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| EKN Trackside: 2023 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals – Saturday Report |
| 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.
GFC Karting’s Jacob Gulick dominated the Pro Shifter main on Saturday to score his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory (Photo: OTP.ca) PSL Karting Pro Shifter saw a new face on the top step in 2023 Superkarts! USA competition, as GFC driver Jacob Gulick got the win in Utah. Gulick ran in front for the entirety of the race, finishing 3.5 seconds in front of his GFC teammate Kyle Wick in second. Marijn Kremers (PSL Karting / Birel ART) started where he finished in third after a decent day out for the Red Army, and while he pressured Wick over the second half of the race, he could not set up the pass. Completing the top four finishers was Kremers’ PSL Karting teammate, Hunter Pickett (Birel ART). Hard Charger Senna Van Walstijn (Piquet Sport / Sodi Kart) after showing the pace to win all week, had to settle for fifth after being DQ’d for rear width after winning the Prefinal. The Dutch driver gained 14 spots in the final.
RPG’s Max Taylor emerged with the win in X30 Junior on Saturday (Photo: OTP.ca) Rolison Performance Group X30 Junior saw the RPG dominance continue with Max Taylor (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) taking the win by just half a tenth over his teammate Jackson Wolny in second, who was able to gain three spots in the Final. Speed Concepts Racing driver Nathan Dupuis (Redspeed) ended his day seven seconds back from the RPG pair in third. The race for the win and final podium finishes was actually included Ernesto Rivera (RPG / Kosmic) and Anthony Martella (SCR / Redspeed), until they get tangled on the final lap battling for second and were not able the finish the race. Steven Miller (Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic) was sixth on the final lap but ended up just off the podium in fourth after the Rivera/Martella incident, as he was not quite on pace in the water-cooled Junior division. Alex Mercado (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed) lost a spot from where he started the final, but still came home with a top-five finish.
In KA100 Senior, Collin Lloyd came away with the Saturday victory (Photo: OTP.ca) Nash Motorsportz KA100 Senior had a familiar face out front as Collin Lloyd (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed) won by 1.3 second over the next driver, which was a promising start to a fairly new relationship between Lloyd and Speed Concepts Racing, as the Magik Kart USA that he usually runs with did not make the trek to Utah. Harley Keeble (Piquet Sports / Sodi Kart) is doing double duty this weekend by also running in the air-cooled KA100 Senior class, and he had quite a maiden outing, coming in second. Behind them and on the podium was 2023 SKUSA Winter Series champion in KA100 Senior Peyton Phillips (Ryan Perry Motorsports / Tony Kart), who inherited third after Noah Rosser was DQ’s for rear width. In a show of impressive sportsmanship, Phillips brought Rosser onto the podium with him and then handed his trophy over to Rosser as they left the podium together. Big movers inside the top five for the Final included Josh Campbell (Ryan Perry Motorsports / Tony Kart), who finished fourth behind his teammate after gaining six spots, although even more impressive, gaining 16 spots and finishing in fifth was local race shop owner Ayrton Littel (Scuderia Littel / GFC).
Truly Adams delivered a pair of impressive moves to come away with the KA100 Junior win (Photo: OTP.ca) Truly Adams (Troy Adams Coaching / Factory Kart) had one of the drives of the day in the Greyhound Racing Seats KA100 Junior class. After being outside the top five for almost half the race, Adams made his way up the field past some of the best Junior division drivers in the country to take a big win for Factory Karts. Adams showed supreme patience as he slipped past two drivers as they battled in the left-hand corner after the hairpin, emerging through the chicane in fourth. The SoCal driver then duplicated the move on the final lap when the top-three collided and drifted wide, coming out of the skirmish with a lead as he would roll to the checkered flag. It was Adam’s first SKUSA Pro Tour win and was also the first national win for Factory Kart’s 100cc chassis. Ernesto Rivera (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) came up a few tenths short in second, with RPG teammate Max Taylor behind in third. Keagan Kaminski (Formula Works / GFC) had a solid run to finish the day in fourth, and polesitter for the Final Steven Miller (Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic) ended his day in fifth.
Trinity Karting Group’s Lucas Palacio added another Mini Swift win to his 2023 record (Photo: OTP.ca) Trinity Karting Group driver Lucas Palacio (Kart Republic) brought home a SpringNationals win for the Ohio-based outfit in Evinco Tires Mini Swift. Palacio led early but gave up the point mid-race, although he was able to retake the lead with a handful of laps to go. SuperNationals winner Michael McGaughy (Ryan Perry Motorsport / Parolin) came across the line in the runner-up spot with Team Benik driver Marco Romero behind making up the podium finishers. The front three battled hard all race, pulling away from the field together. Hard Charger Alexis Baillargeon (PSL Karting / Birel ART) gained an astonishing 25 positions in the Final to secure fourth after a wreck in the Prefinal, and Trinity Karting Group driver Travis Pettit (Kart Republic) capped the top-five with yet another strong national level performance.
Juan Diego Garciarce topped a strong Micro Swift field at UMC (Photo: OTP.ca) Sodi Racing USA Micro Swift had Juan Diego Garciarce (Orsolon Racing / Parolin) taking the checkered flag first in the final for the opening day of the SpringNationals. Garciarce led a vast majority of the race, retaking the lead he later lost with three to go, and he would stay there for victory. Maxwell Macha (SLA Kart Racing / Sodi Kart) fought with Garciarce for the win in the later stages of the race, ultimately coming in second. Parolin USA driver Liam Nachawati was able to make it two Parolins on the podium, finishing on the final step in third. Just off the podium was Piquet Sports America driver Josh Bergman (Sodi Kart) in fourth and Pasha Ali (Piquet Sports / Sodi Kart) in fifth.The drivers and teams will return to the Utah Motorsports Campus on Sunday for Round Four and another shot at standing on top of the podium at the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals. |
