Earning the 2020 ROK Vegas 100cc Junior victory aboard an AM Racing Engines powered Tony Kart, Jorge Ortiz repeated the winning performance this past weekend standing atop the podium in ROK Junior. Making the switch to the CRG brand and Speed Lab Racing Engines power in the Speed Concepts Racing program, Ortiz was the junior driver to beat all weekend long scoring a dramatic ROK Vegas victory in his first event with his new team.
The only strike on Ortiz’s results record all weekend long was in qualifying when he scored the fourth fastest lap of the session and outside row two for Friday’s first wheel-to-wheel heat race. From that point forward, Ortiz was untouchable and the driver to beat in ROK Junior.
“We just missed the pole position by less than two-tenths of a second,” explained Ortiz. “I think I was pushing a little too hard but from that point onwards, the rest of the weekend was perfect.”
With two heat races on Friday, Ortiz went from fourth to first in heat one and never looked back from there. Taking the first heat win, Ortiz claimed the second heat victory later that afternoon. Booming with confidence, Ortiz returned to the track Saturday flexing his muscles taking both heats three and four wins on route to the main event pole position on Championship Sunday.
Rocketing forward when the green flag flew for the start of the twenty-lap final Sunday afternoon, Ortiz maintained his position at the front of the field as he and one other driver broke away from the rest of the pack. Turning laps two to three-tenths faster than the rest of the field, it was a two-kart race to the end as Ortiz led early. Briefly giving up the lead in the latter stages of the race, the Speed Concepts Racing / CRG driver took it back for good with three laps remaining and drove to his second ROK Vegas title in two years.
Ortiz added, “A huge shoutout and thank you to Speed Concepts Racing and everyone in that organization that believed in me. Thank you CRG for the awesome chassis and Speed Lab Racing Engines for the incredible power. It doesn’t take just one thing to win a race like this, it takes a lot and without this combination, I would not have been able to climb to the top step of the podium.”
Next up for Jorge Ortiz is a trip overseas to the Rotax Grand Finals in Portugal.
For more information on Jorge Ortiz, please contact Jorge Ortiz Sr. via email to JotechPerformance@hotmail.com or by phone to 407-846-4884.
Photos: Canadian Karting News