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Connor Zilisch scored his first X30 Senior victory in SKUSA competition (Photo: EKN)
The final round of the Superkarts! USA Winter Series went into the books on Sunday at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex presented by MG Tires. Nearly 180 entries took part in the fourth and final round of the ‘best of three’ championship program at the Homestead, Florida facility with sunny and warm conditions all day. Most of the championships were either locked or near clinched with the X30 Senior up for grabs. The final class in the order would not disappoint with several story lines coming out of the last race of the program for 2021.
The Rolison Performance Group X30 Senior category victory and championship went down to the wire. Two-time defending series champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) and two-time race winner Arias Deukmedjian (KSNA / Kart Republic) came into the final day separated by just two points. Neither were able to claim the 10 bonus points for setting fast time in qualifying with Diego Ramos (REM / Kosmic) posting a 47.157-lap. Hannah Greenenmeier (RPG / Kosmic) was P2 with Deukmedjian third and Norberg fifth. Greenemeier pulled off nine laps into the Prefinal with a rib injury. Out front, Norberg was able to advance his way to the point, taking the spot from Senior rookie Connor Zilisch (Nitro / Tony Kart). They would run 1-2 to the finish of the 12-lap race with Thomas Annunziata (MDR / Tony Kart) third and Deukmedjian fourth. As the final race of the day and the weekend, the intensity seemed to be increased as the green flag waved. Several changes for position took place until Norberg and Zilisch sat 1-2 with Annunziata trailing. Behind him, Deukmedjian was shuffled back to eight on the opening circuit, but found himself up to fourth the following circuit. Zilisch spent 10 laps on the bumper of Norberg until a door opened up on lap 17. Annunziata was able to strike the following corner, dropping Norberg to third before Deukmedjian took the third spot away the next circuit. Zilisch maintain enough of a gap to go unchallenged to the victory. Annunziata made it Senior rookies 1-2 with Deukmedjian beating Norberg for third, thus securing the provisional championship. Officials however penalized Deukmedjian, along with Ramos three seconds for ‘track limit/shortcut’ on the track. That promoted Norberg to the third step of the podium, and handed him the championship. Sebastian Montoya (Tony Kart) advanced up to fourth with Deukmedjian dropped to fifth and Ramos to sixth.
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The Santa Maria Karting Association facility will host Round Five of the California ProKart Challenge on September 10-11 (Photo: DromoPhotos.com)
It has been over two months since the California ProKart Challenge program was trackside. After the lengthy time off, the Superkarts! USA regional series is set for a return to the Santa Maria Karting Association facility for the penultimate round of the championship program. The Santa Maria, California facility on the ‘K’ track configuration is the site of Round Five on September 10-11 in the six-round championship series schedule. Following the double round weekend at CalSpeed, the format for Santa Maria features the two-day schedule with practice and qualifying on Saturday, followed by Prefinal and Final action on Sunday.
Among those leading the way in the point standings heading into the Santa Maria weekend is multi-time series champion and four-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Billy Musgrave who is the top driver in the Factory Karts Pro Shifter chase. Musgrave has three wins in four rounds, holding a strong advantage over Ansel Baldovin and Luca Bortone. The largest category of the season has been the HRT Driver Development KA100 Senior class, welcoming 38 different drivers over the first four rounds. Ethan Lampe has yet to win. However, he leads the championship standings by 18 points over two-time winner Blake Nash, with fellow two-time winner Frankie Mossman sitting back in third.
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Ryan Norberg clinched his fifth SKUSA Pro Tour title in X30 Senior with win four on the season (Photo: EKN)
The Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is reaching the end of the 2022 season with the fifth round of the championship program contested on Saturday at the New Castle Motorsports Park. The first day of racing was held at the SKUSA SummerNationals with warm weather greeting the over 200 competitors at the New Castle, Indiana facility. The racing action was just as hot, with all eight categories featuring close racing and excitement from start to the very end. In the process, eight drivers stood at the top of the podium in their respective categories, including six earning their first along with four championships decided early following the penultimate round of racing.
Championship was certainly on the mind of Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) in the X30 Senior presented by Speedlab Racing Engines. Norberg was classified eighth as Hayden Jones (RPG / Kosmic) was looking to grab his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Jones held on through the Prefinal and Norberg worked up to second but was penalized for moving positions after the commitment cone prior to the green flag. That put him fourth on the grid behind Paul Bocuse (RPG / Kosmic) and Louie Westover (Solo Kart USA). A wild opening couple of laps featured a handful of drivers at the point until Norberg took over on lap five. From there, it was smooth sailing as they continued to fight for position behind him. Norberg drove away to over a seven-second advantage, however, it was reduced to four seconds with a partial pushback bumper penalty. In the wild closing laps, Diego Ramos (PSL / Birel ART) was able to grab second ahead of Jones with Edward Portz (RPG / Kosmic) up 13 spots to fourth in his first race after several months away. Rounding out the top-five was Round One winner Jeremy Fletcher (RPM / Tony Kart), who retired early in the Prefinal. He was up to second at one point in the race, ending up fifth to earn the hard charger by advancing 25 spots. For Norberg, it was a clinching day, earning his fifth SKUSA Pro Tour unofficially.
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Two one of a kind watches will be awarded by BRM Chronographs
Fresh off the momentum of the 2024 SKUSA ProTour revamp and event structure, SKUSA is pleased to confirm the prize and purse breakdown for their season finale — SuperNationals 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
SKUSA will be offering an unprecedented cash and prize package for the event, including two (2) custom BRM Chronograph timepieces, valued at $4500 USD each.
With a total cash purse of $37,750, the breakdown is as follows:
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PRO SHIFTER |
X30 SENIOR |
KA100 SENIOR |
KA100 JUNIOR |
MINI SWIFT |
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1st |
$10,000 |
$3,000 |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
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2nd |
$2,500 |
$2,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
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3rd |
$1,250 |
$1,000 |
$750 |
$750 |
$750 |
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4th |
$750 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
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5th |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
$500 |
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TOTAL |
$15,000 |
$7,000 |
$5,250 |
$5,250 |
$5,250 |
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