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Thursday, 13 May 2010 00:00 |
 In the early years of the Superkarts! USA regime, the SKUSA Mountain Region was a strong presence in the sport of karting. Fast forward to the present time and the new era of SKUSA, the organization is looking to build the solid core of regional racing across the country once again. With that, the rebirth of the Superkarts! USA Mountain Region series took place over the weekend at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado. The two day event took place on a 9/10-mile temporary circuit on the grounds of the PPIR facility. A full day of racing kicked off the season with the opening round contested on Saturday, following Friday’s practice runs.
“It was a very safe weekend of racing and we could not have pulled this off without the help of the local karters connected to the Pikes Peak Kart Racing Club from Colorado Springs,” commented SKUSA Mountain Region Race Director Curt Kistler. “My hat’s off to all the workers, support staff from SKUSA and the leadership team of the SKUSA Mountain Region organization. We look forward to growing this region to its full potential in the next three rounds.”
Leading the way in the top two shifterkart categories were Senior rookie James Michael Sullivan and Masters driver Mike McDonough. Sullivan made his Senior debut with a sweep in the competitive S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category, where as McDonough lead the way in the S4 Masters Stock Moto division. With the two classes running together, McDonough and Sullivan were the top two drivers in qualifying with McDonough’s 45.627-lap time best in the session. Sullivan was just a tick off the fast lap, with fellow S2 drivers Christian Bird and Cory Milne within a tenth of the rookie’s time. |
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Monday, 10 May 2010 11:26 |
 Riding off the momentum of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour debut in the month of April, the ProKart Challenge South program is set to return to action in the month of May. The Southern California regional series for the national organization will be traveling to the Streets of Willow course in Rosamond, CA for the fourth round of the six race program. The event marks the first time PKC and the Gatorz Karting Cup – a US Rotax Max Challenge program – will work together to co-host a race. The high speed and challenging 1.8-mile circuit at the Willow Springs International Motorsports Park will produce great racing for both programs.
“I am thrilled to be back at Streets. This is actually my favorite track,” stated Superkarts! USA’s Tom Kutscher. “This year will be an even bigger event than before, as we are putting the event on with the Gatorz Karting Cup program. Andy and his crew do a great job, and his Rotax racers are among the best in the country. If you haven’t experienced road racing at 115+ mph, you have to come out. Even if you just want to check it out for Friday practice. This course is a blast!”
“I'm excited to co-promote this event with Tom, Patti and the ProKart Challenge,” commented Andy Seesemann of the Gatorz Karting Cup. “Streets of Willow is my favorite track, as is for many of the Southern California GATORZ and ProKart drivers, and a combined event makes a lot of sense in order to offer our customers the best value possible. Tom and I have talked about a combined event for a few years, and this year we were finally able to get it done.” |
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Wednesday, 05 May 2010 07:58 |
 Riding off the momentum from the debut of the Superkarts! USA North American Pro Tour, the ProKart Challenge North continued its season at the same facility in which the SKUSA SpringNationals were held. The Northern California regional series returned to the Jim Russell International Karting Center in Sonoma for the third round of the program. Veterans Tom Dyer and Larry Fraser took home the gold in the two headline classes – S1 Pro Stock Moto and TaG Senior – over two of the strongest fields. Coming off his first national victory at the Pro Tour, Daniel Langon continued his winning ways by scoring the win in both S5 Junior Stock Moto and the competitive HPV-2 Junior division.
Dyer was making his first start of the 2010 season, and the defending SKUSA SuperNationals Stock Moto champion found himself in chase mode following qualifying. Brett Buckwalter scored the pole position with a lap of 47.791 to better the times set by round two winner Nic LeDuc and Dyer. From the third grid spot in heat one, Dyer was quick on the cold MG Tires, knifing his way to the point in the opening circuit. LeDuc dropped in to follow in second as Tommy Thompson advanced up to third, dropping Buckwalter to fourth. The field stayed that way for the eight-lap heat, with Dyer taking the win. Dyer and LeDuc were able to break away from the rest of the field in heat two. Dyer led early until LeDuc took over the spot on lap six, which would be the winning pass. The third spot was hotly contested, with current point leader Fritz Leesmann earning the spot after the eight laps. The holeshot was all Dyer needed to help him claim the feature victory, as he got off the line cleanly and ran consistent lap times for the 20-lap race. LeDuc and Leesmann engaged in a heated battle for the runner-up spot. Contact was made during one instance where LeDuc was trying to overtake Leesmann. The result of the contact allowed LeDuc to secure the second spot to the checkered flag, until officials docked him one position for the infraction. That put Leesmann up to the second step of the podium and LeDuc to third. |
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Tuesday, 20 April 2010 08:56 |
 The Superkarts! USA brass couldn’t have asked for a better launch to their new Pro Tour in Sonoma, CA this past weekend, as their inaugural SpringNationals drew over 100 racers to the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. The racing was insanely good, running the popular circuit in the reverse national layout, and this elevated competition helped develop a great buzz throughout the paddock. Veterans were all talking about how this new series is bringing back the excitement of the famed ProMoto Tour of the late 90s and early 00s. In the headline classes, Fritz Leesmann and Clinton Schoombee split the S1 wins in thrilling fashion, while veteran karter and former Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Phil Giebler followed suit in his sweep of the TaG Senior events.
The action in the headline Pro classes was nothing less than incredible, featuring hardcore racing and some impressive come-from-the-back drives by the best in the sport. Aluminos’ Fritz Leesmann (CRG) dropped the gauntlet on his charge for the S1 national title right out of the box, sweeping Saturday’s action with the pole, two heat race wins and the main event victory. Select Shifter’s Clinton Schoombee (CRG) and STA Racing’s Jason Toft (GP) would fight it out for second, and both drivers would be ready to step up on Sunday. In the second main of the weekend, Leesmann would set the early pace, but Schoombee matched his speed this time out, eventually taking the lead midway through the 20-lapper. After Leesmann took back the point, Toft completed his drive from dead-last – following a heat race DNF – by passing Schoombee for second on the final lap. Schoombee would not be denied, however, passing both Toft and Leesmann under braking into the left-hand turn three, much to the crowd’s delight. The CRG driver would hold back his challengers for the remainder of the lap to score a very popular triumph. In the overall weekend points, Leesmann would earn the victory and the $1000 first place prize.
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Saturday, 17 April 2010 08:06 |
A new era for Superkarts! USA began on Friday with a rebirth of national level racing for the organization. The new SKUSA Pro Tour is making its debut this weekend with the running of the inaugural SpringNationals, held at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. The Sonoma, California circuit has hosted a number of major events in its history, including a number of national events from in the previous era of the sanctioning body.
 The weather was perfect for on-track activities with clear skies and warm temperatures. Drivers grew accustomed to the 3/4-mile course, which is being run in the reverse national configuration, a layout that many have never seen. Judging by the practice laps run on Friday, a number of key corners around the course will provide optimal passing opportunities. Following the on-track action of the day, Superkarts! USA hosted a tri-tip BBQ dinner with beverages being provided of J3 Competition. Media leaders eKartingNews.com were also on-hand, streaming a live audio wrap-up show that also played via PA to the racers as they enjoyed their meal.
On the line for the headline categories will be weekend purse of $1,750 in cash for both S1 (Pro Stock Moto) and TaG Senior. Drivers will be gunning for victories, but also for the season championship that features a point fund of $8,000 with $5,000 going to the champ. For all of the classes competing on the SKUSA Pro Tour, the top-five in the standings heading into the finale - the SKUSA SuperNationals XIV in Las Vegas will have guaranteed starting positions for the main events, which is huge considering the fact that only 40 drivers can start the finals. The champions who will be crowned following the November event will earn the National Number One Plate as well as special sponsorship for the 2011 season. |
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