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| July 11, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturer’s Cup – Road America |
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 | The Briggs & Stratton Motorplex features extensive elevation changes
(Photo: eKartingNews.com) |
After getting two full days of practice in the books here at Road America’s Briggs & Stratton Motorplex, the competitors of the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup series finally got down to the business of wheel-to-wheel competition as a total of 10 classes were run under blue skies. The Elkhart Lake, Wis. facility is absolutely beautiful, a true parkland of motorsports, and when you can put karts on both the sprint and legendary big track, it become’s a karting enthusiast’s opus. The racing was spectacular on the sprint track, with both close finishes and some dominant performances by great drivers. The follow report details the session-by-session events for Saturday’s schedule.
Yamaha Supercan Heavy
After putting his MRP Motorsports Birel on the front row following a 52.036-second run in qualifying, Ryan Stewart proceeded to lead the 10-lap Prefinal to the last circuit when Ryan Phillips stuck his Bandit Y2K down the inside of the leader in the final corner. Phillips pushed wide coming out onto the frontstretch, but he was able to get enough forward bite to hold off Stewart at the line. Brandon Adkins (Tonykart) maintained his third place qualifying run in chasing the lead duo to the checkered flag, putting himself on the inside of row two for the main event alongside Jason Foley (Merlin), who drove up from eighth. Josh Call (Margay) capped the top-five, while Cody Robinson (Arrow) fell to seventh after qualifying second.
The run through the Esses at the start of the 16-lap main was wild, with a few drivers going off-track behind Stewart, who grabbed the early lead. Foley and Phillips would get by Stewart to swap the top spot early, with Foley settling into point position of a mid-race three-driver breakaway that added Stewart to the mix. Kevin Nelson (Margay) then teamed with Adkins in an attempt to close back on the lead trio, eventually reaching the tail of the lead group with two to go. Over the final circuits, Phillips would make his move to the lead to set up a wild scrap for the win.
The race came down to a head-to-head duel between Phillips and Adkins after Stewart and Nelson got together, sending them back to fourth and fifth. Adkins was a rocket at the end and set himself into a position make a last corner move for victory, but Phillips was too strong coming out of the left-hander that leads to the final right-hand cutback, and Adkins just did not have enough to force the issue to the inside. Phillips took a well-deserved win over Adkins, who set the fastest lap of the race in the process. Foley held on for third, with Nelson and Stewart completing the podium.
TaG Masters
Motorama Kart Parts’ John Dixon (Birel) put his stamp on the TaG Masters class with a 49.937-second run in qualifying, outgunning Michael Unger (Kosmic) by 0.272 seconds. T. Will (Merlin) was third in the order, timing in ahead of Ruel Ellis (Kosmic) and Paul Russo (Birel). When it came time to go head-to-head, the drivers then fought it out during the first lap until Will came through to take the lead with a good move past Russo heading into the turn two Esses for the second time. Will’s lead would be short-lived however, as a broken pipe sent him to pit lane on the very next lap. Russo would pace the field for a short time until Dixon took control once again , eventually pulling out to a 1.995-second win. Russo was second in the tally, while Kim Carapellatti (Margay) bounced back from a mechanical issue in qualifying to come from a seventh place starting spot to third in the final order.
In the main event, Dixon made quick work of his challengers at the green and walked to an early one-second lead. However, Carapelletti began to turn this up early and reeled in Dixon heading to the crossed halfway flags, eventually slipping by to take the lead, totally changing the complexion of the race. Dixon had been challenged and he responded, hounding the new leader before going back by on lap 11, making a move to the inside as they slid into the final complex of corners. From there, Dixon would not again see his competition, pulling away to a 0.846-second victory. Carapellatti finished up a strong second ahead of T. Will. Unger and Russo capped the podium.
HPV Jr. Heavy
 | Ocala Gran Prix' Nick Neri was dominant in his HPV Jr. Heavy triumph
(Photo: eKartingNews.com) |
Fresh off a second place run at the most recent Skip Barber National Championship event at New Jersey Motorsports Park, MRP Motorsports’ Sage Karam (Birel) made a smooth transition back to his 100cc racing kart by laying down a 49.998-second lap in HPV Jr. Heavy qualifying. Nick Neri was second quick in the Ocala Gran Prix Tony Kart, turning a 50.002 to sit just four thousandths of a second back. Sam Beasley (Arrow), Robbie Bujdoso (Tony Kart) and Kyle Crump (Margay). A total of 27 drivers would transfer straight through to the Prefinal from qualifying, and the final five came from the Last Chance Qualifier, which was won by Kodiak Wirtz (Merlin) over Kyle Smith (arrow) and Claire Decker (Merlin).
The opening lap of the Prefinal featured quite a bit of contact, with five karts retiring before the completion of the initial circuit, including 15th place starter Jake Cole (Merlin). Once the dust settled, Neri was out front having taken the lead away from Karam. Neri then flexed his muscles and steadily pulled away, eventually building a 2.978-second advantage by the end of the 10-lap sprint. Beasley and Bujdoso kept their positions in the lead group, while Austin Self (Birel) used the Prefinal to improve on his ninth place qualifying time to advance to fifth in the order.
After Karam led the opening segment of the 16-lap main event, Neri moved to the point with Beasley and Self slipping in behind Karam to complete the lead quartet. The foursome hung together through the early laps but it quickly became clear that Neri was the class of the field, pulling out to a 2.218-second by the time he received the ‘two laps to go’ sign from starter Matt Long. Beasley was clear in second, but the fight between Self and Karam for third went down to the final lap. Self had a little trouble coming off the hill onto the lower part of the track and when the duo entered the final complex of corners, Karam was able to slip to the inside. Self turned down for the turn and they made slight contact, sending Self into a slow slide. He would recover to hold onto fourth, just over a second ahead of Bujdoso.
Yamaha Pipe
Tony Jump (Margay) laid down a strong performance in Yamaha Pipe qualifying, turning a 50.787-second to put him over two-tenths clear of Birel pilot Ryan Stewart. T.J. Koyen (Merlin) was third on the time charts, sitting atop Kevin Nelson (Margay) and Nathaniel Dewitt (Kosmic). Any cushion that Jump had in his qualifying time went out the window when the green dropped for the Prefinal as Nelson went quickly to the front, eventually stretching three tenths over the polesitter after 10 laps. Despite the fact that there was a tight five-driver pack scrapping it out with two to go, Nelson steered clear of any issues to secure the pole position for the main. Jump held on to second, ahead of Koyen and Adam Crepin (Arrow). Stewart completed the top-five.
When the main event went green, Nelson led the way early and set the pace, chased aggressively by Jump, Crepin and Koyen. This group would drop a driver on lap five when Crepin lost control of his Arrow and tagged the frontstretch wall, ending his race early. This would advance Koyen up to third, and the resultant three-driver breakaway would leave Josh call (Margay) in fourth and Nathaniel DeWitt (Kosmic) in fifth. At the checker, Nelson would complete his run to the win, but not without a last-ditch effort from Jump to find a way by.
 | Chris 'Disco-Disco' Wehrheim was the man in TaG, fending off a late-race charge from John Zartarian to score the Saturday win
(Photo: otp.ca) |
TaG
After chasing the ultra-quick Chris Wehrheim (Topkart) all day during Friday practice, the TaG field headed into the Saturday qualifying run looking to find a bunch of speed to challenge the Georgia resident. Veteran driver Jamie Sieracki (Merlin) would do just that, tweaking the solid baseline set-up on his Merlin to find the sweet spot, resulting in a 48.472-second lap that stole the pole position from Wehrheim by just 0.005 seconds. John Zartarian (Tony Kart) was just 0.013 back from the lead duo, underlining how tight this TaG field actually is. Point leader Marco Di Leo (Intrepid) was third ahead of WKA veteran Mark Vielgut (Haase).
A great looking field of 24 karts rocketed up the hill into the Esses to begin the Prefinal, and Wehrheim would quickly show his stuff, coming across from outside to lead the opening lap by six lengths. He would not be challenged again and took a 1.430-second victory to secure the pole for the Final. Zartarian and Di Leo fought it out for second with the former taking the spot, while Mark Bumgarner (Margay) advanced a couple spots to take a position on the outside of the second row for the main. Scott Ferris (Margay) completed the top-five.
In the final, Wehrheim, Zartarian and Di Leo pulled out to a sizeable cushion in the early going, with the polesitter actually stretching out a gap of his own as well. Through the midway point of the race, Wehrheim looked to be in complete control of the run, as Di Leo had worked into second. The brother-sister duo of Mark and Michelle Bumgarner sat fourth and fight during the opening laps, until the departure of Michelle advanced Vielgut up into the top five. Vielgut would eventually steer his Haase past Bumgarner to claim fourth. Up front, the fight came to a head on the final lap when Zartarian passed Di Leo heading into the Esses, taking over second. He would then close up on Wehrheim through the final corners, coming up just short of being able to make a move for the win. To Wehrheim’s credit, he did not put a wheel wrong all day and backed up his recent advancement to the #1 position in the EKN TaG Driver Rankings. These competitors will be back again tomorrow and it remains to be seen if they can step up to take the fight to the current class frontrunner.
 | Sam Beasley is enjoying a strong weekend in Wisconsin, scoring the Saturday win in Yamaha Junior Lite
(Photo: otp.ca) |
Yamaha Jr. Light
Despite the fact that he and his crew struggled to get their KT100 fired on the grid, Sam Beasley (Arrow) still managed to lay down the pole lap in Yamaha Jr. Light qualifying with a 51.185-second lap. Merlin Nation’s Trent Hindman was second in the order, just under three tenths back, while Jake Cole (Merlin), Sage Karam (Birel) ad Austin Self (Birel) completed the fast five. The field had trouble getting set to take the green, and the race director eventually moved Hindman back from second to fourth after two waved starts, advancing Karam to the off-pole slot. Nothing was going to hold back Beasley, as after taking the lead from the field following the first run through the Esses at the end of the frontshute, he proceeded to absolutely walk away from his challengers. The margin of victory was 5.453 seconds after 10 laps, but the race behind the eventual winner was an entertaining dice for second between Hindman, Self, Cole and Karam. Karam would get back to third, but Hindman battled back to second, where he was supposed to have started.
Heading into the main, the odds of Beasley completing the sweep were good, and he made good on the predictions, decimating the field with an 8.201-second triumph. With Beasley checking out, the fight for the remaining positions on the podium was a great one. Cole, Hindman and Karam were the combatants, each taking their turns on all three positions. Cole would eventually take the runner-up position, finishing just three tenths ahead of Karam. Hindman would sit fourth in the final order, while Shawn Sharkey (Merlin) capped the podium as he edged Self for the last spot in the top-five.
Yamaha Sportsman Heavy
Joel Jens (Merlin) topped the 26-kart Yamaha Sportsman Heavy category, turning a 54.562 in qualifying to outrun Kyle Tilley (Margay) and Gresham Wagner (Birel) would the pole in the Prefinal. Garrett Johnston (Margay) would start fourth in the 10-lap sprint, posting the identical fast lap as Wagner, but losing the position based on his second quickest time. Garrett’s twin brother Jake Johnston (Margay) capped the fast five. A five-driver breakaway ensued at the start of the Prefinal, and the excitement would not end until the final corner when Garrett Johnston made a hard move down the inside of Jens to take the lead and the win after the drag race to the stripe. Jens held on for second, ahead of Tilley, Santino Ferrucci (Maranello) and Wagner.
Like many of the class finals, a three-driver battle would develop by the end of the main events and Yamaha Sportsman Heavy played right into this script. The fight came down to Tilley, Johnston and Wagner, all ready to scrap for the win on the final lap. Tilley wanted the win and was going to make it tough to get by, while Wagner understood the urgency of moving into second if he was to mount an attack. Wagner took a big look inside Johnston in the opening Esses but needed to wait until the final corner complex to make a realistic move. The Birel pilot was able to get inside Johnston, however, the second place man held strong on the outside line to keep the inside groove for the next turn. This allowed Tilley to emerge onto the frontshute unchallenged, taking the checkered first. Johnston edged Wagner for second, while Myers and Jarsocrak completed the top-five.
HPV Sportsman
Garrett Johnston (Margay) led the way in qualifying for the 24-kart HPV Sportsman class, just nipping James Bennett (Birel) for the Prefinal pole. Johnston posted a 53.021-second lap to Bennett’s 53.036, setting up what was expected to be an exciting race-long fight. Colin Warren (Birel) was third in the order, just ahead of Santino Ferrucci (Maranello) and Derek Sobel (Top Kart) in the fast five. In the Prefinal, Ferrucci worked his way to the front to secure the pole for the main event, winning by 0.162 seconds from Johnston and Bennett. Warren and Kalish capped the top-five.
The final would become a three-driver dice early on as Johnston showed the way from Tyler Goldberg (Merlin) and Ferrucci. The trio would fight to the end with Ferrucci eventually slipping past Goldberg for second, but he was not in position to challenge Johnston, who scored a 0.321-second triumph. In the aftermath, Goldberg would be docked three positions for cutting the track, dropping him to sixth. This would advance Jeff Myers Jr. (Birel) to third, who after gridding 11th, both started well and dodged some contact to find himself leading the second group of drivers. Aiden Landauer (Merlin) and Jake Johnston (Margay) followed Myers in this seven-kart group to complete the top-five.
HPV Lite
The battle for the pole position in the HPV Lite qualifying session was tight, as Ryan Stewart (Birel) edged out Patrick Olsen (Birel) for the top spot; the duo separated by just 0.008 seconds. The eventual Prefinal front row was over three tenths quicker that TJ Koyen (Merlin), who in turn led Tony Jump (Margay) and Tommy Andersen (Merlin) after the timed session. In the Prefinal, Stewart capitalized on his pole position to pull out to big lead at the start, but Olsen tracked him down by the halfway point and then put himself into position for a late-race move. This attack came with just one lap remaining, as Olsen took over the top spot and held off Stewart to secure the pole for the main. Koyen took third ahead of Bill McLaughlin (Birel) and Andersen.
The HPV Lite main developed into a Stewart versus Olsen battle, with Olsen holding the point during the final five-lap dash to the checker. Stewart kept up the pressure, but Olsen enjoyed a small cushion heading into the final lap. Stewart laid it all out on the final circuit bit was not able to challenge for the victory. The remainder of the top-five was decided by a three-wide photo finish, complete with banging pods, that saw Jump take third over Anderson and McLaughlin.
 | Kyle Kalish and Joel Jens made it a Merlin 1-2 in Cadet
(Photo: otp.ca) |
Cadet – Final 1
To begin the first day of Cadet racing, Kyle Kalish (Merlin) put himself at the front of the grid with a 54.146-second run in qualifying. James Bennett (Birel) and Santino Ferrucci (Maranello) were second and third in the order, ahead of Joel Jens (Merlin) and Colin Warren (Birel). In the Prefinal, Bennett took control early and paced the field through to the end of the sprint, holding off Kalish by 0.057 seconds. Jens turned the fastest lap as he held station in the pack, setting up what promised to be an exciting main event. Campbell and Ferrucci capped the top-five.
After a smooth start to the main event, a five-kart breakaway group developed early in the run, featuring Joel Jens, Warren, Bennett, Kalish and Campbell. The lead was never confirmed as the only driver not to lead during the first half of the race was Campbell. The chess game was certainly on, and all five drivers in the quintet were working to position themselves for the second half run for the victory. As the laps wound down, Merlin pilots Kalish and Jens began to pull away and it looked as though we may have been in for a last lap dice, but it was not to be. Kalish had enough left in the tank to hold back Jens, taking the impressive win. Bennett ended up third in the final tally after battling with Warren, while Ferrucci capped the top-five ahead of Tyler Moneypenny (Arrow).
The drivers will return to the track on Sunday with a full slate of racing in eight classes.
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