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Monday, 17 June 2024 00:00 |
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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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Sunday, 16 June 2024 00:00 |
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Finnegan Bayliff earned his second KA100 Senior victory on the season (Photo: EKN)
The opening day of racing for the 2024 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals went into the books on Saturday at the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. The Batavia, Ohio facility has gone all out in welcoming the organization for the first time, welcoming over 200 entries in the eight categories. The Semi-Pro divisions completed the third round of the 2024 championship program while the Pro categories completed qualifying and two heat races to set up for their main event on Sunday. The highlight on the day was second victory in three rounds thus far for Trinity Karting Group driver Finnegan Bayliff in the KA100 Senior division.
Ohio driver James Overbeck (BJR / Tony Kart) led the way in the Sodi Racing USA KA100 Senior qualifying session, posting a 58.217-lap to edge out Steven Miller (Nash / EOS). They were among a busy front pack in the Prefinal that ended up with Miller escaping with the win. It was the same group at the front of the field in the 20-lap Final. Round One winner Finnegan Bayliff (Trinity / Kart Republic) was able to secure the top spot by lap 14, leading the remainder of the race to earn his second SKUSA Pro Tour race in the last three starts. Overbeck won the battle for second with Keagan Kaminski (FW / GFC) overcoming a wrecked chassis in Friday practice to end up on the podium in third. Miller and Connor Ferris (TFR / Kart Republic) – coming up from 17th – completed the top-five.
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Thursday, 13 June 2024 07:56 |
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Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati
The 2024 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour resumes this weekend as the 15th season of the organization’s premier championship program heads to the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. The Batavia, Ohio facility will host SKUSA for the first time ever with the 2024 version of the SpringNationals will be contested on June 14-16.
The WinterNationals in March at the Orlando Kart Center in Florida ushered in a new era for the SKUSA Pro Tour. The new ‘Pro Show’ made its debut with the Pro Shifter and Pro X30 division featuring a new format. It will continue at MCC with both categories running the full practice day on Friday with the ‘Semi-Pro’ categories. They will then run a warm-up, qualifying, and two heat races instead of a Prefinal on Saturday. This was done in an effort to provide the drivers with more track time, but also to help space out the schedule for the ‘Semi-Pro’ classes. Sunday will be a warm-up and Final event for the Pro Show. The ‘Semi-Pro’ divisions will be contesting Round Three on Saturday and Round Four on Sunday – including warm-up, qualifying, Prefinal and Final formats.
eKartingNews.com is proud to celebrate the 15th season of the SKUSA Pro Tour, providing trackside coverage for each and every event since the inaugural weekend in April 2010. In addition to the daily reports on the site, follow updates and results on the EKN Social Media channels. Be sure to listen on the live audio call from Saturday and Sunday at www.ekartingnews.com/live or www.ekartingnews.com/radio or on the EKN Radio Network app. Read full story in eKartingNews.com |
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Monday, 11 March 2024 06:25 |
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Matheus Morgatt led through only the final corners to secure his first SKUSA Pro Tour Pro Shifter victory (Photo: EKN)
What began as a wet and cloudy day at the Orlando Kart Center for the final day of action at the 2024 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour WinterNationals, the Sunday activities were greeted with warm weather and sunshine once qualifying began for the in the morning hours. The Orlando, Florida facility was wet for the opening warm-up sessions with the track drying just as the time sessions began. Those and the Prefinal runs were contested along with the Round Two main events for the Semi-Pro divisions while the Pro Show categories settled their WinterNationals with 25-lap main events at the end of the day.
The last main event of the day was the PSL Karting Pro Shifter Final, featuring 26 pilots from all over the world seeking to become the first Pro Show winner in SKUSA Pro Tour history. Prefinal winner Danny Formal (RPG / Kosmic) launched from the with Marijn Kremers (RPG / Kosmic) slotting in behind. Top contender Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) was third until he dropped to third behind a charging Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART) on lap four. Wick retired just after, suffering a mechanical issue. Morgatto – who finished the Prefinal in fourth but a penalty for contact dropped him down the order of the grid – quickly worked past Kremers for second. A few laps later, Kremers was under attack from Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) and Kiwi Jay Urwin (PSL / Birel ART). They exited turn five with Kremers trying to hold the outside on Gulick when the two made contact, sending Kremers into the wall and out of the race with a broken front end. Urwin slipped past both to hold the third position. The action up front remained unchanged until the closing laps when Morgatto was able to close in late. On the final circuit, Formal went defensive into the turn 10 hairpin at the end of the straightaway. A slight bobble out of the corner brought on slight bumper to bumper contact, and when Formal’s power reignited it darted him to the left of the track and nearly off course. This allowed Morgatto to power away, but not before Formal dove in deep in turn 13, making hard contact with the rear bumper of Morgatto. The contact nearly sent Formal upside down, as Morgatto powered away to reach the checkered flag first for his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory in shifterkart competition. Formal continued on to second with Urwin bagging his first major podium in SKUSA competition. Gulick held onto fourth with Giorgrio Carrara (Inter MS / Kart Republic) making it five different countries represented in the top-five (Brazil – Costa Rica – New Zealand – USA – Italy).
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Sunday, 10 March 2024 10:21 |
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Finnegan Bayliff secured his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory in KA100 Senior (Photo: EKN)
A warm and sunny day kicked off the 2024 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour WinterNationals at the Orlando Kart Center. Saturday’s racing featured a full round of racing for the Semi-Pro categories while a new era began for the two Pro divisions with Qualifying, Super Pole and Prefinal sessions took place during the evening hours in Orlando, Florida. The highlight of the day was the KA100 Senior main event where Finnegan Bayliff won in a dramatic finish with the Trinity Karting Group driver securing his first career SKUSA Pro Tour victory.
The Sodi Racing USA KA100 Senior category began with rookie Steven Miller (Nash / EOS) leading the 40-driver field in the timed qualifying session with a 56.115 lap time, beating out Collin Lloyd (Inter MS / Kart Republic) and Stephen Eisert (Sodi Racing USA). The Prefinal was a precursor to what we would get in the main event with Lloyd winning on the last lap over Miller and Peyton Phillips (RPM / Tony Kart). The final was two drivers up front after the red flag for Mario Barrios on the opening lap and early shuffling on the restart. Lloyd and Fernando Leque (Supertune USA / Tony Kart) were nose to tail and able to get away from the rest of the field, including Finnegan Bayliff (Trinity / Kart Republic) in third. Once the top two began shuffling for the spot, this brought Bayliff and others back into the mix. As they made their way through the two hairpins at the start of the lap, Phillips moved up to second on the bumper of Lloyd. Entering the sweeper, Phillips made contact with Lloyd’s bumper, sending both sideways. Lloyd pushed to the outside while Phillips was in the middle of the track. Bayliff slipped by both as Luque slammed into Phillips. This allowed Bayliff to lead the final lap, securing his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Cameron Weinberg (CDR / Kart Republic) made his way through nearly the entire field after starting 35th due to a Prefinal incident. He was sitting fifth when all this was happening, and was able to knife through the wreck to finish second as Eli Warren (Redspeed) crossed the line in third. A pushback bumper penalty dropped him off the podium, putting James Overbeck (BJR-MDR / Tony Kart) into third after pulling off a 360 degree spin in the air earlier during the race. Kane Martin (Nash / EOS) completed the top-five.
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