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Friday, 18 June 2010 13:06 |
 The chase for the 2010 ProKart Challenge South titles are heating up as the series prepares for the fifth round of the six-event series. On June 25-26, the Superkarts! USA Southern California regional program will head to the Buttonwillow Raceway Park to compete on the challenging 7/10-mile kart track. The fifth round will be important for those looking to establish themselves as the championship leader, with the program counting all six rounds toward the title standings. With points counted each time the drivers hit the track, Buttonwillow will sort out the contenders from the pretenders.
As it should be, the headline category – S1 Pro Stock Moto – has the closest battle heading into Buttonwillow. SKUSA SpringNationals race winner Clinton Schoombee holds the point lead by a slim five points over Tommy Thompson. Schoombee has two feature wins to his credit, while Thompson has yet to taste victory but has been the more consistent driver over the first four rounds. Lurking behind are Brad Dunford and Peter Abba, waiting for the top two to make any mistakes and capitalize on them. TaG Senior has been just as close, with the veteran leading the young rising star. SKUSA Pro Tour championship leader Phil Giebler holds the top spot in the PKC South chase as well, holding a 28 point advantage over Kyle Shriver. Giebler has one win along two other podium finishes, while Shriver has yet to score a victory. |
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Wednesday, 19 May 2010 08:04 |
 With a wide open course and over 100 mph speeds, anything can and will happen. The fourth round of the Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge South program saw just that as they visited the popular Streets of Willow course in Rosamond, California, co-hosting with a US Rotax Max Challenge program – the Gatorz Karting Cup series. Considered by many as a sprint course on steroids, the 1.8-mile course at the Willow Springs International Motorsports Park provides the feel of road racing while still providing the short-track mentality.
Drafting is a key element contesting the Streets course – with the ability to get through the corners the quickest still a crucial part to putting together the right package. Working together was another factor – both on and off the track. Drivers worked together to produce the fast laps, while SKUSA and Gatorz Karting Cup operations joined forces to put on the event, welcoming over 100 drivers total. The union was the first for the two separate entities, and with the experiment a great success, cooperation between the two is expected to be seen in the future for the two Southern California-based operations. “It was a great time working with the Gatorz crew and seeing so many karts on track – we’re definitely planning on doing it again,” stated SKUSA’s Tom Kutscher. |
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Monday, 10 May 2010 12:26 |
 Riding off the momentum of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour debut in the month of April, the ProKart Challenge South program is set to return to action in the month of May. The Southern California regional series for the national organization will be traveling to the Streets of Willow course in Rosamond, CA for the fourth round of the six race program. The event marks the first time PKC and the Gatorz Karting Cup – a US Rotax Max Challenge program – will work together to co-host a race. The high speed and challenging 1.8-mile circuit at the Willow Springs International Motorsports Park will produce great racing for both programs.
“I am thrilled to be back at Streets. This is actually my favorite track,” stated Superkarts! USA’s Tom Kutscher. “This year will be an even bigger event than before, as we are putting the event on with the Gatorz Karting Cup program. Andy and his crew do a great job, and his Rotax racers are among the best in the country. If you haven’t experienced road racing at 115+ mph, you have to come out. Even if you just want to check it out for Friday practice. This course is a blast!”
“I'm excited to co-promote this event with Tom, Patti and the ProKart Challenge,” commented Andy Seesemann of the Gatorz Karting Cup. “Streets of Willow is my favorite track, as is for many of the Southern California GATORZ and ProKart drivers, and a combined event makes a lot of sense in order to offer our customers the best value possible. Tom and I have talked about a combined event for a few years, and this year we were finally able to get it done.” |
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Tuesday, 30 March 2010 08:44 |
 The competition continues to heat up in the sixth year of the ProKart Challenge South program, as the third round of the 2010 season completed at the Grange Motor Circuit last weekend. The Apple Valley, California facility saw a number of first time winners, which continues to be the trend on the year, thanks in part to the strong contingent of drivers competing in the series. That trend shows in the headline classes, as the S1 and TaG Senior categories have seen three different winners in each of the three features – this month seeing Peter Abba and Bobby Kelley taking the checkered flag.
The journey to his first PKC S1 victory was a battle for Abba. In qualifying, point leader Tommy Thompson was the quickest – as his 52.126 lap was just 0.028-seconds better than round two winner Clinton Schoombee. Abba was fourth in the order behind Brad Dunford, and they would start the first heat from row two. Schoombee grabbed the holeshot as Thompson fell back to third in the order behind Dunford. Abba, however, would not complete more than a lap as he encountered mechanical issues. Schoombee led most of the way, until a charging Thompson took over the point and led the final two laps for the win in Heat 1. Thompson and Schoombee would again run 1-2 in the second heat, as Thompson stretched out to a five-second advantage – with Jimmy McNeil moving up to the third spot and Abba going off track after a racing incident in lap 2. The field would shuffle up in the opening lap of the feature, as Schoombee had an off-track excursion. His trip dropped him to fifth, while Abba acquired the point ahead of Thompson and Dunford. Abba posted some fast laps early and would gain a solid distance over the fight for second to score the victory. Thompson held off Dunford for second to earn his second straight podium finish, securing his point lead. With Schoombee fourth and McNeil fifth, the fight remains very tight with three rounds down, and three rounds to go. |
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Monday, 29 March 2010 15:49 |
Leopard MY09 engines
Initial evaluation indicates a need to retain the option to adjust the weight for this engine within the PKC series for the 2010 season. We will continue to monitor the performance of the MY09 and reserve the option to add weight as needed. As is frequently the case with different engines, it appears to have a slight advantage at some tracks and have comparable performance at others.
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Regional 