrated his talent by moving up from 31^st to 15^th place at the finish. The innocent victim of two incidents in the Sunday Final crossed the finish line in 7^th position.

As the lead driver at PSL Karting, Thomas Nepveu benefits from the full support of this leading team and its technical director Coy Arbour when racing his Birel ART machine in the X30 Senior category, the most competitive one in the SKUSA series. Races in this class are always close, with 35 riders registered for this weekend's competition.

The Weekend Action According to Thomas Nepveu

Friday (February 12): "We needed more speed right from the start of practice on Friday morning. That meant that we had to go through the kart to ensure that every component was working as it should, that the settings were correct, and also had to replace any parts that were not up to spec, After an improvement of two tenths of a second compared to the quickest kart in the last session today, we still have to fine-tune the settings tomorrow (Saturday) in order to be well positioned for a podium finish in the finals tomorrow and Sunday," concluded a driver satisfied with his team's day's work.

Racing is a complex sport that depends on the perfect efficiency of the equipment and the participants. When things do not go as planned, such as today and during the first rounds of the series last January, the team has to refocus and recheck everything without ever giving up. This is what the team and Thomas Nepveu have done so far this weekend.

Saturday (February 13): "After a decent result in the warm-up session, I got stuck in traffic during qualifying and recorded a time 0.2 seconds slower than the pole sitter. In the Pre-Final race, I moved up from 11^th at the start to 6th place, despite the fact that the kart was still somewhat slower than the leaders. Starting from 12^th place on the grid for the 22-lap Final, I was pushed into an incident that occurred right in front of me on the first lap, The blow bent my bumper and affected the handling to a certain degree. I found myself in 31^st position on lap 2 and pushed as hard as I could for the rest of the race. In fact, I clawed my way back to a 16^th-place finish. The machine was not yet perfect, and we are still working on it to make the most of tomorrow's qualifying session and races," explained Thomas Nepveu, a motivated driver for the second day of racing on Sunday.

Moving up from 31^st to 15^th position in a short race on a less-than-perfect machine illustrates certainly Thomas Nepveu's driving talent, but it also shows his determination and an ability to adapt his driving to the behaviour of the kart in order to still get the most out of it.

Sunday (February 14): "Qualifying was not perfect, but it was better than yesterday. I improved a little bit on the last lap and ended up 10th, as we are still two tenths of a second short. In the Pre-Final I moved up from 10th on the grid to 6th on the first lap. Another incident occurred in front of me and forced me to drive on the dirty and slippery side of the track, which dropped me back to 9th place for the end of the pre-final. I had a good start from 9th on the grid for the 22-lap Final, moving up to 5^th place on the first lap. I did not last, as another incident in front of me dropped to an honest 7^th place finish for the last race of the weekend," according to the driver who was somewhat dissatisfied with the result despite some excellent driving on his part.

Next Race: Round 2 of the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour - Kart #353 - Senior ROK class (February 18 to 21 - ROK)

"The ROK Cup USA series has changed venues fir this second round of the series, to abide more effectively to the local health directives. Accordingly, the event will take place at the Ocala Gran Prix track dedicated to Karting. The six very different corners make it more challenging than an urban track which is often bumpy and painful for the drivers' neck and back. I already know this track and I believe that everything will be fine," added a Thomas Nepveu who is aiming at nothing less than podium results.

Thomas Nepveu will drive in the Senior ROK class rather than Shifter ROK for the PSL Karting team, replacing Ben Cooper who is not unavailable due to new health restrictions imposed by the authorities.

ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour - classe Senior ROK (February18 to 21 - ROK)

February 19: Practice 9:50 am - 11:30 am | Qualifying 2:22 pm - 4:18 pm
February 20: Warm-up 9:35 am |Qualifying 11:14 am - 2:14 pm | Pre-Final 4:38 pm
February 21: Warm-up 8:40 am| Final 10:46 am
Live timing: ROK Cup USA app

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 some PSL Karting drivers 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. 8-10	AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex	Homestead, FL	SKUSA	Winter Series Rounds 1&2	14	24
Jan. 16-17	Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park	Pompano Beach, FL	ROK	Florida Winter Tour Round 1	28
Feb. 12-14	AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex	Homestead, FL	SKUSA	Winter Series Rounds 3 & 4	15	7

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 the USF2000 series (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.

High Resolution Pictures : https://cutt.ly/6kBqBVo
Photo Credit: Picture on track - On Track Promotion | Portrait - Trever Blue

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 in Canada, on to the United States, Europe and other continents.

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

About PSL Karting

PSL Karting is a company based in Trois-Rivières (Quebec), which specializes in the preparation and support of drivers in kart 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