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Saturday, 19 November 2011 00:00 |
The stage is set for the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals XV as the two days of practice, two days of competition are now in the books with everything leading up to SuperSunday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Eleven categories will battle tomorrow on the 0.7-mile for the victory and to put their name in the history books as a SuperNationals winner. Also, the Pro Tour championships are on the line for the series divisions with those champions to be crowned on Sunday.
S1
After scoring a podium finish last year in his debut, Dutch driver Indy Dontje is showing the American contingent how to power around a S1 Pro Stock Moto entry. Dontje completed the sweep up to Sunday as he scored the win in Heat 2 and Heat 3 to start from the P1 grid box. The Energy driver powered away to a three-second win in the opening run of the day over Italian Mirko Torsellini (CRG). 2010 Pro Tour champion Fritz Leesmann (CRG) was third over Jason Toft (GP) and current Pro Tour title contender Tom Dyer (GP). Torsellini ran second again in the third heat with Leesmann once again third. Dyer moved up to fourth with Nic LeDuc (Energy) in fifth. Point leader Daniel Bray (GP) had a tough day trying to move up from his 23rd qualifying position in both motos. The first run of the day, Bray was making progress until he made contact with the turn three barriers, eventually finishing 15th. The other heat race ended with more contact, this time on the final lap after nearly into the top-five.
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Friday, 18 November 2011 00:00 |
It was an unusual day at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as the SKUSA SuperNationals XV began wheel-to-wheel action Friday. Aside from battling the competition, everyone battled the weather with heavy wind action throughout the day with gusts up to 40mph at times. Thankfully, while most everyone survived the weather, the same couldn’t be said on-track as drivers established themselves as contenders through qualifying and the first round of heat races.
S1
Drama unfolded early for the S1 Pro Stock Moto class, having an impact on the event and the Pro Tour standings. Point leader and SuperNats favorite Daniel Bray (GP) broke the engine sprocket before completing a lap in qualifying, which put him at the tail end of the 24-kart field. At the top of the order was last year podium finisher - Dutch driver Indy Dontje. His 45.807 lap aboard his Energy kart put him on the pole position. The order was tight behind him with Jason Toft (GP) clocking in just seven-thousandths off his time and title contender Tom Dyer (GP) just off the mark as well. Defending Pro Tour champ Fritz Leesmann (CRG) and NorCal native Nic Leduc (Energy) completing the top-five.
Uncharacteristic of the S1 field, they bunched up in the second corner with Leesmann and others involved, most able to continue but out of contention. Out front, Dontje and Dyer hooked up and drove clean. Near the end, Italian Mirko Torsellini (CRG) pressured Dyer, only to see the two-time SuperNats winner take the spot back on the final lap to earn some crucial championship points. At the line, Dontje won by eight-tenths over Dyer with Torsellini third and Toft fourth. Bray showed why he is a championship leader, driving his way through the field to end up fifth in 12 laps.
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Thursday, 17 November 2011 00:00 |
 The Superkarts! USA SuperNationals XV is underway outside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The 15th edition of the series primer event has welcomed a record number of drivers, record number of entries (528), with a record purse of over $120,000 to be handed out after SuperSunday.
Teams made their way to Vegas beginning over the weekend with the first official sessions on-track starting Wednesday. For two days, the 11 categories were split into two groups - five taking part in the morning and six in the evening hours. In total, they received eight seven-minute sessions to prepare for battle Friday thru Sunday.
The first few major bits of news came early. During the morning sessions, KZ2 driver Matthew Di Leo (Praga) was involved in a single-kart incident that put him head on into one of the water barriers outlining the track. What appears to be a mechanical failure with the throttle system resulted in two fractured wrists, broken right heel, a few broken fingers and a concussion. He’s staying in a Las Vegas hospital for now with updates still coming from his family. EKN would like to send our well-wishes to Matthew in his road to recovery.
A major event unfolded that forced changes in the schedule. A large shipment of engines from the French engine shop Tec-Sav was stuck in customs. Nearly 50 engines were kept there after improper paper work kept them there. The problem forced competitors in KZ2 and G1 to adapt and change plans, some sharing engines. That put SKUSA in a position to change up the schedule for Sunday around because of the problem, putting KZ2 first on the schedule rather than later in the day close to G1. Mid-Thursday, the shipment was cleared and finally made its way to Las Vegas.
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Wednesday, 16 November 2011 23:01 |
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We have made a slight modification to the running order of the morning group and the order of mains on Super Sunday. KZ2 has been moved in front of TaG Cadet on the schedule for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Super Sunday KZ2 will warm up first and have their final first. You can view the adjusted schedule HERE. They will be available at registration in the morning. |
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Wednesday, 16 November 2011 09:19 |
It was announced today at World Speed headquarters that they would be supporting the 2011 SKUSA SuperNationals XV. World Speed first supported the SuperNationals in 2001, when Scott Speed was awarded a formula car test for winning in Super Pro 125.
This year two FormulaSPEED2.0 tests will be awarded. The first one will be to the S4 class winner, and a second test will be awarded to an S4 'racer at large.' “Up to eighty drivers are expected to be participating in this class, so we expect to see some great racing action,” noted World Speed President Telo Stewart. The tests will take place at Infineon Raceway.
The World Speed Motorsports Rising Star Awards have been helping racers move up the open wheel racing ladder for years. The award includes a free test with World Speed, and is presented to up and coming racers. Many of the past winners of the award have gone on to great successes in racing. In addition to Scott Speed past winners have included Joey Hand, Sage Karam, Joel Miller, Cole Whitt, Brad Coleman, Michael McDowell, Neil Alberico, and Conor Daly. This season's World Speed Motorsports Rising Star Award winners will include the Bondurant Formula Mazda champion and vice-champion, two karters from the Red Line Oil Karting Championship, and two karters from the SuperNationals S4 class.
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