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Wednesday, 02 August 2023 08:44 |
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Joe Turney secured the X30 Senior title with a fourth victory on the season (Photo: EKN)
The 2023 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SummerNationals went into the books on Sunday, completing Round Six of this year’s championship program during the final day of action at the SummerNationals. A clean day of weather at the New Castle Motorsports Park following the crazy first three days in New Castle, Indiana. A couple red flags delayed the action on the day, however, all drivers were cleared of any injuries. ‘Championship Sunday’ will go down as one of the most memorable days in the 14-year history of the program, watching the first international title winner in the X30 Senior division thanks to Brit Joe Turney giving Kart Republic its first as well. And for a second straight time, Pro Shifter has a two-time champion in PSL Karting’s Marijn Kremers after a wild last lap behind race winner AJ Myers.
The final class in the order on the weekend was the Speed Concepts Racing X30 Senior category, providing the final bit of drama for the 2023 season. Five-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) laid down a monster lap of 1:04.180 in qualifying to clear the field by two tenths. It was three-time winner and championship leader Joe Turney (CDR / Kart Republic) that took the win in the Prefinal as he along with Alessandro de Tullio (IM / Kart Republic), 2022 FIA Karting World Champion Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART) and Nate Cicero (RPG / Kosmic) pushing Norberg back to fifth in the order. That gave Turney the ability to finish 10th or better in order to claim the SKUSA title ahead of Norberg. The first four laps featured four different leaders with Morgatto jumping ahead in the opening circuit before ADT took a turn. It was Turney next to the lead before Norberg assumed the spot. That is when Norberg and Turney put in the pace, getting away from the field. Turney took the lead back on lap 10 before the shuffled for the spot once again on lap 15 and 16. Turney held the position with the white flag waving and Norberg went on the attack. He was able to pull the over under out of the ‘Scoreboard’ corner getting the advantage by the time they reached ‘Cell Tower’ turn. Norberg went defensive into the double left handers, but allowed just enough space for Turney to dive inside at the second left for the over under. That was all he needed as Norberg’s pace slowed with the move, allowing Turney to drive to the checkered flag for his fourth win of the season, second on the weekend to celebrate his first SKUSA Pro Tour championship. De Tullio drove alone in third with Morgatto climbing back to fourth after falling down to 10th early on. British driver Brandon Carr (RPM / Tony Kart) was hard charger of the race, gaining 18 spots over the 18 laps to finish fifth.
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Sunday, 30 July 2023 00:00 |
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Joe Turney grabbed his third SKUSA win on the season in X30 Senior (Photo: EKN)
The fifth round of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SummerNationals went into the record books as one that many will not forget. It began with a strong storm blowing through the New Castle Motorsports Park paddock in the early morning hours, damaging a number of tents and equipment. SKUSA delayed the start of the on-track action for two hours, and the karting community came together to assist those in need of help, tents or any other items needed to get back to racing. Once the action began, the warm New Castle, Indiana weather tested the staff, racers and machines to complete the qualifying, Prefinal and Final action for the day.
The Speed Concepts Racing X30 Senior class featured a handful of drivers fighting to be the one to stand on the podium at the end of the day. Championship leader Joe Turney (CDR / Kart Republic) gained 10 points at the start, setting fast time in qualifying. However, five-time SKUSA champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) put in his bid for the top spot with a strong run in the Prefinal ahead of Turney and Blake Nash (Nash / EOS). The three broke away from the rest of the field, joined by WinterNationals winner Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART). All but the 2022 FIA Karting World Champion had a turn at the point until Turney assumed the lead on lap 11. Fighting for second place allowed the British driver to establish a two-second advantage by the time Norberg fought up to the runner-up spot with six laps remaining. Turney was able to hold that gap through the final laps to record his third victory of the season. Norberg put in all the effort, posting the fast lap of the race on the final circuit to steal those 10 bonus points while finishing second. Morgatto finally came away with the third spot in the closing laps to third podium on the season while IAME USA Grand National Championship winner Dalton Hanes (CDR / Alonso Kart) ended up fourth. Nash completed the top-five for what was best result of the season.
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Friday, 28 July 2023 05:10 |
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Two-time winner Joe Turney has his sights on the X30 Senior title (Photo: On Track Promotions)
The 2023 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is at the final stage of the season, hosting the SKUSA SummerNationals at the New Castle Motorsports Park over July 28-30. The three-day event will welcome teams and competitors for Round Five and Six of the championship program. The two days of racing will decide this year’s champions, with just over 200 entries set to compete in the nine categories at the New Castle, Indiana facility.
The New Castle Motorsports Park – which was completed at the end of 2003 – is hosting the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals for a ninth straight time, which began in 2015. A multitude of different layouts have been utilized over that time with the ‘National Reverse’ course to be utilized as it was in 2022. Friday features five rounds of practice to prepare the competitors for the two days of racing. Saturday hosts Round Five with Qualifying, Prefinal (9 laps) and Finals (18 laps, 16 for Cadets) with Sunday following the same format for Round Six. The championship format features a best five of six format, with many of the title chases set to go down to the wire. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Sunday, 11 June 2023 00:00 |
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Jacob Gulick completed the double in Pro Shifter with victory in the main event on Sunday (Photo: OTP.ca)
While the potential for rain was in the forecast throughout the weekend at the Utah Motorsports Campus for this year’s Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals, the wet stuff didn’t arrive until the second half of the KA100 Senior main event on Sunday, and even then, not in enough quantity to bring the race to a halt. After a short lightning break as the small storm cell passed through, the Mini Swift drivers took to a damp track, and the decision to go with slicks or wets made things intriguing. More on that later. Overall, the day’s racing was ultra-aggressive once again, and even the drivers commented on the poor racecraft in post-race interviews. Despite this aggression, or maybe because of it, the racing in the headline X30 Senior and Pro Shifter categories was edge-of-your-seat type of stuff.
In the Pro Shifter class, GFC Karting’s Jacob Gulick (GFC) backed up his breakout win on Saturday to score another triumph over the stacked field of gearbox racers, having to come back from a tough start that dropped him to third. The X30 Senior race was as wild as expected, and with six drivers in the hunt, J3 Competition’s Oliver Hodgson (CompKart) emerged from the inferno to score his first major national SKUSA victory in the United States. The day also saw new winners, as eight categories battled for wins in Round Four of the SKUSA Pro Tour.
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Saturday, 10 June 2023 00:00 |
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Chad Dokken Racing's Joe Turney won in X30 Senior on Saturday (Photo: OTP.ca)
The opening day of action at the Superkarts! USA SpringNationals may have featured some aggressive and chaotic racing, but it was also highlighted by a number of incredibly impressive performances at the Utah Motorsports Campus. Tire management played a key role in late-race pace, and the massive draft found on the long frontstraight eliminated any true breakaway victories, so those getting to the top of the podiums needed to do so on merit. Chad Dokken Racing driver Joe Turney (Kart Republic) caught and passed early leader Ryan Norberg (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) to earn his second win of the Pro Tour season in X30 Senior, while GFC Karting’s Jacob Gulick delivered a career performance to earn his first national-level SKUSA victory over his teammate Kyle Wick (GFC Karting / GFC) in Pro Shifter.
Speed Concepts Racing X30 Senior saw Turney take his fourth win in Superkarts! USA competition in 2023 in the highly competitive X30 Senior class, including his Winter Series victories. The British driver has been the driver to beat across all series when it comes to single-speed competition, and whether it’s across the pond or here stateside, he’s proven he is always a threat for the win, which he proved to the SKUSA paddock with his win over reigning class champion Ryan Norberg (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic), who finished in second. Norberg moved to the lead early and looked poised to score the win, but Turney turned things up midway through the race and hunted down the multi-time SKUSA champ, eventually taking the lead. Turney would hold off all of Norberg’s subsequent advances through to the checkered flag. Harley Keeble (Piquet Sport / Sodi Kart) has delivered head-turning opening rounds of the season here in the States, and the Brit backed these up with a third-place finish on Saturday in Utah. Behind the lead trio were Red Army drivers Diego Ramos (PSL Karting / Birel ART) in fourth and defending FIA Karting World Champion Matheus Morgatto (PSL Karting / Birel ART) in fifth, a handful of seconds back from the leaders. J3 Competition’s Oliver Hodgson (Compkart) turned in a masterful drive from last (31st) to cross the line on Morgatto’s bumper in sixth.
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