The Florida Cup Championship
Florida Cup Series Championship
First, apologies for missing the last few race reports, the team reporter took a vacation to the islands to complete some stealth training before the Florida Cup championship. Here are a few highlights from the April and May qualifiers:
In April, High Springs hosted qualifiers 7 & 8. Overall the team had a great performance, with several podium finishes. Most notably, Eli Weiss made his first pro podium for the cup series. In Sarasota, for qualifiers 9&10, Tyler Faoro came back from riding the supercross track at Chula Vista looking as Faorocious as ever and took the win both days. Several team members did well and improved their points for rankings going into the state championship.
Now, on to the big show…..
The Florida Cup Championship was held in Tampa, FL on May 19. In typical Florida style, it was hot and humid but that didn’t stop any of the fantastic racing action. The team had a good practice session on Friday and felt confident going into Saturday. Powered by a crate of bananas, some watermelon, and ice cold Monster, the team had all of the ingredients it needed to race hard all day.
Tyler Faoro kicked things off with a great battle for the number 1 title in Elite Men. In the main Tyler was behind CJ but rode smooth and fast to pull beside him as they flew down the last straight. The finish was so close, it was video reviewed and still they were tied. The win was awarded to CJ because of the scorer results, but Tyler still won the state cup title and the overall number 1.
Eli Weiss looked good on Saturday but didn’t make it to the main. He did manage to amass enough points to move into 10th place for the overall state cup standings. Another highlight for Eli is the state commissioner award he received during Sunday’s award ceremony. He is getting faster each race and we know we will see more podiums from him next season!
Excellent work for this first year pro.
Caleb Minthorn raced both cruiser and expert this season as he continues his Junior Development training. With bags packed to head out to Chula Vista for more training on the supercross track, Caleb focused on the championship, capturing the cruiser title and moving up in expert. On Saturday he took the main event win in cruiser to seal the number 1 plate. He had a bad gate start in expert and had to settle for a 7 in the main but still managed to finish 6 overall in the tough 16 expert class. Caleb was also recognized for his efforts to help team Florida with his main event performance at the Commissioner’s Cup in Tulsa in November.
Garett Lanzilotta was still unable to race do to his chronic medical conditions. We wish him the very best for a speedy recovery.
Casey Minthorn was taking after his big brother’s winning ways and also won the main in cruiser. He had some tough spots during the expert main and finished 7. Casey’s great cruiser racing solidified his point’s lead and earned him a number 1 cruiser plate. He also got a 7 overall finish in expert.
Lauren Lanzilotta raced 11 girls and was looking fast and smooth among in her tough class. She was able to hold on and finish fourth in the main. Styling a very cool and glittery Profile shirt at the awards ceremony Lauren also took home the 4th place overall finish in the state cup series.
Tanner Engle was racing both bikes this weekend and looking good. In his expert class the points were very close and every moto matters. Tanner rode hard and took a second in the main. It was enough to help him finish second in the final overall rankings. On his cruiser, he had a mishap early on and busted his chin, but it takes more than that to slow him down. Tanner took a fourth in the main and a fourth place overall in the cup standings. Tanner was also recognized during Sunday’s award ceremony for his help to Florida during the commissioner’s cup.
John Pringle was back on his ironman routine racing open, cruiser and expert. For open, John was racing to support Raul Gomez and his first race back. In cruiser John was working to earn the number 1 title. It came down to the main and after a 3 way battle down the first 3 straights John made a great move to shut the door in the third turn and walked away with the win and the number 1 for the cup championship. In expert, John was flying high after his big cruiser win and was ready to have some fun. After getting squeezed in the first turn, he battled back into the mix in the second and third straights, pulled next to the leader at the last jump and with a quick last pedal, took another main event win and a fourth place overall. Another notable moment for John was during Sunday’s award ceremony where he was awarded the prestigious Rider of the Year trophy for all his help with the team and his local track. John was also recognized for his performance during the commissioner’s cup. John would like to send special thanks to Jim, Nancy, Charlie and Gus for all their support, without them none of this would be possible.
And everyone on the team would like to thank the whole Profile support crew, especially Jim, Nancy and Charlie for their support. A very special thank you goes out to team manager Gus. He arrives early and stays late, always ready to help fix a bike, examine race strategy or just pump you up before you race. You are the heart and soul of Profile racing, thanks Gus!!!