Archives - Norcal Karters

Norcal Karters has taken the coverage of Region 11 Karting to the next level. Now we have implemented a Kart Cam. So far we have gotten some great coverage of both Prairie City and Redding IKF races. Check out the Video page to view the videos. If any driver would like to have the Kart cam placed on their Kart, see a Norcal Karters representative. We can even copy the video to a DVD and issue it at the track. Norcal Karters IS Norcals #1 Source for everything Karting.

The Jim Russell Rotax Championship Series kicked off there season Saturday at Infineon Raceway where weather certainly did not play into the Racers favor. Qualifying was run in the dry, as was most of the Pre-Finals. When the rain came the day was put on hold because the track was too wet for slicks, but to dry for rain tires.

The first class was the DD2 class. This year DD2 is running for National points to be invited to the World Finals. Gregory Liefooghe got the pole in Qualifying. The pre-final was skipped because of time restraints and the Final showed the drivers who had rain experience. Many drivers struggled, Gregory Liefooghe got out front early and was never contested as was Kris Shaw for the second position. The race was for third between Glen Poy Wing and Chris Debruine. Poy Wing won the battle, Debruine was fourth, and Gary Scharlach was fifth.

Bill Forgey was pole in Tag Masters Light with a good qualifying lap, but the top three were pretty close. In Tag Heavy Tim Cleland was fast stacking the Wetmore Brothers behind him. In the Final The two TAG classes ran together. Some of the drivers dropped out of course, however you can always tell the drivers that have rain experience, Bill Forgey got out front early, and held the lead til the end. Grant Hetherington won the fight for second, while Scott Campbell and Luis Marquez had to settle for third and fourth.

David Carlisle was pole in Rotax Masters. Another added Points class for Finals qualifying. Bryan Hughet got the pre-final win, however when the main came, David Carlisle was the man! Carlisle put in an awesome drive for the win, Jay Brosius and Chris Debruine were the top three.

In Jr 1 Comer Bobby Tift got the pole and a dominant dry win in the Prefinal. When the final came, things got mixed early. For most the race the it was Luis Tyrell and Grant Ereth battling for the win. Ereth was the victor, Luis Tyrell was second, Bobby Tift and Trevor Mathis were right there as well.

In Sr Rotax Clayton Snow debut his CRG to get fast time, and both wins as Snow was above the rest of the field. Gregory Liefooghe and David Arnstien had a great race for second, Liefooghe would beat Arnstien to the line. Kartel Motorsports Neil Alberico got fast time in Jr Rotax Qualifying. In the Final Alberico got the lead early, only to loop it in the Tic Tac Toe, Mejia would also have the lead at one point, but he would loop it as well, giving the battle for the lead to Jadallah, and Pringle. It looked as if Pringle would take command, just then Jadallah struck and took the lead over for good. Pringle was second followed by Alberico and Mejia.

Jarrett Lile snagged fast time in the Infineon Debut of HPV-2. This class would run behind the Jr Rotax's. In the final when Alberico spun in the Rotax, as he pulled out to turn around, he clipped Lile ending his day. Donavan Wheeler would get the win with Troy Buchman second, and Lile third.

Next Rotax Max race is May 12.

Anther Opener for Infineon Raceway was Shifter Sunday. This year the shifters were looking to expand as many new faces were in new karts. Matt Hauff debut his 125 Stock Honda Light as did Larry Fraser. Last Years Jr 80 Shifter driver Tommy Thompson came to play in his new ICC and fellow Jr 80 driver Derek Tillet Joined him.

125 Stock Honda Light hit the track first as Steven Libby grabbed pole. In the heat Brad Lloyd cruised to an easy victory. In the Final the top five were all really close. Larry Frser put the pressure on Lloyd in the early going, however you can see Frasers kart go away as he faded into the clutches of the drivers racing behind him. Lloyd got the win, Greg Sawyer and Stefan Maus raced to the line, Sawyer got second, Matt Hauff and got Larry Fraser at the line for fourth.

ICC provided great Racing. Thompson got the pole, but the top four were all really close. In the Main, Thompson got the whole shot, but Tillet took the lead early, Thompson tried to mount a challenge late, but Tillet proved to be to tough. Thompson would get second with Steve Cameron on his tail, and Grand National West driver Jose Ramirez finishing fourth.

In 80 Masters, Steve Peterson got pole, however this class was real close. Tom Nelson won the prefinal. Nelson would have to fight hard however for the win in the main, but he would prevail. Mike Lowater was second with Vincent parker, Grant Hetherington and Steve Peterson all in tow. Mark Drennan snagged pole in the 125 Stock Honda Heavy, as he would in the Prefinal, but in the main, Matt Alcorn came on strong as he started last, came through the field and grabbed the lead and never looked back. Drennan was second, Espinor beat out Rob Ainscough and Alex Keith for third.

In ICC Masters Jim Kidd was the man all day. He went wire to wire for the sweep. The race was epic however for second. John Cerini held tough over JP Caddoux and James Syar winning the battle. Rocky Allen did the same ICC Grand Master running wire to wire for the win. The mixed up Race of the day was in Sr 80. Eddie Veyl was dominant early in the day, but in the main had some competition with Robert Porter. Around halfway Veyl made a diving pass on Porter ending Porters day. Tito Martinez caught Veyl, but would spin while tryin to make a pass. Eddie Veyl would get the checkered with Ryan Madson in second. While scaling Ric Shaw made the decision to put Veyl behind Porter, and Madson got the win, Martinez was second, Porter and Veyl.

Next race for Shifter Sunday is May 13.

Noted helmet painter debuts new site developed by Selective Designs

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (April 19, 2007) - Corby Concepts, widely considered as one of North America’s top helmet artists, has teamed up with Indianapolis-based Selective Designs to revamp their online presence. The all-new CorbyConcepts.com includes unique features such as a video biography on owner/artist Mike Corby, as well as an in-depth tutorial on the process of helmet painting.

“I wanted a web presence that would allow our current and potential customers to understand the daily operations at Corby Concepts” stated Mike Corby. “After speaking with AJ from Selective Designs, I was confident that he could showcase not only our artwork but also give site visitors an inside look at what actually goes into painting a helmet.

Selective Designs specializes in web development for the motorsport industry utilizing cutting edge technology to showcase their customer’s unique image and brand values. “I am really excited that Mike chose Selective Designs to develop the new online home for Corby Concepts,” offered AJ Codalata, president of Selective Designs. “It was a pleasure to work with Mike on this project and feel that together we were able to come up with a product that compliments the Corby Concepts brand and lifestyle.”

To check out the new site, head to www.corbyconcepts.com to learn more about Mike Corby and his program. You’ll also get the opportunity to see a wide array of Corby Concepts latest helmet art. For more information on the website designer, their online portfolio can be found at www.selective-designs.com.

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For more information, contact Michael Corby @ 317.248.1914

Stars of Karting held the season opener in Norman Oklahoma this past weekend for the Race of America. The National Opener for both East and West Stars competitors. Many Norcal Drivers made the trip to compete in the Event. As a result, The Norcal Drivers were on top.

Both Gary Carlton and Fritz Leeseman had 1-2 dominating performances this weekend in ICC, however neither were ever seriously contended. The battle was in Spec Racer.

The weekend Began with Jared Woolf grabbing the pole for the class. The heat races saw both Chris Scribner and Jared with wins. One heat was battle between the two. In the first Main three Norcal drivers fought it out the last three laps with Will Martindale, Jason Toft and Scribner. The last turn coming to the checkered started with Martindale and Scribner side by side for the win, however it was Toft that escaped with the victory.

The second Main was just as crazy. Martindale and Scribner gapped the field and then began the battle. Back and forth every lap for the lead. With six to go, the race was red flagged and a single file restart would insue. On the restart Scribner grabbed the lead in the first turn, in the back section Martindale would take it back, then through the hairpin Scribner again would take the the top spot providing three lead changes in one lap. The battle was epic as this continued until two laps to go as Scribner took the lead for good for the win.

Watch for the best in Norcal to battle it out within the Stars of Karting series. You can find their results here, at www.norcalkarters.com

I received my tires via UPS the Friday before my test for the first IKF Region 11 race at Blue Max Kart Club. I mounted my tires that night and packed up for the next day to head out. I got to the track around 10 am. By the time I was ready to hit the track, it was around 1 pm. By this time the track was clean of green, and it was the best for a even test.

The first session I hit the track with a brand new set of Bridgestone YHC's. As usual the YHC's were real fast out of the box. Running fifteen lap sessions my third lap was the fastest running a 36.4. Slow if compared to the IKF race, however the track was green. Tires were pretty consistent in the early laps. Around lap eight times started to really drop off. I ran the slowest lap on the fifteenth lap at a 36.8.

Came into the pits, filled my gas back up to the line marked on the tank to be sure the weight was correct, changed tires, and hit the track again this time for the first session on the Burris 44'A spec tire. The first lap I stuck it into the barriers in the parking lot turn. Now Mike Burris told me they needed a session before they really came in, but this wasn't the tires fault, it certainly wasn't my fault (or the brakes), so it must have been the asphalt. Onto the session I began to run. First couple laps tires were a bit slippery and came in around lap four. Lap five was the first lap I was able to start hitting my lines as I turned a 36.8. Around lap 10 I started laying down good laps as I ran 36.5's the rest of the session consistently.

I let the kart cool down and sold some stuff, as it was the annual Swap Meet for the Davis track. I gave the kart a good hour to sit and let the tires, the motor cool, and the other classes to have their sessions.

I was lazy and didn't want to keep my order so this time I went out with the Burris tires first. The tires instantly came in. Third lap I ran 36.5 which was the fastest I had run with the 44'A tire. Lap seven I ran a 36.4. The tires felt really good as my last lap was the fastest at a 36.3. The tires didn't seem to be real fast as much as they were consistent. The laps were all real close and the kart felt the same throughout the session as where kart will usually come in and go away. This session it seemed I had cut short considering the tire kept getting faster, the chassis kept feeling better, it was as if the tire needed more laps to come in, which was weird since I had run faster than I had all day.

I came in to the pits and put the YHC's back on the kart, filled back up with gas to my special little line, and back on the track I went. Third lap I ran a 36.7. Lap six I ran a 36.3 as the track had gotten a little faster. However lap 11 the times dropped off substantially as I began to run 36.7's again. I tried to keep the kart on line, but I believe with the green track and tires with almost thirty laps on them it was a bit difficult. Overall the YHC's were slower.

The first session was won by the Bridgestone's as everyone who races the YHC tire knows the first laps on the tire are the fastest. The second session was won by the Burris tire. The YHC was faster earlier, where as the 44'A tire was faster later. With the Burris tires I ran 12 psi in the front and 14 in the rear as that's what Mike Burris recommended. The YHC I ran 12 all around because in my testing that's what works best with the Tony Kart. My next test was done At Stockton Motorplex on the same sets of tires. Day 2 coming soon to www.norcalkarters.com

Burris Tire Proposal Offers

This is a general outline of offers we tender to various tracks, clubs, promoters and organizations for implementing a Burris Spec tire program. Each offer is studied to see what effects a spec tire program would have on our sales of not only tires but our other product lines (starters, oil, YF200’s, wheels, etc) and also how much we feel it benefits the recipients and the growth of karting in that market or region. We obviously want to make money from these endeavors but we also want the outcome to be a win/win situation for all parties involved.

Before we get into awards and bonuses we’d like to stress to the karting public that one of the goals we had when developing our new “B” series tires was keeping overhead costs down and passing the savings along to the consumer so that everyone who purchases our tires benefits from these savings.
Mainly our awards programs are structured so that after we do a potential usage and trickle down study we can offer the recipient group an awards package that allows them to receive a very generous agreed upon amount of Burris products (of their choice) for their series at years end. The group is also offered the option of purchasing additional Burris products at a price below distributor cost should they choose.
A secondary program option is a mixture of cash rebates, determined by the number of entries (or projected tire usage for the group), and product but for the most part recipient groups choose the all product option because we can offer an overall higher value to the karters at awards time.

Practice Friday was long. Line was out the gate and drivers and crews were shaking off the good and the bad from race #1. Track came in late practice day as the rubber laid down and the track got sticky for Saturday. Walking the track that night it was already trying to stick your shoes to the ground. Most of the teams had already gone soft and stiff to get rid of the hop from too much grip. Prairie City was brand new last season when IKF came through, the track has come in and settled. The asphalt has brought up the bumps in the critical turns and put another obstacle for chassis setup.

Early Saturday drivers meeting was on the grid. Gary Lovotti informed all the drivers of the different acceleration lines, while Tom Halbasch told all the drivers he understood rubbing was racing and to keep it clean. First out of the gates was Jr 1-2 Cycle. Austin Elliott got pole with a 49.994. Justin Cole won the heat, however when the green flew in the main, Jonny Norris took control laying down fast laps to win Jr 1-2 Cycle. Austin Elliott got third and Austin Dement made a run through the field to come home third. Next up was National Cup was on the track next. What racing this class would be. Emmick Enterprises Cory Gwin set fast time with a blazing 43.141. In the heat Cory took control early and got an easy one. Top runners Toft, Scribner, and LeDuc all crashed out having to start from the back. Scribner mad a run to fifth, Corse Karts Cody Hodgson just rode for fourth as did Michael Rojas for third. the battle was for the Top Spot. The Emmick driver put on a dominant show battling for the win. Cory got it and Jesses Gwin had to settle for second.

Formula 80 Limited took to the track, and in qualifying Kevin Tanaka proved to be a force to reckon with this year and going out and grabbing the pole with a 49.693 a full three tenths over second. Tanaka would win the heat setting the grid for the top eight all with a chance for the win. Tanaka took the lead early. Trevor Schmid and Anthony Valerio from MMI, Adam Booker and Davey Mead along with Gary Gwin were in toe. Schmid and Tanaka would battle for the lead, both would end the race watching from the grass. Towne and Gwin would battle fro the lead late, but last years champion Robert Towne would win the battle and take the win. Gwin was second, Last lap Davey Mead broke a throttle cable and coasted to a fifth while Valerio got third and Brian Keck coming out of retirement drove to a fourth.

Bryan Stephenson had another dominant weekend in Sr. Superbox heavy as did David Vasquez in Jr. Superbox. Trevor Agan took home the Jr. 2 Animal victory as did Tyler Agan in the Animal Super Sportsman Class. In the Syd White World Formula Heavy Paul Carter had a dominant day taking pole, the heat and Main event wins.

Sunday was a new day. Same old drivers meeting, however the weather had a slight bit of overcast Sunday, the air was cooler and there was a cold breeze coming from the south. Jr HPV-1 was looking to be a good battle. Jonny Norris got pole with a 47.254. In the heat Norris and Kyle Kaiser led the field. The race was the same in the main as Kaiser and Norris was in a battle of their own way out front. Kaiser was faster but could never mount a challenge enough for the lead. Norris got his second of the weekend, Kaiser second, Justin Cole third, and Logan Wyman fourth.

National Cup Masters took to the track with Glenn McKinnon from Reno's MMS Karting setting fast time with a 43.788. The race was for second as Glenn had the field covered from qualifying and was never challenged. As Kartworld Bill McCallister took the battle to Lance Grimm for second. Bill would break a throttle shaft and would hand the battle over to Emmick's Tony Rodriguez for the second spot. Tony would put the pressure on Lance but it wasn't enough as Lance held off for the second position. Sr. Superbox became quite the show. Bryan Stephenson continued his dominance grabbing the pole with a 46.490 which is flying for a Yamaha KT. The heat Bryan ran away with, however in the main he may have met his match. In the main the start was rough as Kial Bonetti took an ugly roll. On the restart Josh Veloz took to the lead. Todd Wallace took the challenge to Veloz, however at Prairie City is hard to pass, and with the right pertective line one can hold that lead. Todd Wallace would break, and Bryan Stephenson would battle for the lead with Veloz. Veloz held tough and would go on to get his first IKF race win.

Next up for their main event was the Formula 80 Masters. Chuck hastings got pole laying down a 45.222. Hastings got the heat win but the prefinal would be a race. Cody McKinney would get the black flag as he made contact to Steve Dow to loop him around. Jay Neely would run down Chuck Hastings for the lead, however it wasn't enough as Hastings would hold for the victory lap, In tech Hastings wouldn't pass cc volume and would get DQ'd giving the win to Jay Neely. Ben Fisher was second and Steve Dow was third.

In 100cc National Cup, Michael Rojas got pole with a 44.224. Rojas got the heat win. In the main Gwin got the lead on the outside into one. Rojas got into Gwin for the lead and Scribner had his turn. Rojas took it back then so did Scribner. Rojas got into Scribner ending his day. Nic Leduc got bitten by Rojas as well leaving an uncontested win to Jesse Gwin. Rojas was second and Cody Hodgson was third. Last up was Jr HPV-2. Marcelo Montore got pole with a 44.666. In the main Jr. Driver of the year contestant David Vasquez of Cambrian Karts continued his dominance in Region 11 and took control early. David Vasquez has a bright future ahead of him. Laid down fast laps all race long and won by a margin of 3.8 seconds. Timothy Weddle was second and Nick Vicusi came home third.

Next race is at Shasta Kart Club in Redding CA April 28-29. Norcal Karters. will be on hand to provide up to day info.