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Supernationals
SuperNationals 22 Track Layout Confirmed by Superkarts! USA
Thursday, 01 November 2018 09:17

The unofficial theme of the 22nd edition of the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals is that of ‘returning home’. Nine previous editions of the race have been run at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, including the breakout 2002 event which brought the SuperNationals into the city from its former permanent facility home in the desert on the outskirts of Las Vegas. For 2018, the unique location at the Rio will once again welcome over 500 SKUSA competitors from North America and around the world for what is the single biggest karting event in the world. This year, the action begins on Wednesday, November 14 when the karts hit the hotel’s parking lot that faces the famed Las Vegas Strip, with the winners being decided on SuperSunday, November 18.

The development of the SKUSA SuperNationals 22 track layout was once again managed by three guest track designers. The veteran trio of Howie Idelson, Bonnier Moulton, and Wesley Boswell were again selected by SKUSA’s Tom Kutscher to help in the design of the circuit for the 2018 edition of the SuperNationals. A driver with countless victories and championships over his decades of karting, Idelson competed in the first 20 editions of the event before sitting out last year for the first time to focus his son Dane’s program. Moulton is now the only competitor to have raced at all 21 SuperNationals, winning the prestigious event on three occasions. Boswell won the 2003 SuperNationals at the Rio, and remains a key figure in the karting industry.


The circuit for the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 22 measures out to just under eight tenths of a mile and features 12 challenging turns. What stands out the most is the direction of the course. For the first time in the SuperNationals’ history at the Rio, the track will run in the counter-clockwise direction, continuing the trend that began in 2015 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The track design is a mixture of circuits from the Las Vegas Convention Center and those of previous Rio editions. A long backstraight leads into the fast sweeping final left-hand corner that has provided clean starts and exciting finishes during the last three editions of the race. Two 180-degree hairpin turns follow and then lead into the ‘pit lane’ straight, which was a staple of the original Rio circuits in 2002 and 2003. The second half of the track fills out the middle portion of the parking lot, including two sections of esses that pour into the tight turn 10 that leads onto the back straight.

“This track was a lot more difficult to design than last year because we had to deal with the light poles and certain sections of the asphalt,” offered Boswell. “We had to give enough room for pit space, grandstands, the grid area, tech and fuel impound. We (Bonnier and Howie) all drove the track four months ago, and feel this layout flows well, it’s fun to drive and will provide good passing opportunities.”

“When I walked into the Rio the evening after laying out the track, it felt like coming home,” added Moulton. “The track design process went very smooth. Having the kart there allowed us to lay out the course we agreed on and fine tune it until we were happy.”

“The Rio is where the SuperNats became a legitimate premier event with international cred,” explained Idelson. “Going back there is like going home. There’s a comfort; a sense of where everything is. You don’t need to take time to get acclimated. Historically, the Rio track layout has been a derivative of the original that had evolved through the years. This year, we wiped the slate clean and started fresh. We took popular elements from the last two year’s tracks and created a completely new Rio layout, this time counter clockwise. We looked at the racers as well as the viewer’s experience to come up with what we think will be the best the Rio has ever seen. We were challenged by less overall acreage than last year, so we had more to consider with regards to the combination of elements in order to create a challenging layout that rewards the faster driver to create good racing.”

The Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 22 begins on November 14 with two full days of practice and qualifying. Following the first day of practice, the 2018 SKUSA Pro Tour Championship Awards Ceremony will take place inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in the Amazon Ballroom G. All Pro Tour and SKUSA supporters, team managers, family and friends, competitors, sponsors and mechanics are all invited to attend as we honor the top three finishers in all nine categories. The FREE ceremony begins at 8:30pm and will run until approximately 10:00pm. Head to the Awards Ceremony page for more details and to reserve your spot for the evening.

A reminder for all karting fans who will not be in attendance for the SKUSA SuperNationals 22. Live audio coverage – featuring the official voice of SKUSA commentator Rob Howden – will begin with qualifying on Thursday and will run through SuperSunday and will be available through eKartingNews.com on their EKN LIVE page (www.ekartingnews.com/live). Superkarts! USA, along with Greenlight Productions, will be streaming live video from SuperSunday for FREE on Facebook Live. This will be a first-class production featuring multiple cameras, elevated lifts, drones, on-board GoPros and more, reaching thousands of viewers from around the world.

For more information on anything related to Superkarts! USA, please check this website and be sure to follow the Superkarts! USA Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts.