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Tuesday, 17 August 2021 06:10 |
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Hannah Greenemeier added her name to the list of SKUSA Pro Tour champions with the title in X30 Senior (Photo: EKN)
Sunday was the sixth and final round to the 2021 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour with the 11th running of the SummerNationals hosting the series finale. What began in March in New Orleans, was completed at the New Castle Motorsports Park with the sixth and final round of this year’s championship program. The New Castle, Indiana facility provided an amazing day for racing, with all nine categories deciding just who would end up with the coveted SKUSA #1 plate in their respective classes. History was made throughout the day, including the second ever female series champion, the first three-time shifterkart headline title winner, and the first driver to record six career championships at the SKUSA Pro Tour.
The title chase in the Rolison Performance Group X30 Senior division was done to just two drivers. Branyon Tiner (RPG / Kosmic) held a slight advantage over Hannah Greenemeier (RPG / Kosmic) heading into the final round. Greenemeier nearly grabbed the 10 bonus points for fast time in qualifying but was edged out by Saturday winner Nate Cicero (RPG / Kosmic). He along with Greenemeier and Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) decided the Prefinal with four-time champ Norberg earning the win. Tiner was making his way forward inside the top-10 when contact put him off the track and eventually out of the race. That set up for a scenario for the championship to be in the hands of Greenemeier depending on the results of the main event. Norberg was able to get away from the field at the start of the Final as Cicero was shuffled off in the opening corners and then collected in a multiple kart pileup in turn three, ending his day. Norberg set his ride on cruise control, running consistent times over the 16-lap race to drive away to a 4.680-second advantage. Greenemeier was in the fight for a podium position behind Norberg. She along with Pauly Massimino (RPM / Kosmic), Braden Eves (MPG / WPK) and Thomas Annunziata (MDR / Tony Kart) were in the fight. Annunziata was able to edge out Massimino and Hannah at the line for the runner-up spot. Massimino was given a pushback bumper penalty, thus dropping him to fifth and Thomas Nepveu to fourth in his Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic debut weekend. And it also promoted Greenemeier to the third step of the podium, clinching the SKUSA Pro Tour championship, becoming only the second female champion in the 12-year history of the program. |
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Sunday, 15 August 2021 04:01 |
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Former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Jake French landed on top of the podium in Pro Shifter (Photo: EKN)
The fifth round of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour at New Castle Motorsports Park was highlighted by some incredible racing action and more than one drag race out of the I-70 hairpin to the checkered flag. The 11th running of the SummerNationals will provide the cap to the 2021 national championship, and Saturday’s racing only served to set the stage for Sunday’s finale and the crowning of this year’s national champions. In the Pro Shifter class, which boasted a stunning grid of 30 karts including 16 of the top-20 from the EKN Driver Rankings, PSL Karting’s Jake French renewed his title hopes after holding back Andrew Bujdoso for the victory. An uncharacteristic mechanical DNF put point leader AJ Myers on the sidelines during the opening lap, which has blown the championship wide open. The X30 Senior title fight remains in the hands of the Rolison Performance Group, and while the team has three drivers vying for the championship, it was one of their drivers not in the title chase Nate Cicero who pulled steadily away from the stacked field to score his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Thursday, 12 August 2021 07:37 |
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Consistent results have Branyon Tiner leading the X30 Senior championship standings heading into the SummerNationals (Photo: EKN)
The 12th season of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is set to conclude this weekend (August 13-15) with the 11th running of the SKUSA SummerNationals at the New Castle Motorsports Park. A season high of 245 entries over the nine categories will converge on the New Castle, Indiana facility – site of last year’s SKUSA Summer Festival with two weekends of racing featuring six rounds of competition.
New Castle has been the home of the SummerNationals since 2015, with the SKUSA Pro Tour champions decided from 2017 to the present after the creation of the WinterNationals. The ‘SKUSA Super Mile’ course is the layout for this weekend, similar to what was used the first weekend in 2020, featuring the wild ‘ski jump’ section mixing the ‘national’ layout with the extension area. Weather will be an issue with humidity expected to be high, however, rain is not forecasted for the days of racing. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Wednesday, 26 May 2021 17:10 |
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Hannah Greenemeier became the first female winner on the SKUSA Pro Tour with victory in X30 Senior (Photo: EKN)
The 2021 edition of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals came to close on Sunday at the Utah Motorsports Campus. It was a weekend of battling tough weather conditions and fierce fields in Grantsville, Utah with the threat of rain added into the mix on Sunday. A brief sprinkle is all that presented itself, as the winds continued throughout the day. As you would expect on the final day of action, the racing amped up with drivers taking a few extra chances in certain moments, with the results not equating to success. Nine drivers did come away with triumph at the end of the main events, including four more first-time winners on the day – including Colorado driver Hannah Greenemeier who became the first female driver to win at the SKUSA Pro Tour in its 12-year history.
The Rolison Performance Group X30 Senior class saw a lot of drama unfold from start to finish. Saturday winner Ryan Norberg was able to edge out RPG / Kosmic teammate Hannah Greenemeier for the pole position by a mere 32 thousandths of a second. At the start of the Prefinal, Norberg was shuffled back with Greenemeier and Trey Brown (RPM / Tony Kart) able to get away. It took five laps to catch back up to the top-two and when there, Norberg made a slight mistake, making contact with Brown as Greenemeier slipped past at turn one. Norberg and Brown went off at the exit, out of the race. That allowed Greenemeier to cruise to the Prefinal win. Norberg, starting at the back, was involved in contact on the opening circuit of the main event and recorded a rare DNF on the day. Up front, Greenemeier and Cole Morgan (RPM / Tony Kart) were shuffling for the top position nearly every lap. This allowed for a seven driver lead group for much of the race. On lap 17, Hannah was able to secure the top spot with RPG / Kosmic teammate Branyon Tiner coming through in second. Morgan came under pressure for the third position with Thomas Nepveu (PSL / Birel ART) on the attack. Nepveu worked past Morgan at turn 10, and at turn 11, Morgan drove over the back of Nepveu, pushing both off the course and out of the race. Following the contact, some extra-curricular activities commenced resulting in a DQ for both drivers. Up front, Greenemeier was able to put in solid final laps with Tiner on her bumper to the checkered flag for the victory. Round Two winner Connor Zilisch (Nitro / Redspeed) crossed the line third ahead of Jake Drew (RPM / Tony Kart), but both suffered penalties. Zilisch a three-second for pushback bumper and Drew a disqualification for pushback bumper manipulation post-race. That promoted Nathaniel Cicero to third, making it an all Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic podium. Zilisch was classified fourth, bouncing back from qualifying 12th. Rounding out the top-five was Oliver Calvo (LEM / Exprit), up three positions to fifth.
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Sunday, 23 May 2021 12:45 |
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Ryan Norberg became the third different winner on the season in X30 Senior (Photo: EKN)
The Superkarts! USA Pro Tour has invaded the Utah Motorsports Campus for the weekend, and the 0.9-mile, 18-turn Alan Wilson designed track provided the stage for some tremendous racing during the opening day of competition on Saturday. The 11th running of the organization’s SpringNationals began in extremely cool temperatures, but as the day heated up, so did the action. With the temps rising to the mid-60s by the early afternoon, the main events featured some tremendously close racing and tons of wheel-to-wheel dicing – with non of the nine categories seeing one driver sweep the action on the day. Four-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg dominated the X30 Senior main event for Rolison Performance, leading an impressive 1-2 finish with teammate Branyon Tiner, while AJ Myers scored his third straight Pro Shifter win of the 2021 season to put Magik Kart USA back on top of the podium. With nine classes running in eight race groups, the action did not stop all day.
The Ryan Norberg was a similar ‘Ryan Norberg’ to who we saw in 2019 here in Utah for the SpringNationals. A dominating performance in the Rolison Performance Group X30 Senior class, but not a complete perfect day. Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic teammate Hannah Greenemeier edge Norberg for fast time in qualifying by 15 thousandths of a second with a 57.663-lap. Contact in the opening lap with Greenemeier and Cole Morgan (RPM / Tony Kart) sent them to the back of the field. That allowed Norberg to lead all 12 laps of the Prefinal unchallenged with Branyon Tiner (RPG / Kosmic) driving to second. That was how they would start the Final, and finish the main event with Norberg leading all 20 laps, recording the fast lap of race, winning by over four seconds. Tiner was able to get away in second, giving RPG a 1-2 finish. The fight was for third with Dante Yu (PGR / Ricciardo) moving up two spots to the third step on the podium. Greenemeier put in a great drive in both the Prefinal and Final. Moving up to 16th in the Prefinal, she powered her way to fourth by the end of the Final, but a pushback bumper penalty dropped her to sixth. That moved Canadian Thomas Nepveu (PSL / Birel ART) to fourth and Thomas Annunziata (MDR / Tony Kart) to fifth.
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