7-14-10 Raquel Martinez WSK World Series Portugal Report

“Martinez Makes European Debut”

Less than two weeks ago California native Raquel Martinez made the trip across the pond to compete in her first European karting event.  She chose the world’s largest stage for this occasion in that being the WSK World Series, which is a three race series, held on three continents.  Round one was held at the brand new Circuito do Algarve in Portugal where she joined the Factory Top Kart team.

Raquel and the team arrived at the track Wednesday morning to prep for the opening day of practice.  The first two sessions of the day were spent breaking in the IAME engines while learning the track.  After lunch Raquel started to pickup the pace as the team began to work on the setup.  By the end of day one Raquel had learned a lot and was taking her time learning how to drive the Dunlop tires and on a very grippy track.  Qualifying was set for Thursday evening and Raquel qualified in 30^th position for the heat races.  In heat one Raquel was up to 18^th position when on the last lap an on track incident forced her to finish in 30^th.  Heat number two started off the same way with Raquel getting off to a great start and moving up 20^th until another incident occurred, which put her back to 27^th position.  Each heat race she continued to improve and the team was looking forward to the last heat race, but a popped chain forced her retirement.

On Sunday the thirty four kart field lined up for the prefinal where Raquel moved up early in the race.  Around half way the driver behind Raquel lost his brakes and hit her off the track.  Raquel was able to continue, but fell in 27^th position.  The final was a tough race, but Raquel was up for the challenge and put on her best performance of the weekend when it counted.  Raquel moved up to 20^th position with about five laps to go and caught a group in front of her looking to improve a few more positions.  Unfortunately an incident ended the race under caution giving Raquel a top 20 in her debut race.

“I feel like I have learned more in just this one week than I have all year,” stated Martinez.  “Every lap I learned something new and I can not wait until my next race in Europe.  I am also very happy with the result as we achieved every goal we had set including a top twenty finish in my first International race.”

This coming weekend “Rocky” will be heading back to Europe to compete in the very competitive Italian Open Masters series, which races across Italy.  Raquel will once again be competing in the KF3 category.  The team plans four to five more trips to Europe this year to prepare for the 2011 season.

For more information please visit www.raquelmartinez.com.  After her trip to Italy for the Italian Open Masters series Raquel will return to the states to compete in round three of the WSK North America series presented by CKI.  Raquel would also like to thank her sponsors King Taco, Pepsi, P1 Engines, Grand Products, Top Kart, RLV, Bridgestone, DWT, Alpinestars, MLP Imaging, Troy Lee Designs, Bell Helmets, Graphix Plus and PKS Kart Supplies.

6-28-10 IKF 2 Cycle Grand Nationals Day 4 Action
Story & Photos By RaceMediaGroup.com

After three great days of racing, the Final day of the 2010 2-cycle Grand Nationals at Willow Springs Kart Club proved to be a true finale hosted by Willow Springs and TiMi Promotions. Drivers working towards Duffy’s all weekend knew it was the last opportunity to grab the prestigious trophy and some karters had entered three classes to raise their odds. Additionally the most special trophy offered by IKF, the Lake Speed award, would be handed out and all eyes were awaiting the presentation following the week’s events.

First up was the Sr. Super Sportsman Heavy category sponsored by BKS Racing Engines and Scott Saunders got fast time and the Screaming eagle with a flying lap of 47.883. In the heat race Felkins got hung out on the start allowing Saunders to jump out to a big lead. Around Halfway second through fifth all got together sidelining Bryan Eady and Leland Holden. Felkins lost several positions allowing Saunders to cruise to victory. With two fast drivers coming from the back, the anticipation for great racing was strong. On the opening turn Saunders jumped out to the lead. Eady got to sixth by turn 2 got together with Felkins ending both their races. Leland Holden made a stellar run through the pack to take over the second place late. Saunders got the win but was removed from Post race tech giving the win to Holden. Bronson Eggert finished second with Colby Wright, Brian Gallagher and Ryan Casner finishing the top five.

The Kartel Motorsports Jr 1 Comer took to the track and Parker Thompson grabbed the Screaming Eagle and fast time with a 50.209. In the heat Race Colton Herta and Curt Paul Jumped out to an early lead. Paul made a mistake and got fed to the Wolves fighting for second and dropped back. Herta got the win with Thompson second for the front row in the Main. On the start of the Final Herta jumped out once again with Paul on his tail after getting through traffic. The two worked together to pull away from the field. With 6 laps to go Herta had spindle issues causing him to drive off the track. This allowed Curt Paul to pull away to an uncontested victory and his first IKF Duffy. Parker Thompson was second with Zane Smith winning the battle for third. Blaine Rocha and Davey Manthei Jr were the rest of the top five.

IKF TAG Sr. sponsored by Russell Karting was the fastest class of the weekend and Bobby Kelley set fast time for the Screaming Eagle with a 44.602 lap. Bobby Kelley got the jump on the start with Felkins in tow. The two ran away from the field with Felkins staying close to his bumper looking like what would setup a close race to the Duffy. The start of the Final looked the same with both jumping out to a big lead. As laps wound down Kelley began pulling away and he cruised to a 1.5 second lead and the Duffy.

The Jr 2 KPV category sponsored by TNR Motorsports had one driver looking for his fifth Duffy of the weekend. Driver Jake Craig had won four Duffy’s already on the weekend and was looking for his fifth. He was off to a good start with winning the screaming Eagle with a fast time of 46.116. On the start of the Final David Vasquez jumped out to the lead. Vasquez paced the field running fast laps with Craig right with him. Vasquez got sideways and let  Craig by but pushed him across the line for the two to start together on the front row of the Duffy race. On the start of the Final Vasquez went spinning and Craig inherited the lead. Austin Elliott stayed close and put the pressure on the leader but as the checkered flew Craig worked himself a 1.271 second victory. Elliott was a solid second with Brandon Reed, Jason Hannegan and Sonny Cervelli the top five.

Last race on the weekend was KPV-4 Sponsored by Pro Kart Shop and Nick Johnston set fast time for the Screaming Eagle with a 46.354. In the heat Johnston looked like he had the race in hand with an easy victory. On the start of the Final Johnston again got the jump and began to pull away. Five laps in Kolby Araki found Johnston’s bumper and the two began working together. As laps wound down the battle became a four kart battle with Robby Harryman and Matt Johnson joining the train. Last lap Araki pulled the trigger in turn eight leaving one hairpin left before the checkered. Johnston dove back to the inside with Araki crossing him up with a drag race to the line. Araki got his second Duffy of the weekend and Harryman followed through to second. Johnston fell to third with Johnson and Felkins finishing the top five.

After the last trophy presentations of the night, previous Lake Speed award winners Matt Johnson, Jesus Vasquez, and Nick Johnston presented the award to the 2010 winner. A real heartfelt speech by Matt Johnson reminded how important Karting was for the development of young drivers, but the amount of Fun as well. Johnson the first winner of the award, happily named the 2010 Lake Speed Achievement award to five time Duffy winner of the 2010 Grand Nationals Jake Craig, then stated the importance of sportsmanship for prerequisites to be chosen for the award.

In closing the Willow Springs Kart Club and TiMi Promotions did a perfected job at hosting the 2-cycle grand nationals. The track itself lends itself to passing and close racing, however adding the extra allure of “under the lights racing” brought cooler weather and less wind. The cooler temperatures provided more grip on the track and the racing became even closer. The 2011 2-Cycle Grand Nationals are at CalSpeed by Karting Ventures and the bar was set high by TiMi Promotions. Videos and pictures by Race Media Group will be uploaded and can be seen on WestCoastKarters.com

6-26-10 IKF 2 Cycle Grand Nationals Day 3 Action
Story & Photos By RaceMediaGroup.com

The first two days of the 2010 IKF 2-Cycle Grand Nationals from Willow Springs Kart Club was in the books and competitors were back for day three. Many competitors had run well all week but hadn’t yet gotten the luck needed to come away with the IKF Duffy. The third day was by far the windiest day creating a high number of damaged tents and playing havoc with the Live Audio podcast reception. The wind also created a different environment for the racers in that the head and tail winds played a key role in gearing and setup. Tech ran late and into the early morning with several DQ’s jumbling the original on track results.

First up was the Tony Kart West Jr 1 KPV and Zane Smith grabbed his third Screaming Eagle of the weekend with a fast time of 48.982. In the heat race Smith jumped out to a huge lead early and continued throughout the race. With the green flag waving to begin the 18 lap final, Smith immediately tried to jump out to a big lead, however this time Colton Herta was in position to stay with him and the two sped away. Herta stayed perfectly content with running second for the entire race while the train of 8 karts all battled for the third position. As laps wound down the question was when Herta was going to pull the trigger and make the pass on Smith to go to the top spot. The white flag was in the air and Smith hit his marks to perfection to pull a two kart length gap over Herta to win another Duffy. Herta stayed second with Christian Brooks winning the race for third followed by Jake Drew and Brenden Baker.

One of the first announcements of the day was that the RLV sponsored Jr 2 PRD was in jeopardy of not having enough Karts to be eligible for a Duffy. Once the announcement was made that the class needed more entries the competitors got together and filled the field. Jason Hannegen made his first appearance felt by capturing the Screaming Eagle with running a fast time of 45.545 in qualifying. Hannegan got the early lead in the heat race but Jake Craig continued his dominance in the JR 2 classes and took over the lead before halfway. Hannegan stayed close until the end. On the start of the Final Hannegan got shuffled back and Craig once again jumped out to a huge lead. Craig went on to win his fourth Duffy of the weekend with ease. Juan Esteban had a great run to finish second, however he was removed from post race technical inspection for the wrong reeds. Hannegan bumped up the second position with Slater Stowell, Luis Tyrrell and Haley Jenni finishing the podium positions.

PRD Spec Sr Heavy Division sponsored by PRD USA took to the track and Nick Johnston grabbed fast time with a 45.722 capturing the Screaming Eagle. Johnston and Brett Felkins were the class of the field pulling away from the rest of the karts. In the Final the two pulled away again. Felkins sat in second for almost the whole race awaiting the right time to pull the trigger. With around five laps to go Johnston’s handling went away and Felkins pulled the trigger to pass Johnston. The two went back and forth until Felkins made the pass in the turn four and five combination to deny Johnston the opportunity to cross him up and get the position back. Felkins pulled 10 kart lengths on Nick in the last few laps to win his first IKF Duffy of the weekend.  Felkins got DQ’d in post race tech and Johnston was bumped to the Duffy winner.  Erik Jackson was second with Luis Martinez Jr., Justin Coplen and Max Freyebend the top five.

Jr 2 Super Sportsman sponsored by K&P Manufacturing and Margay products was on track and Jake Craig once again looked to capitalize on his track performance and grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a fast time of 46.748. Jake Craig continued to dominate the Jr 2 divisions with the heat race win. There was a close battle for the second position between several drivers setting up quite the race for the Main. On the start of the Final Craig opened up a big lead.  Austin Elliott and David Vasquez battled hard for most of the race for the second position and with five laps to go Austin took the position over for good. Jake Craig got his fourth Duffy of the weekend with Elliott coming home second.  Vasquez finished third with Brandon reed and Luis Tyrrell finishing the top five.

Last of the day was the BKS Racing Engines Sr Super Sportsman Heavy and Brett Felkins grabbed the fast time and Screaming Eagle with a 46.621 0.724 over second place. Felkins was dominating in the heat race while there were several great races throughout the field. On the start of the Final Bryan Eady got spun in the third starting position and this collected several drivers from upfront. While Felkins checked out, many fast drivers worked their way up through the field.  Bronson Eggert made a great run up to the second position. Felkins got the win but was removed from technical inspection and this handed the win over to Eggert for his first Duffy. Leland Holden came second with Bryan Eady made a nice run through the field to third. Colby Wright and Kyle Vallarino finished off the top five.

There are one more days left of the IKF 2 Cycle Grand National racing. Tune in to Live audio of the event at WestCoastKarters.com with Chris Scribner on the Microphone bringing the play by play. Videos and pictures by Race Media Group will be uploaded and can be seen on WestCoastKarters.com

6-25-10 IKF 2 Cycle Grand Nationals Day 2 Action

Day one of the 2010 IKF 2-cycle Grand Nationals was in the books and Willow Springs Kart Club was poised to make Day Two of the four day event as organized and successful as Day One. The wind once again came up early in the day as the competitors hit the track for practice. The sun shined bright into the eyes of the racers but finally slipped behind the mountain, the weather cooled, the wind died down and Willow Springs Kart track once again proved the race ability with its layout.  The spectators were anxiously awaiting on the front straight fence line the last turn and the drag race to the line in every race.

Kid Karts get two days of racing at the IKF Grand Nationals and Kid Kart Heavy sponsored by Mike Manning Karting was on track for their second day of racing. Hudson Morrow bounced back from his runner up finish the day before by grabbing the Screaming Eagle in Qualifying with a lap of 1:02.446. In the Pre Final Morrow led most of the race but was challenged by Norcal Hotshoe Zach Corbitt. On the start of the final Corbitt got shuffled back and began to endure engine troubles while Morrow sped away to a quick lead. As laps wound down the Day One’s Duffy winner Anthony Willis and Luis Ortiz began putting the pressure on the leader. With two laps to go the two got together losing several positions and this allowed Morrow to run the last few laps uncontested to victory. Myles Farhan came home second with Hayden Wagner, Derek Deslauriers and Tomas Mejia round out the top five.

Jr 1 Comer sponsored by Pitts Performance was on track and Colton Herta grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a quick lap of 50.336. Herta was quick in the heat race but on the last lap coming to the checkered flag, the top three karts of Herta, Parker Thompson and Zane Smith all made contact sending Herta off track and Thompson the win.  Herta would have to start from the back for the Final and Jake Drew inherited the pole starting position. From the drop of the green it was apparent the race would have several karts in the running for the Duffy. The lead pack had seven karts all in tow with many lead changes. Around halfway Davey Manthei took over the lead and began to show his strength. While all the racing was going on no one seemed to notice the drive put in by Day One’s Duffy winner Colton Herta. Herta started 21^st on the field. Herta broke into the top ten by lap 9 and with six laps to go he was running fourth. Once he caught the leaders the young pilot backed off and ran with the leaders pace which it was believed the driver was saving his tires.  When the white flag flew Herta pulled the trigger on Brenden Baker for third. In the final Turn Parker Thompson dove to the inside of Manthei. The two went side-by-side drag racing to the line. As they touched they lost a bit of momentum and this allowed Herta to join the race to the line. With video and three sets of eyes it was still too close to call. Scoring rewarded the Duffy to Colton Herta by .006 over Thompson. Manthei came home third with Brenden Baker and Jake Drew capping off the podium.

KPV-2 sponsored by TiMi Promotions was next up and Jake Craig was fresh off his Day One performance which included a Duffy and set fast time with a 46.472. In the heat Race Austin Elliott could stay with Craig as he set fast time nearly every lap. On the start of the Final Craig found himself in second position for the first time on the weekend after Elliott made a stellar move on the outside of turn one to take the lead. As the drivers began to settle in Craig got passed Elliott. By halfway Craig had opened up a big lead over the field and the race once again became for second. The driver on the move was Halet Jenni who started 12^th. Jenni made late braking maneuvers on every driver she came across and moved into a commanding second place with just a few laps to go. Craig rolled to another easy victory for his second Duffy on the weekend with Jenni securing second. Austin Elliott came home third with Luis Tyrrell and Carlee Taylor finishing off the top five.

IAME Cup sponsored by Italian Motors was up next and Dylan Nobile grabbed fast time with a 45.145. In the heat race the drivers could stay close to Nobile in the early laps, but as tires got hot and setups came in Nobile would pull away. Scary moment halfway through the heat when TJ Fischer lost brakes and went steaming through two sets of Crash Bales and into chain link fence brought out the red. Nobile got the win and the pole for the Duffy race. On the start of the Final Nobile once again pulled away to a commanding lead. The karts started to drop off as attrition began to play a major part leaving only two karts left running at the Checkered. Nobile got the Duffy with Jon Ban finishing second.  Cory Gwin finished third, TJ Fischer fourth and Scott Saunders.

The last class up on the night was the Haddock LTD KPV-3  Sr. and Brett Felkins set fast time with a lap of 46.213 half a second over the 2^nd place qualifier. In the pre-final Felkins cruised to an uncontested win. On the start of the Final however as Felkins pulled away he had the company of Nick Johnston. The two pulled out to a big lead with only swapping the lead a few times. With three laps to go Johnston pulled the trigger in the downhill hairpin. Nick over shot the turn and Brett crossed him back up to take the position back. This dropped Johnston nearly a second behind Felkins. In the last two laps Johnston got up on the wheel and as the two ran down the downhill back shoot they were nose to tail. In the last hairpin Johnston dove to the inside. Felkins again crossed him up and made a drag race to the line. Johnston edged out Brett by 0.104 for the Duffy. Matt Johnson was third with Robby Harryman fourth, CJ Mooneyham had a great run to fifth.

There are two more days left of the IKF 2 Cycle Grand National racing. Tune in to Live audio of the event at WestCoastKarters.com with Chris Scribner on the Microphone bringing the play by play. Videos and pictures by Race Media Group will be uploaded and can be seen on WestCoastKarters.com

6-24-10 IKF 2 Cycle Grand Nationals Day 1 Action
Source RaceMediaGroup.com

The 2010 IKF Grand Nationals kicked off their first day of racing action at Willow Springs Kart club in Rosamond Ca and five drivers came home with Duffy’s and a National Championship in IKF Competition. Willow Springs Kart track is one that lends itself to close side-by-side racing and rewards the smoothest of drivers and the best in the business in Kart Chassis setup.

The AIM Sports Kid Kart category was first up on Wednesday and Carson Enright grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a time of 1:01.023. In the PreFinal, Enright went to the top spot right from the drop of the green flag. He had company up front as the top four all were nose to tail battling for the lead. As laps wound down there was no change for position as the front pack stayed in draft. As the white flag flew Myles Farhan made a run at the lead. Enright and Farhan traded tire marks which slowed the two and allowed Anthony Willis to take advantage coming to the flag. Willis got the win and would start pole for the Final with Farhan alongside. As the green flag flew for the start of the final, the inside line got the jump and as they completed a lap there was already a three kart breakaway with Willis leading and Hudson Morrow and Enright in tow. The race upfront stayed single file for most of the race, with four laps to go Morrow attempted to pass for the lead, but Willis closed the door and caused Morrow to check up which allowed Willis to build a gap. As the White Flag flew the leader Willis had looked to be good enough to secure the Victory, however Morrow made a great run to catch Willis. Morrow again went to make the pass on Willis, and the result was the same. Anthony Willis held on to the Checkered for the Win and the First Duffy of 2010. Morrow was second with Wyatt Wyllie third. Cody Dempster and Tomas Mejia capped the top five.

Second up was the Courtney Concepts Rookie Sportsman and Zane Smith grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a fast time of 49.479. In the PreFinal the battle upfront was with the top four karts. There were several lead changes with the top four all taking their turn at the lead. As the checkered flew Jake Drew was the winner and would start pole for the Final. The green flag was waving for the start of the Main and five drivers pulled away in a hurry. Once again the top five all took their turns at leading. Parker Thompson worked his way up after a Qualifying DQ and was able to take his turn at the lead. As laps wound down Davey Manthei was the driver leading the pack and was doing a good job keeping the rest of the drivers at bay. Last turn Zane Smith dove to the inside of Manthei with the two rubbing tires heavily. This slowed the two and allowed Colton Herda to outrun both drivers to the line for the win and the IKF Duffy. Manthei came home second with Smith, Thompson and Jake Drew finishing the top five.

The Leatt Brace Jr Super Sportsman Heavy was on track and Jake Craig got the Screaming Eagle with a fast time of 46.694. In the heat race Craig walked the field and proved to be the driver to beat. On the start of the Final Craig jumped out the lead with Brandon Reed in tow. It looked as if Reed may have had something for Craig, but as the race progressed, Craig opened up a huge lead putting on an absolutely dominate Driving clinic. The battle was for fourth. Last lap a few drivers went spinning shaking things up. Jake Craig drove to the Duffy with Brandon Reed second. David Vasquez, Sonny Cervelli and Jarred Campbell finished the top five.

The Brochelle Vineyards Jr 1 KPV Heavy was up next and Zane Smith grabbed his second Screaming Eagle of the day with a time of 48.834. In the Heat Race Smith flexed his muscles driving to an easy victory while the race for second was getting heated with seven karts all swapping the position. On the start of the Final Smith jumped out to a big lead right from the get go leaving the battle once again for second.  Parker Thompson, Brenden Baker and Davey Manthei all battled for second. This battle raged on with positions swapping for the entire 18 lap race. Zane Smith ran to an 8 second victory and the prestigious Duffy. Parker Thompson won the battle for second, Brenden Baker, Davey Manthei, and Lindsey Frier capped the top five.

Last up on the day was the Scribner Plastics PRD Sr and Kolby Araki got fast time and the Screaming Eagle with a time of 45.393. Araki jumped out to an early lead at the beginning of the Pre Final, however the driver on the move was Brett Felkins. Felkins made quick work of the top five karts and began to run down Araki. As the white flag flew Felkins was close enough to smell the exhaust of the Araki. As they crossed the line for the checkered the two were nose to tail setting up a great battle in the Main. On the start of the Final Felkins made a great outside move on Araki to lead lap one. Araki got shuffled back and Felkins was able to open up a 7 second lead on the field. Araki worked his way back to second and set his sights on the Leader Felkins. With four laps to go Araki found the rear bumper of Felkins. Brett then lost a throttle cable and began working the throttle by hand. This allowed Araki to roll to the victory. Both Dylan Nobile and Nick Johnston made runs through the field to finish second and third, Felkins held on to fourth after his throttle troubles while Matt Johnson finished fifth.

There are three more days left of the IKF 2 Cycle Grand National racing. Tune in to Live audio of the event at WestCoastKarters.com with Chris Scribner on the Microphone bringing the play by play. Videos and pictures by Race Media Group will be uploaded and can be seen on WestCoastKarters.com

6-17-10 Race Media Group - 2-Cycle IKF Grand Nationals

Race Media Group is poised to cover the IKF 2-Cycle Grand Nationals at Willow Springs Raceway next week hosted by Timi Promotions. RMG will be on hand providing Live coverage of the event through WestCoastKarters.com with live sound and results of the event as it takes place.

RMG is no stranger to Kart Racing and live media, as the Media team has covered several highly attended races with Live video and sound in years past as the team has been put at the forefront of Race Media with several different avenues for Racers Promotional and Media obligations. In addition, to the exclusive media provider, RMG is also the exclusive Photographer of the event. The group will be on hand all week providing top of the line coverage of the event with daily updates as the action takes place. RMG will also be offering numerous discounts on products to the racers as the race week progresses through the National Event.

Daily updates on the racing action and the results will be available on WestCoastKarters.com and Ekartingnews.com. Live coverage of the event through Sound Podcast will be exclusive on WestCoastKarters.com. For more information on Race Media Group please visit www.RaceMediaGroup.com . The National Event Photos will be posted to http://scribnerracingpromotions.zenfolio.com/

6-22-10 RLOKC Karting Championship Race Preview

Race #4 of the Red Line Oil Karting Championship (RLOKC) returns to the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway on Sunday, June 27th with the new race day format introduced last month consisting of one practice session, Qualifying, two Pre-Mains a final Main event. The new format went over well with the racers last month and will remain the race day format for the remainder of the year. This month's track configuration will be the tough Reverse Sprint track.

New for this month will be the addition of a new class, 125 Stock Moto Masters for drivers thirty-five and older. This class will run in the same race group with the Rotax DD2 class but will be scored separately with separate awards. The class minimum weight is 400 pounds. Other spec items are MOJO D3 tires, VP98 fuel and Red Line 2 Cycle Kart Oil.

The GoPro featured class this month is the Rotax Masters/Masters Light race group. GoPro is sponsoring a featured class each month with a GoPro Hero mini onboard camera. The overall winner of the featured class takes home the GoPro Hero camera. The Rotax Masters/Masters Light races have produced large fields and tight racing all year. After taking a month off, Masters driver Andre Eriksen has his work cut out for him to take the win over the top Lights drivers including the May overall class winner Mary Beth Wilson.

Look for another battle royal in Senior Rotax with May winner Jordan Jadallah expecting a tough challenge from May runner-up Carlos Calderon. There are some strong challenges developing right behind these two top competitors with Donavon Wheeler, Amber Friedberg and Matt Weiss all showing improved speed. Jadallah is coming off a June ProKart North TaG win where he demonstrated the competitiveness of Rotax power.

The Italian Motors IAME TaG class will have new spec gear ratios for this race on the Reverse Sprint track configuration:

370# minimum weight 10-77 or 11-84
385# minimum weight 10-78 or 11-86
400# minimum weight 10-80 or 11-88

With nine competitors last month, the TaG class is shaping up to be one of the better classes to watch.

A strong and competitive field is expected again this month in the Mini Max class (ages 9 to 12 years). The May race had four different drivers taking the lead in the races with six drivers in the mix all race day long. May race winner Gino Gigliotti is expected to return and challenge points leaders Cole Davis, Michael Michoff and Michael Avansino. Micro Max and Junior Rotax continue to draw young, up and coming drivers to the national Rotax Challenge program.

Practice starts at 8:30 AM on Sunday with qualifying at 9:30 AM and racing at 10:45 AM. Entry fee is $100; Pit Passes are $10, kids eleven and under are $5. Practice, Pre-Registration, and Pre-Tech are available from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Saturday. Click these links to download the race registration form and race day schedule.

For more information about the Red Line Oil Karting Championship, go to www.cameronkarting.com , www.norcalrotax.com or contact race director Ric Shaw at racedirector-ric@hotmail.com.

The Red Line Oil Karting Championship is supported with over $20,000 of prizes and awards from the sponsors below.
 

6-21-10 Brett Felkins challenge on the IKF 2-Cycle Grand Nationals
Source Noesis-factor Photo by Race Media Group

 NorCal Driver Brett Felkins readies for the IKF Grand Nationals and plans to carry his successful 2010 momentum on his quest for national championship glory!  In 2009 Felkins won a Screaming Eagle and wants to top that off with the same and more – a prized Duffy.

Felkins Intrepid Chassis with Leading Edge Motorsports (LEM) engine power and sponsors Diede Construction; Champion Racing Felkins have teamed up with Noesis-factor and RMG - Race Media Group to provide exclusive image coverage of Brett Felkins at the event.

Race Media Group is also poised to cover the IKF 2-Cycle Grand Nationals at Willow Springs Raceway hosted by Timi Promotions. RMG will be on hand providing live coverage of the event through WestCoastKarters.com with live sound and results of the event as it takes place. Daily updates on the racing action and the results will be available on www.westcoastkarters.com.

Kevin Felkins understands that, "In kart racing, there is nowhere to hide and the stop watch never lies” - that's what makes our sport so demanding and yet so endlessly fascinating.

Kevin Felkins (a.k.a. The Professor) made his name not only as a skilled and disciplined boat racing driver/designer and world record holder builder with his company www.canyonboatstm.com - but also as a pragmatic kart team manager with the inspiration, vision and determination to take on and beat the greatest teams in Karting.

Nonetheless, Felkins began the IKF Region 11 season with huge determination to assert ourselves at the forefront of our racing events and we will not rest for a moment until we have done that. Most importantly, we haven't forgotten how to win – capturing 5 podiums with 4 wins in a row in Sr. Sportsman".

For additional information on “Brett Felkins” visit our recently hosted Noesis-factor website presence at www.brettfelkins.com for all the latest updates, partnerships, synergies, images and stories

5-19-10 Raquel Martinez WSK North American Phoenix Report

“Martinez sweeps KF3”

It may still be spring, but it sure felt like summer for round two of the WSK North America Series held at the PKRA facility in Phoenix, Arizona.  With temperatures in the high 90’s the drivers and equipment were be tested and pushed to the max.

Friday was the coolest day of the weekend and Raquel showed speed in both TaG Jr. and KF3.  First up Saturday was KF3 and Raquel grabbed pole position in convincing fashion.  After winning the prefinal Raquel went on to win final taking home her first win of the season.  In TaG Jr. Raquel qualified in 5^th position and went on to finish fourth in the prefinal.  In the final she battled hard falling back to 6^th at one point in the race, but was able to advance back to the 4^th position by the checkered flag.

Once again on Sunday Raquel qualified on pole in KF3, but the prefinal was different.  Raquel led early but a couple of mistakes cost her first position crossing the line in 2^nd.  At the start of the final Raquel fell to 4^th but slowly and methodically worked her way back up to lead where should never looked back taking her second win of the weekend and the overall champion.  With the sweep of the weekend she took over the points lead.  TaG Jr. started off great as well with a 3^rd place qualifying effort.  In the prefinal Raquel took the lead early on, but fell to 7^th on the final lap from 5^th.  The final did not get off to a great start with Raquel being forced wide in turn two and falling back outside of the top ten.  As the kart came in she made her way to the front setting fast time multiple times throughout the race ending up in 5^th position.

“This was an amazing weekend an,” stated Martinez.  “I can’t thank Corey Pollock and Chris Wehrheim enough for giving me one of the best karts I have ever driven all weekend.  My Vortex from Reaction Karting and Swedetech was a missile all weekend and could pass at will down the straights.  I am looking forward to racing KF3 in Portugal next!”

For more information please visit www.raquelmartinez.com.  Next up for the team is the second round of the Rotax Pan Am series at New Castle Motorsports Park.  Raquel would also like to thank her sponsors King Taco, Pepsi, P1 Engines, Grand Products, Top Kart, RLV, Bridgestone, DWT, Alpinestars, MLP Imaging, Troy Lee Designs, Bell Helmets, Graphix Plus and PKS Kart Supplies

6-21-10 RLOKC Adds 125 Stock Moto Masters to Racing Lineup

The Red Line Oil Karting Championship (RLOKC) is adding yet another class to the 2010 racing line up at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. The new class is a 125 Stock Moto Masters class for drivers 35 years and older. "We have had requests for this class from current and former 125 Masters drivers", says series promoter Steve Cameron. "The addition of this class broadens the scope of the RLOKC with the national Rotax Challenge classes being highly competitive classes and the 80 Shifter, IAME TaG and now 125 Stock Moto Masters for club racers. We want to make sure the club racer has a great place to race and enjoy the sport of karting by being able to compete on these high profile weekends with the national Rotax Challenge classes."

The 125 Stock Moto Masters class will use the common stock moto engine specs with the use of the 14" silencer and three hole airbox (a requirement at the Jim Russell International Karting Center).

Additional class specs:
Minimum weight: 400 pounds
Fuel: VP 98
Tire: MOJO D3
Oil: Red Line 2 Cycle Kart Oil

The 125 Stock Moto Masters class will run in the same race group with the Rotax DD2 class karts. Both of these karts are similar in speed and will both be on the same tire. 125 Stock Moto Masters and Rotax DD2 classes will run for separate awards and points.

The next Red Line Oil Karting Championship race is Sunday, June 27th on the Reverse Sprint track configuration. Additional races are scheduled for July 25th, August 29th, September 26th and October 24th. The RLOKC race entry fee is $100, $10 transponder rental fee and $10 pit pass fee for all other crew and spectators ($5 for kids eleven and under). The Jim Russell International Karting Center offers practice on the Saturday prior to each race from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM for a fee of $50.

If you have questions or want to get pre-registration material for the June 27th race, contact race director Ric Shaw at: racedirector-ric@hotmail.com or go to www.cameronkarting.com

6-17-10 Northern Nevada Kart Club Championship Points Race #3 Action is in the Books

Championship point’s race #3 is in the books, as Desert Park Raceway in Reno, NV was the spot to be last weekend.  The weather was a spectacular 76-degree all day long with little wind.  The club saw it’s biggest turnout in close to 10 years with a whopping 91 total entries!!!

Up on the A grid and ready to hit the track were the Kid Karts.   5 drivers came out for this.  Santino Gigliotti grabbed fast time with a blistering lap of 1:15 sec followed closely by Nolan Wyman’s 1:19.  The first heat would see all the kids racing around.  Gigliotti and Wyman would have a terrific battle all day.  Gavin Van Cott, Bank Sombatsiri and Greg Kennedy would also throw down some good times as well throughout the day.  In the main, Gigliotti would cross the finish line ahead of Wyman, Van Cott, Sombatsiri and Kennedy.  Great day of racing for these little guys as they all walked away with big trophies!

It was a special day for the Formula 80 Senior gang.  Tyler Wamre, who is newly enlisted into the United States Marine Corps, will be leaving to boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in sunny San Diego, Ca.  Wamre wanted to make sure he got one last hoorah in a Go-Kart so he put together an 80 Shifter to come play with the big boys.  The day started off with the unstoppable Kevin Tanaka grabbing pole with a blistering time of 49.1 followed by Mike Botelho’s 49.7.  Heat 1 would see Tanaka grab point and lead from start to finish.  Botelho and Cody McKinney would both be able to squeeze by Mark Nason by lap 6.  That’s how they would finish the heat.  Heat 2 invert saw McKinney take the holeshot and lead start to finish.  Tanaka would come from P6 to P2 in 6 laps.  Botelho would settle into third nicely.  The top 3 of McKinney, Tanaka and Botelho would finish less than 8/10’s of a second from one another.  That brought the main event to full circle.  Tanaka would sit on pole with McKinney along side.  The green dropped and Tanaka would take the point.  Botelho would get by McKinney by the laps end.  Nason would then pass McKinney for 3^rd.  McKinney would end up a DNF due to mechanical problems shortly after.  That’s how they would finish with Tanaka taking the checkers for 1^st, followed by Botelho and Nason in 2^nd and 3^rd, respectfully.  Tyler Wamre would end up in 7^th and NNKC would like to say, OOHRAH DEVIL DOG!!!  Go get em!

Jr 1-2 Cycle was next up as 9 driver came out to play in the sun.  Leading things off were Cambrian driver Gino Gigliotti.  He would grab the pole at a fast 57.2 seconds.  Cambrians other driver in the field, local Garrett Dixon’s 57.5 was good enough for second best.  The first heat saw Gigliotti give up the lead to Dixon by Turn 2.  Dixon would lead from start to finish.  Gigliotti would hold onto 2^nd followed closely by Jeremy Kay in 3^rd.  That’s how the heat would end.  The drivers were now ready for the invert in heat 2.  Scott Huffaker would start on pole only to see Dixon come through the pack in a lap and grab the P1 spot.  Huffaker would settle in 2^nd nicely.  That left the battle for 3^rd between Gigliotti and Kay.  Gigliotti would pass Kay on lap 7 for P3.  Kay would finish in 4^th.  All the while in the back, there was a great battle going on with Turbo Sombatsiri, Richard Stock and Isaac Wyett.  They would finish the heat in that order.  The main event rolled around and the pressure to perform was on.  The green flag dropped and all the kids went barreling into turn 1-2.  Gigliotti would take the P1 followed by Dixon.  Huffaker would hook his outside rear wheel on the exit of Turn 2 and loop his kart, stalling his motor.  His race would end right there.  Then another pile up occurred on the same lap, same turn sending Richard Stock out of the race with arm injuries.  Dean Andrews would be collected in the mess as well ending his day too.  Once the carnage was cleared out, the leaders came roaring by with Dixon making the pass on Gigliotti for the lead down the straightaway.  Kay would see this as an opportunity himself and power his way by Gigliotti on the next lap.  Kay was not through yet as he would waste no time making a pass on Dixon down the straight the lap after that.  These two have been battling clean all year long.  Kay would hold off Dixon at the line by 1/10 of a second!!!  This would earn Kay his first victory at the club level in Jr 1 racing.  Congrats Jeremy!  Dixon would take 2^nd, Gigliotti 3^rd, followed by Sombatsiri in 4^th and Connor Van Cott in 5^th.

The class of the day belonged to the Box Stock Clones, F-200’s and Jr Clones.  32 karts showed up for this jamboree.  Scott Smith with an F200 would take a fast time of 56.2 followed by Brad Wunder with a World Formula of 58.2.  These 2 were out front every race and finished 1-2 all day, every heat in that order.  The Jr Clones consisted of 3 drivers.  Logan Wyman, Nicky Prichard and newcomer Nola Vella would come out with their karts for this race.   Wyman would grab pole over Prichard by a full second.  The first heat would see Wyman and Prichard mixing and dicing with the other Senior Clone drivers.  Vella would gain some good experience throughout the day in her first race.  Heat 2 saw the same as heat 1 for these three drivers as they would finish in the same order, Wyman in 1^st, Prichard in 2^nd and Vella in 3^rd.  The main event was nothing different as Wyman would battle with 1^st place Senior driver Rich Huston for the overall trophy.  Wyman was unsuccessful but still did win the Jr Clone class, followed by Prichard and Vella.  The Sr Clones were mixed in with the rest of these groups.  This was by far the largest group NNKC club has put together maybe in its history.  California driver Paul Landry would kick things off with a blistering time of 59.2 followed by fellow friend Karl Cleeton’s 59.3.   The first heat would see Landry, Cleeton and Reno’s Terry West pull away from the field easily.  They would put 12 seconds on the 4^th place kart of Ray Andrews.  That’s how they would finish.  Heat 2 shared the same racing, but this time it was T. West piloting his Clone to the front.  Cleeton would follow closely in 2^nd.  These guys were nearly making passes every other turn as you can imagine what having 32 karts on the track is like: Madness!!  Landry would pass Andrews on lap 7 and take 3^rd place followed by Andrews in 4^th.  That set the stage for the main.  The karts roar could be heard a mile away.  All 31 karts took the green flag in crazy fashion reminiscent of the huge Nationals race here last year.  By lap 1, Huston was in the lead and he would never look back.  T. West and Landry would have a battle for 2^nd with Landry finally overtaking T. West on lap 6.  Cleeton would move up in the field passing karts left and right to finally make his way to 4^th.  He would eventually get by T. West on lap 10 for 3^rd position.  That’s how they would end: Huston 1^st, Landry 2^nd, Cleeton 3^rd, T. West 4^th and Dave Schilt 5^th.  We thank all the drivers for coming over the hill; the NFRA gang and Reno’s fine Clone drivers for making this a huge race.  Most of them will be back Saturday July 10, 2010 for the Da$h for Ca$h event.

TaG Masters set out to continue what has been a very successful start to the season.  The class is averaging 10 karts a race right now.  Qualifying would see Brian Rivera take pole with a blistering lap of 49.9 over Nick Wadlow’s 50.8.  The first heat saw Wadlow grab the lead out of turn 2.  His position was short lived, as Rivera would take it from him on lap 2.  Rivera would win the heat followed by Wadlow and Dan Harris.  Heat 2 invert brought about some good racing with these guys.  Derrick DeLong would have pole at the start of the race only to see Harris and Wadlow confiscate that from him by lap 2.  DeLong would DNF on lap 6.  In the mean time, Rivera would start making his way through the field and get past Redline Racing Oil’s Cameron Evans for 3^rd.  He would then pick to off Wadlow deep in turn two for 2^nd.  With one lap to go, Rivera would try to squeeze his kart under Harris but Harris would shut the door.  That’s how they would finish the heat: Harris 1^st, Rivera 2^nd and Wadlow 3^rd.  The main event saw Rivera and Wadlow on the front row.  Wadlow again would power his Rotax to the front for the holeshot.  He would keep the lead for the first lap until Rivera would pass him going into turn 1-2.  Harris would then get by Wadlow in the same corner on the next lap as Wadlow went off the track.  Wadlow’s day would end prematurely.  That left Curt Baker to take the P3 spot and never look back.  That’s how they would finish, Rivera in 1^st, Harris 2^nd, Baker 3^rd. Evans 4^th and Chris McCabe (another solid finish) in 5^th.

HPV-1’s were next up.  All 4 drivers in this field are attached to the Cambrian Go-Kart Team.  They decided to come out and get some good testing in before the IKF race in Reno next month.  Leading it off was Garrett Dixon posting a quick time of 54.9 over Mike Mitchoff’s 55.4.  Dixon would lead from start to finish in the first heat followed by Mitchoff, Gino Gigliotti and Scott Huffaker.  They would stay in this position the entire heat.  The second heat saw Gigliotti take the holeshot only to have Mitchoff snatch the lead by lap 2.  Dixon and Huffaker would also get around Gigliotti for 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively.  As the heat wore on, Dixon would move in closer to the leader Mitchoff and take the lead.  It wasn’t until the white flag lap when Mitchoff decided he wanted his position back and overtook Dixon, taking the checkered flags.  That brought out the main event.  The kids were ready to race and it showed.  Dixon came out strong, grabbed the lead off the get-go and never turned back.  Mitchoff was right behind him in 2^nd.  Huffaker would make the pass on Gigliotti for 3^rd.  Dixon would beat Mitchoff to the line by 5+ seconds.  Great racing for all these kids.  

Formula 80 Masters had 7 drivers ready to race in this event.  Starting it off on the lead foot was Mark Nason with a bullet time of 49.6.  Cody McKinney would position himself on the outside of the front row with a fast time of 49.7.  Nason would start the first heat as the leader and never look back.  The fight early was between Gerry Williams and McKinney.  The 2 would dice until McKinney finally had enough and went by Williams before lap 2.  Steve Dow would have a solid finish coming in behind Williams in the 4^th position.  Heat two saw Dow on the front row.  However it was Ben Fisher who would take the P1 spot and hold it until the last lap, that’s when Gerry Williams would make his move and steal the win on the white flag lap from Fisher.  Nason would be able to get around Dow for 3^rd place.  The main event had the makings of a great finish with these guys.  Nason would take the holeshot with McKinney in tow.  It didn’t take McKinney long before he wanted a piece of the lead.  He would make his pass on Nason by lap 2.  Meanwhile, Fisher would do all he could to hold off Williams for 2^nd.  The two would dice back and forth throughout the race.  Dow would then set his sights on Williams and over take him on lap 12 much to the disgust of Williams.  Up front, Nason was setting up McKinney and made the pass on lap 10.  McKinney would go off the track and have to retire from the race.  That left Nason taking the checkers with Fisher holding on for 2^nd, followed by a strong performance by Dow in 3^rd.

TaG Novice brought out it’s biggest showing of the year with 10 Novice drivers coming out to play at the track.  Once again, and has been the normal, Matt Koerner showed why he is being considered one of the youngest talented drivers in the club.  His pole time of 50.9 topped Sean Doyle’s time of 51.9 by a full second.  Both of these drivers race with their fathers in the same class.  But the first heat belonged to M. Koerner as it has all year.  His father, Tom, would take second position and hold onto it till the end.  Doyle would come from the back (X) and fall into 3^rd place by the end of the heat himself.  The 2^nd heat came along and these guys were looking to race.  T. Koerner would take the holeshot and be followed by M. Koerner.  M. Koerner would make the pass for the lead on lap 4 only to DNF shortly there after.  That left T. Koerner with the lead followed by a surging S. Doyle.  Sean’s dad Rob Doyle would claim the P3 spot.  That’s how that heat would finish.  Of course, that brought along the main event with much anticipation.  As the green flag dropped, T. Koerner would grab the P1 spot and hold it until lap 3.  That’s when S. Doyle would make his pass on T. Koerner.  But immediately following that, M. Koerner would slip by his father and make what would amount to be the winning pass on S. Doyle.  The race ended that way with Matt Koerner taking the checkers for his 3^rd straight win over Tom Koerner by a mere kart length.  Doyle would finish 3^rd followed by Javier Avila in 4^th.  Many of these Novice drivers will be taking off their X for the next race in August.      

F-125’s were the last karts on the track. Mitch Kennedy powered his 125icc to a fast time of 48.0.  Rich Adams in his Stock-Moto would have a fast time of 49.5 followed by Chris McCabe’s 50.3.  The first heat would see Rich Adams have an out of body experience by battling with Mitch Kennedy while both drivers ran around the 48.4 times.  Kennedy would win the icc race.  McCabe would follow in 3^rd place while newcomer John Morgan would take 4^th.  That brought out the main event, as John Morgan would take the holeshot into turn 1-2.  Adams would fight all the way through with Morgan until he was able to pass him on lap 9.  But Morgan wasn’t done yet as he fought Adams all the way down to Turn 3 where he was able to hold him off.  McCabe then would make a pass on Adams as well.  The 3 would latch onto each other bumper to bumper until McCabe would spin out going into Turn 7.  That gave the Stock-Moto win to Morgan followed by Adams and a limping McCabe.    

TaG Senior saw Jess Peterson and Ray Andrews get a little time in on the track.  Peterson is testing for the upcoming IKF race here in Reno.

What an effort by the Northern Nevada Kart Club to pull off such a huge club race.  It’s staff of Shari Dow (Scoring), Sandy Diederich (Reg), Dave Brant (Flagger) and Glenn McKinnon (RD) responded exceptionally well with all the drivers coming through.  We could not have had a race day this big without the help from the NFRA and the Jr 1 karters/dads.  The members and racers of NNKC are proud of the fact that we have one of the top clubs in the Nation right here in Reno Nevada!!  Next up is the Reno IKF Race July 10-11, 2010.  Saturday, July 10 after IKF practice is over, we will have our big Clone Da$h for Ca$h race.  We hope to see you all here.

6-16-10 Toft and Jadallah Score First Wins of Season at Round Four of Prokart Challenge North

Former Stock Moto series champion Toft becomes fourth different winner with Jadallah scoring TaG Senior victory in only second start of season

Event after event, the ProKart Challenge program continues to provide excitement at tracks throughout the state of California. With a month to prepare for this past weekends fourth round of the ProKart Challenge North series, the competitors stepped up to the plate to put on a great show around the Reverse National circuit at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at the Infineon Raceway facility. Never a disappointment is the headline categories of the S1 Pro Stock Moto and TaG Senior divisions. For a fourth straight race, the S1 group produced a different victor this time former series champ Jason Toft taking the checkered flag, while young NorCal star Jordan Jadallah stood on the podium for the first time at a PKC North event in TaG Senior.

The hot and windy race day unfolded with a newcomer to the S1 category, former national champion Alex Speed, taking the pole position. Speeds lap of 47.858 put him just ahead of point leader Fritz Leesmann and Toft on the time sheet. Once the wheel-to-wheel action began, Speed was shuffled back early with round two winner Nic LeDuc joining the fight. After LeDuc led the opening three laps, Toft held the point for two circuits before Leesmann secured the spot for the first heat win. From the outside row one grid spot, LeDuc once again showed the way to begin the second heat race. Speed was better in the opening lap this time around and challenged for the second spot with Leesmann. Once around him, Speed took over the lead from LeDuc on lap six, going on to take the win over Brett Felkins and Toft who came from well back in the field after the first lap while Leesmann fell to fourth in the order. The complexity of the main event changed after the first lap, as Speed slowed and would retire with a mechanical failure. This allowed Toft to assume the point and he would go on to lead the entire 20-lap main event for his first victory of the season. Leesmann was second with LeDuc outrunning Felkins for the final podium spot.

Jadallah has had a number of laps around the Sonoma circuit, participating in a variety of local series as a Junior driver and now at the Senior level. Out of the box Jadallah was the quickest in TaG Senior, posting a 50.033 lap to secure the pole position over Bobby Kelley, JP Cadoux and point leader Larry Fraser. Jadallah and Kelley exchanged the lead a number of times over the course of the first 8-lap heat race, with Kelley getting to the line first. Kelley went flag-to-flag in the second heat after Jadallah was shuffled back to third behind Nick Johnston who advanced forward from being disqualified in qualifying for a hot pit violation. When the green waved for the feature race, Johnston took the point for the first time on the day. He would lead up until lap nine when Jadallah assumed the point. The next lap, Johnston was putting the pressure on Jadallah when the two hooked bumpers. Johnston got the worst of the contact as he went off and damaged his machine, unable to continue, moving Kelley into second. Jadallah would be too quick with his Rotax power in the closing stages, as he posted the fast laps of the race to outrun the Motori 7 of Kelley to a three-second victory with Jess Peterson (Rok TT) finishing a strong third and Fraser (Motori 7) in fourth.

Mr. Perfect on the season in the PKC North program thus far has been Jeff Smith. The S4 Masters Stock Moto championship leader recorded his third perfect weekend with a sweep of the days activities qualifying, heat 1, heat 2, feature and fast lap. Smith will look to continue his season win streak, which now sits at six feature victories (including SpringNationals), at the SummerNationals. Keeping him honest throughout the day was Alex Keith, who recorded his third straight runner-up finish just ahead of Jim Inglebright. Matt Alcorn jumped back on his winning ways, scoring victory number two of the PKC North season in S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto. Round two winner Cameron Pringle led things to begin the event, as he edged Alcorn by just 53-thousandths of a second in qualifying. Alcorn, however, held the advantage through both heat races and the feature, leading all three races flag-to-flag. Pringle ran to second with round three winner Neil Joseph ending up third.

The TaG Junior category saw a shake up in the point standings following round four, with Austin Dement coming away with the feature victory after Kathryn Cornell was disqualified. Austin Thomas was at the top of the charts following qualifying, posting a time just 53-thousandths quicker than Dement, while Cornell and point leader Niki Luna were fifth and sixth. With the field nearly equal on-track, Deven Sanchez was able to slide by from his fourth starting spot on the opening circuit to lead all eight laps of the first heat over Thomas and Dement. Sanchez and Dement battled for the top spot in the second heat until Dement climbed the bumper of Sanchez. This allowed Thomas and Cornell to slide by for second and third with Sanchez taking the win, while Dement fell back to fourth. Returning to battle for the 20 laps of the main event, each driver took a turn at the point until Cornell took the reigns at the halfway mark. Getting to the line first, Cornell was the provisional winner until found incompliant in the technical inspection, taking away her victory and points for the day. Dement was then promoted to the top spot of the podium for the first time on the season, with Sanchez and Thomas filling the other two steps. Cornell, however, had better luck in HPV-2 Junior as she swept the days action to extend her point lead. Daniel Langon who also ran uncontested in the S5 category was second with Jack Freese third.

TaG Master was a dual between former series winner Rob Soares and championship contender Jeff Deehan. Soares struck first with fast time in qualifying before Deehan took the win in the first heat. Soares was able to prevail in the second heat while Deehan fell back to fourth after some trouble, putting Paul Hohlbein and newcomer Stephan Gaudreau into second and third. At the start of the final, the two drivers in the front row made contact. Soares received the worst of it and bounced into Deehan, ending both their races in the first turn. Gaudreau was able to slide by to assume the lead and take his first series victory, while Hohlbein continued on to finish second. In the S3 Novice Stock Moto category, Todd Wilson ran uncontested for his first win of the season.

The series will take the month of July off as the second round of the SKUSA North American Pro Tour will take place on July 16-18 for the Mothers Polish SummerNationals at the USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. The fifth round of the ProKart Challenge North program will take place at the PKC West Coast Shootout at the Santa Maria Karting Association facility, pitting the South series against the North on August 13-14. For more information on anything related to SKUSA or the ProKart Challenge, visit the www.superkartsusa.com website or call the SKUSA head office at 951-491-0808.

 

6-15-10 Region 11 Super Series-High Banks in Atwater
Source RaceMediaGroup.com

The Norcal Region 11 Super Series held round 5 of the six race series at the high banks of Atwater Kart Club. Off highway 99 near Merced Tom Dash memorial Speedway in Atwater California holds one of the fastest tracks on the West Coast. The facility is popular for its long straightaway leading into a high banked flat-out sweeper and its drafting, which provides for exciting racing throughout the fields for all positions.

First up on the weekend was Kid Karts and Tomas Mejia set fast for the first time on the season with a 46.235. In the Heat race Mejia jumped out to a quick lead and began pacing laps with Zach Corbitt in tow. Around halfway Corbitt passed for the lead and snuck away rather quickly into familiar territory, out front. Corbitt got the win to start pole for the Final. On the start of the Main Mejia once again assumed the lead and pulled out to a big lead. As the race progressed Corbitt ran down the leader. After a few laps of Putting the pressure on Mejia, Corbitt jumped out front, and cruised to a 2.9 second victory. Mejia came home second with Clayton Williams third.

Next up was Jr Comer and the Kartel's LaRosa Boys captured front row with Joseph edging out his brother Kendall with a lap of 35.931. Kartel's Blaine Rocha and Joseph LaRosa broke away in the Heat race for the teammates to start on the front row with LaRosa once again on Pole. Rocha jumped out to a big lead early on and left the other fighting for second. Cambrian Gokart's Justin Yanez and Magnum's Tyler Burk got together late dropping both out of the top three. Joseph Runyan finished second with Joseph LaRosa third.

Jr Superpipe took to the track and Kartel's Luis Tyrrell grabbed fast time with a 33.441. In the heat race Brennen Mankin jumped out to an early lead and cruised to the victory. On the start of the Final the outside line got the jump and Tyrrell made a daring pass into the Sweeper grabbing the lead for Lap one. As the race progressed Mankin took control and Tyrrell began to drop back, however the driver lurking was Zach Maclean. Maclean took control of the race with 5 laps left and drove to a big victory for his first ever IKF Region 11 Super Series win. Mankin was second and Tyrrell was third.

Sr Superpipe was on track and local driver Ryan Garcia grabbed pole with a 33.328. Garcia rolled to victory in the heat but the action behind him proved that the real racing was yet to come. On the start of the Final Extreme Motorsport's Bryan Eady jumped out to a big lead while the rest of the drivers battled for second. A red flag involving Ryan Casner in a scary accident stopped the race 5 laps in which bunched up the field including some charging drivers from the back. As the racing resumed from the Red the racing action began to get heavy. Lead changed sometime twice or three times a lap. Leading Edge's Brett Felkins and Eady both took their turns at leading but with five to go it was Bobby Runyan with the point and Eady bringing the heat. On the last lap Eady went to the inside of Runyan in the Hairpin, however Clayton Snow wanted the inside as well and made it three wide for the lead. Snow’s pass prevailed and contact between the other karts behind him gave him the space he needed and Snow got the win. Eady got second and Felkins third.

KPV-1 Jr was next and Kartel's Blaine Rocha grabbed fast time with a 34.974. Rocha and Cambrian Gokart's Justin Yanez jumped out to a quick lead in the Heat with Rocha bump drafting Yanez for the two to finish 1-2 for the front row of the main. In the early going of the Final both Rocha and Yanez once again pulled away to a big lead. Yanez crossed the line first for the victory with Rocha on his tail. Rocha was removed from post race tech moving Kartel's Joseph LaRosa up to second. Cambrian Gokart's Danny Rubino had a great run through the field to finish third.

Tag Sr took to the track and Kartel's TJ Fischer grabbed fast time running a 31.977 lap. Fischer looked to be the driver to beat as he opened up a big lead early in the Heat and cruised to victory. The start of the Final looked like Fischers teammate Kartel's Neil Alberico would have something for TJ to battle, but as the raced progressed Fischer opened up a big lead and swept the day for his first IKF Region 11 Super Series win. Alberico surrendered the second spot late to Cambrian Gokart's Bronson Eggert who made a nice run through the field from the last starting spot. Alberico finished third.

HPV-2 and the stellar lineup of drivers were next to battle and Leading Edge's Jarred Campbell set fast time with a 33.004. MMI's David Vasquez showed the way in the heat race to get pole position in the Final. On the start of the Main Campbell and Vasquez opened up a big lead as the rest of the drivers battled for third. Great driving was put on display by the young drivers. David Vasquez held on to get the win in which later he announced at the trophy presentation, “The Competition is in Norcal”. Campbell got second while Emmick Cobra's Sonny Cervelli won the fight for third.

Leading Edge's Jared Woolf won the 125 Stock Moto category while Connor McNeil won the 4-cycle division after a post race technical DQ took the win away from Cambrian Gokart's Chip Mooneyham. MMI's Chuck Hastings won the Formula 80 Masters after putting on a clinic with fast time, heat and Final race wins.

Next race for the IKF Region 11 Super Series is the Norcal Super Series Nationals at Northern Nevada Kart Club in Reno Nevada which held the 2009 IKF 2-Cycle grand nationals. For more information or for series points visit the official Region 11 IKF website www.NorcalKarters.com . For the series Photos visit http://scribnerracingpromotions.zenfolio.com/

6-15-10 Leading Edge Motorsports/Race Engine Department

On Saturday an Engine that was out of spec due to a new profile tool SKUSA had implemented to profile the heads of the IAME. In years past with NorCal TAG it was ok to clean up a cylinder head after a bad motor failure to take the debris out of the squish surface. The motor that Kathryn Cornell was racing was ever so slightly cleaned up in 2007 to save the customer money, not apparent to the eye, but after 2 years of being in TECH with SKUSA, STARS, CKI it was never seen, this has been a motor with many top 3 finishes and the tech guys without this tool have never seen this.  However with the addition of a new profile tool (that at present time is not available to the motor builders or the public), the Engine was found to be illegal.

We would like to make every motor builder and consumer aware of this new tool that after being in tech with IAME engines over the last 6 years of SKUSA, STARS, IKF, WKA, and now CKI, I have never seen this tool and am requesting that it be made available for all builders by IAME to inspect every IAME head that comes across there table from past or other builders to insure none of the karters have this happen to them. This head was a performance loss not a gain, and no other aspect of the dimensions were altered when we put a stock head on this motor it will most definitely create a performance gain in compression and mid range, as we did not do this as a performance enhancement; but merely to save the customer money in the past when it was ok to do .

I would like to apologize to Kathryn for the oversight and assure her that this will only make her motor program stronger when LEM fixes the oversight. It will improve her already dominate motor package and LEM would like to thank her for a wonderful drive on a motor that was down on power due to loss of compression.

We strive to conform to every aspect and have all the tech tools that are available by the different organizations. Over the past 15 years we have been found illegal two other times. One with an HPV Clutch spring height, and the other was with an ICC motor at the KARTSPORT GP after all our motors were stolen the night before the event, and I had to throw something together the morning of the race and ran second. I believe our almost clean record present that we are a top motor builder and continue to provide fast reliable power to our racers.

Leading Edge Motorsports would like to say thank you, and give a warm welcoming to those who have joined us in our search for success in 2010.  For more information about Leading Edge Motorsports, feel free to contact Greg Bell at 209-369-0921 or leadingedgeguy@sbcglobal.net

6-15-10 IAME TaG Class Taking Off at RLOKC

One of the newest race classes in 2010 is the IAME TaG class at the Red Line Oil Karting Championship (RLOKC). RLOKC runs at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway, Northern California's premier karting facility. This class was created by series promoter Steve Cameron with the objective of decreasing racing costs by increasing engine life. The class uses a unique spec gear formula which limits engine RPMs to approximately 16,000. This helps to prolong engine life, lower overall expenses, and allows light and heavy drivers to compete together in the same race, thus allowing for larger class entries. After three races, the turnout seems to indicate the formula is working. The May 23rd IAME TaG field had nine drivers with three different drivers winning the two heat races and Main event.
The class sponsor, Italian Motors USA, has contributed a new Parilla engine to be raffled off at the end of the year to one of the top year end points earners in the championship. Additionally, $50, $25 and $15 Italian Motors gift certificates are also awarded at each race to the top three drivers in the Main event.

Race #4 on Sunday, June 27th will be run onthe Reverse Sprint track configuration. The spec gears for this race are:

370# minimum weight - gears 10/77 or 11/84

385# minimum weight - gears 10/78 or 11/86

400# minimum weight - gears 10/80 or 11/88

Other class specifications: engines must be stock spec or National Cup spec, tires are Bridgestone YKC, fuel is VP 98 and oil is Red Line 2 Cycle Kart Oil.

If you are one of the many Nor Cal racers with a perfectly good Parilla engine in the garage, the IAME TaG class is a great way to get back into some fun kart racing.

For more information, go to www.cameronkarting.com  or contact race director Ric Shaw at racedirector-ric@hotmail.com.
 

6-14-10 SKUSA Confirms Additional Plans for Summer Nationals at Shawano

Organization will reserve SuperNats entry position until mid-August for SummerNationals drivers

With its new Pro Tour having been successfully launched back in April at Infineon Raceway with a packed paddock of happy customers, the Superkarts! USA staff has spent the last six weeks putting together plans for the second round of their national series the Mothers Polish SummerNationals. The next event will be held at the wildly-popular USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI, in July and following the release of some interesting track news early last week, SKUSA was prompted to handle a minor situation, one that has already been rectified. Over the past 10 days, Superkarts! USA president Tom Kutscher has been in constant contact with the track management at USAIR after word hit the streets that the facility had been put into receivership. Thanks to this dedicated communication, SKUSA is happy to report that the SummerNationals will continue on at Shawano as scheduled.

As we are with all of our venues, I have been in regular contact with the track staff and ownership at USA International Raceway, having visited the facility in May, confirmed Kutscher. This situation is unfortunate, but the receivership group is thrilled that we are coming to the track in July and theyve pledged to welcome us with open arms. Weve got a bunch of great things planned for the weekend, and Im really happy that well be able to maintain our program in Shawano. Its an incredible track, and I cant wait to see our drivers attack it in July.

SKUSA has been re-assured that it will be business as usual at the popular karting facility for the SummerNationals, which are set to go for July 16-18. SKUSA will pack the weekend with many additional components, as they remain focused on making sure that their customers enjoy their trip to the race. SKUSA will team with eKartingNews.com to kick off SummerNationals Week with a new off-track event the first-ever eKartingNews.com Golf Tournament which will take place on Wednesday, July 14 at the Shawano Lakes Golf Club. This will be a best ball tournament that will feature a great package price of $45 for the round, complete with a cart and lunch. A limited number of complimentary sets of rental clubs will also be available. Any interested players are asked to contact EKN Publisher Rob Howden (rhowden@howdenmediagroup.com) to reserve a spot, as space is limited. An unofficial pool party is being scheduled for Thursday evening at the host hotel the Kiryat, and the SKUSA Friday Night BBQ will be back, as it was extremely popular at the SpringNationals. This grilling edition will remain true to the region with a Johnsonville Brat Fry at the track, making sure that the groups racers, families and hard-working staff and team mechanics are kept fed and happy. J3 Competition will again partner with Superkarts! USA in providing the beverages for the evening.

With a stated desire to keep costs down, including those connected to pre-event testing, the track will not allow practice during the week heading into the SummerNationals. The track layout for the event remains unconfirmed, and will not be released until the Monday before the event. The SKUSA Central States Challenge has a regional series race set for the weekend prior to the Pro Tour stop (July 10-11), and while they will run on a slightly different configuration, teams and families who wish to turn this trip to Wisconsin into a summer vacation will be able to enjoy two race outings back-to-back. The surrounding area is a beautiful vacation destination, and SKUSA expects many racers to make a family experience out of the excursion.

While pre-entries are coming in on a regular basis, a new issue was brought to the attention of the SKUSA staff in early June when they opened the registration for this falls SuperNationals in Las Vegas. In opening the registration for both the SummerNationals and SuperNationals in the month of June, a financial strain has been put on a number of Superkarts! USA competitors. So, in an effort to support its customers, Kutscher had confirmed that any driver who enters the SummerNationals can have their spot in the SuperNationals reserved until later in the summer. Payment for the SuperNationals may be deferred until August 15 to ease the burden by contacting the SKUSA office directly at 951-491-0808. This will be particularly important for drivers in classes such as TaG Senior and S4, which will sell out the available entry spots well before the race.

The debut of the new TaG Cadet class in Sonoma was a huge success for SKUSA, and they are excited to continue its growth within the organization. One of the keys to its well-supported roll-out was the free Mini Rok engine rental offer presented by Vortex. A total of 10 of the impressive 60cc Mini Roks that represent the base of the class were made available to Cadet drivers who wanted to sample the category, and now that a majority of them have purchased their own engines, several of the no-charge packages are still up for grabs for Shawano. One driver who will not need the complimentary offer is Noah Grey, who was awarded a complete motor package for winning the overall race weekend at the SpringNationals. Another engine package will be on the line when the TaG Cadet drivers hit the track in Wisconsin, with the overall victor taking home a new Mini Rok.

Registration for the SummerNationals is now open on SKUSAs website www.superkartsusa.com and a pre-entry will save racers a great deal off the regular weekend rate. The cutoff for the pre-entry will be July 4. An influx of drivers from the SKUSA Central States Challenge and the surrounding Midwest regional series is expected to provide entry numbers that will top the 100+ competitors enjoyed at Infineon Raceway. If anyone is looking for shipping options for their kart and equipment, there are still a number of teams from both California and the Pacific Northwest who will be traveling to Shawano and still have room in their trailers. Interested competitors are asked to contact SKUSA headquarters to be connected with the right team or you can check out some available options listed on the website. Of course, those in the class championship battles will certainly be making the trek to Wisconsin, as they chase the #1 plate, the sponsored SuperNationals entry and the 2011 SKUSA Pro Tour entry fee prize package. The host accommodations for the SummerNationals will be the Kiryat Hotel in Shawano, which features $79 room rates. Complete information is available on www.superkartsusa.com.

 

6-14-10 PRD USA offering FREE Junior 2 PRD entry at IKF Grand Nationals

PRD USA is offering all Junior 2 drivers entered in either Jr. Super Sportsman, Jr. Super Sportsman Heavy, Jr. KPV-2, or Jr. KPV-2 Heavy at the upcoming IKF Grand Nationals June 22-26 at Willow Springs Kart Track a free entry in Friday's Junior 2 PRD class.

To receive the FREE Jr. 2 PRD entry drivers must register and pay for the Jr. 2 PRD class just like normal, but at registration they will be issued a PRD USA voucher to refund their $90 entry fee. “It's great to see such support from manufactures and sponsors” commented Tim Holden of TiMi Promotions. “ PRD USA has a commitment level like no other and truly support their product, their customers and above all the sport of karting. We are proud to have them as part of the 2010 IKF Grand Nationals.”

All Grand Nationals information and entry forms can be found at www.timipromotions.com or contact Tim Holden 818-701-7151 or Mike Manning 661-256-7500.

6-9-10 Bordogna Racing Engines has Moved!

Danny Bordogna and Bordogna Racing Engines wants to reach out to their Customers and let the Karting Community know that they have moved. Bordogna was not in Attendance this last weekend at the Atwater Region 11 Super Series race as the Engine Builder was moving his shop to their new location.

Bordogna Racing Engines will be back at the track soon to once again provide the best Track Support possible to their customers. Those interested in the location of the New Bordogna Racing Engines facility ar urged to Call Danny at 916-853-1110 or email at danielbordogna@hotmail.com. Customers can also visit Bordogna Racing Engines online at www.bordogna.us

6-10-10 Willow Springs Kart Club and TiMi Promotions Release IKF Grand Nationals Schedule

With the IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals only a short time away (June 23-26 at Willow Springs Kart Track), TiMi Promotions has released their practice and race day schedules. Beginning on Sunday, June 20, 2010, official practice for the event opens. Official practice will continue from Sunday until Tuesday from 3pm until 10pm each night. No one will be allowed on track before 3pm, no exceptions.

Racing begins on Wednesday, June 23 and will continue until Saturday June 26. Registration will open at 11am each day with practice taking place on track from 3pm until 4:30pm. Following the daily practice sessions will be the MANDATORY drivers meeting at 4:30pm. Random roll will be taken and drivers not in attendance will be reprimanded and lose their qualifying times. Qualifying will commence at 5pm after the drivers meeting. Heat racing will commence at 6:30pm following a short break for dinner. Each day's main events will start at 8pm and go until around 10pm. Tech will be completed each night along with the awards presentations for that day's set of classes.

Practice Nights: Sunday, Monday & Tuesday - 3pm to 10pm
Race Night Schedule: Wed. to Sat.
Registration: 11am open
Race Day Practice: 3pm to 4:30pm
Driver meeting: 4:30pm to 5pm
Qualifying: 5pm to 6pm
Dinner Break: 6pm to 6:30pm
Heat Races: 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Main Event Races: 8:00pm to 10:00pm

All Grand Nationals information and entry forms can be found at http://www.timipromotions.com or contact Tim Holden 818-701-7151 or Mike Manning 661-256-7500.
 

6-3-10 Menezes Ready For WSK Euro Series Finale in Italy

Californian set for final round of WSK Euro Series in preparation for WSK World Series attack

American karting star Gustavo Menezes is set to return to Europe for the final round of the WSK Euro Series. The event will be the second of the year overseas as the 15-year old driver will travel to a familiar Napoli International Circuit in Sarno, Italy, a place he has raced three times previously. The Tony Kart Racing Team driver is looking forward to the opportunity for more time in the KF2 division.

In April, Menezes signed on to compete with the Tony Kart Racing Team for the WSK World Series, which will begin at the end of June. To prepare for the upcoming three-race world title chase, Menezes signed on to contest the final two rounds of the WSK Euro Series. Menezes made his European KF2 debut at the fourth round of the WSK Euro Series in Genk, Belgium, on May 6-9.

Battling through changing weather conditions, Menezes qualified 15th in his group to put him 44th overall. For the four heat races, Menezes would start from the ninth row each time. The first heat race was not a warm welcome party for Gustavo as contact during the opening lap bent his steering tie-rod to put him on the sidelines without completing a lap. Menezes was making progress in the second heat, reaching 12th place when he lost his bumper. With a quick change in the hot pit lane, the Tony Kart Racing Team driver rejoined the field at the tail of the field to finish 24th. The final two heat races are where Menezes shined. In the third 12-lap heat race, Gustavo advanced up to the sixth place position. The final run witness him placing 12th in another strong drive. With the tough results in the first two heat races, he would not make the top-34 cut to continue on during the weekend.

It was an up and down weekend in Genk, commented Menezes. I certainly showed the speed capable to run up front, but much like KF3 racing, getting through the heat races is a key factor to a solid weekend. I am thankful to be running these final two WSK Euro Series weekends to prepare for the real goal - the WSK World Series.

Prior to traveling to Italy for the June 3-6 event, Menezes spent time over Memorial weekend at the Indianapolis 500, making connections with many in the motorsports industry. Following the event in Italy, Menezes will return to Europe for the first round of the new WSK World Series program, set for June 30-July 3 at the new Portimao International Circuit in Algarve, Portugal. The second round will see Menezes defend his home turf as the series makes its debut in the United States at the New Jersey Motorsports Park F1 New Jersey karting circuit on July 29-August 1.

Gustavo is able to compete at this level thanks to his many sponsors, including Tony Kart USA, Red Bull, UP Racing, Safety Park Inc., K1 Speed, K1 Race Gear, Tony Kart Racing Team, On Track Promotions and Oakley.

6-1-10 Extreme Motorsports - SKUSA SummerNationals Transportation

Extreme Motorsports has two openings available for transportation to the SKUSA SummerNationals in Shawano, Wisconsin. The Northern California based operation is looking to make it economical for any and all racers in these hard economic times by splitting traveling expenses between multiple drivers. Extreme Motorsports is offering both transportation and pitting arrangements for any racer interested in traveling to the SummerNationals.

With strong showings at the SKUSA SpringNationals, Extreme Motorsports drivers Kathryn Cornell, and Bryan Eady will return to action in Shawano seeking more success. With over 40 years of combined experience in the karting industry, Steve and Bryan Eady have put together one of the most successful Junior programs on the market today.

Team manager Bryan Eady stated, “At Extreme Motorsports our drivers determination and success is what we thrive on! It takes a team effort in order to succeed!”

Feel free to contact Steve Eady today at 530-949-8975 for more information on securing your spot with Extreme Motorsports for the Summer Nationals. Extreme Motorsports looks forward to another fun and successful weekend on the Pro Tour. We look forward to providing you with the knowledge and service you look for in a team environment. Feel free to visit our new online store at http://www.extremegokarts.com 

 

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