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Matheus Morgatto claimed his second straight in Pro Shifter (Photo: EKN)
The 2024 edition of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals wrapped up on Sunday at the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. A hot and sunny day at the Batavia, Ohio facility with Round Four action for the ‘Semi-Pro’ divisions was contested along with the main events for the SKUSA Pro Show divisions. The tight confines of the MCC KartPlex showed today with multiple red flag incidents to delay the action on the day. In the end it was PSL Karting’s Matheus Morgatto coming through for a second straight Pro Shifter triumph while British driver Kai Hunter invaded the USA for the first time to steal the Pro X30 victory.
Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART) was improving as the weekend continued, making his first start in the PSL Karting Pro Shifter class at MCC. The former FIA Karting World Champion was starting third behind top qualifier and two-time heat race winner AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) and Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) on the front row. Wick grabbed the holeshot from Myers to begin the 25-lap race, however, Myers reclaimed the top spot before the lap was over. Morgatto pushed Wick back to third on lap two and began pressuring Myers for the lead. The move was made on lap seven, as the top two drivers inched away from the rest of the field. They would run 1-2 the entire distance with Myers waiting until the final lap to put on the pressure. Through the final section of the track, he was on his bumper, literally, going into the left hand carousel. Morgatto was defensive, holding the spot through the final two corners and winning the race to the line for a second straight SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Wick was pressured by a charging Billy Musgrave (Factory Kart) until the spark plug boot popped off with four laps remaining. This allowed Gavin Bayliff (Trinity / Kart Republic) to advance up to fourth from the 11th spot. He however would not be cleared through tech, promoting Ian Quinn (PSL / Birel ART) up to fourth behind Wick with Tahlon Yockel (Sodi Racing USA) classified fifth.
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Senna Van Walstijn seeking his first SuperNationals win in Pro Shifter, starting on the pole position (Photo: EKN)
The Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 27 is one day away from crowning the nine class winners on SuperSunday. Two days of racing were completed on Friday and Saturday outside the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with all categories contesting the three rounds of heat races and the last chance qualifier for the four divisions big enough to require the downsizing to 40 drivers on the grid. Friday featured a wild weather day from cold to sunshine, downgrading to clouds, rain and strong winds. ‘Situation Saturday’ was a more normal day for weather, as it was the final stint for drivers to position themselves on the grid for SuperSunday.
It has been a near perfect performance for Pro Shifter presented by PSL Karting top qualifier Senna Van Walstijn (Sodi USA). The Dutch driver won all three of his heat races, coming back from third early in the second heat to grab the win after wire-to-wire wins in the first and third. The third was a holeshot win over two-time heat race winner Markus Kajak (NKG / Maranello). Kajak won both his heats on Friday and then ran second to Van Walstijn in their lone battle thus far. They retain their 1-2 positions on the grid for the Final, as does KZ2 world title winner Cristian Bertuca (PSL / Birel ART). Two runner-ups yesterday ended with a P5 in today’s final heat race keeps him in the third slot on the grid for SuperSunday. ‘Super Sub’ Emilien Denner (Sodi USA) arrived to the track Thursday morning, took on 19 minutes of practice and qualified 12th from the slow group. Victory in the final heat of the event along with two top six results promotes him up to the second row for the main event. David Treflov (NKG / Maranello) and Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) – the highest ranked USA driver on the grid – start from row four in the main event. SKUSA Pro Tour champion Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART) goes from ninth after having his best finish of runner-up in the final heat of the event.
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We will be debuting the new MG SW2 rain tire this weekend. The new tire has more grip and is a considerable amount faster on a full wet track. We will be allowing ONE SET of the new tires to be purchased for each driver/race entry for the weekend. Should we run into conditions on Saturday where we have excessive wear, we will have available and may allow a second set of the new SW2 tires to be utilized for the remainder of the weekend.
The prior model rain tire, the MG SW, will still be allowed for competition this weekend.
Tire sales for the new rain tires will begin at 9am Friday morning at the Vantage/KartSport trailer and will continue until 6pm. These tires will be purchased at retail pricing by the individual driver/entrant and there will be no tire sales to the teams. We will be tracking the one set allowance as they are purchased. You MUST have your “hand print” designed wristband that was included in your SKUSA entry packet to pick up your tires.
You can use the new SW2 set at your discretion, but this will be the only set allowed unless that we declare that everyone can use a second set.
We urge you not to wait until Saturday or Sunday at the last minute as you could risk not getting your tires in time. SO PICK UP YOUR TIRES ON FRIDAY FROM 9AM - 6PM. |
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Superkarts! USA today announced a renewed partnership with Bell Racing USA to promote Bell Helmets as the official helmet of SKUSA. The move serves as a step forward for the Temecula, California-based karting organization as they progress towards modernizing safety standards across the sport of kart racing.
“Those with a long memory will remember a similar partnership announcement in the past,” explained SKUSA principal Tom Kutscher. “Bell is a name that’s second to none. I wore their helmets as a racer. Sold them as a team owner. And have the utmost respect for the brand and the quality of product they produce as a promoter. There have been partnership attempts in the past that never lived up to the hype. We feel this time around, we have the right pieces in place to do it properly.”
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Senna Van Walstijn grabbed fast time in Pro Shifter in his first SuperNationals start (Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)
The first official day of competition was put into the books on Thursday for the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 27. The over 500 drivers took to the track for the second day of action on the temporary circuit outside the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, following a full day of practice on Wednesday. The morning and afternoon groups took to the track for two rounds of practice and the qualifying session to set the grid for the heat races over Saturday and Sunday. Clear skies all day eventually rolled into the night time with the afternoon groups qualifying under the lights after a couple red flag situations on the day. In the end, it was Dutch driver Senna Van Walstijn and Spainard Ruben Moya that set fast times in Pro Shifter and Pro X30.
The first category on the track for the morning group was KA100 Junior presented by Birel ART USA. The 84 driver category was split up into four groups for qualifying based on the final practice session lap time. Mateo Calderon (Supertune USA / Tony Kart) was in the second group out and held the provisional pole position through the first three groups. It looked as if he might keep the spot until the second half of the final group. 2023 class winner Turner Brown (RPG / Kosmic) was up to the top spot but on the final circuit, John Antonino (MPG Academy / Kart Republic) put in a 52.330 lap time. He edged out Brown by 56 thousandths for his first career SuperNationals pole position. Max Cristea (TKG / Kart Republic) was third overall, only recording three laps in the session. Canadian Ty Fisher (Racelab / TB Kart) was fourth in the final order with SKUSA Winter Series champion Sebastian Garzon (Orsolon Racing / Tony Kart) completing the fast five. Calderon’s time was good enough for tenth.
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