9-19-11 Red Line Oil Karting Championship Round #6 Recap
Arnstein takes the S4 GoPro Feature Race

Round #6 of the Red Line Oil Karting Championship was set to see some fast racing on the Reverse National track layout from its fastest race group, the 125 Shifters. This month, S4 was the GoPro featured race, with the winner taking home a GoPro HD Hero Camera. With a total turnout of sixty-two karts, the RLOKC event also showcased some great racing in the heat races, but attrition and a couple of race incidents made getting to the checkered flag a tough thing to do for several racers. The best race of the day turned out to be the three kart battle in the Mini Max main.

Feature Race: 125 Shifters, S2 and the GoPro Featured Class S4

Cameron Pringle put his S2 kart on pole with David Arnstein's S4 alongside. In the first heat, Pringle and Arnstein lead the nine kart field out of turn one with a great S4 battle right behind between Jim Kidd, Jim Inglebright, Brad Shaffer and Nick Galante. The only other S2 driver, Neil Joseph, started seventh and had to work his way through the field to come home third just ahead of Kidd. In the second heat, Pringle again controlled the front of the race with Arnstein repeating in second place, under lots of pressure from Inglebright and Joseph. In the main, Pringle got a slow start off the line with Arnstein taking the initial lead. The college bound Pringle took over the lead on lap two and went on to score a four second win ahead of fellow S2 Joseph. The real battle was for the S4 class win. Arnstein stuck behind the two S2 karts and was pulling out to a solid class lead, but just behind, Kidd, Inglebright, Galante and Shaffer continued their all day battle. Galante and Shaffer had to pull off with kart problems and Kidd passed Inglebright then reeled in Arnstein to take the S4 lead with about four laps to go. Then Kidd's engine lost much of its power forcing him to slow and Arnstein took over the class lead cruising the rest of the way to take third overall, the S4 class win and with it the GoPro HD Hero Camera. Inglebright came home fourth with Kidd a slowing fifth at the end. Next month the GoPro featured race will be Rotax DD2 Masters.

Junior Rotax, KPV2 & KPV1

Will Preston in his Rotax took the pole again this month ahead of the other Rotax drivers Zack Dante and last month's winner Maxx Marian. In the first heat, Preston took the lead out of turn one and had to withstand eight laps of pressure to take a slim win over Dante with Marian third. Jaden Conwright and Bryan Parmenter battled for the KPV2 win, but Conwright had to park his kart on the last lap giving Parmenter fourth overall and the KPV2 win. In the second heat, again Preston took the initial lead ahead of Dante. A couple of laps into the race Dante got his nose under Will's bumper as they approached turn one and spun Will around with Dante also spinning and Marian going by both karts into the lead and onto the win. Preston recovered quickly to take second , Dante third, with Conwright switching to his Rotax kart coming home fourth and Parmenter fifth in the KPV2. In the main, Preston again lead the field out of turn one with Marian right behind. Marian made a couple of attempts to out brake Preston going into turn one but Preston would sweep into the turn first. Around lap four, Marian got alongside Preston and turned into turn one first with Preston trying to hang onto the outside line and spinning briefly. Dante took advantage of Preston's situation and followed Marian. Now it was Marian and Dante running nose to tail with first Dante overtaking Marian, then Marian re-passing for the lead. On the white flag lap, Marian exited the last turn in the lead with Dante right behind and looking to slingshot by at the checkered flag, but Marian won the drag race to the finish line, Dante took second, Preston came home third, Conwright fourth, Parmenter fifth and the KPV2 win with Fitz-Simon taking sixth in his KPV1.

Rotax Masters Light

Six karts took the green for the Nor Cal Rotax Max Challenge regional Masters Light class. Andrea Delfanti took the pole ahead of a fast improving Stephan Gaudreau with David Carlisle third. In the first heat race, Delfanti went into the turn first but was spun off with some help from the back of the pack. Mary Beth Wilson was also spun around and had to park her kart. Gaudreau took over the lead followed by Carlisle with Delfanti recovering to make a charge but had to settle for third. In the second heat, Delfanti took the lead and held on for a two second win over a determined Gaudreau with Carlisle taking third. For the main, Gaudreau was on pole with Delfanti next to him. Andrea took the lead early on and held a steady lead for the entire fifteen lap race with Gaudreau controlling second place for most of the race, but at the end, Carlisle got close enough to mount a challenge. Unfortunately for Carlisle, time ran out before he could make a move and had to settle for third with Wilson in fourth just a second behind.

Senior Rotax

With a strong ten kart field, Senior Rotax produced the most competitive racing from top to bottom. In qualifying, Niki Luna took the pole ahead of Sean McDonald and an improving Jarrett Lile. In the first heat, Luna was challenged first by McDonald then by defending champ Carlos Calderon with Calderon overtaking Luna at mid-race. Near the end, Luna made the pass to take the lead and the win with Calderon and McDonald a half second back, Lile and Brody Zink another half second back. In the second heat, Luna again took the lead ahead of McDonald with Calderon getting by Lile to take third. Calderon then got by McDonald, but the two battled hard and which kept Calderon from challenging Luna. In the end, the results were the same as heat one for the first five places. In the main, Luna was on pole with Calderon next to him on the front row. As the field went into turn one, the inside line of Luna, McDonald and Zink swept into the first three positions with Calderon and Lile hung out to dry on the outside line. Calderon ended up in fifth and Lile in ninth. McDonald's race ended on the first lap when a rear wheel came off. Luna and Zink then opened up a small gap on the field and started their own private battle for the lead. Right behind the leading duo, the racing got heated with Calderon taking third only to get passed by Andrew Colombini. On the very next corner, Calderon tried to out brake Colombini causing contact and sending both karts flying off the track. Matt Meech took over third with a recovered Lile up to fourth. Meech then pulled off with a disconnected fuel line and Lile assumed a comfortable third place. In end, Zink stayed right on Luna's tail, but could not find a place to make a clean pass. Luna thus came home first, Zink in his first senior class race took second and the fastest lap, Lile in third with his best finish in Senior Rotax, Josh Feiber fourth and Tazio Otis fifth.

80 Masters

A rather light field of four karts took the track with Charles Hastings taking pole ahead of Roger Cornwall and Geoff Provo. In the first heat, Hastings controlled the race from the drop of the green with Cornwall staying close and Provo six seconds back. In the second heat, again Hastings takes the lead, Cornwall finished about a second back with Provo taking third just in front of Darrel Dean. In the main, Hastings took the lead again at the green and cruises home for the win with Cornwall a distant second and Provo again finishing just ahead of Dean for third.

Sanzaru Games Rotax Mini Max

The Mini Max race produced one of the best three kart battles seen by most at the Simraceway Performance Karting Center (formerly known as the Jim Russell International Karting Center) at Infineon Raceway. On the pole for the second race in a row was Annie Breidinger followed by Michael Michoff and Wilson Skjervan. In the first heat, Annie Breidinger took the lead out of turn one and was never challenged. Michoff stayed close, but could not find the find a place to make a clean pass, with Wilson taking third. The second heat was a near repeat of the first heat with Annie Breidinger first , Michoff second followed by Skjervan. In the main, Annie Breidinger again exited turn one in the lead, but Michoff and Wilson passed to the inside going into turn two and took over the top two positions. Skjervan kart was really working now and he stayed right with the class points leader Michoff for a couple of laps then made a solid pass for the lead. Michoff applied pressure, but it was a few laps until he found a clean way by Skjervan. Annie Breidinger was now looking for a way by Skjervan with Michoff starting to pull away. With about four laps to go, Annie Breidinger finally made the pass for second and started after Michoff. Annie Breidinger makes a great race of it closing to within a tenth of a second at the checkered and in this charge, set fast lap for the race. This is Michoff's fifth win this year but both Annie Breidinger and Skjervan made It clear they plan to challenge for wins in the three remaining races of the season.

Rotax Masters

Seven karts took the green with Cameron Evans taking the pole ahead of Jerry Pretti and Scott Ripslinger. In the first heat, Evans took the lead out of turn one with Pretti and John Breidinger tangling sending Breidinger off the track and Pretti having to make a charge from way behind. Evans took the win ahead of Ripslinger with Pretti coming back to third. In the second heat, Pretti took the lead out of turn one and with Evans right behind. The two battled back and forth with Pretti taking the win, Evans second and Ripslinger third. At the start of the main, Evans and Pretti were side-by-side on the front row as both accelerate hard at the drop of the green. Just before turn one, Evans and Pretti touch and their front wheels lock inside each other and both karts come to a sudden stop with the field scattering to get by. Eventually, the two front row drivers got untangled, but were a straightaway behind the disappearing Ripslinger. Pretti drove away from the incident first to charge after Ripslinger. Pretti and Evans picked off the slower karts one by one while Ripslinger worked to maintain his lead. Going into the last lap, Pretti was within reach of the lead, exited the last turn and was catching the race leader all the while Ripslingers engine was popping. At the line, Pretti nipped Ripslinger by just .001 of a second. Ripslinger takes a crushing second place, then found out he cracked the spark plug when he hit it with his elbow during the race, which was the cause of the engine popping. John Breidinger came home third for his best finish this season. Evans recovered to take fourth.

Rotax DD2 Masters

With four karts in the two-speed Rotax class, Andre Eriksen took the pole ahead of David Palic, Bob Olson with Michael Ostrowski who had to start fourth due to problems in qualifgyin. In the first heat, Eriksen took the lead followed by Palic, Olson and Ostrowski. Ostrowski made short work of getting by Olson then took a lap to get by Palic, after which he set off after Eriksen. In the end, Ostrowski caught and passed Eriksen to take a one second win, with Olson coming home third. In the second heat, again Eriksen took the lead out of turn one. Ostrowski got by both Olson and Palic earlier than in the first heat. Ostrowski then caught up to Eriksen and made the pass for the lead and cruised home to a three second win. At the start of the main, Ostrowski took the lead from the pole with Eriksen right behind. At the end of the first lap, Eriksen out braked Ostrowski going into the last turn before the straightaway with Ostrowski setting up a crossover pass as they exited the turn. The two karts were accelerating down the straight when they got too close to each other and touched, sending both spin off into the infield. Palic and Olson drove by. Eriksen finally got his kart untangled and drove off to continue the race. Ostrowski was not so lucky and could not get his kart out of the dirt in time. Palic had pulled ahead of Olson and looked to be headed for a win when his shifter cable came loose and he pulled off the track. Now Olson had the lead but Eriksen was closing fast. Going into the last lap it was anyone's guess who would get to the line first. As the two karts exited the last turn, Olson held his slim lead and took the win by just .088 of a second over Eriksen. After the race, the results were adjusted by the race director based on a review of the first lap incident and the final results were Bob Olson first, Palic second, Ostrowski third and Eriksen fourth.

IAME TaG, TaG Senior & TaG Junior

With eight IAME spec gear TaG entries, this club style class has continued to have a good following for the 2011 season. With one Rotax powered TaG Senior and one TaG Junior kart, a total of ten karts took the green. In qualifying, Tazio Otis took the pole in his TaG Senior with Don Rocci (IAME) taking second and Ben Schreiner (IAME) third. The lone TaG Junior of Austin Thomas was in sixth. In the first heat, Otis lead the field out of turn one followed by Rocci and Schreiner with Darrin Geahry (IAME) coming home fourth and Thomas in fifth. The second heat had a similar result, Otis first, Rocci second, Schreiner third, Geahry fourth and Thomas in seventh. In the main, Otis took the lead again at the drop of the green flag with Rocci a strong second and controlling the IAME class. Geahry made a move forward when he worked his way past Schreiner to take over third, but on lap eight the chain came off his gear and his race was over. Schreiner went back to third with Bryson Guzman moving into fourth and Thomas to fifth. That is how they finished with Otis taking the win in both the race and in Senior TaG. The next three karts were IAME class karts with Don Rocci taking the IAME class win and second overall, Schreiner third and Guzman in fourth. Thomas took the fifth place finish and the TaG 1class win.

All the results can be found at www.mylaps.com . The RLOKC championship points can be found at www.redlineoilkarting.com . The next RLOKC race will be Sunday, October 9th again at Simraceway Performance Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. The track configuration will be the Reverse Sprint track. Saturday, October 8th will be available for practice, pre-registration and pre-tech. For more information about the Red Line Oil Karting Championship, go to www.redlineoilkarting.com .

 

9-19-11 SKUSA Local Option Classes Announced For Lancaster Grand Prix

Regional two-cycle classes added to street circuit event

 Superkarts! USA would like to take this opportunity to formally announce the option classes that will be tentatively added to the line-up for this year’s Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix on October 8-9, 2011. Beginning today (Sept. 15), SKUSA’s online registration page is open to welcome drivers in the PRD Light/Heavy and KPV 4 Heavy classes. Based on input from the field, these unique categories have been selected for preliminary registration, and with the expected minimum signups, will secure their position in the final line-up on race weekend.

SKUSA is looking at a minimum of 15 drivers for each group in order to secure their position on the schedule. The PRD race group will consist of both Light and Heavy categories, ran together and scored separately. The KPV 4 Heavy class will have a dedicated run group. The PRD classes will run the MG-SK ‘White’ tires, while the KPV 4 Heavy competitors will be on Bridgestone YKC tires.

Interested drivers can find additional details on the www.superkartsusa.com website and should get registered immediately, so that these classes can be officially confirmed on the weekend schedule. You can register online at the following link:

http://www.skusastore.com/shop/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SKUSA&Product_Code=SOLGP&Category_Code=ENTRY

For more information on anything related to Superkarts! USA, visit their website – www.superkartsusa.com – or send an email to info@superkartsusa.com






 

9-13-11 Attention Stockton Kart Club Members

Effective Immediatly-

All current Stockton Motoplex Club Members are welcome to practice and race at the current Prairie City Club member fees. This will continue until the end of 2011. Any questions can be directed to Erik- 916-217-2181

All Star Karting Staff

 

9-13-11 Elliott and Woolf Secure Titles at Prokart Challenge North Season Finale

TaG Senior rookie and S2 Stock Moto driver earns regional championships with podium finishes in Atwater

 The Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge North program capped off the 2011 season this past weekend with its first ever visit to the Tom Dash Memorial Speedway. The event was the sixth and final stop for the Northern California-Nevada traveling series that began in February. The Atwater Kart Club welcomed racers from all across the region to the 1/2-mile circuit as the championships were decided in the seven categories. Austin Elliott wrapped up his first season in TaG Senior with a championship while Jared Woolf secured the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto crown, both driving to runner-up finishes in their respective main events. Making history at the series finale was Kathryn Cornell, as she became the first female driver to earn the main event victory in the TaG Senior category in the series’ four-year history.

Nevada’s Jess Peterson was at the top of the time sheets at the end of qualifying for the Peterson Wealth Management-sponsored TaG Senior category. His 31.469-lap edged out Cornell’s best lap by just 54-thousandths of a second, with championship leader Elliott slotted in the third spot. Cornell drove to the provisional win in heat one until she was penalized two positions for improper engine declaration. That gave Peterson the win with Elliott up to second and Cornell back to third. Peterson and Elliott battled for the 12-lap second heat race, with Peterson coming away with the win by two-tenths of a second and David Harwin up to third, thanks to Cornell pulling off after three laps with a mechanical issue. Petersen led the way early on in the 20-lap main event, until Cornell advanced from her fifth starting position. She took over the lead on lap three, with Elliott taking second from Peterson on lap seven. The next time around, Peterson retired from the race. Cornell was able to stretch out to a comfortable advantage with quick laps mid-way through the race. At the checkered flag, Cornell took her first regional victory by 1.2 seconds over Elliott, who clinched his first championship in his rookie Senior season. Harwin posted the fastest lap in the closing stage chasing down Elliott, capping off the podium in third and ended the season third in the standings behind TJ Fischer, absent at the finale.

The top three in the Sunshine Daydream Creations-sponsored S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto division carried their season long title battle to Atwater for the final round. Jamie Wilson – second in the standings entering round six – gained 10 bonus points thanks to his pole position effort in qualifying with a lap of 31.004. Chris Ouimet was second, with point leader Jared Woolf in third. Wilson outran Ouimet in both heat races for the wins and maximum points, while Woolf retired after the first lap in both motos to record third place finishes, giving up 10 points each run. When the 20-lap feature race came, Wilson was un-phased as he escaped some early challenges and drove off to secure the event sweep, scoring his first feature win of the season by a nine-second margin. Woolf was able to place second ahead of Ouimet and clinched the series championship with his fourth podium finish of the season. Wilson’s solid performance helped him to close the gap behind Woolf to just 85 points with Ouimet ending the year in third with three podium finishes.

The chase for the title in the Cambrian Go-Karts-sponsored TaG Master category came down to the wire. Glenn McKinnon entered Atwater leading over Ethan Wilson and holding the feature win advantage at three to two. McKinnon gained 10 bonus points after qualifying, as he posted the fast lap of the session (32.152). Randy Froom edged Wilson for the second spot with Paul Hohlbein in fourth. The four ran nose to tail in heat one, with Wilson taking over the lead on lap 10 and scoring the win over Froom and McKinnon. The top three drove away in heat two, with Wilson showing the way all 12 laps for the win, sporting the same finishing order as heat one. Wilson proved to be on his game through the main event, leading all 20 laps for his third victory of the season and posting the fast lap of the race for 10 extra points. McKinnon was able work around Froom for the second spot and 10 more crucial points toward the title chase. When the final standings were calculated, McKinnon had earned enough points to secure the championship. Wilson, who gave chase all season long, came up just 30 points short with Froom edging out Hohlbein for the third spot in the standings.

The dual in the Fastech Racing-sponsored S4 Master Stock Moto class came to a close with Jim Kidd sweeping the event over Nick Galante. The victory was Kidd’s third of the season, with Galante settling for second, giving Kidd a 142 point advantage in the final standings. Ryan Rasberry was the lone S3 Novice Stock Moto driver at the event, securing the series title with his fourth victory on the year as Chris Yettito missed the season finale but ended the year second in the title chase.

The Bordogna Racing Engines-sponsored TaG Junior championship ended in a strange fashion following the actions from Atwater. Point leader Austin Dement had a solid lead in the championship heading into the finale and began the Atwater round as the top qualifier, posting a 31.880 to edge out Blaine Rocha for the spot. The first moto was a heated battle, as Curtis Paul advanced from fifth to score the win over Dement, with Brennan Mankin working around Rocha as well for third. The intense battle continued in heat two with Mankin coming away as the winner over Paul. Rocha and Grayson Browne trailed and Dement fell a few seconds back in the 12-lap run. In the main event, Mankin and Dement would break away for a two kart battle. At the line on lap 20, it was Dement taking the checkered flag. In the tech inspection area, Dement would be removed from the results for having a dislodged airbox, handing him a disqualification. That gave the win to Mankin, his first in the series. Rocha was classified second with Browne rounding out the podium. With a disqualification during an event equating into a non-droppable race, Dement was forced to drop a higher point-total event than his total from Atwater. The result moved Rocha to the top of the standings and the championship by a slim nine points over Dement. Nick Sommers, who entered Atwater second in the chase, fell to third overall after a trouble-filled event.

The action in the Cambrian Go-Karts-sponsored TaG Cadet division was just as wild – on and off the track. Hunter Kelly was quickest in the qualifying session and after placing third in heat one, lost both results after an engine issue was discovered in tech inspection. That gave point leader Hunter Corbitt the 10 bonus points for fast lap in qualifying and Davey Manthei Jr. the win in heat one, followed by Garrett Dixon and Danny Rubino. Manthei repeated in heat two, edging out Dixon once again by just 0.050-seconds – with Corbitt back up to third after finishing sixth in heat one. In the main event, Manthei was joined up front by Rubino, as the two swapped the lead until the final lap when Manthei secured the position and the victory for his third of the year. Rubino crossed the line second, just over one-tenth back, followed by Dixon, Kelly, Scott Huffaker and Corbitt. The final tally of the points equated to the top-five separated by 153-points with Corbitt scoring the most points for the championship. Manthei finished second, 45-markers back, with a disqualification at round four costing him the title. Kelly placed third ahead of Rubino and Huffaker to close out the year. In the final calculation for the Rok Cup International Final mini-series, Corbitt earned the most points to score the trip to Italy and compete in the October event. His 1114 total was best against Manthei (1035), Rubino (982) and Kelly (956).

The champions, along with the rest of the competitors, teams and family members are invited to the season-ending banquet, scheduled for Saturday, October 22 at the Delta King Riverboat (www.deltaking.com). For more on anything related to the ProKart Challenge or Superkarts! USA, visit their website – www.superkartsusa.com – or call the SKUSA head office at 951-491-0808.