Tazio Makes the Paper again

13 Year old Tazio Torregiani makes the paper again, this time in the Stamford Advocate. Following you'll see the article as it appeared on the first page of the Sports section of Sunday's paper of January 29th. The article was also on their website. Special thanks to Sports writer Rich DePreta and the Stamford Advocate.
You can also click HERE to see the actual article on the web.

Tazio Torregiani pursues his car racing dream

Rich DePreta, Staff Writer

Updated 10:27 p.m., Saturday, January 28, 2012

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  Tazio Torregiani, a 13-year old Stamford resident, is competeing in the Junior Class on the National Go_kart racing circuit. Photo: Contributed Photo / CT

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STAMFORD -- One of the wonders of youth is having dreams of the future.

Tazio Torregiani is well on his way of turning his dream into reality.

The 13-year-old 7th grade student at Dolan Middle School in Stamford has been Go-Kart racing since age 6 and has graduated from Cadet class to Junior Class on the National racing circuit.

"It's fun. But I love the competition and challenge of racing," Tazio Torregiani said. "When I'm on the track, I love the speed and I love the feeling behind the wheel. When I hit the gas, the whole world goes away."

And when Torregiani jumps back into his Sprint Go-Kart (Junior Class, ages 13-15, speeds of 70-75 mph) this spring, he will be driving at Englishtown, N.J., Daytona (Fla.) Speedway and even the street track circuit in Las Vegas.

"The Junior Class Regional Championship is a five-race series. The World Karting Association Manufacturers National Cup is a six-race series," said Tazio's Dad, Patrizio Torregiani. "The Super Nationals are in November in Las Vegas. Tazio could race as much as three weekends out of every month once the warm weather returns to the Northeast."

Torregiani closed out his Cadet Class (age 8-12) racing career in grand style with impressive outings in Las Vegas last November and Daytona last December facing drivers from across the country and across the globe.

Torregiani is quickly becoming a brand.

He has a website (visit www.NewCountryPorsche.com to access TazioRacing.com). Torregiani is on Facebook. Torregiani has product sponsors. He has Doug Fleming in charge of his racing engines.

But most important of all, there is his father, Patrizio Torregiani. Patrizio Torregiani has been a Porsche Certified Sales Specialist at New Country Porsche of Greenwich for 13 years.

"When I was growing up in Italy, my dad was a big Formula One racing fan. I had the dream to race. But not the opportunity," Patrizio Torregiani said. "My wife (Lucia) and I named Tazio after Tazio Nuvolari. He was a great Grand Prix race driver in Italy in the 1930s. When Tazio showed interest in Go-Kart driving, I wanted to give him the opportunity."

Tazio Torregiani remembers his first brush with racing like it was yesterday.

"I was age 6 and our family was in Portugal on vacation. We all went to the local go-kart driving place and everybody rode," Torregiani recounted. "I was thrilled with how fast the laps were. The track owner said to my dad after we finished `You should get your son a cart.' "

It was in Cuddybackville, N.Y. near Middletown and Wappinger Falls that Torregiani began racing and eventually came under the tutelage of Mike Doty, a multiple National Karting Champion.

Doty remains Torregiani's coach today with Torregiani driving under the banner of Mike Doty Racing.

As one might expect, Tazio Torregiani's racing dream/career has become a family affair.

His father is the marketing specialist. Lucia, his mother, is the logistics expert for the weekend trips to Englishtown, N.J. and beyond as well as the long adventures to Las Vegas and Daytona.

Younger brother Dario (age 11) is a mechanic who works with the pit crew during races.

"We're fortunate that Mom is on board 100 percent with this," Patrizio Torregiani said. "We can't do this without the whole family taking part."

The first priority for 2012 is to find some national sponsors. The second priority is to keep racing and draw the attention of the young driver academys that Ferrari and Porsche among others run with an eye toward developing the next Formula One star.

Toward that end, Torregiani might compete in Italy or Portugal in 2012.

"The sport of racing is huge in Europe. All of the best engines come from Italy," Patrizio Torregiani said. "We'd love to do one or two races in Italy. The level of competition makes everybody a better driver."

Only time will tell how far Tazio Torregiani will take his dream.

"My ultimate goal is to get to professional car racing," Tazio said. "Right now, I know I have time on my side. I'll keep working hard and see what will happen."

Tazio Grabs both Cadet Wins in NJSS Last Round

On October 15th and 16th, 12 year old Tazio Torregiani entered in the final round of the 2011 WKA Divisional New Jersey Sprint Series. This was to be Tazio's last race weekend in a Comer 80 powered cadet, as next year he will move up to the Junior class. The race took place at Raceway Park, in Englishtown NJ, only this time in backwards configuration. Tazio also raced in Yamaha Sportsman class, clutch problems kept him from finishing better than third. But it was to be in cadet class that Tazio was unstoppable. In the first cadet final race on Saturday, Tazio passed for the lead with three turns to go on the last lap, and managed to lap a driver with two rivals on his tail. One of the other drivers got alongside of him, but Tazio stayed on the gas and dove in the last turn on the inside keeping the lead all the way to the checkered flag. "I passed for first.. I got it.. and going into the last turn I held my line and got the turn..and than I got the win" said a very happy Tazio right after the race. You can see a video of this race at the following link: http://youtu.be/QSa8qBcbFQU?hd=1.

In the second cadet final on Sunday, Tazio passed for the lead with two laps to go and defended hard all the way to a wheel to wheel drag race to grab back to back wins in cadet. The Fairfield county racer has been driving in the comer/cadet class since he was 8, and this was the best way to end it. The TazioRacing.com team would like to thank Doug Fleming for his help and support with Tazio's comer motors. Torregiani in November will join Mike Doty Racing in his biggest race yet, the Supernationals at Las Vegas. This is one of the biggest kart races in the world, and it will be Tazio's last race in cadet class, with a mini rock motor. 

Tazio Torregiani would like to thank his sponsors NewCountryPorsche.com, GoPro, Leatt and Fuel Clothing.

To follow Tazio and his team like his fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TazioRacingcom/248819618492981.

 

Tazio Torregiani Wins at NJF1 in 2nd Round of WKA NJ Sprint Series

On the first weekend of June 2011, the WKA Divisional New Jersey Sprint Series returned to the very fast and long kart track at NJ Motorsport Park in South Jersey.

12 year old Tazio Torregiani admits this is his favorite track. This is where Torregiani had his worst crash and his best wins, and he came back to win again, in Cadet class. The feature race 1 was very exciting with several lead changes. Bumpdrafting is a big factor here. Your drafting partner at the end also becomes your biggest rival. Tazio grabbed the lead from the pack with only a few turns to go and defended all the way to the finish in first place, with 3 karts right on his tail.
Tazio also did well in the Yamaha Sportsman Light class with a third place podium finish. This result, together with a win in the first round, puts the Fairfield County driver in the points lead in this class.
Tazio Torregiani would like to send special thanks to Frank Storino, Jeremy, and Mike "Chi Chi" Ramirez for their generous help in working on the Merlin karts.

The TazioTorregiani.com Racing Team is brought to you by www.NewCountryPorsche.com, Fuel Clothing, and SteelMX/SMX Optics.

Tazio Wins in First Round of 2011 WKA Regional NJ Sprint Series



photo Courtesy of www.JoaoCarlosPhoto.com

 The 2011 WKA NJ Sprint series kicked off at Raceway Park in Englishtown NJ on May 14th and 15th.

A very confident Tazio Torregiani arrived after his third top ten Man Cup National finish in Southbend IN, and a win on Mother's Day in the Raceway Park Karting Series.

Tazio was very fast out of the box. In cadet class, on Saturday"s Final 1 race, Tazio caught the leader on the last lap at the end of the back straight. It did not look as if he was close enough, but Tazio braked very late and dove in for the pass, he put his kart right alongside but the other driver didn't let him in and closed the door. The two karts made contact and spun off the track allowing a close third place driver to grab the win.

In the Cadet Final 2 race on Sunday, Tazio was even faster on a drying track. He passed for the lead early on and opened a nice gap to the second and third karts who were battling for position.

photo Courtesy of www.JoaoCarlosPhoto.com

On the last lap as Torregiani entered the straight, he took a more defensive middle line and hit a puddle of water half way down the straight which caused him to slide off the track as he braked for the turn, giving away another win to the driver behind.

It would be in Yamaha Sportsman Light class that everything would go Tazio's way. It seemed as every race was his to win or loose. During the final Race he charged from third and passed for second, and than passed for the lead with his Merlin kart. He opened up a sizable gap which allowed him to finish first and grab his first Regional win of the year.



Mike Doty with Tazio Torregiani



The second round of the WKA NJ Sprint Series is at NJ Motorsports Park in Melville NJ on the first weekend of June.
12 year old Tazio Torregiani would like to thank Mike Doty, Mike Ramirez, John Baio and Chris Perez for all their help during the weekend. Tazio would also like to thank his new Sponsors Fuel Clothing and SteelMX / SMX Optics.

To sponsor Tazio or for more info you can go to http://www.hookit.com/members/taziotorregiani.

The TazioTorregiani.com Racing Team is brought to you by NewCountryPorsche.com

Tazio Torregiani Wins at Englishtown NJ



Torregiani Leads in turn one



Fresh off his second WKA National top ten finish, in South Carolina, CT race driver Tazio Torregiani arrived at Englishtown NJ on April 3rd for his first race in the 2011 Raceway Park Kart Championship, in Junior Sportsman class. Very quickly the 12 year old driver came to grips with the .5 mile track during practice, and after the first two heat races he was able to qualify second in the front row. At the start of the final race Tazio got the jump and slipped in front of the field. His lead only came to threat on the first lap when the pole winner was right behind his bumper going down the main straight. With a very smooth drive, Torregiani was able to open up his lead with one fast lap after another. At the end he was untouchable and crossed the line with his Merlin/Fleming kart in first place. Click here to watch the video of this race. Tazio is getting ready for the third round of the 2011 WKA Man Cup National in Southbend IN, on the last weekend of April. 

1st Place

The TazioTorregiani.com Racing Team is brought to you by www.NewCountryPorsche.com



Top ten National finish for 12 year old CT race driver Tazio Torregiani.

 photo Courtesy of www.ontrackpromotions.com

December 28th-30th 2010.

The TazioTorregiani.com Racing Team returned to the annual Daytona Kartweek in December just after Christmas. The 2011 WKA Manufacturer's Cup National Sprint Series starts here, at the famed Daytona International Speedway. This time the challenge was going to be the strongest for the team with record entries from all over North America.

Sportsman driver Tazio Torregiani arrived on a high, after being one of the fastest national drivers at the closing WKA round in Melville, NJ, and qualifying on the front row.

Tazio entered the Daytona Race with two Merlin/Fleming karts for three different classes: Cadet, Yamaha Sportsman light and heavy. This was the first time for Tazio to race in National Yamaha class.

In open practice Tazio was fast right away, setting some really quick laps especially in Yamaha class.
But it was in Cadet that things were going to look better.
50 National drivers attempted to qualify for only the 34 spots that would take part in the final races.

Tazio qualified 15th overall and made the race as expected. In the pre-final race he fell to 17th at the start, but quickly fought his way back and finished 14th. This would be his starting position on the grid for the Final. In the main race Tazio got a clean start and engaged in one of his best battles including a last lap pass that gave him his tenth place finish. You can see the on board video of this race by clicking here.

On race day 2 Tazio went better in Cadet qualifying to a 12th position, and moved up to 9th in the prefinal race. In the Final 2 race Tazio was very fast out of the box and was able to climb as high as 6th. Unfortunately by that time there was so much rubber on the track, that a tire pressure miscalculation gave Tazio's kart too much grip mid race, which developed a bad under steer. He was still able to finish 11th out of 34.

In the Yamaha Sportsman class Tazio was very impressive as a rookie, qualifying his Merlin/Fleming kart in 8th position out of 52 National entries. To Tazio's disbelief, he was disqualified after not making the minimum 260lbs weight by three pounds.

 photo Courtesy of www.ontrackpromotions.com

On the second day, traffic in qualifying and a kart loosing a wheel on front him in the race, kept Tazio from finishing better than 22nd out of 34.

Overall Tazio made it clear that he was part of the top ten fast group in National Man Cup.

Fairfield County race driver Tazio Torregiani plans to stay active, by entering select races at GPNY indoor karting in MountKisko NY, in the junior winter league. In preparation to the next National race in March.

The www.TazioTorregiani.com Racing Team would like to thank his sponsors and supporters including

http://www.newcountryporsche.com/, http://www.vincentgarage.com/ , and http://www.mikedotyracing.com/ .

Tazio to Start his 2011 Season with his 2nd Daytona Kartweek

After his first year of National competition, Tazio is ready to return to the famous Daytona Kartweek on 12/28/10, for one of the biggest National Kart Race in the country. What makes it big is not just the venue, but also the competitors who are the best drivers in North America.

Daytona is where, every year, The motor racing starts in the US. First with the WKA National Kart season, and than with the 24 Hours of Daytona, followed by the Daytona 500.
 Race driver Tazio Torregiani just turned 12, on the 13th of  December. He looks forward returning to the Florida track, where last year his overall pace was very competitive.
In 2010 Tazio competed in just his Cadet kart, Winning races in the Divisional New Jersey Sprint Series, and consistently finishing on the podium in Regional and club competition.

The highlight of his 2010 season was qualifying second on the front row in his last 2010 National WKA Man Cup race in September at NJ Motorsports Park, and posting the overall fastest lap of the weekend in cadet class.

Torregiani is hoping to continue with his fast pace going to Daytona and into the 2011 year.
For the new season Tazio will race in three classes using two different chassis':  Cadet and Yamaha Sportsman. Both are Merlin karts, which Tazio finds himself very comfortable in.
The TazioTorregiani.com Racing Team will like to thank his Sponsors and supporters www.NewCountryPorsche.com, www.Bodicures.com, www.VincentGarage.com and www.JoaoCarlosPhoto.com.
For more info, you can contact the team at patrizio@newcountry.com or 203 561 2759.

Our Racing Team on the Papers for the Third Time

Last month our racing team made the Greenwich Citizen newspaper again. It's the third time now the local tabloids find interest in the 11 year old race driver. Sports writer Rob Kelly did a follow up story on Tazio after his promising Daytona National race debut. You can read the article by clicking on the photo. Our family would like to thank Rob again for his memorable articles on our team.

Tazio Featured on www.EKartingNews.com

After Tazio's superb National Race debut at Daytona Kartweek last month, On January 15th 2010 he appeared for the first time in the spotlight on EkartingNews.com, Karting's biggest and most popular website in the US. We always go on this site, almost everyday to check on the latest in karting competition around the world. To see our team featured among karting's national stars was just incredible.

Our thanks go to David Cole of EKartingNews.com for publishing our press release.

To see the full article on the web click the following link:

http://ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=14240

Tazio Shows his Potential with the Best Drivers in National Kart Racing

After a great performance at the legendary Daytona International Speedway, Tazio showed the speed necessary to race with the best in the national arena.

Daytona Kartweek each year, just after Christmas, kicks off the WKA National Championship. Our series is called the WKA Manufacturer Cup Series, and Tazio is in Cadet class.

After successful club and Regional competition since Tazio was 6, it was time to taste the next level. Daytona was the perfect opportunity.

Monday 12/28/09 was open practice day. National Champion Mike Doty, from the Mike Doty Racing Team prepared Tazio's kart. A Merlin cadet chassis. The Merlin had been quite dominant in the past couple of seasons. The Comer K80 motor was rebuilt and prepared by Doug Fleming from Fleming Motorsports. Doug has been looking after Tazio's motors since we entered cadet class.

With Mike's help it took Tazio no time to learn the fast .7 mile sprint track. By the afternoon Tazio was flying. His lap times were within 2 tenths of a second of the fastest drivers.

In race day 1, Tazio was able to qualify for the feature race. Only the top 30 drivers make the final race. He started 19th, ran strong, gained some positions and finished a respectable 13th. Not bad for our first National.

As always Dario, my 9 year old, was of great help with working and changing things on the kart. Under Mike Doty's supervision, of course. This guy is unbelievable. He knows exactly what the kart and the driver is doing and knows just how to set up the chassis. We feel very fortunate and proud to be part of his team.

On race day 2 Tazio went even better and placed his Merlin on the sixth row in the 12th position on the grid for the second final. Unfortunately 12th for him was on the outside line of turn one, more dangerous. He got a strong start and dove in the first turn. While he was negotiating the corner with 29 other drivers he was hit in the right rear hard enough to kick the drive chain off the motor. He was forced to retire. Tazio was very upset at first, because he knew he had the pace. He got over it after 20 minutes. Surprisingly my wife Lucia and I were not upset at all. We were rather satisfied that our little athlete had the speed, and just became a National driver. We are definitely planning to enter round 2 of the WKA Man Cup at South Bend, Indiana April 30th. Stay tuned....

Special thanks to Mike Doty, Doug Fleming, Chi Chi, John Baio, all the other dads especially Joe Cullura, my clutch specialist, and Mr. Stecher for the clutch spring.
Since Tazio & Dario were so good we treated our family to our first Disney World visit, not so far from Daytona Beach.

Cadet Sportsman Qualifying for race 2

Pos No. Name Chassis Best Lap Diff

1. 66 Zane Smith Top Kart 45.882 -

2. 28 Grant Quinlan Birel 46.074 0.192

3. 11 Leonardo Stoia PCR 46.093 0.211

4. 21 Austin Osborne Birel 46.099 0.217

5. 12 Matt Solarczyk Birel 46.126 0.244

6. 5 Gresham Wagner Birel 46.141 0.259

7. 0 Collin Campbell Birel 46.161 0.279

8. 15 Ryan Raffa Top Kart 46.211 0.329

9. 88 Emerson Reed Merlin 46.234 0.352

10. 91 Grant Sandberg Bor 46.292 0.410

11. 24 Tyler Moneypenny Arrow 46.325 0.443

12. 3 Michael Womack Birel 46.399 0.517

13. 77 Tazio Torregiani Merlin 46.429 0.547

14. 29 Austin Garrison Gillard 46.438 0.556

15. 17 Ashley Rogero Tony Kart 46.439 0.557

16. 32 Garrett Madison Birel 46.682 0.800

17. 81 Tristan VanWieringen KRT 46.748 0.866

18. 1 Derek Scott Jr. Birel 46.784 0.902

19. 6 Olli Pekka Kinos Birel 46.979 1.097

20. 4 Jacob Symank Corsa 47.068 1.186

21. 43 Levi Centeno Birel 47.427 1.545

22. 48 Brendan Cullura Birel 47.428 1.546

23. 82 William Wolfrom Birel 47.504 1.622

24. 10 Vincenzo Sarracino Maranello 47.544 1.662

25. 84 Philip Varner Tony Kart 47.604 1.722

26. 99 Logan Mitchell Margay 47.771 1.889

27. 2 Max Nikolof Top Kart 47.972 2.090

28. 8 David Malukas Birel 48.008 2.126

29. 22 Simon Sikes Energy 48.322 2.440

30. 72 Camden Donaldson Birel 48.458 2.576

31. 9 Tyler Jordan Kosmic 48.766 2.884

32. 18 John Paul Southern Jr. Tony Kart 49.500 3.618

33. 9 Nathan Pool Kosmic 49.857 3.975

34. 1 Mason Mitchell Margay 50.165 4.283

35. 46 Jared Cordova Birel No time -

DNS 80 Juan David Buitrago CRG No time -

Our Racing Team makes the Newspaper, again

The Greenwich Citizen decided to do a story on our racing family.

It was wonderful! We had been on the Greenwich Times almost two years ago, but this time it was two full pages with three photos. Sports writer Rob Kelly came to our house for the interview and did a very professional job with the article, we received so many compliments on it. The kids were very exited and amused to see themselfs on the paper. Thanks Rob.

The Last few races were action packed.

In our regional on the June 12th weekend we had our share of mechanical failures while trying to find the right set up at a new track in NJ Motorsports Park in Melville NJ.

The problems included Tazio's rear axle snapping in two under stress during practice, also a broken clutch, broken seat strut and the engine overheating during the final race. 7th and 8th was the best we were able to manage in cadet class.

In RP Juniorsportsman class we did much better on older tires securing the podium, finishing 3rd in both races. We brought home two nice trophies.

The 1.1 mile new track was wonderful, our favorite so far.

On June 27th we had our first Saturday night race at Englishtown NJ.
With Dario's help we were able to fine tune the kart correctly. Tazio got to work with another great drive to third place. We were able to film some of the action with a new helmet cam we have. You can view it on our youtube channel.