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Friday, 12 April 2024 09:03 |
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A last to first performance for Ethan Lampe in KA100 Senior at the season opener (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)
The 20th season of the California ProKart Challenge will continue on the April 20-21 weekend with a return to the Buttonwillow Raceway Park. The Superkarts! USA flagship regional series kicked off the 2024 season in March with its first visit to the Buttonwillow, California facility and will make another trip for the second round of the championship. This time, competitors will contest the 11-turn, 7/10-mile circuit in the clockwise direction.
Over 30 drivers battled in the KA100 Senior by P1 Engines division as 2023 series champion Ethan Lampe was able to go from last to first in an amazing performance to grab the victory. Despite the run, he sits seventh in the points after the opening round – with Jackson Menchu leading the standings ahead of 2023 Junior champion Keagan Kaminski and Alexander Gonzalez. Payton Westcott enjoyed her first series victory in the KA100 Junior by SuperSpeed Bearings class. She leads the standings ahead of Dean Pedersen and Matthew Cagle after 23 drivers contested the opening round.
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Thursday, 28 March 2024 15:03 |
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(Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)
The 2024 California ProKart Challenge hosted the first event of the season on March 23-24 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in central California. Weather was a key factor on the weekend in Buttonwillow with rain threatening the opening round action of the 2024 championship program. The staff, teams and competitors worked together to push through the event schedule to avoid heavy rain toward the end of the main events, nearly getting every race in before the precipitation began falling heavily.
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Saturday, 16 March 2024 14:44 |
The California ProKart Challenge was established with a gathering of karters in 2005 led by kart shop owners and enthusiastic racers in the Southern California region. The program was led by Tom Kutscher, who would later become owner of Superkarts! USA in 2006. The California PKC became the flagship regional program for the organization and is now set to celebrate its 20th season.
“I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Patti and I started this journey,” shared a contemplative owner and principal Tom Kutscher. “This business has had its share of highs and lows for sure, but I’m really hoping we will see a positive turnaround in Southern California karting with the opening of K1 Circuit later in the season. I can’t wait!”
The 2024 PKC racing program begins on March 23-24 with a trip to the Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow, California. The opening round is slated for the national circuit in the counter-clockwise direction, including the popular ‘Spa’ and ‘Le Mans’ section of the track affectionately known as ‘the kink’, which produces some exciting finishes.
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Monday, 11 March 2024 06:25 |
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Matheus Morgatt led through only the final corners to secure his first SKUSA Pro Tour Pro Shifter victory (Photo: EKN)
What began as a wet and cloudy day at the Orlando Kart Center for the final day of action at the 2024 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour WinterNationals, the Sunday activities were greeted with warm weather and sunshine once qualifying began for the in the morning hours. The Orlando, Florida facility was wet for the opening warm-up sessions with the track drying just as the time sessions began. Those and the Prefinal runs were contested along with the Round Two main events for the Semi-Pro divisions while the Pro Show categories settled their WinterNationals with 25-lap main events at the end of the day.
The last main event of the day was the PSL Karting Pro Shifter Final, featuring 26 pilots from all over the world seeking to become the first Pro Show winner in SKUSA Pro Tour history. Prefinal winner Danny Formal (RPG / Kosmic) launched from the with Marijn Kremers (RPG / Kosmic) slotting in behind. Top contender Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) was third until he dropped to third behind a charging Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART) on lap four. Wick retired just after, suffering a mechanical issue. Morgatto – who finished the Prefinal in fourth but a penalty for contact dropped him down the order of the grid – quickly worked past Kremers for second. A few laps later, Kremers was under attack from Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) and Kiwi Jay Urwin (PSL / Birel ART). They exited turn five with Kremers trying to hold the outside on Gulick when the two made contact, sending Kremers into the wall and out of the race with a broken front end. Urwin slipped past both to hold the third position. The action up front remained unchanged until the closing laps when Morgatto was able to close in late. On the final circuit, Formal went defensive into the turn 10 hairpin at the end of the straightaway. A slight bobble out of the corner brought on slight bumper to bumper contact, and when Formal’s power reignited it darted him to the left of the track and nearly off course. This allowed Morgatto to power away, but not before Formal dove in deep in turn 13, making hard contact with the rear bumper of Morgatto. The contact nearly sent Formal upside down, as Morgatto powered away to reach the checkered flag first for his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory in shifterkart competition. Formal continued on to second with Urwin bagging his first major podium in SKUSA competition. Gulick held onto fourth with Giorgrio Carrara (Inter MS / Kart Republic) making it five different countries represented in the top-five (Brazil – Costa Rica – New Zealand – USA – Italy).
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Sunday, 10 March 2024 10:21 |
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Finnegan Bayliff secured his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory in KA100 Senior (Photo: EKN)
A warm and sunny day kicked off the 2024 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour WinterNationals at the Orlando Kart Center. Saturday’s racing featured a full round of racing for the Semi-Pro categories while a new era began for the two Pro divisions with Qualifying, Super Pole and Prefinal sessions took place during the evening hours in Orlando, Florida. The highlight of the day was the KA100 Senior main event where Finnegan Bayliff won in a dramatic finish with the Trinity Karting Group driver securing his first career SKUSA Pro Tour victory.
The Sodi Racing USA KA100 Senior category began with rookie Steven Miller (Nash / EOS) leading the 40-driver field in the timed qualifying session with a 56.115 lap time, beating out Collin Lloyd (Inter MS / Kart Republic) and Stephen Eisert (Sodi Racing USA). The Prefinal was a precursor to what we would get in the main event with Lloyd winning on the last lap over Miller and Peyton Phillips (RPM / Tony Kart). The final was two drivers up front after the red flag for Mario Barrios on the opening lap and early shuffling on the restart. Lloyd and Fernando Leque (Supertune USA / Tony Kart) were nose to tail and able to get away from the rest of the field, including Finnegan Bayliff (Trinity / Kart Republic) in third. Once the top two began shuffling for the spot, this brought Bayliff and others back into the mix. As they made their way through the two hairpins at the start of the lap, Phillips moved up to second on the bumper of Lloyd. Entering the sweeper, Phillips made contact with Lloyd’s bumper, sending both sideways. Lloyd pushed to the outside while Phillips was in the middle of the track. Bayliff slipped by both as Luque slammed into Phillips. This allowed Bayliff to lead the final lap, securing his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Cameron Weinberg (CDR / Kart Republic) made his way through nearly the entire field after starting 35th due to a Prefinal incident. He was sitting fifth when all this was happening, and was able to knife through the wreck to finish second as Eli Warren (Redspeed) crossed the line in third. A pushback bumper penalty dropped him off the podium, putting James Overbeck (BJR-MDR / Tony Kart) into third after pulling off a 360 degree spin in the air earlier during the race. Kane Martin (Nash / EOS) completed the top-five.
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