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Thursday, 31 March 2022 01:00 |
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Hannah Greenemeier looks to repeat in X30 Senior (Photo: EKN)
The 2022 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is set to kick off this weekend (March 31-April 2) at the NOLA Motorsports Park. The fifth edition of the SKUSA WinterNationals at the Avondale, Louisiana will host the opening two rounds of the championship program, which celebrates the 13th season. The ‘Big Easy’ always provides a threat of rain, with Saturday looking to be the day that could be the most impacted in terms of wet weather racing.
This weekend’s is the largest WinterNationals on record before walk-up entries at 224 in the five-year history of the event. The first edition came in 2017 at NOLA and was there the year after before moving to the CalSpeed Karting facility in 2019. COVID-19 halted the 2020 edition as Friday practice was wrapping up and the world changed over the coming days. The WinterNationals returned in 2021 to NOLA, with all four previous editions featuring over 200 entries. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Written by Matthew Fink - Hagerty Media
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Friday, 11 March 2022 10:16 |
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Late race drama: on the last lap of the K100 senior race, the top five contenders crashed, handing Brandon Lemke the win. (Matthew Fink)
Which race do you consider to be the greatest motorsports event in the world? Is it the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Perhaps, the Indy 500? Or, maybe you favor something more extreme, like the Isle of Man TT bike race or Pikes Peak Hillclimb? I would like to add a lesser-known event to the list of title contenders: The Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) SuperNationals.
This karting event in Las Vegas, Nevada annually provides high speed and high stakes. It is a collection of the world’s top motorsports drivers with varying agendas and equipment. These aren’t your local family fun center five-horsepower karts. No, these are lethal machines that pull big g-force numbers in the corners and high digits down the straights. Speed, history, prestige, and close competition–this race, like its well-known crown jewels counterparts, has it all, and I’ve know this for a while.
Fresh out of college, in the early 2000s, I worked for SKUSA and helped conduct some of the largest events in karting history. SuperNationals is widely regarded as the most prestigious karting event in the world. The race–and SKUSA, in general– have helped evolve karting into the professional motorsport that it is today. I hold them in such high regard but haven’t attended a SuperNat race since 2003. To see if it could still be consider one of the greatest motorsport events in the world, I attended the 24th running of the great kart race in the desert. Read full story on Hagarty.com |
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Monday, 14 February 2022 01:00 |
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Diego Ramos held on to secure his first win of 2022 in X30 Senior (Photo: EKN)
The 2022 Superkarts! USA Winter Series closed out on Sunday, February 13 at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex presented by MG Tires. The fourth and final round was contested at the Homestead, Florida facility, which was delayed by lightning and heavy rain during warm-up. After grinding through qualifying, the Prefinals were shortened to catch up on the schedule. And by the main events, the sun was shinning for the last chance for drivers to battle for a win and the championships. Rolison Performance Group driver Caleb Gafrarar stole the show on the day and the weekend, earning victory in all four Junior categories. In the headline X30 Senior division, Brazilian Diego Ramos edged out fellow countryman Matheus Morgatto, who put together four straight runner-up results to claim the series championship.
The Group A Apparel X30 Senior division began with only one driver dipping below the 1-minute mark in qualifying, thanks to PSL Karting / Birel ART driver Marijn Kremers. A lap of 59.814 cleared the 40-driver field by over three tenths. He would only complete four of the eight laps in the Prefinal as a broken reed stopped his engine from performing. In turn, Diego Ramos (REM / Kosmic) shined through on the drying track to earn the race win and pole position for the main event. Ramos jumped out to a solid lead at the start of the Final and eventually was caught by point leader Matheus Morgatto (AM / Exprit). Morgatto was into the lead by lap 11 and Ramos positioned himself on the his rear bumper. It was not until Lap 21 that Ramos made his move, grabbing the lead. Morgatto tried to regroup and make a pass, but was unable to complete the move. Ramos took the victory by one-second at the line – becoming the fourth different winner in the four rounds. Saturday winner and three-time defending champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) joined them on the podium in third with Round Two winner Alessandro de Tullio (Parolin USA) and Carson Morgan (RPM / Tony Kart) completing the top-five. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Sunday, 13 February 2022 06:45 |
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Ryan Norberg continues streak from SuperNats24 with victory in X30 Senior debut in 2022 (Photo: EKN)
The penultimate round of the 2022 Superkarts! USA Winter Series was held at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex presented by MG Tires on Saturday with perfect weather conditions all day long at the Homestead, Florida facility. The eight race groups with nine classes contested the third round of the championship program to open up the season. A number of drivers secured their first wins of the season while others added the to the short total of the year.
The Group A Apparel X30 Senior category went beyond the scheduled distance and was decided after the final checkered flag. Defending series champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) made his 2022 debut this weekend after sitting out the month of January. He was instantly into the mix after qualifying fourth as Senior rookie Carson Morgan (RPM / Tony Kart) set the pace with a 47.887-lap time. He fell back to third as championship leader Matheus Morgatto (AM / Exprit) and Norberg slipped through in the Prefinal. The main event was an early battle until Norberg secured the top position. While Morgatto was able to record fast lap of the race, he put the pressure on Norberg but was unable to make a move. Norberg crossed the line as the winner, however, was penalized for a jump start. A protest was filed, and it went in Norberg’s favor, restoring him as the winner and putting Morgatto back to second. Diego Ramos (REM / Kosmic) finished third with Marjin Kremers (PSL / Birel ART) classified fourth with defending SKUSA Pro Tour champion Hannah Greenemeier (RPG / Kosmic) dropped to fifth after a pushback bumper penalty. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Friday, 11 February 2022 07:15 |
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Matheus Morgatto’s two runner-up finishes in January have him leading the X30 Senior championship (Photo: EKN)
This weekend is the series finale for the 2022 Superkarts! USA Winter Series program, with the final two rounds to be contested at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex presented by MG Tires. Round Three and Four of the four-race championship series is scheduled for the February 11-13 weekend at the Homestead, Florida facility. An exciting two rounds of racing took place in January to complete the first half of the championship program, with the final two rounds to be held on Saturday and Sunday.
The 7/10-mile circuit has undergone some updates in recent weeks, including new curbing and exit sections revised. Following the counter-clockwise direction for January, the clockwise direction will be utilized for this weekend’s events. Wednesday and Thursday are unofficial practice with Friday hosting five official sessions for testing. Round Three is set for Saturday, including qualifying, Prefinal and Final. Round Four is a repeat format on Sunday.
What is considered to be the ‘Spring Training’ for the upcoming season, the SKUSA Winter Series is the opportunity for select drivers either graduating up a division, or finding a new home to work out the kinks and get ready for the busy summer schedule. Entries were higher than the last year for the opening event in January with 220 entries in the nine categories. This weekend, we enter the weekend with 210 pre-registered for the final two rounds of racing. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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