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Thursday, 02 April 2026 13:14 |
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Brazilian Matheus Morgatto ran away with the victory in Pro Shifter (Photo: EKN)
After getting the 2026 season of Superkarts! USA Pro Tour racing underway on Saturday, SKUSA capped this year’s WinterNationals on Sunday with another day of exciting competition at the Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson, Arizona. Velocity Racing’s Matheus Morgatto (Sodikart) emerged as the dominant driver in the extended 25-lap Pro Shifter main event, driving away from the field early to leave them to fight amongst themselves for runner-up. In Pro X30, British-born drivers dominated the battle for the win, and it was MPG Motorsports’ Joe Turney (Alonso Kart) who took control late in the main to back up his Saturday triumph. The racing in all the categories was tight, which multiple drivers in the hunt for the wins.
Overall, the weather on Sunday was much better than what the drivers faced on Saturday. The high winds that affected the on-track action the day earlier had left the area, but this also delivered a return of the higher ambient temperatures that challenged the paddock on Thursday and Friday. The low-60s from Saturday morning was replaced by a quick rise into the high-60s and mid-70s, which changed the track significantly all day. The heat increased into the upper 80s before an overcast sky loamed around the facility with rain building south of the course following the Pro Shifter main event. Sprinkles of rain hit the paddock as everyone was packing for their trips home without significant precipitation recorded as the podiums were conducted to award the top three drivers in the eight categories on the day.
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Thursday, 02 April 2026 13:10 |
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Joe Turney grabbed his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory since 2023 in Pro X30 (Photo: EKN)
The 17th season of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour kicked into high gear on Saturday at the Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson, AZ, and the action was just as exciting as anyone would have expected to start the new season. MPG Motorsports’ Joe Turney (Alonso Kart) made his return to SKUSA’s national series after two seasons away and the 2023 Pro X30 champion didn’t skip a beat as he came out on top of a quality battle with Brandon Jarsocrak Racing’s Pauly Massimino (LN Kart) to win the open round of the year. Massimino had already tasted victory on the day, emerging from the mid-race chaos in KA100 Senior to score a dominant win at the end of the 22-lap final. Maranello USA’s Marijn Kremers scored two runner-up results in the heat races to lock down the pole position for Sunday’s Prefinal in Pro Shifter.
Turney started off the event with fast time in qualifying for the Nash Motorsportz Pro X30 category with a lap of 49.692 to clear the 42 driver field by just over a tenth. Qualifying fifth, Pauly Massimino had the quickest pace of the 10-lap Prefinal, working his way into the lead and taking the win by over three tenths ahead of Turney. Three British drivers Oliver Hodgson (Factory Karts), Gus Lawrence (RPG / Kosmic) and Sean Butcher (RPG / Kosmic) made up the top five. The 22-lap Final began with Lawrence getting pushed wide in turn one, and falling all the way back to 23rd after completing the opening lap. The opening couple of laps saw lots of contact that shuffled up the order. Keagan Kaminski (FW / GFC) sent it into turn 11 and as a result took out both Butcher and SummerNationals winner Diego Ramos (PSL / Birelart). A few laps later more contact in the top 10 as Jake Drew (GFC Karting) and Ayden Ingratta (REM / Kosmic) locked up together in turn four. All this allowed Massimino to pull away early until eventually Turney got into second and ran down the SKUSA Winter Series winner. Turney went to the lead right away after catching Massimino and the two were able to maintain a solid lead. Massimino made his move for the lead on lap 15 and worked to keep Turney back. It wasn’t until two laps remaining that Turney went back to the lead. On the final lap, Massimino appeared to set up a move for turn five but a yellow flag was out, and he pulled back. Turney went defensive down the backstraight and Massimino nearly pulled the over under as the two made contact in the final corner. They both got through and Turney reached the line first for his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory since 2023 SummerNationals. Massimino settled for second with Hodgson coming across the line in third. He however had lost all the water in the radiator after damage from early contact and came in just under the minimum weight. Lawrence had the quickest pace all race and with all the action taking place in front of him after getting shuffled back at the start, clawed his way up to the fourth spot at the line and was promoted to third after the DQ for Hodgson. Macy Williams (SCR / CS55) was in the fifth spot behind Lawrence until contact between she and Nico Sarphati (GFC Karting). This allowed Davin Roberts (RPM / Tony Kart) to take the position and promoted to fourth with Jesus Vasquez Jr. (GFC Karting) up from 21st to crossing the line behind Roberts. He however was penalized multiple times for contact, promoting Senior rookie Alexander Vanchev (RPG / Kosmic) to fifth.
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Friday, 27 March 2026 06:55 |
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The Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson (Photo: Musselman Honda Circuit)
The 2026 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is set to get underway this weekend – March 27-29 – with a visit to the Musselman Honda Circuit. The 10th edition of the SKUSA WinterNationals will make its first visit to Tucson, Arizona, marking the third ever trip for Superkarts! USA with previous SpringNationals held in 2011 and 2013. Over 250 entries are set to battle over the eight categories that will contest this year’s championship program.
The Musselman Honda Circuit has been hosting karting events since mid 2000s when the Stars of Karting program held events. Other championships have visited the Tucson facility over the last three decades, including last weekend with the RMC America’s Trophy program making its debut. The 8/10-mile course in the counter-clockwise direction is a replica of the Suzuka circuit in Japan, featuring 12 turns with a bit of elevation change from one end of the track to the other. Its new paved paddock will provide less dirt for teams and competitors to navigate traffic with a secondary paddock established along the backstretch to welcome the over 250 entries. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Wednesday, 25 February 2026 13:11 |
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The 2026 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is set to begin in one month, traveling to the Musselman Honda Circuit over the weekend of March 27-29 for the 2026 SKUSA WinterNationals. It will be the third trip to the Tucson, Arizona facility, marking the first time returning since it hosted the 2013 SKUSA SpringNationals. Registration opened on February 23 with over 100 pre-registered entries within the first 24 hours. As the organization prepares for the 17th season of the SKUSA Pro Tour, changes in regulations have been updated for the 2026 program.
Highlighting the changes for the 2026 SKUSA Pro Tour will be the removal of the pushback bumper system in Pro X30, X30 Junior and KA100 Master divisions. These categories have been selected by Superkarts! USA officials to not utilize the front nose cone mounting system that was implemented in SKUSA competition for all IAME categories in 2018. This will make five total categories competing without the pushback bumper, including Pro and Master Shifter.
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Sunday, 22 February 2026 15:05 |
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The first ever visit for Superkarts! USA Pro Tour to Tucson was in 2011 (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)
Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) is set to return to the renowned Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson, Arizona, having last visited the track 15 years ago. Back in 2011, the likes of Colton Herta, Sabré Cook, Daniel Bray, and Fritz Leesmann fought for bragging rights. This year, the SKUSA ProTour WinterNationals returns to the desert and the newly paved facility to do it all again.
Pre-entry opens today, Monday, February 23, 2026, at 12:00 PM Pacific Time. Following news of the collaboration with ROTAX, anticipation is building for what is expected to be one of the largest and most competitive gatherings of kart racers in North America.
With record participation projected across multiple weekends, SKUSA officials strongly encourage competitors to secure their entries early. Several classes are expected to sell out. Once capacity is reached, additional entries will not be accepted. Drivers and teams who want to guarantee their position on the grid should complete pre-registration as soon as it opens.
In preparation for the event, SKUSA is implementing several important policies to ensure a safe and efficient race weekend for all participants.
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