FONTANA, Calif. -- Ending a session, a race or a series at your best is key to driver development. Sabré Cook has done just that, continuous improvement at each race for each weekend thus far in 2012. The Grand Junction, Colorado driver competed in the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas series finale this past weekend (March 30-April 1) at the CalSpeed Karting facility. Situated outside the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Cook completed the third weekend of the international Rotax Max Challenge program aboard her Team CRG-USA entry. The 17-year old finished 10th and 12th in the weekend’s Main Events to earn her best combined effort of the season.

Against another stellar field of 33 drivers in the Senior Rotax division, Cook struggled to find grip and speed during the Friday practice day around the 7/10-mile course. Listed near the bottom of the time sheets, Cook and mechanic Kimball Williams made a complete chassis change for Saturday’s events. The change revealed that she had bent her frame, impairing her pace throughout the day. Jumping up the order during the warm-up session, Cook improved to an 18th in qualifying. Gaining four spots in the Pre-Main, Sabré started the main event from outside row seven. Not the preferred line through the opening corner, Cook was shuffled back to 20th in the opening lap. She was quick to regain five of the positions in just two laps thanks to some heavy racing and smart decisions. Running 15th, Cook’s CRG continued to improve its pace as the race entered the second half of the race. Gaining another five positions with some great passing maneuvers, Cook was 10th by lap 16. Her fast lap of the race was just a few tenths off the front pack as she drove to the checkered flag to match her best finish of the season with a second top-10 finish of the series.

Cook took the track on Sunday for the sixth and final round of the series. Rain showers overnight and a clearing sky brought for changing track conditions between the warm-up and qualifying. Despite the challenges, Sabré posted the 14th quickest lap overall, third in her group. Conditions changed even more between qualifying and the Pre-Main, along with an extended delay for a red flag condition in another category. Cook fought strong but fell back to 19th in the 12-lap run, complaining of a loose kart and engine lacking power beneath her. Before the main event, Sabré and Kimball debriefed for the final changes of the day to help her move forward. Up three spots in the first lap, Cook gained two more on lap three. From there she continued her battle forward, ending up 12th at the stripe. After six rounds, counting the best five round results toward the championship, Cook ended up 14th. It was a vast improvement from her 28th classification one year ago in her Senior rookie season.

“I feel great to complete the series with our best combined weekend results,” commented Cook before heading back to Colorado. “Challenge is the name of the series for a reason. We had our hurdles to overcome, but in the end we gained a lot of experience racing against some of the best Rotax drivers in the country. I’m very thankful for my mechanic Kimball Williams, the Tru Tech Rotax engines, CRG-USA and my family for their support. I’m really looking forward to jumping back in my shifterkart for this summer.”

Sabré will next compete on the April 20-22 weekend as she returns to the PKRA Formula K Raceway in Phoenix, AZ for the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals. There she will compete with CRG-USA in the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto division for her second season after a great debut year in 2011, placing eighth in the very competitive championship. Cook would like to thank her racing support program; CRG-USA, Grand Junction Motor Speedway, Zamp Helmets, Xtreme Colors Helmet Painting, KG Kart Racing Products, Alpine Bank, Palisade Construction, Inc., Gold’s Gym, Enstrom’s Candies. Visit www.sabrecook.com for more information and be sure to follow her on Facebook under Sabré Cook Racing.