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AUGUST 2015
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CONTENTS
A RECORD TURNOUT
DEPARTMENTS
Can-Am Karting Challenge
34
40
12 50
QUICK NOTES 07 08 09 10 10
TALKING TO
Third Generation Karter Ayrton Ortega
MOM AT THE TRACK SERIES DIRECTORY
A GROWING CLUB KARTING RESULTS NEW CHAMPIONS KARTING ON TV LEAGUE DECISIONS
FEATURED
DOUBLED DOWN
Mclaulin Motorsports Nationals
14
SECURING THE PODIUM
2015 Superkarts! USA Summer Nationals
26 A RECORD TURNOUT Can-Am Karting Challenge
34
TALKING TO
Third Generation Karter Ayrton Ortega
40 DOUBLED DOWN
Mclaulin Motorsports Nationals
42 DIFFICULT BATTLES
42 DIFFICULT BATTLES
Los Angeles Karting Championship GO Racing Magazine
44 ON A ROLL
Gold Cup Series
Los Angeles Karting Championship
44 ON A ROLL
Gold Cup Series
46 SEVEN VICTORIES Route 66 Sprint Series
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GO RACING Magazine is published monthly and is distributed to Kart Clubs, Tracks, Shops, and Kart Racers in the United States, Canada, and the world. If your club or kart racing organization is not receiving GO RACING Magazine, please let us know by giving us a call. GO RACING Magazine is designed for you, our reader, and fellow racer. Any editorial information you wish to contribute is not only welcome, but is requested. We don’t know what is happening at your club or at your track unless YOU LET US KNOW. Material submitted to us becomes our property. We assume no responsibility or liability for the validity of claims in connection with items appearing in GO RACING Magazine. AD DEADLINE 17th of Every Month For The Following Month. Ad copy must be received by the seventeenth of the month to be included in the next month’s magazine.
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A Growing Club NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK DRIVERS CLUB MEMBERSHIP RAPIDLY GROWING IN NUMBERS Words | Photos: Lori Lewis | New Jersey Motorsports Park
One of the things that make New Jersey Motorsports Park a unique facility is its Drivers Club Membership. Several times a month members of the Driver Club take to the track where novice drivers and experienced racers come together to test the limits, learn from professional drivers and enjoy their VIP status throughout the facility for a day that is catered to the members and their families. With the growth of the park the track days have seen a big increase in numbers this year. This has prompted park officials to add an additional five days to the Drivers Club schedule. “This year we have seen a great increase in the popularity and numbers in Drivers Club membership”, says Brad Scott General Manager and COO of New Jersey Motorsport’s Park. “With more and more member track days filling up we decided that it was time to add another five dates to the calendar. Member Track Days are up by 75% and new membership sales are up by 46%”. The following five dates have been added to the 2015 schedule making forty action packed track days for the Drivers Club members to enjoy all the amenities of their membership. Thursday September 17th Tuesday September 22nd Thursday October 1st Thursday October 15th Saturday November 7th A typical Drivers Club track day starts off in the morning after a first class breakfast with a driver’s meeting where the instructors and park officers go over track maps and safety guidelines with the attending participants. “Run Groups” are separated by skill levels so that everyone can progress at their own pace. After lunch in the clubhouse and a chance to refuel, the participants return to the track for an afternoon full of track time. About the Drivers Club at New Jersey Motorsports Park: The Drivers Club is an exclusive member association for those looking to drive their sports, classic or high-performance
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car at NJMP. The Drivers Club gives motorsports and driving enthusiasts the privileges of track days on two world-class road courses, VIP services, amenities and the camaraderie of fellow drivers – all in a controlled environment. The Drivers Club caters to a variety of driving interests, lifestyles, and vehicles. For more information on Drivers Club membership, please contact Donald Fauerbach at 856-327-7201. About New Jersey Motorsports Park: Sitting on more than 500 acres in Millville, N.J., New Jersey Motorsports Park is the premier motorsports entertainment complex in the Northeast. NJMP is conveniently located near Philadelphia and New York City, offering diverse and dynamic attractions both on and off-track. The park includes three worldclass road courses, Thunderbolt, Lightning, and Tempest Raceway, a motorsports country club membership program, one of the top outdoor karting complexes in the U.S., 10 acres of paintball fields, concert and festival space, overnight accommodations, and real estate development opportunities. Also on the property, a clubhouse features meeting space, bar/restaurant and built-in pool. Featured Membership Benefits: • 35+ Exclusive members-only driving days • Season pass to major racing events ( some exclusions apply) • VIP parking in NJMP paddocks • Invitation to all Drivers Club Events; dinner parties, pool events, clay shoots, kart races, seminars, auto demos, etc. • Professional instruction at all member driving days • Complimentary chef-prepared breakfast & luncheon on all member driving days • Complimentary use of pool and tennis courts • Discounted Arrive & Drive Go Karting Sessions at NJMP • Trackside VIP Suite accommodations at $70 per night. • Discounted meals at The Finish Line Pub. • Member guest driving on all member days • Use of event garages on member days • VIP Photo ID for Park access • Year-round trailer/motorhome storage at no charge
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QUICK NOTES
Karting Results SO CAL OVAL KARTERS RESULTS FROM THE GRAND AT THE INDUSTRY HILL EXPO CENTER Words | Photos: Scott Daloisio Sports | Schnarzy The So Cal Oval Karters and the gorgeous Grand Arena at the Industry Hills Expo Center combined for a great afternoon of racing last Saturday. In addition to the So Cal Oval Karters contesting round #2 of the “Summer Shootout Series,” the Speedway Sprints and Dirt Karts from John Aden’s Wheel2Wheel Raceway were also on hand giving fans a fun and diverse day of competition.
when he got to the checkered flag in front of Matt Jones of La Mirada, Joe Gibb of Long Beach, San Diego State college student Cody Nigh of Camarillo and Mike Fox. Gibb and Nigh won the heats and Jones was the “Hard Charger.”
Fortunately for competitors and fans, the race was at The Grand Arena and the overhead roof held the scorching Southern California sun at bay and provided ideal track conditions for all of the competitors.
All four of the point leaders coming into Saturday’s race, Martis, Marion, McIntosh and Nigh, maintained their position on top of their respective heaps after the exciting day of racing.
A fine field of 40-So Cal Oval Karters showed up for the exciting day of racing. From the JrJr Class featuring the youngest competitors in the club to the Opens and everything in between, the racing was tight all afternoon long.
The younger set was on hand as well and getting in their laps in the JrJr category. Karters taking part were A.J. Thornell of Riverside, Caden Cane of San Pedro, Whittier’s Tristan Jullerat and Jacey Voss, Kevin Sherman & Troy McIntosh Jr. who all reside in Lake Elsinore.
Point leader Matt Martis of Bonita got the job done in the SR 4 Cycle class when he came from the pole to win his fifth main event in seven starts in 2015. Lake Elsinore’s Jason Voss, John Leonhart of Norwalk, Lake Elsinore’s Aubrey Oppelt, who crashed in her first heat race, and Mason Wilson of Torrance chased Martis to the checkered flag. Oppelt, who started 10th in the 20-lap main, was the “Hard Charger.” Martis and La Verne’s Danny Morheiser won the 10-lap SR 4 Cycle heat races.
The So Cal Oval Karters have this weekend off, but they return to action with Round #4 of the “Summer Shootout Series” at the Perris Raceway on Saturday, August 8th. Gates will open at 2:00 PM with racing at 6:00.
Long Beach racer Chris Gibb flexed his muscle in the KT100’s winning both of his heat races and then his first SCOK 20-lap main event of 2015. Saugus karter Jeff Hinz finished second to Gibb’s #88 followed by college student Mitchell Collins of Orange, Tyler Wilson of Torrance and Cherry Valley’s Troy Patton who has one win this season. Gibb’s win stopped the three-race win streak of Oxnard’s Rob Marion who ended up ninth. Patton was the KT100 “Hard Charger” picking up five spots. In addition to the two heat race wins by Gibb, Marion and San Pedro’s Rev Parker, who did not start the main, also won 10-lap preliminaries. In the F200’s Troy McIntosh won his third main event in his last four starts. The Lake Elsinore racer took the Craig Zimmerman checkered flag ahead of Menifee resident Don Amigliore, Scott Gaynor of Banning, Riverside’s Justin Garcia and pole sitter Jason Morheiser of La Verne who earlier in the day won both of F200 heats. Amigliore picked up three spots and was the main event “Hard Charger.” Cherry Valley’s Steve Patton made it two in a row in the Open class 8
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The So Cal Oval Karters would like to thank the following sponsors who help make the series possible. Burris Racing, Cory Kruseman Sprint Car Driving School, Hubcapmike.com, Perris Auto Speedway, Professional Announcer Chappy, R&J Motorsports, THC Home Medical Services, T-MAC Racing and Yoa Racing Engines. If you would like to become a part of the So Cal Oval Karters 2015 season, please call or E-mail Mike Nigh at (805) 857-2595 or scokart@gmail. com. 2015 So Cal Oval Karters Schedule August 22 Perris Auto Speedway Gates Open at 3 PM Racing at 6PM Summer Shootout Series (Night Race) September 12 Wheel2Wheel Raceway – Victorville Gates Open at 3 PM Racing at 6 PM September 26 So Cal Flat Track at Perris Raceway Gates Open at 2 PM Racing at 6 PM October 10 Wheel2Wheel Raceway – Victorville Gates Open at 3 PM Racing at 6 PM Race for the Rack October 31 Perris Auto Speedway Gates Open at 9 AM Racing at Noon All Junior Divisions Race Free GO Racing Magazine
New Champions THE EUROPEAN CIK-FIA CHAMPIONSHIP ENDED IN KRISTIANSTAD AND HAS ITS BRAND NEW STARS WITH BEN HANLEY (GB CROC - TM) IN KF AND THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD (DK - TONY KART - VORTEX) IN KFJ Words | Photos: press@wskarting.it Karting awards its new champions. The new 2015 European CIK-FIA Champions for KF and KFJ were awarded last weekend in Kristianstad (S). The young Danish driver Christian Lundgaard (Tony Kart-Vortex-LeCont) won in KF Junior, while the more experienced English Ben Hanley (Croc Promotions-TM-Vega) grabbed the title in KF. They joined the KZ Champion, the Italian Flavio Camponeschi (Tony KartVortex-Bridgestone) and the Swedish Joel Johansson (EnergyTM-LeCont), the new Champion in KZ2, who won their titles two weeks earlier, in Genk (B). Four drivers who deserved the titles, as proved also by the recent event in Sweden. The Asum Ring, a facility surrounded by the beautiful Scandinavian woods, was the venue of a breath-taking weekend: the result of the Championship was decided only on the last laps in both the categories. Many new names made themselves conspicuous, both in KF and KFJ, throughout the three rounds of the event. The eventful finale of the season will be analysed in the special TV report, which will be aired by Motors TV on select dates in August. Hanley wins a gripping duel in KF. The British Ben Hanley (Croc-TM-Vega) and Tom Joyner (ZanardiTM-Vega) were the protagonists of a head-to-head race in KF which remained uncertain until the very end, even though Hanley had a remarkable lead over his rival at the beginning of the Swedish weekend. Joyner desperately needed to win the Final of the Asum Ring to stand a chance to grab the title. Actually, in the first phase of the race, he seemed able to accomplish his mission. Luckily for Hanley, success in the race was achieved by the excellent NewZealander Marcus Armstrong (Tony Kart-Vortex), who deserved better than a final nine position in the Championship. Great finale of season also for the Dutch Richard Verschoor (Exprit-Vortex): after his good performance in Brandon (UK) and thanks to his second place in Kristianstad, he managed to score the third position, behind Joyner. On the other hand, after a promising beginning in the season-opener in Portimao (P), the Italian Felice Tiene (CRGParilla) only scored a final fourth position. Brilliant result also for the American Juan Correa (Energy-TM), who placed fifth. Lundgaard, a great recover in KFJ. The Belgian Kenny Roosens (Kosmic-Parilla-LeCont) gained GO Racing Magazine
an early lead in the Championship thanks to his success in the season-opener in Portugal. He kept the leadership until the round in Sweden. It was then, in fact, that the Danish Christian Lundgaard (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) laid his cards on the table after the poor performance achieved in the round in England. The final rush in Kristianstad, at the Asum Ring, wasn’t favourable to Roosens, stopped in the final phase by his kart’s misplaced front fairing. Bad luck also for Clement Novalak (Tony KartVortex): the English dropped behind in the Final in Sweden and lost the second place he had been occupying since the round at the PFi circuit in England. He eventually scored the fifth position. Indonesian Presley Martono (Tony Kart-Vortex), who was only 8 points behind Roosens, could take advantage of the situation, but he only managed to score the 7th position at the Asum Ring, which was not enough. So, Lundgaard only needed a victory to have the upper hand: the Danish dominated the Final and won the Championship ahead of Martono and Roosens. Excellent performance also for Marta Garcia Lopez (FA Kart-TM): the Spanish girl is getting more and more competitive and, in Kristianstad, she scored the third position in the Final, behind the Brazilian Felipe Drugovich (Kosmic-Vortex). She finished fourth in the Championship, ahead of Novalak. 9
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QUICK NOTES
Karting on TV
League Decisions
MAV TV’S “MOTORSPORTS ROAD TRIP” SHOOTING AT ROCK ISLAND GRAND PRIX
LATEST DECISIONS OF THE WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL OF THE FIA CONCERNING KARTING
Words | Photos: Rock Island Grand Prix MavTV, the Rock Island Grand Prix, Margay Racing and Aaron Carotta have announced that the Labor Day Weekend race will be televised on MavTV’s new “Motorsports Road Trip” series. MavTV is the fast growing motorsport and adventure cable/satellite channel which covers such series as ARCA, world rally, dirt racing, IHRA and others. “This is an exciting event and we are hoping to add variety to a great season.” said Carotta. “The half·-hour show will begin airing in July and be viewed by up to 68 million households in the United States, so be sure to register early for one of the biggest events of the new year.” “Motorsports Road Trip will bring its entire production crew and the MavTV Road Trip Bus to Rock Island,” said Carotta, better known as Adventure Aaron. “Our staff will sign autographs, hand out swag and interact with all of the racers as we tape the episode.”
At its meeting of July 10th, 2015 in Mexico City, Mexico, the World Motor Sport Council of the FIA took the following decisions on the basis of proposals from members of the International Karting Commission: The WMSC approved the launch of the new generation of direct drive engines in Senior and Junior categories as of 1st January 2016, to satisfy the request of the ASN’s with the aim to extend the use of direct drive engines at national level. In order to allow the manufacturers concerned to start the usual homologation process, the CIK-FIA Technical & Homologation Regulations are available from the CIK-FIA. The deadline for receipt of applications is 1st August 2015. The WMSC has approved the existence of a category for driver from 11 to 13 years of age. The CIK-FIA will draft guidelines for ASN’s to use on their national level.
This year’s Rock Island Grand Prix will be held Sept. 5-6 through the downtown city streets of Rock Island, Illinois. It is the world’s largest karting street race featuring racing in 16 classes over the two days. A 30 minute segment will be aired on MavTV later this year. It will also be rebroadcast over the next two years. ‘The Rock Island Grand Prix offers one of the few opportunities for kart racers to gain exposure for their teams and sponsors on national TV,” said Roger Ruthhart, president of the Rock Island Grand Prix. “We are excited to be able to partner with Margay Racing to provide this opportunity.” The Margay Ignite Shootout, which features great arrive-and-drive opportunities, will be featured on the Mav TV coverage. Margay Racing will provide arrive-and-drive packages that will feature new LO206 powered Ignite K3 chassis, Bridgestone YDS tires, racing fuel, tent space, catered lunches and a shared mechanic. This package can be rented for the weekend for $995. For more information on the Ignite Shootout structure and rules, please visit margay.com/company/ignite-shootout.html or call 800-562-7429. MavTV is America’s fastest-growing independent cable network with a full schedule of more than 40 programs, ranging from the best motorsports to original programming and classic films. With the rebranding of SPEEDTV to Fox Sports 1, MavTV is now the must-have network for racing and motorsports fans. MavTV offers the widest coverage of grassroots racing end special events. 10
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Race details are available at the Grand Prix website, rockislandgrandprix.com, or ridistrict. com. Online registration is now open. GO Racing Magazine
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MOM at the
TRACK A Mother’s Perspective Words: Kory Zimmermann In any sport, or new endeavor, there is a learning curve. Getting comfortable, understanding limits, and how to gauge success. Karting is no different. Kids enter the sport and are tasked with understanding systems that are completely new and foreign to them. At 5 years old, many kids are just learning the art of multi-tasking. Now throw in brake and throttle control, steering and oh don’t forget to look where you are going and watch out for the other karts around you. It can all be a bit overwhelming, but somehow their little minds and bodies figure it all out! On any given race day you are sure to see the parents pressed up against the fence giving a wild array of hand gestures, waving their arms and swinging an arm as if to wind up for the fast pitch…to make their kid go faster? What I find even more odd it that most of the time these parents are lined up on a portion of the track that is not conducive to any sort of distraction. In the second it takes for the child to shift their focus, register what they are being told by a hand gesture, they have lost more than a second in their lap time. I have witnessed the child who as he entered a sweeping left hander, whose focus should have been looking thru the apex of the corner ahead, look over to the right, his Dad jumping up and down, making some pushing motion with his arms and the child drives right off the track and into the barrier. I have also witnessed the parent who would “signal” a kicking motion to their driver along with pointing to another kart, after watching for a few more laps I came to the realization that the young driver would punt the other driver off the track. I brought this to the attention of some of the other parents and I am sure you can imagine this came to a swift and immediate stop and the child was penalized for the parent’s stupidity.
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As adults we understand (or at least the concept) of target fixation. It is natural for your hands to follow where your eyes are looking. I remember asking my son, “do you see Dad and I when you are on track?” he responded, “no, I don’t pay attention unless Dad is on a straight-away and we have talked about him giving me a signal; like during a practice session he signals when to come in.” Even when watching the top forms of racing, you don’t see the crew with pit boards at a corner. They are usually on a straight. The straight-away portion of the track is usually a driver’s opportunity to glance down at the dash, relax the grip on the wheel and also communicate with crew via radio or the crew to communicate with the driver. As parents we need to make sure we give our young racers every opportunity to be successful and safe on the track. They have enough on their plate navigating the track and concentrating on getting to the checkered flag first, they don’t need to be worry about you jumping up and down and waving your arms in an effort to make them go faster! If they are off pace, or you feel that they need some additional coaxing to go faster; driver coaching is a great option. Not only do kids respond better having someone else explain techniques to them (we all know our kids listen better to others than they do their parents sometimes) there are many talented drivers out there that enjoy spending time at the track and teaching the younger or inexperienced driver. So next race weekend, leave the driving to the driver and enjoy the race!
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Miguel Lopez wins in S2
SECURING
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PODIUM 2015 SUPERKARTS! USA FIKSE WHEELS PRO TOUR S U M M E R N AT I O N A L S SUNDAY REPORT ekartingnews.com On Track Promotions
Bottom left: D. Malukas in the No. 1 CompKart TaG Jr Bottom middle: TaG Cadet Bottom right: The S5 field lines up to take the green
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nother amazing day of racing completed the sixth annual Superkarts! USA Fikse Wheels Pro Tour SummerNationals, held at the popular New Castle Motorsports Park in central Indiana. The clouds rolled over the area, but held off until the teams and families were packing up following the podium ceremonies to complete the weekend’s action. Racing intensity picked up, with the last day of action and drivers looking to secure their first taste of the podium or just position themselves in the hunt for the championship. Florida-native Jesus Rios Jr. flew the American flag strong in the TaG Senior category, taking the iKart brand to a second victory of the weekend. California driver Billy Musgrave drove to his first triumph in the S1 Pro division. GO
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Callum Smith with a Shaka Brah and a win in S5
PSL Karting S1 Pro Stock Moto It was a wild seven-minute qualifying session for the S1 drivers with nearly the entire field in the hunt for the pole position. Americans Fritz Leesmann (CRG) and Billy Musgrave (Praga) were the drivers swapping the position early until SpringNationals double winner Rick Dreezen (Ricciardo Kart) jumped to the top with a 1:02.941-lap. That time stood to the checkered flag. Leesmann ended up second with Musgrave in third. Saturday winner Patrik Hajek (Formula K) was fourth with Kolton Griffin (Tony Kart) finding 16
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speed overnight to make up the fast five. Leesmann grabbed the holeshot to begin the opening heat race as pole sitter Dreezen slipped to fourth by the first corner. Both Musgrave and Hajek drove around the double SpringNationals winner. They remained the same order, pulling away from Griffin and Ron White (CRG). In the closing laps, Griffin was able to close up on the top four as Dreezen was able to work past Hajek. The Saturday winner then began to feel pressure from Griffin as the white flag waved. Leesmann kept
Musgrave back for the win, with Dreezen, Hajek and Griffin making up the top-five. From the outside of row one, Musgrave grabbed the holeshot from Leesmann to begin Heat #2. Dreezen and Hajek were unable to match the pace of the top two on the opening lap, and were back by over a half second with the rest of the field fighting for P5. Lap two, Leesmann put the pressure on the younger Musgrave, moving inside for the lead at the I-70 hairpin. The two Americans continued to out pace the international pair in third GO Racing Magazine
Right: TaG Masters Podium 1 C. Giumarra 2 N. Tucker 3 E. Wilson
and fourth while Griffin and White closed up on them by the midway point. As they completed lap six, Griffin clocked in the fast lap of the race, moving inside of Dreezen and completing the pass on the Belgian driver. The following lap, it was the same pass on Hajek, with Griffin now into third beginning the final circuit. Out front, Leesmann scored another heat win over Musgrave. Griffin held on for third over Hajek and Dreezen with White a close sixth. As he did in Heat #2, Musgrave was quick off the line and took the holeshot from GO Racing Magazine
Leesmann to lead the opening laps of the main event. The two were joined by Griffin and White to make it an American top-four early on. Leesmann stayed with Musgrave for the first five laps until taking over the lead. Showing the way for six circuits, Musgrave returned to the point with three laps remaining. The two were able to get away but their shuffling allowed Griffin to close in toward the end, waiting in the wings for any opportunity possible. As the white flag waved, Leesmann went wide on the exit of turn one, giving Musgrave about five kart lengths. Unable
to make up that ground, Musgrave never made a wrong move in the final corners, reaching the checkered flag for his first event Fikse Wheels Pro Tour S1 victory. Leesmann settled for second with Griffin third, making it the first all-American podium since the 2013 SpringNationals in Tucson. 2011 champion Daniel Bray (GP) found the speed at the end of the day with the Kiwi posting the fast laps of the race to work his way up to the fourth position. White was able to demote Hajek and Dreezen to earn the fifth position. GO
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Left: TaG Senior Podium 1 J. Rios Jr. 2 B. Jarsocrak 3 O. Askew
On the weekend, Musgrave won the $1,000 check for overall weekend winner. Hajek helped his championship run, placing second in the points over the two days, gain just three markers on Dreezen. White and Leesmann also cashed in, ending the two-day total fourth and fifth. Nash Motorsportz TaG Senior Sunday’s qualifying groups began like Saturday did with Franklin Motorsports / Merlin driver Michael Geringer posting fast time in Q2 session. A 1:05.358-lap was nearly identical to his time Saturday. 18
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It was quickly demoted by Saturday race winner Jesus Rios Jr. with the iKart driver landing the provisional pole with his first three circuits, roughly two tenths off his time from Saturday. Rios was unable to better his time on the fourth circuit, but Brandon Jarsocrak did with the EKN Driver Rankings #1 pilot taking the provisional pole on his Tony Kart. As the checkered flag waved, Aussie driver Ben Stewart (Arrow) nearly broke the 1:05 mark with a 107 lap to secure the pole position. Oliver Askew (BirelART) moved to P2, dropping Jarsocrak to third with Rios fourth.
Defending Fikse Wheels Pro Tour champion Jake Craig (Formula K) completed the fast five. Geringer’s time was good enough for 11th overall, bettering his overall position from yesterday. The A vs. C heat race collected over 10 drivers in the third corner, mostly from the back half of the field but include Saturday podium finisher AJ Myers (PCR) among other notable names. Rios took over the point with Stewart eventually getting shuffled back to fifth from the pole position as Jarsocrak, Craig and GO Racing Magazine
The TaG Senior Class gets underway
TJ Koyen (Tony Kart). Contact between Koyen and Stewart dropped them to the tail of the field, moving Andre Castro (FA Kart) and Colton Ramsey (Tony Kart) into the top-five. The top three pulled away as Castro and Ramsey led a large group. On the final lap, Jarsocrak tried a move past Rios at the middle hairpin. It failed, and allowed Craig to slip by, pushing Rios back into the lead. Coming to the line, Craig used the sling shot to beat Rios to the line for the win by 33 thousandths of a second. Jarsocrak settled for third with Roger Ralston Jr. (Arrow) into the top five GO Racing Magazine
ahead of Ramsey, however, was removed from the results for oil in the clutch drum. A clean but sketchy start to the B vs. C heat race with Rios getting shuffled back by Askew and Jarsocrak. Before the lap completed, the iKart machine was back to second ahead of Jarsocrak. Mason Marotta (BirelART) ran fourth with Brooks fifth after the opening lap. Lap two, Brooks moved into the third position while Koyen worked by Marotta to put himself back into the top-five. Askew and Rios, the two Florida drivers, hooked up to pull away from
Brooks and the rest of the pack, posting consistent fast laps. The group remained static until lap seven when Rios took over the lead with Askew returning as they started the final lap. Coming out of the Fikse hairpin, Askew drove a defensive line and washed out at the I-70 hairpin. Rios took back the lead with Brooks sliding past, as they crossed the line 1-2. Askew finished third with Jarsocrak fourth and Koyen fifth. With the pole position in hand, Rios controlled the field to the green flag, beginning the 13-lap race. Rios came away GO
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TaG Master start
with the lead, and gave himself enough of a cushion to allow no challenge the entire distance. The gap remained consistent, with Craig assuming the second spot for the first four circuits until Askew took over the spot. Without making a single mistake, Rios piloted the American-made iKart to its second victory of the weekend, taking home the $1,000 pay day for most points on the weekend. Jarsocrak followed Askew through for third, taking over the second spot just before the white flag waved. The two championship contenders swapped the position, with Jarsocrak reaching the 20
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line for the runner-up position. Baker drove to fourth after starting seventh, while Brooks completed the top-five. Craig ended up sixth with local driver Sam Cate (Tony Kart) earning a seventh place spot. Jacob Knueven (PCR) ran to seventh in his return to the seat after nearly a year out of the seat. Austin Elliott (Tony Kart) broke into the top-10, placing ninth while David Ilavia (CompKart) ran 10th in his Senior debut weekend. The double win performance for Rios put him on top of the weekend podium with the big check, as Jarsocrak cashed in
money with the second overall position. Myers earned third with Brooks and McCusker completing the money podium. Texas ProKart Challenge S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto The first half of the seven-minute session qualifying session was a shuffle for the provisional pole until Miguel Lopez (GP) slotted himself in the top spot. A 1:02.941 was the Saturday’s fast time before he was forced to pull off for a loose rear bumper. The checkered flag waved, and
GO Racing Magazine
three, de Alba fell down to 13th after an error on course, moving Bujdoso as the lead challenger about two seconds back. Kalish however was able to post his own fast lap of the race, closing and drafting around Bujdoso for the second spot. Andrew fought back, taking the position back, which allowed Smith and Evan Batt aboard the DRT Racing / DR Kart to close in. That fight lasted until the checkered with Lopez pulling off the win by just over four seconds. At the line, Smith scored the runner-up position with Bujdoso holding off Kalish for third and Batt in fifth. Lopez was able to get the Final holeshot over the large field, this time however they did not let him get away so easily like the heat races. Coming from fourth, Di Bella was at his best all weekend long and placed himself right on the bumper of the GP driver. Di Bella took over the lead a couple times until Lopez secured the position. Kalish worked his way into third, and by lap 11 was in the lead challenger position. Lopez however was able to gap enough in the closing laps to secure his second victory of the weekend, making him a title contender heading into the SuperNationals. The same for Kalish, earning another runner-up result for his second straight podium finish. A late charge by Aluminos driver Hunter Pickett elevated him around Di Bella, with the California driver earning his first ever Fikse Wheels Pro Tour podium. Double SpringNationals winner Carter Williams (FA Kart) had his best result of the weekend, climbing to fifth behind Di Bella.
his time stood for the pole position. Kyle Kalish (Merlin) found himself in the same position he finished Saturday, behind Lopez in the second spot. Salvador de Alba (GP) was third in the session with Andrew Bujdoso (PCR) and Kyle Smith (PCR) rounding out the fast five. Lopez grabbed the holeshot to begin Heat #1 with his GP teammate de Alba slipping into the second spot. The top two pulled away with Kalish leading a large group for third until Bujdoso drove past for the position on lap two. On lap GO Racing Magazine
Lopez took home $500 for his double win weekend with $300 going to Kalish for his two runner-up finishes. The $200 check was earned by Hunter Pickett, recording his best ever weekend on the Fikse Wheels Pro Tour. Pure Karting S4 Master Stock Moto Texan Chris Jennings jumped up to the top of the qualifying order quickly, and the DRT Racing / DR Kart driver held the position through the checkered flag with a 1:04.008-lap. Defending champion Gian Cavaciuti (GP) was off by just one hundredth of a second. Saturday winner Jimmy McNeil (CRG) saw his perfect
weekend come to an end, posting the third fast time ahead of Jordon Musser (BirelART) and Mario Dominguez (GP). Jennings grabbed the holeshot to begin the opening heat race for the S4 group. Cavaciuti, McNeil and Elliott. Dominguez, Musser and others were involved in a wreck at turn five, dropping them out of contention. Lap two, Elliott suffered a mechanical issue, with a loose tie rod. He continued to fight strong, reaching down to keep it attached and continuing at the tail of the top-10. That left just three at the front with Cavaciuti and McNeil swapping the second spot with Jennings running out alone at the point for the win. Chris Neria (Tony Kart) won the battle for fourth over Nick Firestone (DR Kart) as Elliott ended up back in 14th. Neria’s result was dismissed for an improper timing plate, thus moving Mark Nagy (Praga) into the fifth position. Speaking with McNeil just before the S4 Final, his chassis suffered a crack on the right yoke after reviewing the kart following Heat #2. Instead of throwing in the towel, they welded up the kart to do the best they could. You could not tell anything was wrong with McNeil, as the former champion charged his way through the field like bullet, to score a second victory on the weekend. Jennings, who had led the way throughout the day, was under attack early from SpringNationals double winner Elliott. Jennings slipped back to second for the opening two circuits, before taking back the position on lap three. Behind them, eyes were on McNeil, reaching the top-five by lap four. The following circuit, he was past both Musser and de la Huerta, into the third position. It took just two circuits to bypass Elliott for the second position, and the run to Jennings began. Fast laps allowed McNeil to close up on the bumper of Jennings by the final circuit. Making his move at the I-70 corner, McNeil took the lead from Jennings and held on in the drag race to the checkered by 13 thousandths of a second. For Jennings, it was a bitter-sweet moment, nearly pulling off his first Fikse Wheels Pro Tour victory but earning his first podium finish of the season after not planning to race just a week prior to the event. Elliott held on to GO
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finish third ahead of Cavaciuti and Neria. Musser was fighting in the top-five until contact from de la Huerta sent him off course at turn two. A penalty was assessed, but the damage was done with Musser placing 19th and de la Huerta 20th. Phil Giebler Racing TaG Master Carrying the momentum from Saturday, Chris Giumarra (PCR) returned to the top of the time sheet with the fast lap in qualifying. A 1:07.121-lap was his best, edging out point leader Nick Tucker (Tony Kart) by six hundredths. Cristian Vomir (FA Kart) improved overnight, ending up third with Vatche Tatikian (FA Kart) and defending champion Ethan Wilson (FA Kart) fourth and fifth. The field was clean through the opening corners of Heat #1, with the field slotting in order. Anthony Honeywell (Praga) was the driver on the move early, working into the top-five and up to third by the end of lap two. At the same time, Tucker moved to the lead over Giumarra, as the top 10 drivers were all nose to tail. Honeywell was able to close up on the top two, and began putting the pressure on Saturday winner Giumarra. On lap seven, Giumarra slipped bay Tucker for the lead again with Honeywell forcing the issue on Tucker. The two made contact but continued on, losing ground to the leader. That decided the finish, with Guimarra earning the win over Tucker. Tatikian closed up with the fast lap of the race on the final circuit, but came up short at the line to steal the third spot. Wilson won the battle for fifth. Guimarra however lost the win after tech due to oil in the clutch drum. From the pole position, Wilson was out to a big lead as Tucker was caught sleeping when the lights went out to begin the 12-lap event. Carapellatti followed Wilson through the opening corner to take second, until Tucker recovered the position on lap two. Behind them, Giumarra was up to fourth quickly and then around Carapellatti for third. Lap three, the Saturday winner worked past the two-time SpringNationals winner, and began to run down Wilson. Just two laps and Giumarra was on the bumper of the defending champion, and into the lead on lap six. 22
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From there, the pace was too strong as Giumarra landed his second victory of the weekend. Wilson tried to fight off Tucker, but the results ended the same as Saturday with Tucker standing on the P2 step of the podium. Tatikian held off Honeywell for the fourth spot, but Honeywell was penalized for contact with Carapellatti, dropping him down the order. That promoted Mario Barrios (Gillard) to the fifth spot. Ryan Perry Motorsport S5 Junior Stock Moto The perfect score for Callum Smith came to an end in Round Four qualifying with Hunter Kelly able to steal the fast time in the session. A 1:05.037-lap was his best, edging out fellow Praga driver by over a tenth of a second. David Malukas (CompKart) posted the third fast time, with fellow podium finisher Ryan P. Lewis (Mad-Croc) in fourth. Canadian Evan White (Kosmic) completed the fast five. It was a great fight for the opening heat race in S5 with four drivers making up the lead pack. Lewis demoted the polesitter early, and he drove away to a 1.4-second advantage with Smith able to outrun Kelly to the line for the second spot. Malukas was a close fourth with White in fifth. It was another early challenge for Smith with Lewis and Kelly right there with Malukas falling back after not getting off the line clean. Contact however on lap five between Kelly and Lewis dropped them off course and to the back of the field. That promoted Malukas to second, and despite the fast laps of the race, could not close in on Smith as the NorCal driver earned his third victory of the season to remain the championship leader going to the SuperNationals. White ended up on the podium in third with Blair Hosie (Intrepid) and Anthony Freese (Praga) earning their best results of the weekend, into the top-five.
Zach Holden earned the pole position with a 1:06.100-lap. Gio Bromante (Merlin) slotted into second with David Malukas (CompKart) coming up to third on his final circuit. That dropped Brandon Lemke (Merlin) down to fourth with Colby DuBato (Tony Kart) completing the fast five.
Leading Edge Motorsport TaG Junior The top of the order in the TaG Junior qualifying session was anything but static, with a handful of drivers competing for the fast time. Lap after lap, the provisional pole time and driver would change. When the checkered flag came out, Saturday winner
Bromante was able to get the jump on Holden as the lights went out to begin the opening eight lap heat race. Lemke followed him through, pushing the pole sitter back to third, with the top three getting away quickly as Malukas led the large group for P4. He eventually ran GO Racing Magazine
The start of the TaG Jr race with an all Merlin front row
down the leaders, making it a four driver fight for the win. With two laps remaining Malukas and Holden, former teammates now each on different chassis, were 1-2. Lemke tried to break them up but Holden fought strong. Lemke helped to push Holden past Malukas as they took the white flag. Bromante tried to make it happen as well, but he and Malukas made contact dropping them back a few kart lengths. Lemke waited for the run to the checkered flag, using the slingshot to beat Holden to the line by 89 thousandths of a second. Malukas held on for third over Bromante with JP Southern Jr. GO Racing Magazine
(Top Kart) winning the battle for fifth. The two Merlin drivers locked up at the start of the 12-lap Final to get away from the field. Holden was able to get into the third spot and ran them down. As he attempted to break up the duo, Malukas escaped from the field and began to run down the lead three. Once there, they began shuffling more with Malukas right there in the mix. On the final lap, Holden assumed the lead at the first turn, but Lemke went right back to the point with a pass of his own at turn five. Lemke tried to defend going into the I-70 as Holden
went for the lead. The Indiana driver went off on the exit, giving Lemke the lead and allowing Malukas to slot into the second spot. As they drag raced down the line, Lemke went inside and Malukas outside. At the stripe, it appeared Lemke had held on, but Malukas was scored first, by a mere one thousandths of a second for his second victory of the season. Lemke settled for second with Bromante earning his first Fikse Wheels Pro Tour podium. Holden recovered for fourth while rookie Jagger Jones (Tony Kart) won the fight for fifth. TaG Junior was given credit for having GO
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J. McNeil leads the start in S4
30 drivers registered before the event began, and Superkarts! USA handed out a $1,000 purse. Lemke helped his championship chase by earning the most points on the weekend with his two runner-up finishes, earning $500. Holden was second with $300 and Bromante third to take home $200. Top Kart USA TaG Cadet A few fast drivers found themselves in the Q2 qualifying session after Friday practice. Among them was Lachlan DeFrancesco (Benik), who finished fifth in Saturday’s main event. He posted the provisional pole in the session, and held it to until the end of the Q1 group. Reece Gold (Benik) laid a flyer at the checkered flag to earn the fast time with a 1:13.509-lap. Saturday fast driver Connor Ferris (Top Kart) was second with Ugo Ugochukwu (Tony Kart) third. Tyler Maxson (Benik) was fourth with DeFrancesco’s time ending up fifth. Gold and Ferris led the field to the green 24
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flag for the Group A vs. B heat race. Four drivers were able to get away on the opening circuit with Gold, Saturday runner-up Jonny Edgar (Benik), Ferris and Maxson. A wreck on lap three involving Jak Crawford near the outside of the track brought out a full course caution, slowing the field down to a crawl. The green flag was brought back out with two laps remaining. Gold and Edgar broke away on the final circuit, and the two went side by side in the final corners. That allowed four others to close up at the checkered flag with Edgar scoring the win over Gold with Maxson, DeFrancesco, Ferris and Diego LaRoque (Benik) all within half a second at the line. The main event was a Benik battle as Edgar and DeFrancesco broke away from the field for the eight lap main event. Starting on the inside lane, Edgar on the pole, Defrancesco third, the two broke away from the field and shuffled for the victory. Edgar led as they received the
white flag, with DeFrancesco able to get around for the lead, and the win. It is the first Fikse Wheels Pro Tour victory for the Florida driver, with Edgar placing on the podium for a second time on the weekend. A massive group behind them fought for the final few positions with Calvo earning the final step on the podium ahead of Gold and two-time winner Welage. Edgar’s two runner-up results landed him on top of the money podium, taking home $500. The two winners Welage and DeFrancesco took the second and third steps respectively, with $300 and $200. For complete coverage, visit the EKN Event Page at http:// ekartingnews.com/2015/07/21/2015superkarts-usa-fikse-wheelspro-tour-summernationals/
GO Racing Magazine
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A RECORD TURNOUT CAN-AM KARTING CHALLENGE BOASTS RECORD TURNOUT IN CHILLIWACK, CANADA |
Cody Schindel - Canadian Karting News
Sting Ray Robb in the #204 wins in Junior Rotax
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rossing the border for round three of the 2015 CAN-AM Karting Challenge international drivers invaded the challenging Greg Moore Raceway in Chilliwack, British Columbia this past weekend. A record turnout of drivers, exceptional racing including heart-racing Briggs & Stratton LO206 action and intense championship battles highlighted the weekend’s action in the Great White North, the penultimate round of the championship. Cool temperatures, dark clouds and rain were prominent throughout the weekend but with only one exception, the entire weekend ran in dry conditions. Carpenter Near Perfect To Gain Championship Lead in Rotax Senior With a ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals on the line, the plot thickened this weekend in Rotax Senior presented by Promagine. Coming off of a big win in race four Artie Carpenter entered the weekend on the heels of his RPG teammate and championship leader Christian Brooks and the momentum continued in Canada. Walker Hess stole the pole-position in Qualifying while Coltin McCaughan, making his first CAN-AM Challenge start of the season claimed the win in the PreFinal but it was all Carpenter from there. McCaughan and Brooks exchanged the lead on the opening lap of the Final until Carpenter overtook both of them by lap three and never looked back. McCaughan kept him honest but was unable to mount an attack on the lead and seventeen laps later Carpenter scored his second win of the season to tighten up the championship with Brooks a ways back in third. Carpenter kept up the strong pace on Sunday, kicking off with the fast time in Qualifying before holding back McCaughan for a second straight day in both the PreFinal and Final. The racing for the lead was quite eventful as both drivers pushed each other to nearly matched lap times throughout the entire 20-lap Final. Luke Selliken joined the action on Sunday and finished third after competing in his local oval racing car the night before. 28
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Above: Diego LaRoque wins in Mini-Rotax Below: Artie Carpenter with the win in Senior Rotax
With Brooks only able to manage a sixth place result, Carpenter overtook the championship lead with only two races remaining in the race for the title.
Grand Finals ticket comes down to the championship runner-up with Michoff, McCarthy, Breidinger and Ritter all in the running.
Sting Ray Robb Untouchable in Junior Max Presented by RPG Sting Ray Robb, the young driver from Boise, Idaho continues to prove why he is one of the fastest Junior drivers on the planet. Already qualified for the Rotax Grand Finals as part of Team USA, Robb is using the CAN-AM Challenge to test the spec Praga kart that he will utilize in Portugal and on track he was simply untouchable, with only one hiccup all weekend that kept him from clean sweeping the event.
Briggs & Stratton LO206 Racing Provides Appealing Alternative LowCost, High Excitement Option The growth of the Briggs & Stratton LO206 category is one of the main reasons why the series reached a new high for entries at a single event in Chilliwack. 23 drivers tackled the four-stroke platform and the racing was spectacular, drawing the most attention during both days of action.
Saturday featured an eventful battle for second between Hunter Melahn, Michael Michoff, Michael McCarthy and Annie Breidinger after Robb had built a sizeable lead in the opening laps of the Final. But on lap four Robb pulled off the track after noticing a issue with his left rear wheel that ultimately became loose. Taking advantage, Michoff grabbed the lead while McCarthy and Melahn came together on lap five, allowing Michoff to get away and elevating Breidinger to second. From there Michoff was off to the races while Matthew Morgan and Edward Portz claimed the final podium positions following a very spirited battle between a handful of drivers for the positions with McCarthy and Breidinger completing the top-five. Sunday was a personal battle for Robb as he once again checked out on his competition, winning the PreFinal by almost ten seconds and the Final by thirteen. Spencer Kunz, McCarthy, Michoff, and Kellen Ritter duked it out for second until Ritter fell back with apparent brake issues. McCarthy came out on top to finish second, taking advantage or Kunz with two laps to go, with Michoff doing the same on the final lap. Matthew Taskinen was able to overtake an ailing Ritter on the final lap to close out the top-five. With Robb well out front in the championship that race for the Rotax
While Derek Wang was able to sneak away in Saturday’s Main to score the win, the racing behind him for runner-up featured Shifter driver Kyle Wick, Junior Rotax pilot Sting Ray Robb, Stepanova Nekeel, who started at the tail of the grid, Vitali Tchikichev and Mason Buck. The group raced like it was Talladega and ended with a drag race to the finish line where Wick edged Nekeel by a hair for the second position. Sunday once again was full of action, this time with no driver getting away easily for the victory. Unfortunately for Saturday winner Wang, his chances of doubling up were held up in corner one, stuck behind an incident. A lead pack of eight ran nose to tail through the opening laps led by Nekeel and Wick who exchanged the lead back and forth. The tight racing allowed Bryce Choquer to catch up after he started at the rear along with his brother Blake. Nekeel managed to control the race from the front countering nearly any rival that attempted to pass as Bryce worked his way forward in the 15-lap main event. But it was Choquer who made the move to the lead on the final lap, squeezing inside Nekeel in corner one and defending through the first half of the final circuit. Safely managing the group behind him on his home turf to complete the lap, Choquer erupted as the victor with Nekeel second and Kellen Ritter third. Pierson and Torgerson Battle Tooth GO
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and Nail in Micro-Max; LaRoque and Langdon Become Mini-Max Winners As the youngest drivers on track in Chilliwack Micro-Max was a little divided with three small packs of racing throughout the weekend. A pair of drivers, Josh Pierson and Ashton Torgerson led the way and put on a battle every time on track that even the announcer couldn’t keep up with the number of passes for the lead. Back and forth the two exchanged the lead, keeping it clean and rarely touching tires whether it was a PreFinal or Final. With a brilliant pass on the outside of corner three on Saturday and again on Sunday, but in the third to last corner, Pierson came out on top of his rival in both Finals with Torgerson still getting an A for effort. Joining them on podium on Saturday was Ryan Dezall while on Sunday it was Jason Leung, with the pair having their own battles all weekend long for third place. In Mini-Max a new driver joined the action and made an immediate impact. Moving up from Micro-Max this weekend Diego LaRoque felt no intimidation from his older competitors driving to victory on Saturday after a spirited battle with Hannah Greenemeier and Austin Torgerson. It was very similar story on Sunday with the addition of Grant Langdon to the mix. LaRoque had to battle back from the rear bad he still joined the lead action with a handful of laps to go and the four drivers put on a show with Langdon coming out as the winner with Torgerson on his rear bumper at the finish line. Greenemeier settled for third. Wick Excels in S2 Shifter Kyle Wick excelled in the lone shifter kart class on the weekend. After qualifying on the pole-position and winning the PreFinal on Saturday, a slow jump off the line for Wick allowed Joe Criscione to jump out to a big early lead and while Wick recovered, he ran out of steam before the checkered flag flew. But Wick battled back on Sunday and never turned a wheel wrong en route to the victory, clearing Criscione by four seconds at the finish line. Don McGregor completed the podium on Saturday while Justin Walsh finished third on Sunday. “Special thanks to the presenting 30
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sponsor for the Chilliwack race - Cactus Club Café,” said series promoter Mike Rolison. “And bug thanks to the series sponsors- GoKart Hero, Monster X, Wicked Fab, Briggs & Stratton Racing and especially to all the volunteers and club members from West Coast Kart Club that made this race possible.” The CAN-AM Karting Challenge now takes a mid-summer break before the championship finale held at Pat’s Acres Racing Complex in Canby, Oregon on September 11-13. Champions will be crowned and tickets to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals for the Junior Max and Senior Max classes will be distributed in an event nobody will want to miss. In addition to the regular lineup of classes, a Rotax DD2 shootout will send the weekend winner to the Rotax Grand Finals in Portugal.
Right: Artie Carpenter in the #331 Senior Rotax Bottom Right: Derek Wang #338 takes the win in LO206 Senior Below: Michael Michoff in the #220 Jr. Rotax
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TALKING TO THIRD GENERATION KARTER AYRTON ORTEGA | GoRacing Magazine 34
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GO Racing Magazine
try to put it together myself! My grandpa brought the kart over to our house and my Dad and I started putting it together. GRM: After you drove a go-kart for the 1st time, what did you think? Well, the first time I drove my go kart I felt like the fastest driver in the world, but my lap times told me I wasn’t! I needed to practice, learn the line and practice some more. GRM: What is the most challenging part of driving a go-kart? The hardest part of driving a gokart is getting wrecked. GRM: What do you do to prepare yourself before a race? My Mom (she is my exercise coach) and I do a lot of exercising, stretching and running. She has me do exercises that help keep my neck, arms and legs strong. GRM: Your home track is the Santa Maria Kart Track; even though I am not a driver it looks like a really fun track! Some of the track configurations really keep the driver busy, what is your favorite part of the track? My favorite things about the track is there is a lot of room to pass and I like the Monza corner. I can pass other karts in Monza. GRM: What did you think when you saw that track for the RLV USA race and all the teams and banners everywhere? I screamed! It looked really great, I had never seen the track with so many people and big trailers, and it looked like a track you see on TV.
A
yrton Ortega is a 3rd generation karter that calls the Santa Maria kart track on the central California Coast his home. After meeting Ayrton at the RLV-USA Pan-AM race in July I got the opportunity to sit down and talk to this up and coming driver! How old are you? I am seven years old GO Racing Magazine
What grade are you in, what are your favorite subjects in school? I am in 3rd grade and my favorite subjects are reading, art and PE. GoRacing Magazine: How did you get started in racing, and how long have you been racing go-karts? Well, I started when I was 5 years old. On my 5th birthday, my grandpa gave me a kart and he asked me if I wanted him to put it together for me. I told him that I wanted to
GRM: Now when you and I met, I shared with you that my little girl is named Senna. Is Ayrton Senna your favorite F1 driver? Do you have any other favorite drivers? Yes, Ayrton Senna is my favorite driver. I also like Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. GRM: What do your sisters think about your racing? They like it, they hang out in the kid paddock and play with the other kids or their American Girl Dolls. GO
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GRM: Speaking of the Kid Paddock, can you tell me more about the famous “Kid Paddock” at the Santa Maria kart track? Ya, my Mom saw that no one was really using that area so she created the kid paddock as a safe place for all the kids to hang out. She drew a track outline in chalk and kids can “drive” the track with scooters or bikes. There is a “pit entrance” and kids take turns being the traffic guards. That is my favorite place to be when I am not on the race track. GRM: What was it like at the track before the “Kid Paddock”? It was okay, we would just hang out in the back of the van between races and play games. GRM: Do you want to be a racecar driver when you get older? Yes, I want to be a Formula 1 driver when I grow up. GRM: Do you do any sports or activities other than racing? I like a lot of different sports, I like to play soccer with my friends. GRM: I know you get a bunch of help at the race track from your Mom and Dad and Grandpa, is there anyone else you would like to thank? Rod and Art at RLV, Larry Fisher for helping me with my first kart, Gary Woltjer for working on my engine and God for keeping me safe on and off the track.
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DOUBLED
DOWN LEMKE DOUBLES UP IN MCLAULIN MOTORSPORTS NATIONALS AT NCMP | WKA
hair-raising moments for fans and competitors. With heat index numbers soaring past 100 for the weekend, Brandon Lemke was the only driver to find success at the top twice, taking both the Woltjer Racing Engines Yamaha Junior Class, as well as the KartSport North America Pro IAME Junior Division.
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ace #4 for the Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup Series found quite a bit of parity, as the battle for national titles tightened up in the McLaughlin Motorsports Nationals at New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana.
Drivers were greeted with a change in the scoring line at the track, as competitors would have an even harder run up the final long straightaway coming back from Interstate 70, taking the checkers on the long stretch instead of racing to one final tight corner after racing up the fastest straightaway on the track. Traditionally known to be the deciding factor in the outcome of events with drivers outdueling the other, competitors had to rely on raw horsepower, a partial draft, and a slingshot move to vie for the top honors. The end result were some of the closest finishes and 40
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Other winners for the weekend included Sam Cate in the Tillotson Pro X30 Senior class, Dakota Pesek in the Zero Error Racing Yamaha Senior Pipe, Luca Mars in the DRT Racing Pro TaG Sportsman class, Adam Maxwell in the New Jersey Sprint Series Yamaha Rookie Division, Benjamin Maier in the CRP Racing Kid Kart class, Derek Dignan in the Hytorc of Texas Pro Leopard Seniors, Jason Welage in the IAME USA Swift Cup, and Robert Noaker III in the Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Sportsman Class. For Lemke, his day started with the Yamaha Junior class. After getting by Streeter Super Stands Fast time winner Zack Pretorius, the Merlin driver edged out to a comfortable margin, taking the top honors over New Castle product Zach Holden, with John Paul Southern Jr, Drew Lindley, and Gio Bromante rounding out the top 5. The decision for Robert Noaker III to run New Castle paid off well in the Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Sportsman Class. Struggling with the decision to visit family or stay in contention for the Yamaha Sportsman title ended with Noaker taking the win on Sunday. The victory by no means was an easy one as Noaker had to out haul Jason Welage and Streeter Super Stands Fast Timer Gage Rodgers for the top honors. Tyler Ferris and Kaden Wharff completed the top five in a battle that saw these five GO Racing Magazine
go back and forth throughout the entire 15 lap distance. Not to be shut out of victory lane for the weekend, Welage scored the win in the IAME USA Swift Cup Class. Running as a Local Option Class in 2015, the Swift Cup has turned into the event that has fans clinging to the fence this year, as 26 competitors signed into the paddock. But when it was all said and done, Welage stood atop the podium for yet another time, claiming another event win, besting Anthony Willis, Reese Gold, Lachlan DeFrancesco, and Streeter Super Stands Fast Time winner Connor Ferris Sam Cate was the first driver of the weekend to claim a check, taking down the competition in the Tillotson Pro X30 Senior Class. Following a spirited battle with Streeter Super Stands Fast Time winner Alexander Kardashian and Derek Dignan, Cate laid claim to the $1,000 top prize for the weekend, with Kardashian taking home $500 for second. For his third place efforts, Dignan took home a set of Bridgestone tires. Austin McCusker and Roger Ralston completed the top 5. As the saying goes, it only takes 2 karts to make a race exciting. Well, add one more, and the Zero Error Racing Yamaha Senior Pipe had fans on the edge of their seats the entire weekend, through 3 heat races, the Pre Final, and final event. All year long it’s been a great battle between Dakota Pesek and Derek Hughes. The previous 2 races have found Tony Peterson adding to the mix. Through all the back and forth battles between the 3, Pesek, the Streeter Super Stands Fast Time Winner, cam e out on top, with Hughes and Peterson the top 3. All season long, Luca Mars has been lurking in the shadows as one of the top drivers in the DRT Racing Pro TaG Sportsman class. Sundays main event finally paid off big for Mars as took the checkered flag, along with the $500 payday that went with it. Mars fended off Jason Welage and Streeter Super Stands Fast Time winner Connor Ferris for the top honors with Kaden Wharff and Robert Noaker III completing the top 5. Welage received $250 for his second place effort while Ferris won a set of Bridgestone Tires.
Maxwell came to New Castle loaded for bear!!! Maxwell took the early lead from Streeter Super Stands Fast Time winner Donald Whorton, then rode off in the sunset for the victory for the weekend. Owen Mahle came home second, with Whorton, Elliott Cox, and Nick Snell completing the top 5. As always, the CRP Racing Kid Kart Class did not disappoint. Sporting yet another large field, Benjamin Maier took his turn atop the podium, claiming the victory over the weekend. While the Kid Karts run a shorter course at New Castle compared to the other national classes, the insertion of the Monza made for some exciting times on the track, as competitors had more than just the long straight-aways to deal with. Chasing Maier across the stripe were Danny Dyszelski, Adam Brickley, Ava Dutton, and Addison Iannielo, as the girls flexed their muscle in this class for the weekend with Sofia D’Arrigo taking the Streeter Super Stands Fast Time award. After taking third in the Pro X30 Class earlier in the day, Derek Dignan roared back to life, claiming the $1,000 top prize in the HyTorc of Texas Pro Leopard Senior class. Dignan made it a clean sweep in the class, taking the Streeter Super Stands Fast Time Award, then topping David Galownia, Austin Osborne, Graig Alvarez, and Bryce Englehart for the win. Galownia took hone $500 for his efforts with Osborne getting a set of Bridgestone tires. Lemke finished his day the way he started, taking top honors in the KartSport North America Pro IAME Junior Class. Lemke fended off the efforts of Gio Bromante, Zach Holden, John Paul Southern Jr, and Michael Cruz to collect the $500 top prize. Bromante’s second place run placed $250 in his pocket while Holden received a set of Bridgestone tires. Samuel Paley, who finished 7th, was the Streeter Super Stands Fast Time winner. With the fourth race of the season in the books, all focus turns to the Top Kart USA Grand Nationals August 28-30 at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Competitors wishing to reserve parking for this event need to contact the WKA Office.
In the New Jersey Sprint Series Yamaha Rookie Class, Adam GO Racing Magazine
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DIFFICULT
BATTLES LOS ANGELES KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES TOUGH COMPETITION AND WET WEATHER | ProMedia Motorsports PR | LAKC.ORG
It was a win for John Crow in his S4 Super Master debut.
Another exciting event went into the books for the Los Angeles Karting Championship program, with the fifth round of the 2015 season completed at the CalSpeed Karting Center in Fontana, California on July 19. Entries increased from the June event, with the weather changing things up as rain fell for some of the racing action on the schedule. On-track around the Sportivo layout, 11 drivers swept the day to earn victory, with a number of them recording their first triumph of the season. The Mack Motorsports PRD 2 division continued its growth on the season, reaching the 25 driver mark this weekend for its highest count on the year. Dante Yu swept the action on the day, earning his first victory of the season. Yu posted the fastest lap in qualifying with a 44.448-second lap time. Leading all seven laps of the Prefinal, Yu was challenged throughout the Final by two-time race winner Jake Drew. The two drivers went back and forth, as Yu secured the top spot and went on to reach the checkered flag by 1.6 seconds, becoming the third different winner on the season. Drew 42
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Ryan Schartau led the way throughout the day in the TaG Cadet division.
ended up runner-up with Anthony Sawyer winning the battle for third ahead of Hannah Grisham and Dick Yu. Twenty-two was the number of drivers in the competitive Adams Motorsports Park TaG Senior category with another strong field battling for the win. All of them chased one driver, Andrick Zeen, as he swept the day. Qualifying was a close battle for the fast time, with Zeen’s 43.415-second lap coming out on top, squeaking by Matt Johnson by only two thousandths of a second. Off by two more thousandths was Carlee Taylor, and another three drivers were within nine hundredths of Zeen’s time. Zeen held off Johnson for the win in the seven-lap Prefinal, and then led all 17 laps of the Final for his first victory of the season in his 2015 LAKC debut. Johnson was shuffled back at the start, leaving David Vasquez to earn second ahead of Taylor. Cody Kelleher drove to fourth with Johnson climbing back to fifth. The Comer divisions combined for 25 drivers on the day, with DaGO Racing Magazine
kota Tate winning Fleming Racing Engines Jr. 1 Comer category while Chance Gibson continued his feature streak in the Empire Karts Jr. 1 Comer Pilot class. Cole Keith Cotham began the day as the fast driver in qualifying, posting a lap three tenths clear of the field. Cotham led seven of the eight laps in the Prefinal for the win, with Tate putting up the fight. At the start of the Final, Cotham was shuffled back and out of contention. Tomas Meija took the lead on the opening circuit, leading the first seven laps until Tate took over the point. From there, Dakota pulled out to a nine-second advantage for his first victory of the season. Meija drove to second with Carson Morgan third. Carson Mallett and Aden Dodge completed the top-five. Gibson qualified first in the Pilot category, but suffered trouble in the Prefinal to allow Cooper Hicks to score the race win. Gibson fought back in the Final to earn his fifth victory of the season. Carson Kragh and Hicks made up the podium. Miles Calvin became the first double winner on the season in the MMK PRD Senior Pilot category, which saw 15 drivers take part. Calvin and others began the day chasing Alyssa Yauney, as the Round Two winner edged out Calvin for the fast time in qualifying. Yauney led the Prefinal wire-to-wire, earning the pole position for the main event. She would lead only the first circuit, dropping down the order and out of the lead pack with Calvin taking the top spot. He led the remaining nine circuits for win #2 on the year. Derek Esquibel drove to second while Riley Dugan finished third ahead of Kanji Takagi and Drew Zeller. Ryan Schartau has two wins on the year in the DR Kart TaG Cadet class, opening up the season with a victory and scoring the triumph in Round Three. Schartau continued his odd round winning streak, sweeping the action in Round Five. Ryan clocked off the fast time in qualifying as the only driver under the 48-second lap. Schartau led all laps of the Prefinal, and the dominated the Final to a four-second advantage. Round Four winner Oliver Calvo was runner-up ahead of Colin Queen, Cole Keith Cotham and Round Two victor Joseph Daniele. Smokin Fast Racing S3 Novice Stock Moto bolstered a record number of 14 drivers for Round Five, welcoming its fourth different winner of the season in Aaron Schmitt. By four tenths of a second, Schmitt landed the pole position in qualifying. He then went on to lead all eight laps of the Prefinal for a three-second advantage before leading the entire 19-lap Final by two seconds at the checkered flag. Round Two winner KC Cook landed second with two-time winner Royal McKee third. Round Three winner Dekota Fripp and Andrew Murowatz completed the top-five. Two win streaks came to an end on the weekend in the TM Racing Open Shifter division and CRG of Southern California TaG Master category. Billy Musgrave entered the weekend with four straight main event wins. Musgrave led through qualifying and the Prefinal, beginning the Final as the leader. A mechanical issue struck and force Musgrave to retire, ending his win streak. That put Slava Prikhodko into the lead, going on to the victory. Kris Valdez and Alan Michel joined him on the podium. Nick De Graaf stopped the Erik Jackson train in TaG Master. De Graaf qualified first, edging out Tony GO Racing Magazine
Miles Calvin added another win in the PRD Senior Pilot class.
Rossetti for the fast time by 27 thousandths, with Jackson placing third. Jackson shined in the Prefinal, winning by more than six seconds over Tom Ricketts. De Graaf bounced back in the Final, taking the top spot back early, and going on to his first victory of the season. Jackson finished second with Rossetti third. Another streak was put to an end in Acceleration Kart Racing S4 Super Masters Stock Moto division, as John Crow triumphed in the Final. Four-time winner Kalvin Chen set the pace in qualifying and the Prefinal. Chen suffered a mechanical issue early in the main event, giving Crow a clear path to the win over Chris Curtis and Sean Bond. Zachary Martinez became another first-time winner in 2015 as he swept the HMS Honda Kid Kart class. Martinez just beat out Logan Ainsworth by 79 thousandths in qualifying, then held off Dane Idelson by 95 thousandths in the Prefinal. Martinez put the foot down in the Final, breaking away to score the victory. Idelson ended up second with Gaven Perez in the third position. Bryan Bender added another victory to his credit in Phil Giebler Racing PRD Masters division, as did Connor Funk in the iKart West Senior PRD class, each sweeping the day. Bender outran Scott Brown and Bob Montgomery, while Funk outlasted Tim Meyer and Jacob Pope. Four shifter categories were swept on the day, adding to the overall total for the event. Billy Musgrave was the lone competitor in the 2Wild Karting S1 Pro Stock Moto class. Vivek Tandon earned his first victory in the PKS S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto division. Tandon beat out Round Four winner Alan Michel and three-time winner Chandler Campbell. The MRC S4 Master Stock Moto class saw Willy Musgrave earn his third straight victory, besting Erik Jackson and Kalvin Chen. Nicky Hays added his third main event victory of the season in Nash Motorsportz S5 Junior Stock Moto. Hays swept the day over Vincenzo Sarracino and two-time winner Cruz Fiore. The LAKC racing family will gather once again on August 16 for the sixth race of the season at the CalSpeed facility. For more about the 2015 Los Angeles Karting Championship program, please visit LAKC.org and ‘Like’ them on Facebook. GO
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ON A ROLL WKA RLV TUNED EXHAUST GOLD CUP SERIES | WKA South Carolina in June, Aiden Baker Crouse continued his winning ways, securing the win in the Razor Chassis Sportsman Pro Gas Lite main event, the first of HIS 2 wins on the weekend. After taking the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time Award, Crouse bested Cale Hall for the top honors, while Riley Kelley chased the pair across the stripe for the win.
TUNED EXHAUST PRODUCTS
There is a recurring theme in the RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Gold Cup Series this year. When a driver is on a roll at a specific event, there is no stopping them. And it hasn’t always been the same dominant face this year. Such was the case at the Michigan Kart Supply Nationals at G and J Kartway in Camden, Ohio, stop #3 for the 4 race series. While Jacob Heavlow and Riley Kelley have scored national event wins this season, it wasn’t until the Camden stop where both put together large win streaks. For Heavlow, wins came in the Senior Pro Gas Money race, both of the Coyote Motorsports Senior Pro Gas Points races, and the Animal Medium main as well. For Kelley, his streak of 4 came in the Miller Welders Sportsman LO206, as well as the Razor Chassis Sportsman Pro Gas Lite, and the Baker Racing Engines Sportsman Pro Gas Heavy classes.
Once again, the Coyote Motorsports Senior Pro Gas class was packed with entries. And this also would serve as the starting point for Jacob Heavlows success as the Maryland driver staved off Dustin Demattia for his 1st of 4 wins for the weekend. Chasing the duo across the stripe were Sean Meier, Sarah Luoma, and Mike Greiner, as Gary Lawson, a longtime competitor on the series, returned to Camden and grabbed the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award. While 4 wins in a weekend was fantastic for some, Matt Miller wasn’t far behind in the win total category, notching 3 wins himself for the weekend. Starting with the Van K Wheels Junior Pro Gas Lite class, Miller had another quality field of competitors to fend off, taking the top honors over Jason Alder, with Joshua Stark, Cody Hall, and Brian Van Cleve chasing the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time winner across the stripe. Later in the day, Miller came back with an LO206 motor strapped on the kart, scored the Mikim Motorsports Fast time honors, then proceeded to top Jimmy Cole Jackson, Cody Hall, Talia Moffet, and Alex Vrabel in the Thor Oil sponsored class. Part of Millers wins would include a weekend sweep of the class as the Maryland driver returned Sunday to take the win, again over Jackson, with Jason Alder, Hall, and Vrabel completing the top 5.
With late Friday afternoon rains halting practice for the day, the inclement weather also forced the Sportsman and Junior Pro Gas Money races, as well as the Senior Pro Gas Money race to Saturday evening, making for a full day of on track activity Saturday. Defending champion Jax Walker came to life at Camden, also joining the multiple wins club, taking top honors in the Tyler Sandmeyer Kid Kart class both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Walker had to outhustle Mikim Motorsports Fast Time Award winner Blake Boone to take the win, as Kershaw winner Owen Lloyd chased the pair home in third. Walker bettered his qualifying run on Sunday, taking the pole, and once again fending off the efforts of Boone and Lloyd for his second win of the weekend. Wyatt Kessinger came home fourth on Sunday.
With Matt Miller and Riley Kelley prepping for their next track time in the pits, Heavlow took back to the track to secure what would be the second win of the weekend, this time in the Animal Medium class. Heavlow topped Paul Headley, Jim Lipari, Justin Funkhouser, and Cayla Chapman, as well as securing the Mikim Motorsports fast time honors.
After dominating the top shelf of the podium in Kershaw,
Time off from the Gold Cup Series hasn’t slowed Gary Lawson
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With a Sportsman Pro Gas Lite win already in his pocket, Aiden Baker Crouse returned to the track, taking the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award in the Miller Welders Sportsman LO206 class. However, Riley Kelley was ready to click off his string of wins for the weekend, thus grabbing the lead, and holding on for the win over Crouse, with Tanner Carter rolling home third.
GO Racing Magazine
Jacob Heavlow
down one bit, as the Mentor, Ohio driver returned to Camden, and laid claim to the Briggs and Stratton Racing LO206 Senior class victory on Saturday. Fresh off a second place run earlier in the day in Senior Pro Gas, Dustin Demattia roared home for a second place run, with Mikim Motorsports Fast Time winner Eric Fagan, Chris Osgood, and Ben Wagenhals completing the top 5. Demattia was finally able to break the second place streak on Sunday, flip flopping the finishing order, and taking the LO 206 win over Lawson, with Tyler Smith, Richie Kuhn, and Austin Queen completing the top 5. In the Baker Racing Engines Sportsman Pro Gas Heavy class, Aiden Baker Crouse returned to the podium to claim his second win of the weekend, edging Riley Kelley for the top honors. Following a solid second place in the Animal Medium class earlier in the day, Paul Headley found his familiar spot back up front, taking the Power Plus Lubricants Animal Heavy Mix main event. Headley was able to beat out Josh Stiefel for the honors, with Tim Stiefel, Case Hall, and Jacob Connor completing the top 5. In the midst of so many multiple winners, Alex Vrabel was able to sneak in and slow down the win streak of Matt Miller in winning the Brads Heating and Cooling Junior Pro Gas Heavy main event. Miller was hot on Vrabels heels in second, with Brian Van Cleve, Mikim Motorsports Fast Time winner Jason Alder, and David Kalb completing the top 5. With the bulk of points races in the books for Saturday, it was time to focus on the rescheduled Money Races, sponsored by Brads Heating and Cooling. In the 10 lap Sportsman Pro Gas Shootout, Cale Hall laid claim to the $200 event win, topping Riley Kelley and Aiden Baker Crouse. For his second place effort, Kelley received $100, with Crouse earning a cool $50. In Junior Pro Gas Shootout competition, the Hall family tradition continued as Cale’s older brother Cody topped Matt Miller for the $200, 10 lap win, while Brian Van Cleve streaked across the line in third. With Zach Linsell not in attendance, the 2 race Senior Pro Gas Money race win streak also came to a conclusion as Jacob Heavlow scored his third event win of the weekend, besting GO Racing Magazine
Dustin
Sean Meier, Eric Fagan, Scott Klemen, and Sarah Luoma. Sundays Razor Chassis Sportsman Pro Gas Lite Main found Riley Kelley back in the win column again, topping Mikim Motorsports Fast Time winner Aiden Baker Crouse and Tanner Carter. Kelley would win the bulk of his races on Sunday, roaring back for the top honors in the Baker Racing Engines Sportsman Pro Gas Heavy Class, again taking the win over Crouse. Kelley polished off the day in the Miller Welders Sportsman LO206 Class, with Crouse haunting him the entire way, while Tanner Carter again took third. Heavlow returned to the winners circle Sunday, stopping older brother Jimmy in the Coyote Motorports Senior Pro Gas Class. Gary Lawson returned on Sunday as well, taking third, with Eric Fagan and Josh Stiefel completing the top 5. Lawson was the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time winner. After many efforts on Saturday, the fruits of labor paid off for Jason Alder as he laid claim to the Van K Wheels Junior Pro Gas Lite victory. After taking the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time honors, Alder proceeded to show the field his rear bumper in taking his lone win of the weekend. Cody Hall came home second followed by Brian Van Cleve, Matt Miller, and Austin Williamson. In Animal Medium, Paul Headley improved one spot from the day before, storming out of the gate for the Fast Time honors, then taking his second national win of the weekend. Headly edged out Justin Funkhouser and Jim Lipari.
After scoring the LO206 win on Saturday, Gary Lawson came back to take the top honors in the Power Plus Lubricants Animal Heavy Mix class, topping Saturday winner Paul Headley, with Josh Stiefel, Sarah Luoma, and Jacob Connor completing the top 5. The final event of the weekend found Cody Hall triumphing in the Brads Heating and Cooling Junior Pro Gas Heavy main, making it two wins for the weekend for Hall after taking the Junior Pro Gas Shootout Saturday night. Hall bested Brian Van Cleve, Matt Miller, Joshua Stark, and Jason Alder for the top honors. Following two back-to-back national events, just 1 month apart, the series gets a major breather, not running the GT Machine Grand Nationals until September 25-28 at Lamar County Speedway in Barnesville, Georgia. GO
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SEVEN VICTORIES SEVEN DRIVERS EARN MULTIPLE VICTORIES IN ROUTE 66 SPINT SERIES AT MICHIANA RACEWAY PARK | ProMedia Motorsports PR | Kathy Churchill/route66karting.com second. Griffin set the pace for the first half of the Prefinal, with Koyen taking over the point for the second half, scoring the win with Griffin on this bumper. From the drop of the green flag, Koyen led all 12 laps of the Final for his first victory of the weekend. Griffin was a close second with Eric Bartsch third. Adam Crepin and Jimmy Clark completed the top-five. Steven Arens jumped up the order Sunday morning, stealing the fast time from Koyen by a slim 29 thousandths of a second. Arens led the opening two laps of the Prefinal before Koyen took control of the top spot en route to the win. Koyen went wire-to-wire from the pole position to earn a second Final victory on the weekend. Griffin pushed Arens back to third with Bartsch fourth and Crepin fifth. Dustin
The Route 66 Sprint Series continued its 15th year anniversary season with Round Five and Six contested at the Michiana Raceway Park in North Liberty, Indiana. The challenging circuit just outside the South Bend area welcomed another large turnout, feature over 250 entries for the two days of competition. Weather played a factor once again, this time with severe weather cancelling the final three main events on Saturday. Thankfully, the weather cleared for Sunday’s action, as a handful of drivers earned multiple victories on the weekend. Once again it was the RLV Yamaha 100 Senior division that led the 10 categories in terms of entries, welcoming a strong 25 in South Bend. Coming off a win on day two in Shawano, TJ Koyen extended his win streak to three with a double victory weekend, taking over the championship lead. The lead challenger on the weekend was Colton Griffin, scoring the fast time in qualifying for Saturday’s round of action. Koyen qualified second, off by over a tenth of a 46
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The competitive Franklin Motorsports Leopard Senior category welcomed its fifth different winner of the season as Armin Cavkusic doubled up on the weekend. Cavkusic swept the opening round on Saturday, leading from qualifying to the checkered flag in the main event. Colton Ramsey kept the pressure on in the Prefinal, with Armin earning the win. Ramsey took the lead from the start of the Final, and led until two laps remaining when Cavkusic took back the top spot. He held on to score his first victory of the season, with Ramsey in second. Josh Hotz ran to third with sisters Kindra Hurlbert and Emily Hurlbert completing the top-five. Ramsey began Sunday on top, edging out Cavkusic by just 83 thousandths in the qualifying session. Armin took control in the Prefinal, scoring the win and going on to the victory in the Final. Hotz and Kindra Hurlbert slipped past Ramsey to move up the podium while Anthony Granata rounded out the top-five. Alex Bertagnoli was credited with three victories on the weekend. Bertagnoli swept the weekend in the CKT Racing Engines Leopard Junior division to extend his championship lead. Porter Weisensel and Aaron Bromberek ran second and third in both main events. Bertagnoli then was named the winner in Saturday’s round of the GO Racing Magazine
over the point, going on to take the checkered flag first. Round Three winner Ryan Weyer slipped past Paterno for the second step on the podium. Dial went on to sweep Round Six action on Sunday, leading from qualifying to the final checkered flag, earning the Final victory by five seconds over Weyer with Delaney Keaveny.
Jacob Heavlow
Woltjer Racing Engines Yamaha 100 Junior class. Bertagnoli won the Prefinal and the class was one that could not complete the Final due to the weather. Bertagnoli was named the winner with top qualifier Matthew Northrop second and Maks Kowalski third. Stephen Dial and Dillon Schwanbeck rounded out the top-five. Sunday, Northrop swept the action against the 17 other drivers. The Final victory was his first of the season, crossing the line onesecond ahead of Schwanbeck. Kowalski was third with Bertagnoli fourth and with two-time race winner Michael Paterno fifth. Sam Mayer was a second driver earning three victories in South Bend. Mayer doubled up in the Haddock LTD/Comet Kart Sales Komet Cadet division, growing his win total to three in the class. Kyle Thome broke up the perfect weekend, posting a blistering lap in qualifying to secure the pole position for the Prefinal. Mayer was able to secure the top spot in the eight-lap event, and with the Final cancelled due to weather, was declared the feature winner. Thome and JJ Hansen completed the podium. Mayer then swept the action on Sunday, qualifying first and leading wire-to-wire in the Prefinal and Final. Aidan Harrington and Taylor Maas joined Mayer on the podium for Sunday’s ceremonies. Mayer’s third victory of the weekend came in the Switch Racing Engines Yamaha Cadet class, following Sunday’s action. Saturday looked to belong to Mayer, qualifying first and holding off Aidan Harrington at the line for the Prefinal win. Kyle Thome joined the fight at the front, making it a three-driver battle for the Final. Mayer crossed the line in the first position every lap, including the final circuit to be the provisional winner. Contact however during the race by Mayer resulted in a one position penalty, handing the win to Harrington. Mayer was classified second with Thome third. Parker Abed and Talan Drake made up the top-five. Sunday, Mayer bounced back to sweep the day for his third victory of the weekend. After qualifying first, Mayer won the Prefinal and the Final with a last lap pass. Harrington finished second ahead of Drake, Tristan Farber and Taylor Maas. The win total for Stephen Dial grew to five in the Express Karts & Parts Komet category after a double win weekend. Dial found himself chasing Michael Paterno in qualifying and the Prefinal to begin Round Five. Paterno led the first eight laps before Dial took GO Racing Magazine
Indy Ragan and Aidan Hinds complete the list of double winners on the weekend. Ragan won his first feature of the season in the Hollywood Crane Service Kid Kart division. Ashton Henckel was the top dog early on, posting a very fast lap in qualifying. Ragan caught up during the Prefinal, scoring the win and continuing on to win the Final with a last lap pass. Cooper Christ finished second with Kruze Miles in third after Henckel retired after one lap. Henckel was quick again on Sunday, laying down a monster lap in qualifying and driving to a 11-second win in the Prefinal. The pace evened out in the Final for Ragan, securing the lead late in the race and earning the victory. Henckel stood on the podium in second with Hugo Bonjour in third. Hinds nearly swept the weekend in the Tony Kart Micro Rok category to bring his win total up to four on the season. After qualifying first, Hinds led all eight laps of the Prefinal, which in turn gave him the feature victory after it was called due to weather. Two-time winner Keegan Bosch was runner-up with Zach Collins classified in third. The perfect score was broken up by Bosch in Sunday qualifying. Hinds come back to win the Prefinal and went green-to-checkered in the Final for the victory. Bosch earned his third runner-up result of the season, with Camrin Cass up to third. The KartLift Yamaha 100 Rookie division welcomed 18 drivers in South Bend with Ben Chejfec and Christian Miles splitting the victories. Saturday was all Chejfec, as he set the pace in qualifying, came out the Prefinal the winner, and led all 12 laps of the Final. Aidan Hinds drove a close second with Chester Brimer in third. Miles and Alex Grapsas completed the top-five. The tables turned Sunday with Brimer coming out of qualifying with the fast lap, edging out Collins and Matthew Novak by a slim seven hundredths. Miles ended up fourth in the session, and climbed his way to the win in the Prefinal. Losing the lead to Hinds on the opening circuit of the Final, Miles reclaimed the position and led the remaining laps to earn his first victory of the season. Bryce Mersberger drove to the runner-up position, pushing Hinds to third with Camrin Cass fourth and Chejfec fifth. The fourth event on the 2015 Route 66 Sprint Series program is scheduled for August 14-16 at the New Castle Motorsports Park in central Indiana. The race will serve as a great warm-up event for the United States Pro Kart Series competitors, hosting the season finale at the facility the following weekend. For more information on the Route 66 Sprint Series, head to route66kartracing.com. Route 66 Sprint Series would like to thank the following companies for their support; L&T Clutches, MG Tires, Vortex Engines, Schwanbeck Racing, PKTAxles.com, IAME USA East, KartSport North America, Haddock LTD, MTEC, Target Distributing, Innovative Performance, Look Trailers, and Wings Etc Restaurant. GO
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SERIES DIRECTORY Series State Web Address
Series State Web Address
Bakers Creek Kart Club AL www.bakerscreekkarting.com Arkansas Motorsports Park AR www.arkansasmotorsportspark.com Kartways of Arkansas AR www.kartways.com Arizona Karting Assoc. AZ www.azkarting.com Lake Havasu Speedway AZ www.lhksa.com Musselman Honda Circuit / P1 AZ www.mhcircuit.com Phoenix Kart Racing Assoc. AZ www.pkra.com Tucson Kart Club AZ www.tucsonkartclub.com Adams Motorsports Park CA www.adamsmotorsportspark.com Atwater Kart Club CA www.atwaterkartclub.com Best in the West Oval Series CA www.bestinthewestracing.com Blue Max Kart Club CA www.bluemaxkartclub.com CalSpeed Kart Track CA www.calspeedkarting.com Gatorz CA www.gatorzkarting.com Grangé Motor Circuit CA www.grangeracetrack.com IKF Region 7 CA www.ikfkarting.com IKF Region 11 CA www.norcalkarters.com Infineon Raceway RLOKC CA www.redlineoilkarting.com Kinsmen Kart Club CA www.kinsmenkartclub.net Los Angeles Kart Club CA www.lakc.org Monterey Karters CA www.montereybaykarters.com NCK Road Racing CA www.nckroadracing.com Norcal 4-cycle Racing Assoc. CA www.norcal4cycle.com Pacific Assoc. of Karters CA www.pacifickarting.com Prarie City Kart Track CA www.allstarkarting.com Pro Kart Challenge CA www.superkartsusa.com Railto Airport Speedway CA www.rialtoairportspeedway.com San Diego Karting CA www.sdka.com Santa Maria Karting CA www.smka.org Shasta Kart Club CA www.shastakartklub.com So-Cal Sprinters CA www.so-calsprinters.com SoCal Oval Karts CA www.socalovalkarters.com Tri-C Karters CA www.tri-ckarters.com Willow Springs Kart Track CA www.timipromotions.com Westwood Karting Assoc. Canada www.westwoodkarting.org Point Pelee Karting Club Canada www.pointpeleekarting.com Colorado Jr. Kart Club CO www.coloradojuniorkartingclub.com CRE CO www.cremotorsports.com Grand Junction Motorspeedway CO www.gjmotorspeedway.com IMI Motorsports Complex CO www.imimotorsports.com Pikes Peak Kart Racing Club CO www.PPKRC.com The Track at Centennial CO www.thetrack.us US 13 Kart Club DE www.dekarting.net Desoto Speedway FL www.tricitykartclub.com Homestead Karting FL www.homesteadkarting.net MRP Motorsport at Palm Beach FL www.racepbir.com North Florida Kart Club FL www.nfkc.us Ocala Karting Raceway FL www.ocalagranprix.com South West Karting Assoc. FL www.swflkarting.com West Coast Karting FL www.westcoastkarting1.com ROK Cup USA FL www.rokcupusa.com Georgia Sprint Karting Assoc. GA www.georgiasprintkarting.net South East Rotax Super Series GA www.georgiasprintkarting.net Big Island Kart Club HI www.bigislandkartclub.com
Maui Go Karters HI www.mauigokart.com 61 Kartway IA www.61kartway.com Snake River Karters ID www.srkarters.com Championship Enduro Series IL www.championshipenduro.com Mid State Kart Club IL www.midstatekartclub.com River Valley Kart Club IL www.rivervalleykartclub.com Route 66 Series IL www.route66kartracing.com Great Lakes Pro Series IN www.glproseries.com Michiana Raceway Park IN www.michianaracewaypark.com New Castle Motorsports Park IN www.newcastleraceway.com Park Raceway Louisiana LA www.mooreparkraceway.com F1 Outdoors MA www.f1outdoors.com Nicholson Speedway MD www.nicholsonspeedway.com Sandy Hook Speedway MD www.sandyhookspeedway.com Michigan kart Club MI www.michkartclub.com Kid Kart Nationals MO www.slka.net/dnn2/Home.aspx Montana Karting Assoc. MT www.montanakarting.com World Karting Assoc. NC www.worldkarting.com New Jersey Sprint Series NJ www.NJSprintSeries.com Northern Nevada Kart Club NV www.nnkc.com Southern Nevada Karting NV www.snvkc.com Championship Kart Racing Assoc. OH www.ckra.org G & J Kartway OH www.gandjkartway.com Ohio Valley Karting Assoc. OH www.ovka.com Pat’s Acres OR www.patsacres.com/ Portland Karting Assoc. OR www.portlandkarting.com Southern Oregon Karters OR www.sokarters.org BeaveRun PA www.beaverun.com Oreville Kart Club PA www.orevillekartclub.com Penns Creek Raceway PA www.pennscreekracewaypark.com Pitt Race Karting PA www.pittrace.com Darlington Kartway SC www.darlingtonkartway.com Amped Up Racing Series TN www.ampedupracingseries.com Dallas Karting Complex TX www.dallaskartingcomplex.com South East Karting Challenge TX www.southeastkartingchallenge.com Franklin Mountian Karting TX www.franklin-mountain-karting.com Hill Country Kart Club TX www.hckc.org NASKART Pro Racing Series TX www.naskartproracingseries.com North Texas Karters TX www.ntkarters.com Southwest Regional Cup Series TX www.southwestregionalcup.com Southwest Road Race Assoc. TX www.swra.org Kam Kartway TX www.kamkartway.com Utah Kart Championship UT www.millermotorsportspark.com Woodbridge Kart Club VA www. woodbridgekartclub.com PGP Motorsports Park WA www.pacificgp.com Puget Sound Go Kart Assoc. WA www.psgka.com Seattle Karting Club WA www.seattlekartingclub.com Sumas Int. Motorsports Academy WA www.simaracing.com Spokane Kart Racing Assoc. WA www.spokanekarting.org Sunset Speedway WA www.sunsetspeedway.org Tri Cities Kart Club WA www.tckc.net Badger Kart Club WI www.badgerkartclub.com Mid West Sprint Series WI www.midwestsprint.com USA International Raceway WI www.usainternationalraceway.com
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