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California ProKart Challenge
K1 Circuit a Success for California ProKart Challenge
Friday, 06 September 2024 09:24

(Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

The Superkarts! USA California ProKart Challenge made its very much anticipated first visit to the new K1 Circuit on August 23-25. The Winchester, California facility welcomed 171 entries over the two days of racing, which counted as Rounds Four and Five of the 2024 six-round championship program. The weather was perfect, and the competitors shined around the new southern California track as the first ever competition karting event at the facility.


First KA100 Senior winner at K1 Circuit was Shea Aldrich (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

An astonishing 46 drivers battled over the two rounds in the KA100 Senior by P1 Engines class. Aiden Kempf and Jackson Menchu were only separated by one thousandth of a second in qualifying, as Kempf took top honors with a 1:03.877. Fourth in the session was Josh Campbell, who worked his way to the front at the end of the Prefinal for the win. Aldrich fell to fifth in the Prefinal, but moved up to second early in the 18-lap Final. Campbell was shuffled back over the opening laps as Keagan Kaminski and Aldrich ran 1-2. Late in the race, Kempf began battling with the top two for the lead. The racing continued to the checkered flag, where Aldrich was able to cross the line first to claim victory. Three-time winner Ethan Lampe advanced six spots to end up second on the final circuit, with Alexander Gonzalez following him through. Kaminski fell to fourth, as Jackson Menchu completed the top-five. Kempf returned the next day to set fast time in qualifying once again for Round Five. Qualifying sixth, Texas driver John Burke charged forward to the win in the Prefinal. In the Final, Burke was shuffled down to fourth as Kaminski, Campbell and Aldrich led the way early. Burke fought back and by lap 16, reclaimed the top spot. Over the last two laps, Burke held off Kaminski for the victory, beating him to the line by 12 thousandths of a second. Aldrich joined them on the podium in third, with Campbell and Kempf finishing fourth and fifth.

Turner Brown doubled up in his 2024 series debut in KA100 Junior (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

It was a near weekend sweep in KA100 Junior by SuperSpeed Bearings by Turner Brown. The 2024 FIA Karting Academy Trophy USA representative finished fifth in the championship after three rounds in Europe and made his California ProKart Challenge season debut. Brown led the way in qualifying to edge out the 33-driver field by only 52 thousandths, with Dean Pedersen a close second. Turner led all nine laps of the Prefinal, but was shuffled back to fifth early in the 18-lap Final. Pedersen took over the lead before Nico Sarphati got in the mix. By lap 10, Brown was back into the lead and showed the way to the checkered flag for the victory. Sarphati settled for second, with Matthew Cagle joining them on the podium in third. Drew Jensen and Erik Doan completed the top-five. Round Five began with Sarphati setting fast time in qualifying over Payton Westcott and Pedersen. Brown was fourth in the session and worked up to the win in the Prefinal before leading wire-to-wire in the Final. Wescott ended up second with Sarphati in third. Luca Popescu and Johnie Stamps rounded out the top-five.

Michael Avansino became the first winner in Pro Shifter at the K1 Circuit (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

A massive field with some of the best in the country contested the HRT Driver Development Pro Shifter category, featuring 20 drivers for the first ever event at K1 Circuit. Multi-time series champion Billy Musgrave led things in qualifying on Saturday with a 57.980, edging out Washington driver Jacob Gulick by 65 thousandths. Gulick got the advantage in the Prefinal, with Musgrave pushed back to second. The first 15 laps of the Final was led by Gulick until he retired. This allowed Michael Avansino to take control and lead to the checkered flag for the victory. Ethan Booher was second ahead of Kyle Wick, as Musgrave finished fourth and David Williams crossed the line in fifth. Gulick returned the following day to lead qualifying, putting down a 57.514 lap for the new track record, edging out Musgrave by 21 thousandths. Musgrave responded with the Prefinal win before leading most of the main event for his first series victory of the season. Gulick settled for second, with Wick adding another third place result. Micah Hendricks and Booher completed the top-five.

Joe Ruch doubled up in the Master Shifter category to open up K1 Circuit (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

The HRT Driver Development Master Shifter class had a large gathering as well, welcoming 13 drivers from all over the USA. Longtime SKUSA driver Travis Irving set the pace in qualifying and went on to win the Prefinal. Indiana driver and three-time SKUSA Pro Tour race winner Joe Ruch got the jump at the start of the Final. Irving fought back; however, Ruch reclaimed the top spot and went on to claim the victory. Nick George joined them on the podium, with SuperNationals winner Rob Logan fourth and Michael Guasch in fifth. Sunday was a sweep for Ruch, finishing P1 in all three sessions. He cleared the field in qualifying by two tenths before winning the Prefinal by seven seconds. The speed continued in the Final, going wire-to-wire for a 14-second margin of victory. Logan advanced to second, with Guasch on the podium in third. Round One winner David Jones was fourth with two-time race winner DJ Jenkins in fifth.

Former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Paul Bonilla swept Sunday’s action in KA100 Master (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

Each round of the Mike Manning Karting KA100 Master class on the weekend was a sweep for the 18-driver deep field that included several familiar names from SKUSA’s past. Travis Irving ran double duty over the two rounds on the weekend. Setting fast time in qualifying and winning the Prefinal, the former SKUSA SuperNationals winner led all 18 laps to claim the victory. Former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Paul Bonilla was second, with Brett Harrelson in third. Another former SKUSA Pro Tour champion, Scott Falcone, made his return with a fourth place finish – while Michael Ting advanced 10 spots to fifth. It was a similar performance on Sunday, this time with Paul Bonilla at the front of the field. Bonilla was quickest in qualifying and won the Prefinal, leading wire-to-wire in the Final for the victory. Falcone improved to second, with Harrelson placing third once again. Damon Duckworth and Joshua Daley completed the top-five.

Tim Meyer swept the weekend in the Nash Motorsportz X30 Master category. Meyer was P1 all day on Saturday for Round Four, winning the Final over Robert Switzler and Arman Cornell. Sunday was the same result for Meyer in Round Five, earning maximum points on the day with his victory, as Switzler and Cornell repeated their podium performances. Salvador Echarri was another driver to sweep the weekend in X30 Senior, besting Grace Quinones.

Troy Ferguson came away with the Saturday victory in Mini Swift (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

A total of 15 drivers contested the K1 Circuit weekend in the Formula Works Mini Swift category. Andrew Janus started off the weekend with the quickest lap in qualifying to clear the field by nearly two tenths. In the fifth position was JohnJohn McLellan, who drove up to the race win in the Prefinal. It was Daniel Ramirez who jumped out to the lead in the Final before Troy Ferguson took over. McLellan fought back to lead one lap before Ramirez and Ferguson continued their battle. At the line, it was Ferguson taking the victory ahead of Ramirez. McLellan crossed the line in third but was penalized, dropping him down to eighth. This promoted Braydon Wagner up to the podium in third ahead of Sebastian Hauser and Andrew Janus. McLellan bounced back on Sunday to lead the way in qualifying, edging out Ramirez and Ferguson by eight thousandths. The top-six were all within 98 thousandths. Among them was Hauser, who drove his way to the win in the Prefinal. Hauser would be shuffled down the order early in the Final and toward the tail of the field by the halfway point. This put McLellan and Ferguson at the front of the field. They swapped the lead a handful of times. At the checkered, it was McLellan taking the victory. Ferguson crossed the line second but was penalized, dropping him to third and moving Janus up to the runner-up spot. Luis Martinez and Wagner completed the top-five.

The Sanner Racing Micro Swift field featured 12 drivers around the new K1 Circuit. Asher Biezonsky earned his second fast time in qualifying on the season before Aidan Go won in the Prefinal. The Final, however, saw Byron Borneman jump up to the lead early, leading all but one lap to claim a second victory of the season. Hudson Hidalgo was second, with Go in third. Biezonsky and Mason Brody rounded out the top-five. Hidalgo showed the way on Sunday for Round Five, setting fast time in qualifying and winning the Prefinal. He led the first six laps before Biezonsky challenged for the top spot. Leading the final seven laps, Biezonsky drove to his first series victory. Koa Saito gained nine spots with fast lap of the race to move up into the runner-up spot, with Hidalgo crossing in third. Brody and Kendall West were fourth and fifth.

Micro Swift welcomed first-time winner Asher Biezonski (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

Dean Heldt doubled up on the weekend in the S125 division, winning both main events ahead of Willy Musgrave, with Carlos Lopes in third. The M125 category was a split between Myan Spaccarelli and Charles Kaneb. Round Four went to Spaccarelli with Alan Carvalho in second, while Kaneb swept Sunday’s action over Carvalho. Kaleb Brown ran uncontested in the S5 class.

As of now, the 2024 California ProKart Challenge is set for a return to the K1 Circuit on September 28-29 for the sixth and final round of this year’s championship program. The weekend will be the one-round format, featuring practice and Qualifying on Saturday with racing on Sunday. Pre-entry has already opened on the SKUSA website, and any updates to the event will be posted on the website as they become available.