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Tuesday, 27 May 2025 01:47 |
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Josh Conquer became the first Canadian to win the Pro Shifter division (Photo: EKN)
The 2025 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals ended on Sunday at the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. It was another dry day of racing at the Batavia, Ohio facility, with sunny skies turning into overcast conditions and cooler temperatures all weekend compared to the 2024 version of the event. The MCC crew went all out, bringing in a fly over and live national anthem to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend prior to the eight main events on the day. USA drivers claimed five of the eight wins on the day with Canadian Josh Conquer (Maranello USA) becoming the first from north of the border to claim victory in the Pro Shifter category.
The PSL Karting Pro Shifter held its Prefinal and Final on the day, led by AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) and Corentin Rousseau (Catalyst / Italkart) to begin the 14-lap Prefinal. Myers led the opening few laps before Rousseau took control, earning the win and the pole position for the Final. Jay Urwin (PSL / Birelart) and Josh Conquer (Maranello USA) fought for third, and earned the row two starting spots as Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) and Michael Avansino (RWR / CRG) made up row three after finishing fifth and sixth. Rousseau grabbed the holeshot to begin the 25-lap main event as Myers and Conquer fought for the second spot. By lap seven, Conquer had earned the spot and Myers unfortunately began to trickle down the order, missing the setup on the day. Rousseau had a roughly two-second gap by the halfway point, however, Conquer continued chipping at it. By lap 21, he was close enough to get the draft and look for ways by. It was on lap 22 that Conquer made the bold pass attempt into the downhill section, getting the apex first, and powering away with the position. Rousseau had to check up, lost ground and went on the defensive with Urwin right there. The move for Conquer gave him enough real estate to cruise to victory, claiming his first career SKUSA Pro Tour triumph. Rousseau held on for second at the line, however, did not pass tech inspection with the engine. That promoted Urwin to runner-up and Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) – who started seventh – onto the podium in third. Frenchman Adrien Renaudin (Velocity / Sodi Kart) won the battle for what was not fourth over defending champion Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birelart), Myers, Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) and Musgrave all within one second at the line.
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Tuesday, 27 May 2025 01:42 |
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Ryan Norberg won in a photo finish in the Pro X30 main event (Photo: EKN)
It was a picture-perfect day on Saturday at the 2025 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals. The Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati provided a sunny day and comfortable temperatures as Round Three of the championship was completed on the day for the seven semi-pro categories with the Pro Show running their first day of action. While Rolison Performance Group drivers Ryan Norberg (Pro X30) and Alexander Vanchev (X30 Junior / KA Junior) were able to add to their win total on the season, four others claimed their first wins on the year.
Alan Isambard (RRC / LN Racing Kart) shocked the paddock with fast time in qualifying for the Kart CRG USA Pro X30 division. A 55.239-lap put him at the top of the order over Round One winner Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) and California driver Blake Nash (Nash / EOS). It was British driver Gus Lawrence (RPG / Kosmic) that showed the pace in the Prefinal, holding off Norberg for the race win to lead the 33 driver field to the green flag. The top two were able to break away from the field early on with Lawrence at the point. Norberg applied the pressure by the halfway point of the 20-lap race, trying to get around for the lead. He finally did on lap 15, but the rest of the top six was right there, including Round Two winner Austin Garrison (SCR / CS55). Garrison got around Lawrence on lap 17 and closed up on Norberg. Coming to the white flag, Garrison was able to work past Norberg for the lead with an over/under move. Through the final lap, Garrison held the defensive line up until the run onto the main straight to the checkered flag. Norberg timed the run perfectly to dive to the right of Garrison in the drag race, reaching the checkered flag first by 20 thousandths of a second for the victory. Ruben Moya (FDM / Pantano) celebrated his first SKUSA Pro Tour podium, working up to third in the closing laps ahead of Lawrence while Diego Ramos (PSL / Birelart) was fifth at the line. Unfortunately, he was removed from the results for a DQ in tech. That promoted Isambard up to fifth.
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Saturday, 24 May 2025 06:13 |
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Gavin Bayliff looks to defend home track and point lead in Pro Shifter (Photo: EKN)
The 2025 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour reaches the halfway point this weekend with the running of the SKUSA SpringNationals, set for the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati over the Memorial Day weekend. Roughly 250 entries over the eight categories will visit the Batavia, Ohio facility that is hosting the event for a second straight year.
Event schedule begins with unofficial practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Official sessions begin on Friday with four, seven-minute sessions with a fifth and final 12-minute run for all eight categories to close out the day. Seven of the divisions will follow the two round format on the weekend, including Pro X30 moving away from the Pro Show format. Warm-up, qualifying, Prefinal (10 laps) and Final (20 laps) make up Saturday with the same lineup for Sunday to complete Round Three and Round Four of the SKUSA Pro Tour. The SKUSA Pro Show features only the Pro Shifter division. Qualifying, Super Pole, Heat 1 and Heat 2 on Saturday set the stage for the 14-lap Prefinal and the 25-lap Final to decide the SKUSA SpringNationals winner. Read full story eKartingNews.com |
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Wednesday, 02 April 2025 08:34 |
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Gavin Bayliff used a last lap pass to secure victory in Pro Shifter (Photo: EKN)
The final day of action at the 2025 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour WinterNationals was contested on Sunday at the Speedsportz Racing Park. A humid and hot day at the New Caney, Texas facility, welcoming the largest event in the 16 year history of the series, closed out the first event to the Lone Star State since 2014. Round Two of this year’s championship was held on the day for seven categories while the Pro Shifter division capped off its weekend with a Prefinal and Final.
The Pro Shifter presented by PSL Karting featured a duel between a new name to the front of the field and a veteran. Gavin Bayliff (TKG / Birelart) came through the heat races on Saturday with a win and the pole position after the points were tabulated. Five-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) matched his total but started the Prefinal from the outside of the front row. Bayliff led early before Musgrave took over the lead on lap three. Shortly after, a red flag came out for a flip in the second half of the 43 driver field. All drivers walked away. Musgrave handled the restart, fending off the early pressure and drove away to a 1.4 second advantage to claim the pole position for the Final. Bayliff was able to secure the holeshot to begin the 25-lap main event with Musgrave slotting into second. The two pushed away from the rest of the field over the opening laps. On lap eight, Musgrave moved to the lead and led until lap 14. Musgrave retook the top spot on lap 19 and they ran that way until the final lap. Musgrave went defensive with Bayliff waiting until turn 14. A center punch bump and run pushed Musgrave wide enough for Bayliff to slip underneath, getting to the apex at turn 15 first and going on to cross the line for his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Musgrave settled for second with defending champion Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birelart) holding off Kiwi Jay Urwin (PSL / Birelart) with top qualifier Charlie Stines (Fury / GP Kart) right there in fifth to cap off an amazing weekend for the Indiana driver.
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Sunday, 30 March 2025 05:29 |
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Ryan Norberg fought off Austin Garrison to claim the Round One victory (Photo: EKN)
The first day of racing at the 2025 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour WinterNationals was completed on Saturday at the Speedsportz Racing Park. Weather improved at the New Caney, Texas facility following the heavy rains to end the final practice sessions on Friday. A drying track with clouds in the area was the start to day. Eventually, the clouds broke and the sun came out, with conditions on the track improving each session. Qualifying, Prefinal and Final were contested for the seven categories running the two Final format while qualifying, Super Pole and two heat races were held for the Pro Shifter division. The day went further than scheduled with multiple red flags, along with multiple winners decided after the checkered flag had waved.
There was no question about six-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) earning his victory in the Pro X30 division presented by Kart CRG USA. It was not an easy path to the top of the podium for only his third WinterNationals triumph. Norberg claimed fast time in qualifying with a 52.585 lap to edge out British driver Caden McQueen (Energy Corse Americas) by 61 thousandths while Austin Garrison (SCR / CS55) was off a bit in third. Garrison was able to charge up to Norberg in the Prefinal, stealing the win in the closing laps. Starting on the pole position, Garrison held off Norberg’s early attempts as the 20-lap Final began. The two were able to pull away early after McQueen fought off challengers for the third spot over the opening circuits. Eventually Jesus Vasquez Jr. (GFC Karting) slotted into the position, however the top two were able to get away. Despite their gap, the two leaders exchanged the top spot five times over the 20 laps. It was coming to the white flag that Norberg was able to slip by Garrison in turn 14. Garrison slotted right behind on the rear bumper of Norberg, but a small slipup in turn four and five gave Norberg enough breathing room to the checkered flag. At the line, Norberg claimed the victory by nearly two tenths. Vasquez drove to his first Pro X30 podium in third. Senior rookie Ty Fisher (Racelab / TB Kart) had an impressive debut, advancing up to fourth over McQueen.
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