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For 15 straight editions of the SKUSA SuperNationals, there’s never been a two-time winner. It’s true, there have been 15 different winners in the X30 Junior / TaG Junior category. Dating back to the category’s debut year in 2008, there has been a unique driver at the top of the podium each SuperSunday. It is a historic list of former winners in the category, including three Formula One drivers – George Russell (2011), Lance Stroll (2012) and Logan Sargeant (2014) – along with two on the cusp of reaching the pinnacle of motorsports – Jak Crawford (2017) and James Wharton (2019).
Turner Brown (Rolison Performance Group) joined that list in 2023, claiming victory on SuperSunday. The two-time SuperNationals winner returns, having finished third in the SKUSA Pro Tour championship with two wins while also competing at the FIA Academy Trophy program overseas, where he placed fifth in the European championship. This year, the California driver has a chance to make history. First, becoming the only driver to win a second time in X30 Junior. Second, can win both Junior categories for a second straight time to become the only driver to do so. Third, if he does win both Junior main events this SuperNationals, he will join the coveted four-win club that includes Connor De Phillippi, Billy Musgrave, Kip Foster, and Danny Formal. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Matheus Morgatto claimed his second straight in Pro Shifter (Photo: EKN)
The 2024 edition of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals wrapped up on Sunday at the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. A hot and sunny day at the Batavia, Ohio facility with Round Four action for the ‘Semi-Pro’ divisions was contested along with the main events for the SKUSA Pro Show divisions. The tight confines of the MCC KartPlex showed today with multiple red flag incidents to delay the action on the day. In the end it was PSL Karting’s Matheus Morgatto coming through for a second straight Pro Shifter triumph while British driver Kai Hunter invaded the USA for the first time to steal the Pro X30 victory.
Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART) was improving as the weekend continued, making his first start in the PSL Karting Pro Shifter class at MCC. The former FIA Karting World Champion was starting third behind top qualifier and two-time heat race winner AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) and Kyle Wick (GFC Karting) on the front row. Wick grabbed the holeshot from Myers to begin the 25-lap race, however, Myers reclaimed the top spot before the lap was over. Morgatto pushed Wick back to third on lap two and began pressuring Myers for the lead. The move was made on lap seven, as the top two drivers inched away from the rest of the field. They would run 1-2 the entire distance with Myers waiting until the final lap to put on the pressure. Through the final section of the track, he was on his bumper, literally, going into the left hand carousel. Morgatto was defensive, holding the spot through the final two corners and winning the race to the line for a second straight SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Wick was pressured by a charging Billy Musgrave (Factory Kart) until the spark plug boot popped off with four laps remaining. This allowed Gavin Bayliff (Trinity / Kart Republic) to advance up to fourth from the 11th spot. He however would not be cleared through tech, promoting Ian Quinn (PSL / Birel ART) up to fourth behind Wick with Tahlon Yockel (Sodi Racing USA) classified fifth.
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Ryan Norberg claimed his first victory since the end of 2022 with solid run in Pro X30 (Photo: EKN)
The Superkarts! USA Winter Series kicked off the 2024 racing season on Saturday at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex Presented by MG Tires with over 291 entries taking to the 0.7-mile, 12-turn in warm and windy conditions. With the mercury rising to the mid-80s in the high heat of the day and light showers making things interesting in between a few main events, Rolison Performance Group came away with a sweep of the headline Pro classes thanks to veteran performances by superstars Ryan Norberg and Danny Formal.
Heated early race action in the SpeedLab Racing Engines X30 Senior main event opened things up for a three-driver breakaway as top qualifier Ryan Norberg (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) led Austin Garrison (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed) and Alessandro de Tullio (Inter MS / Kart Republic) through the first half of the race. With Norberg beginning to stretch away from the duo as the race closed on the halfway point, de Tullio realized the situation and moved by Garrison in turn four to take up the chase. While he was able to build a little cushion on Garrison, de Tullio was just not able to reel in the five-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion. Norberg would cruise to a 1.164-second win. The fastest driver at the halfway point was top qualifier Jakob Kolar (Vice Racing / Kart Republic), who passed Canadian Thomas Nepveu (Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic) for fourth as he put his head down to push for a podium finish.
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In the midst of these unprecedented times, I wanted to take a moment and share my open and honest thoughts with you. Needless to say, this pandemic is something that turned not only karting on its head, but also every facet of our personal lives. For many in the sport, COVID-19 has disrupted not only the thing we love, but our livliehoods and ability to provide for our families. SKUSA has weathered recessionary conditions before, most recently the financial challenges our country faced during the mortgage crisis. While we always planned and strategized for financial downturns, nobody ever envisioned a situation like this.
This entire ordeal has left more questions than answers, and regrettably I am left with the same uncertainty as a promoter that you may feel as a team, shop, or participant. The future and our ability to host any future race is largely dictated by everchanging local, state, and federal guidelines. Like you, we have no income coming in. And we empathize with everyone facing the challenges of the current situation. SKUSA employs many people, including staffers, contractors, and local event workers. We are very proud to say we have worked incredibly hard to provide our full-time employees with uninterrupted income during this period. It has not been easy, and there was no stimulus check sent our way. That said, our philosophy has always been we are only as good as the team around us. We know motorsports as a whole will undoubtedly suffer some losses or businesses being forced to close. We feel it imperative to help out those who have been paramount to our success over the years.
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One category that has continually produced excitement and drama at the SKUSA SuperNationals is Mini Swift. The class has been a category at the SuperNats since 2016 and before that as ‘TaG Cadet’ beginning in 2010. Over the course of 13 previous editions, the class has seen 13 different winners. The list of victors includes Formula One, IndyCar, and NASCAR drivers of today.
During that span, no driver has been able to defend their victory. The opportunity now sits in front of 2023 SuperNationals winner Royce Vega (Team Benik). The Texan had a successful season in 2024 that began with winning the SKUSA Winter Series championship along with the USPKS title this year. He finished with one victory and fourth in the final standings for the SKUSA Pro Tour. Vega was scheduled to compete the week before Vegas at the IAME Warrior Final in Spain, however, the flooding disaster postponed the event to post-SuperNationals at another location in Spain. With his return confirmed, this will be Vega’s second start in Mini Swift at the SuperNats. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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