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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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Tuesday, 15 November 2011 17:37 |
SKUSA SuperNationals XV has secured strategic sponsorship with GoPro, the world’s most versatile camera. SuperNationals XV, hosted at The Rio All-Suites Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, November 16-20 attracts the world’s top competitors in the kart racing industry along with motorsport’s premier drivers like Formula 1 Champions and Indy 500 winners.
“GoPro’s versatility has enabled it to lead the market in documenting more sports than any other camera in its class and is always looking to partner with top ranked athletes, leagues and events across a wide variety of sports. GoPro recognized SuperNationals as a great opportunity to team up with as it offers one of the most prestigious karting events in the world,” commented GoPro Motorsports Marketing Manager, Rod Rojas.
With GoPro’s support, SKUSA will award 11 GoPro HD HERO2 Motorsport Edition camera kits to a ‘Hard Charger’, the driver in each class who most improves his position from the start of the main event to the checkered flag. Just introduced, the HD HERO2 Motorsports Edition,is ideal for capturing onboard footage while working through the field. Additionally, SKUSA’s production team will be capturing footage throughout the entire event with GoPro products. “GoPro’s support is tremendous and we’re happy to have them as a partner. Their cameras are awesome and will be great to get them onboard SKUSA competitors,” noted SKUSA president, Tom Kutscher.
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