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Thursday, 06 April 2023 14:22 |
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Morgatto enters the championship hunt with his crucial win (Photo: OTP.ca)
The teams and drivers on the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour reconvened at the Orlando Kart Center on Sunday for the final day of action at the WinterNationals, taking to the 13-turn track for another schedule of intense competition. The weather was a carbon copy of Saturday with temperatures in the high-80s under sunny and partly cloudy skies. Throughout the weekend, drivers had complained of a very greasy track due to the heat, which only served to increase the challenge for everyone involved. PSL Karting’s Matheus Morgatto (BirelART) worked forward throughout the day to score a major X30 Senior win for the team and the brand, while Billy Musgrave made history for his Factory Karts program, becoming the first driver to win on the SKUSA Pro Tour driving an American-made chassis. In the final Senior category – KA100 – Aiden Levy (Team Tarp / Kart Republic) backed up his win from Saturday with a dominant run to victory and a sizeable lead in the class championship heading to Utah in June.
Sunday’s main event action was capped by a thrilling battle in Speed Concepts Racing X30 Senior. SCR / Redspeed drivers Austin Garrison, Ayden Ingratta, and Pauly Massimino stepped up their game from Saturday to lock-out the top three positions in qualifying thanks to a positive set-up adjustment and an overnight powerplant change for Garrison. PSL Karting / BirelART drivers Matheus Morgatto and Diego Ramos timed in fourth and fifth, setting the stage for the day-long battle. The Prefinal and main event pole belonged to the rookie Ingratta, who had Garrison holding the PSL Karting pair at bay in the Prefinal.
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Sunday, 02 April 2023 08:47 |
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Turney claimed victory just days after winning at the FIA Karting European Championship in Spain (Photo: OTP.ca)
The opening round of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour rocked the Orlando Kart Center on Saturday, as the organization’s national series kicked off with the annual WinterNationals. The intensity was high all day long and the long main events made tire management part of the strategy for the Pro classes. The tighter nature of the 13-turn OKC layout added to the excitement as it delivered close competition and aggressive driving. The weather was ideal all day with sunny skies and temperatures in the high-80s. In the Pro Shifter class, a spectacular battle between Danny Formal (RPG / Kosmic) and Billy Musgrave (Factory Kart) was a race-long affair, as Formal had to draw on all his experience to hold off the Californian for 24 laps. In the end, Formal earned the big win for RPG and OTK. Kart Republic factory driver Joe Turney emerged from an epic fight with five-time SKUSA champ Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) for the win in X30 Senior, while Aden Levy (Team Tarp / Kart Republic) scored the KA100 Senior after on-track winner Fernando Luque (Tony Kart) was issued a pushback bumper penalty.
The X30 Senior battle was electric up front, with Norberg leading early after driving around the pole-starting Turney in the opening run through turns one and two. Turney slipped back by quickly to assume the lead but Norberg settled in comfortably to chase the leader. After hounding Turney, Norberg would go back by with a nice inside move in turn eight on lap 10, but the Brit returned the favor in turn 10 on the very next lap. Sodi Racing driver Harley Keeble (Piquet Sports / Sodi Kart) had fought his way to third during the opening circuit and slowly reeled in the lead duo, closely as they battled. Just a lap later, Norberg tried to pass Turney on the inside of turn five after he defended in turn four and the resultant contact allowed Keeble to get a run and drive around the outside of Turney in turn six to take the lead. Turney went right back by in turn 12 later in the lap and this overtake slowed the leaders and brought Hayden Jones (Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic) and Brandon Carr (RPM / Tony Kart) into the scrap.
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Saturday, 01 April 2023 06:57 |
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Ryan Norberg begins his quest for a sixth SKUSA Pro Tour title in X30 Senior (Photo: EKN)
The 2023 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is set to begin this weekend with the organization’s first trip to the Orlando Kart Center on March 31-April 2. The Orlando, Florida facility has been the unofficial home for many national teams and competitors over the last month, with the 2023 SKUSA WinterNationals as the final event of a busy winter season. The 14th season of the SKUSA Pro Tour hosts the first two rounds of the championship program in Orlando, with a warm weekend expected for the over 200 entries set to battle in the nine categories.
The Orlando Kart Center was developed in 2009, situated a few miles from the Orlando International Airport. It has hosted several major events, with the 2023 SKUSA WinterNationals the first event for the Superkarts! USA organization ever at the facility. The circuit measures out to 8/10-mile and will be contested in the clockwise direction. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Thursday, 26 January 2023 11:17 |
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Orlando Kart Center will host the 2023 SKUSA Pro Tour WinterNationals
After being announced in August of 2022, the schedule for this year’s Superkarts! USA Pro Tour has been altered significantly over the last two weeks due to circumstances outside of the organization’s control.
As confirmed during the SKUSA Winter Series opener in Homestead, FL, this year’s Pro Tour WinterNationals will be moving from NOLA Motorsports Park to the Orlando Kart Center after recent contract negotiations with the facility went in a negative direction. Despite this unforeseen disappointment, SKUSA is thrilled to have the opportunity to make its debut at OKC, and the event dates will remain the same on the March 31 – April 2 weekend. Immediate feedback from the teams that support the Pro Tour was unanimously positive, as the venue change will decrease their travel costs. Input from many drivers and their parents was also positive.
“To be honest, I’m still pretty floored with how everything went down with NOLA Motorsports Park over the last six weeks, but we were put in a position where we truly had no choice but to look for an alternate facility,” offered SKUSA CEO Tom Kutscher. “An unreasonable increase in what they expected us to pay for the track rental forced us to seek another option, and I want to thank Andre Martins from the Orlando Kart Center for welcoming us to his facility for the WinterNationals.”
Unfortunately, the WinterNationals location is not the only change in the 2023 national racing schedule. SKUSA was extremely excited about debuting at the new K1 Circuit in Winchester, CA, but while the track construction continues, it has become apparent that the facility will not be prepared to host an event of the magnitude of the SpringNationals by the June 9-11 event date. In its place, SKUSA has completed an agreement to head back to the Utah Motorsports Campus for this year’s midway point in the Pro Tour. SKUSA has a long history of major events at UMC, and the racing has always been competitive.
“Like everyone in California, we’re anxious to take to the track at our region’s newest facility, which will no doubt be an immediate crown jewel for karting on the west coast,” Kutscher continued. “But while the track is working diligently on its construction, we simply cannot commit to it being ready for the SpringNationals. We’re thrilled to be working closely with the track’s new General Manager – Mike Smith – and we look forward to holding a few California ProKart Challenge races there this year, and very likely the SpringNationals in 2024. Stay tuned for more updates to the California PKC schedule in the very near future, as well.”
The Pro Tour season finale, the SummerNationals, remains confirmed at New Castle Motorsports Park on the July 28-30 weekend to cap the championship series. |
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Sunday, 31 July 2022 00:00 |
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A sweeping performance for AJ Myers in his second victory on the season in Pro Shifter (Photo: EKN)
The 2022 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour saw the final chapter written on Sunday with the last day of the SummerNationals completed at the New Castle Motorsports Park. Another picture-perfect day greeted the more than 200 entries in the eight categories to bring the weekend at the New Castle, Indiana facility to an end. The sixth and final round of the 13th championship season decided the final four title winners with four drivers securing their crown on Saturday. Only two new winners added their names to the list for the 2022 season while five others repeated their victories from the previous day.
EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings #1 AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) showed why he has held that position for the many months with another sweeping performance added to his CV in the PSL Karting Pro Shifter division. Myers set fast time in qualifying and led every lap of the Prefinal. Grabbing the holeshot, Myers pace the field the entire 18-lap distance for his second victory of the season, locking in the #2 position in the championship. The top spot was secured Saturday with Marijn Kremers (PSL / Birel ART) picking up his third victory on the season. The 2019 FIA Karting World Champion in KZ set fast time in the Final, driving to second after getting shuffled back to seventh at the start. The fight for third went down to the wire with Jake French (PSL / Birel ART) and Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts) going back and forth. French crossed the line ahead for the position but suffered a pushback bumper penalty that placed him fifth. That promoted the four-time SuperNationals winner to the podium in third and Tahlon Yockel (Magik Kart USA) to fourth. Hannah Greenemeier (RPG / LN Racing Kart) was hard charger, up 17 spots to sixth.
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