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Archives December 2008
12-19-08 Northern California Rotax Challenge Junior driver
finishes 3rd at the California State
Championships 2008.
Last month,
Brody Zink competed in the 45th running of the California
State Championships November 28-30 at Grangé Motor Circuit
in Southern California. Brody is a regular participant in
the Northern California Rotax Challenge where he finished in
3rd place overall in the championship.
16 Junior
Rotax karts entered the annual CalState event. In
qualifying, Brody qualified a solid third with Louie Pagano
on pole and Dakota Dickerson in 2nd.
In the heat race, Brody popped
out of the first turn in second place, but with a
slightly loose kart and the local boys putting the squeeze
on him, Zink slipped back to finish 5th place.
Stars of Karting driving ace Corey Pollock was wrenching on
Brody's Rotax this weekend, and after making some minor
adjustments gave Brody a fast kart for the Main. Starting
the main in 5th place, Brody once again had a great start
and worked his way to second place behind Pagano, Dickerson
and Graves would not give up the battle. Grave's and Zink
would swap positions at nearly every corner while Pagano edged
away to the win. Zink was right on Grave's bumper out of the
last turn and it was an exciting drag race to the finish
line with Brody missing out on the 2nd place spot by half a
kart length. Pagano was the Calstate champ with Grave's in
second, Zink third and Dickerson fourth.
Other Norcal drivers Connor Ford and Bobby Tiftt finished
3rd and 4th in HPV 4 class.
Brody is a
regular participant in the Jim Russell Northern California
Rotax Challenge where he finished in 3rd place
overall in the championship.
For more
information about the 2009 Northern California Rotax
Challenge visit
www.norcalrotax.com.
Marin
Karting offers CRG karts, engines and parts for all karts,
engine service, driver coaching and trackside support to
Northern California karters. Marin Karting is also proud to
organize and support the Northern California Rotax
Challenge. For more information contact Marin Karting at
(415) 898-0999 or at
sales@marinkarting.com, www.marinkarting.com.
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12-19-08 Nor Cal Rotax Racers Shine Once Again
Infineon
Raceway, Sonoma
Two of the
outstanding drivers from the Jim Russell Northern California
Rotax Challenge took another big step in advancing their
racing skills this week at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma
California.
Gregory
Liefooghe (2008 Snr. Nor Cal Rotax champion and the Jim
Russell 2008 Karter of the Year) and Matt Powers (3rd
place 2008 Nor Cal Snr. Rotax) both won scholarship awards
as part of the prize package in the 2008 Northern California
Rotax Challenge. This included a three day Advanced Racing
Course in the all new Formula Mazda race cars at the Jim
Russell Racing School.
The weather
wasn’t the best but taking the informative course at the
same time gave these guys a good benchmark for charting
their progress. The first two days only yielded one dry
session but the third day, albeit cold by California
standards, was a sunny day for racing. The third and final
day was the mock race day and after qualifying, Greg had the
pole position for the race and Matt was starting third. It
was great to see these guys battle all year in the Rotax
Challenge and then have the chance to watch them duke it out
in the absolute best school environment in the country and
one of my favorite tracks. The Formula cars that Russell uses are the finest and most advanced school fleet available anywhere in the U.S. and I was very impressed to see how well Gregory and Matt preformed. One comment they both made to me was they were amazed how much they could feel the down force and how aware they had to be of the aerodynamics even in the braking zones. These cars are definitely the real McCoy and I was most impressed with Gregory and Matt’s smoothness and consistency. These guys have been battling all year for the top karting honors and as always, there was a lot of pride on the line so needless to say they were pushing at 110% all the time
In the first
race Greg took the advantage and a stretched it out to a
good lead until he had a small bobble in turn seven that
allowed Matt to close the gap. Greg held on for the win but
it was apparent that Matt had found something and by the end
of the race they were running at about the same pace. In
the final session of the day Gregory and Matt fell back to
second and third on the start but after one lap Greg had the
lead and Matt was charging. Matt had caught back up and it
was very interesting to watch the strengths of each driver
as they made their way around the historic Sears Point
Raceway. Unfortunately, Gregory’s’ car had a mechanic
failure and the race between these two was cut short just as
Matt had caught up and was looking for a pass. I would have
loved to have seen more dicing between these two one more
time and who knows maybe we will someday.
Gregory and Matt
are on two different paths however, Greg is moving back to
his home country of Switzerland and will be continuing to
further his racing career in Europe. Matt will be flying
out to Florida this weekend to compete in the famous Skip
Barber run-offs in Sebring and has the chance of a lifetime
to compete for a car ride in 2009. These customers
represent some of the great talent coming up thru the Norcal
karting ranks and especially from the Rotax series.
The Infineon
karting center is the primary home to the Northern
California Rotax Challenge and with the generous support of
Jim Russell Racing Schools, drivers are able to live the
dream of going from karting to race cars.
As reported by
Kris Shaw. Photos: Kris Shaw
For more
information about the 2009 Northern California Rotax
Challenge visit
www.norcalrotax.com.
Marin Karting
offers CRG karts, engines and parts for all karts, engine
service, driver coaching and trackside support to Northern
California karters. Marin Karting is also proud to organize
and support the Northern California Rotax Challenge. For
more information contact Marin Karting at (415) 898-0999 or
at www.marinkarting.com.
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12-17-08 Three Northern California Rotax Challenge Drivers
are Rotax National Points Champions in 2008.
Marin
Karting is very pleased to announce three Northern
California Rotax racers are Rotax National Points Champions
for 2008: Gregory Liefooghe in Senior Rotax, Glen Poy-Wing
in Rotax DD2 and David Carlisle in Rotax Masters. The top
three drivers in each of six Rotax classes will receive a
prize from National Rotax. Gregory Liefooghe David Carlisle Glen Poy-Wing Other
notable Nor Cal mentions are: Donavon Wheeler, 3rd
in Junior Rotax, David Arnstein, 4th in Rotax DD2
and Cameron Pringle, 5th in Senior Rotax.
The Rotax
National Points Standings was developed and implemented this
year to recognize all registered RMax Challenge drivers in
the US, and rank them against others in their class across
the nation. The standings are based on finishes from five
local series races using a weighted points system. Marin
Karitng submitted six race reports which were reviewed by
the National Race Director, Marshall Martin, who used the
best five finishes to determine national points standings.
“This is a fantastic result for our talented Northern California Rotax racers. Three Nor Cal drivers won top honors in 3 of the 6 national Rotax classes and we only ran 4 Rotax classes in Nor Cal this year.” stated Adrian Szwarcburg, owner of Marin Karting, “It is a fantastic way to cap a great race season. The Nor Cal Rotax Challenge had the largest growth out of any Rotax series in the US. We have announced Mini Max and Micro Max classes have been added to the Challenge for 2009. I would not be surprised if we have National Points Champions in these classes next year.” This
National Points Championship was implemented to give
recognition to drivers who did well in their respective
regional series. The Northern California regional series is
the Jim Russell Northern California Rotax Challenge. Marin
Karting provides series administration. With great
sponsorship support from the Jim Russell Racing Drivers
School and many other fine companies, over $20,000 in prizes
were awarded to top drivers in the Northern California Rotax
Challenge in 2008. To see all the official National Rotax
Points tables go to:
http://www.usrmaxnrd.com/index.htm For more information about the 2009
Northern California Rotax Challenge visit
www.norcalrotax.com. |
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12-14-08 Marin Karting attends
the Olympics of karting – the 2008 Rotax Grand Finals in
Italy.
Following a very successful
2008 Northern California Rotax Challenge, Owners of Marin
Karting had the privilege attending what is widely known as
the Olympics of karting - the 2008 Rotax Grand Finals.
The 9th Rotax Grand Finals
were held at the very impressive track of La Conca in Muro
Leccese, southern Italy, from November 25th to November 30th.
This was a great choice of track and it is a fantastic
facility. To me, it was like a mini Formula 1 track.
Fantastic groomed grounds, lots of runoff, covered seating,
a full service restaurant, a large snack shop, pro shop and
mini soccer fields. Rotax did a great job of adding to the
look with banners everywhere, Rotax gear shop, tent with
flat screen TVs, VIP room, travel office and wifi access in
most places. In addition the chassis suppliers CRG,
Maranello and Zanardi had their large rigs set up in the
paddock.
216 drivers from 57 nations
attended. Drivers qualified for the race via national as
well as international race Rotax series. This rivalry was
definitely a battle some of the best drivers in the world.
America fielded a 13 driver team with two local Norcal
drivers, Wes Phillips and Clayton Snow on the team. All
karts and motors where supplied to the drivers via a raffle
system so no one had an advantage.
The opening ceremony was in
the restaurant and large meeting room area at the track.
Hearing all the different accents and languages being spoken
really made us feel part of the world wide Rotax program.
Rotax officials gave a short opening address to kick of the
event. The fancy looking trophies were also on display so
drivers could see what they would be racing for.
The pit area for the
drivers was made up of rows of tents with the driver’s name
and countries flag posted in front of each pit spot. Flags
were also flown around the last corner of the last corner of
the track. An impressive sight.
Racing
Three Rotax classes are run
at the world level, Junior, Senior and DD2 with 72 drivers
in each class. The classes are run to the exact regulations
as we run in the Northern California Rotax Challenge with
the only exception being in the DD2 class where the new Mojo
D3 tire was used.
Each class was split into 4
groups and then a series of qualifying and race heats held
to determine the positions for the final day. Only 36
drivers in each class got to race on the final day with the
rest of the drivers eliminated.
The racing was really
fantastic. The track allowed for lots of passing and many
races were one by barely a kart length. Rain on one day
made turn 1 particularly interesting and many drivers
skidded off the track. This was Rotax racing at its
finest. The trackside commentary in Italian and English
added to the excitement as the grand stand areas were
packed. American drivers drove very well but some were
struck by bad luck. With large fields in each race, it was
not too hard to get caught up in something that you could
not avoid. Once you had to start near the back of the pack,
it was almost an impossible task to make it into real
contention.
Overall it was the best
Grand Finals for Team America with outstanding performance
from podium finishers Curtis Cooksey and Stuart Marsell. The winners of the 2008 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Final are
Go to the Rotax Grand
Finals
It is hard to describe in
words what it was like to be at the Grand Finals. I would
recommend to anyone involved in motorsport that, if they get
the chance, go to a Rotax Grand Final. There may be bigger
racing events, but the spec nature of the Rotax program, the
driver’s pride in representing their country and the great
racing, make this the best motor racing event we have
attended. For our local Rotax drivers, keep working at it
and you too could be one of the lucky ones to make it to the
Rotax World finals one day.
Our special thanks to SSC
and the National Rotax program for inviting and hosting us. To view a few of our photos follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/marinkarting/2008RotaxWorldFinalsLaConcaItaly#
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12-9-08 Leading Edge Motorsports Team Report Michael Clark Memorial RaceThis past weekend, Leading Edge Motorsports�, Bryan Eady, Timmy Bachman, and Mason Marotta attended the Michael Clark memorial race at Buttonwillow Raceway, near Bakersfield, California, hosted by BKC. Michael Clark was a young teenage man who was a huge part of Bakersfield Kart Club over the years. After his death Bakersfield Kart Club chose to remember Michael by putting on an event he could only smile at while he watches from above. Again this year, even with the financial woes of today's economy, and the nasty weather conditions the MCMPR was as strong as ever. With many of the past competitors and several new, the Senior Super Box Pro Race was a tough one. With rainy conditions for qualifying the Leading Edge Pilots would all qualify in the top ten. With Timmy Bachman setting a blistering fast time in the wet conditions he drove his Leading Edge Tuned, Fleming powered Intrepid to P1. Eady would qualify P8, and Marotta P10. At the start of the heat race Bachman got shuffled back to third spot while Eady had worked his way up to fourth by the end of the first lap. Working together the two Leading Edge drivers would find themselves making a move at the halfway mark for the second position. However, in doing so, there was incidental contact between Eady and Bachman which brought both drivers to a dead stop. After the contact Eady would find himself eighth while Bachman fell to eleventh. Marotta would find himself tenth at the end of the heat. Knowing they all had fast karts in the dry conditions the Leading Edge trio would plan to work together to work themselves through the pack in the final. The opening lap of the final would find Eady going from P8 to P4 and Bachman from P11 to P5 with Marotta following. With the trio running nose to tail they worked themselves up to P3, P4, and P5 by the halfway mark. Instead of getting the halfway signal the BKC officials through a competition red which brought the pack to a stop on the front straight. With kart stands and tools ready crew members and drivers were given five minutes to make changes to there karts and have them ready to go for the second half of the main. At the end of the five minutes a card was drawn to see how many drivers in the top six would be inverted. Luckily enough for Eady they picked the number three card. Eady would find himself leading the field down for the restart single file. For the first seven or eight laps Eady would find himself pulling away from the pack. Backman would have contact a few laps in and would find himself deep in the field. Marotta however found himself sitting fith were he would finish the race. Back up front fighting a no fuel cap issue, Eady was being soaked by fuel and would find himself with no brakes with five to go. Nick Johnston would catch Eady with four to go and make the pass for the lead which also allowed Kuntze by for second. On the final lap in the last corner Eady would drive his Leading Edge Fleming powered Intrepid back to second under braking. Eady would go on to finish P2, Marotta P5, and Bachman P11. Leading Edge Motorsports would like to thank Bakersfield Kart Club and all who attended the MCMPR at Buttonwillow. It was an awesome event and we look forward to attending again next year. LEM would also like to thank Doug Fleming and Fleming racing engines for the power that was needed to run up front in a class that they have never ran. Leading Edge Motorsports would like to thank all the drivers that carried the LEM banner at the Michael Clark Memorial Pro Race , for all there hard work and effort. We look forward to a strong 2009 season in Region 7 as we look to expand our I.K.F. program. For more information about Leading Edge Motorsports, our team schedule, and arrive and drive programs available visit our website at www.LeadingEdgeMotorsports.com or feel free to contact Greg Bell at 209-369-0921.
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12-10-08 NNKC Grand National Meeting
NNKC is having it's Grand National meeting this Saturday
December 13th at Denny's off
I-80 and E. McCarran from 2pm-4pm. We have a few tasks
that we would like some of our membership to handle. We
feel reaching out to others in the club to help the
process of putting on these Nationals will bring a
little more interest to the club and give some members
an opportunity to be a part of something special.
Please come out and share some ideas with us. Its only
for 2 hours. I'll see you then.
Brian Rivera
NNKC - President
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12-3-08 Kartel Expands Operations Official Press Release issued by Kartel Motorsports Directly after the Super Nationals, Kartel did not stop. Kartel has expanded their operations, moving to a new facility in Elk Grove, Ca. The shop will help house more inventory and make ease of kart preperations and sales. Kartel offers services to all types of karts, and is always available for set up advice. Kartel will continue to sell all their products to the public, as well as continue to do schools. About kartel: Kartel Motorsports was put together by Joey Hand and Erik Bartolero in 2006. Joey’s Father, Les Hand, joined the two in 2007. The three have been around karting for many years and have many years of experience in karting. In 2008, Kartel Motorsports was named official Top-Kart/Comer USA race team. Erik and Joey offer private Coaching on any brand Chassis, and private test days which can be arranged. Kartel is a dealer for brands that include: Top-Kart, Comer, Bridgestone, MIR Raceware, IAME, High-Rev, Sparco, Gatorz Eyewear, Douglas Wheel, MyChron, Cyto Sport and Kovers. More Information can be found at www.kartelmotorsports.com Kartel Motorsports 9911 Kent
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12-3-08 Kartel Motorsports Super Nationals Report Official press release issued by Kartel Motorsports
After a big weekend at the STARS
final in The National Guard chose Kartel Motorsports to field their IRL driver, Dan Wheldon. Dan entered the Tag Sr. class with Neil Alberico, and Chris Scribner. Wheldon was fast right out of the box, setting the pace early on. In the final, a de-beaded tire ended this stars day. Scribner was also up front in all his heats, and ended the final in 10th. Alberico had a tough go, with two strong heats; a DNF (flipped) in the third heat would have him starting the final in a dangerous 38th. Neil flipped in the final to end his hard weekend. Kyle Wiegand was racing with Kartel and once again was at the front all weekend. Former ICC star showed the tag group what’s up. He finished the final in 7th. Chris Wehrheim always a contender was strong all weekend, lady luck was not on his side either. He ended up 8th. Kartel is happy to welcome two proven drivers who will become permanent fixtures at the front of National events, and continue to dominate the local scene. Cody Kay and Kelsey Nilsson were both entered in the HPV 2 as well as Tag Jr. Nilsson ended final practice P4 in Jr. Tag and looked strong in HPV. Though she ran well in the heats in both classes, she unfortunately was involved in a crash in both HPV and Tag finals. Kay had better luck, running with the lead pack in HPV and dicing for the lead, ended his weekend with a well deserved podium finish. Okalahoma Tyler Thomas was under the Kartel banner, also running in HPV and Jr. Tag. HPV was not as good to Thomas as Tag, where he finished up in Second, with a rough field in tow.
The loan Jr. 125 driver, Devon
Maulk from Brendan Phinny, S3 Senior 125, set the pace right out of the trailer. With all the testing, Kartel put the set-up on that would last. Qualifying P2 was a nice start to a long weekend. With his consistent driving at cautious race craft, Phinny had a strong starting position for the final. Brendan worked his way threw the top five and found himself dicing with NASCAR Star Jamie McMurry. On the white flag lap Brendan dove to the inside and got the lead, and kept it for the win. Kartel would like to thank all who helped make 2008 another great year. Top-Kart/Comer, Grand Products, Bridgestone, High-Rev Engineering, Kovers, Cyto Sport, SKUSA and the National Guard.
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12-1-08
Norcal Karters Test Racing at the Next Level |
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2008 Archives
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2007 Archives
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