DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- After opening his 2012 karting campaign with two successful rounds at the Formula Kart Productions Florida Winter Tour, up-and-coming driver Darren Keane is set to contest the finale round at the Ocala Gran Prix facility in central Florida. Arriving at the track with his Keane Racing crew on Tuesday morning in preparation of two weeks of racing action, Keane enters as a favorite in two of the most competitive classes offered by the series. Currently in second in the overall TaG Cadet category for the first weekend of racing, Keane's consistency has him fifth in the Rotax Mini Max class for the International Rotax Max Challenge portion of the tour.

Coming off a solid Formula Kart weekend at the second round at Homestead Karting a few weeks ago, Keane heads to Ocala confident he can continue his consistent ways. Earning pole position and the prefinal win on Saturday in Homestead could have ended with a perfect run for the Deerfield Beach resident, but a broken chain in the final resulted in a non-finishing result. Coming back strong the following day, Keane clocked the off-pole time during qualifications, and then held station in the prefinal and final to earn a trip to the afternoon podium presentations. With his win and third place finish from Palm Beach, Keane currently sits second in the overall Formula Vortex TaG Cadet championship standings, with two races remaining. 169 markers out of first before drops, Keane will look to position his Kosmic kart at the front of the field to secure the championship title.

Following the Formula Kart weekend, Keane will be back behind the wheel of his Kosmic kart chassis and take on the Rotax Mini Max class with a Keane Racing-prepared motor. Continuing his consistent ways in this hotly contested class as well, Keane is in fifth place in the championship point standings heading into the Ocala round. With three fifth place finishes and a seventh place result, Keane will look to improve his overall position and match his TaG Cadet efforts by earning a trip to the podium during the Rotax weekend. It remains only a matter of time before the rising talent makes it to the top with a breakout win in the class.

Keane will use the remainder of the week for testing, leading up to two official on-track days beginning Saturday, March 10. Back on track the following week, Keane will again utilize testing sessions before official controlled practice begins Thursday, March 15, followed by two qualifying sessions Friday, and two full days of wheel-to-wheel action Saturday and Sunday. Family, friends and fans can tune in to FWT Live! - http://floridawintertour.com/fwtlive/2012 - and follow live streaming video and audio, and timing and scoring, allowing everyone to keep tabs on Darren as he makes his championship runs at the Florida Winter Tour 2012 series finale.

Keane Racing is also pleased to announce they have become an Authorized Rotax Service Center. For more information on Darren Keane, Darren Keane Racing, or to inquire about Rotax services, please call 954.564.0655 or visit www.DarrenKeaneRacing.com.