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| Features |
| Factory Pilot: Gary Carlton - An American in Europe |
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For 2011, American karting star Gary Carlton will be the lead driver for the Chiesa Corse operation in the KZ1 category aboard factory-prepared Zanardi/IAME package. eKartingNews.com has partnered with Gary to help produce segments over the course of his time as a new factory driver. Working with him on forum blogs, race-event journals, photos, video footage and more, viewers will be able to see first-hand what it is to be a factory driver for one of the top European teams in karting.
A special PayPal account has been created by SwedeTech Racing Engines to help support Gary’s living expenses while in Europe. Those who wish to support him my click HERE to donate any amount. EKN is developing a T-Shirt in support where all proceeds will go to the same fund. Details to come soon.
 | Broken glass on the CRG van on the way to Genk
(Photo: garycarlton.us) |
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The day started a little frantic inside of my apartment inside the CRG Factory in Desenzano. For some reason, my alarm did not go off on my phone and Luca Tilloca (Factory CRG Driver) woke me up and told me the van was leaving to head up to Belgium for the World Cup. I quickly woke and jumped into the shower and then got dressed. I think I set a new record for myself of getting ready and as I threw my bags inside the very packed van, I was trying to make sure I did not forget anything really important. I checked if I had my helmet, passport, money, phone..... what was I forgetting. Well, if I did forget anything, it was too late because right as the door shut, we headed on down the road.
The trip would be 1200 kilometers up to Genk so it would be a whole day spent inside the van. The van was completely full of people, parts, bags and anything else you can imagine. We drove about an hour until we stopped for breakfast and a coffee. It was already quite warm and without any air conditioning (broke the week before), it was not going to be a very comfortable ride. But I will say the drive up to Genk produces some very scenic views. We would pass up through Austria, then go through almost all of Germany, go maybe 15 kilometers through Holland, and then arrive in Genk, Belgium.
Full Story
 | The new 'Scuderia Karting' hauler to host the Chiesa Corse squad
(Photo: garycarlton.us) |
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
I was really excited to wake in the morning knowing I did not have to work in the CRG Factory but instead flying to Zaragoza, Spain for the final round of the WSK Euro Series. I had never seen the Zuera circuit before but from what all the drivers had told me and the videos I had seen, it looked awesome. Also it had been just over a month since I had stepped foot in my Zanardi/IAME kart and as always I was itching to get back to driving.
My mechanic Blaz picked me up out front of the CRG Factory and we headed to the Bergamo Airport. Once at the airport, we met up with the lead IAME KZ Engine tuner Gigi, who would be flying with us. While waiting to board our flight, we all got caught up on what everyone has been up too and grabbed a quick bite to eat. Our Ryan Air flight was direct to Zaragoza and went without any problems. I love flying with Ryan Air because they cut out all the BS that goes with flying. You show up with your boarding pass printed out from home and your seat is what ever you find when you get on the plane. They make it stupid simple and don’t make such a big deal about all the small stuff.
Once we arrived in Zaragoza, we went to the rental car place to get our car and picked up Birel driver Sauro Cesetti, who was on the same flight as us. It was a nice short drive to the track and once inside the paddock, I could already see the top of the new Scuderia Karting trailer standing taller than all the rest. Dino had been telling me about the new trailer that Scuderia Karting was building to host the Chiesa Corse team and once inside I was blown away. They only received the trailer four days before it headed out the shop so everything had yet to find its permanent home, but it was beyond impressive. It has two full length working levels due to its roof being able to lift up once parked in position. It has all the bells and whistles for anything a racer would need at the track along with X-Box and Playstation 3 in the office. I have been extremely lucky when it comes to racing trailers in my career. From the Trackmagic Trailer, to the PCH Trailer, CRG trailer, and now this thing, you really cannot get much better. But the best thing about it was the tent was already up when I got there because of the race they had the weekend before. Score!
Full Story
 | Camp for Gary over the weekend
(Photo: garycarlton.us) |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
When I went to bed the night before I still had not heard from Dino on how I was getting from my home in Desenzano all the way down to Muro Leccese so I woke myself up early just in case. I packed my bags and after a check look at the weekly weather forecast there was no need to pack anything but shorts and t-shirts. I made myself a nice breakfast and just about when I was about to step into the shower the call came. Dino had arranged for Bruno, an IAME engine tuner, to pick me up in the IAME van coming from Bergamo and we would meet the Chiesa Corse van on the way down. Form Desenzano to Muro Leccese it is about 1100 kilometers. We were basically starting from almost the very top and going to the very bottom of Italy. Though I have spent a lot time with Bruno at the track it was cool getting to know him better and talk about something other than how the engines were performing. After a few hundred kilometers we met up with a very full Chiesa Corse van with Dino, Marco (tuner from HP Engines), Mirko (mechanic for Chiesa Corse), and my personal mechanic Blaz. Once we stopped for gas we made even of the vans with people to give everyone a more comfortable ride.
Full Story
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
 | Gary on track in Germany
(Photo: Chris Walker - kartpix.net) |
The day started off like any other day waking up in my apartment inside the CRG Factory at my normal time of 7:00 am. But instead of going down stairs and into the factory to build karts, I stepped into the Chiesa Corse van heading up to Wackersdorf, Germany for the 2011 CIK-FIA European Championship for KZ1. It would just be Dino and I during the short trip. Once my bags were inside and Dino showed off his new tent for the race, we set off on our five hour drive (Editors Note: That’s traveling through three different countries…show’s just how large the United States is, sometimes you can’t event get through one state in that amount of time). During the drive we got caught up on everything that is going on and talked about some future plans with the team and myself that seemed very exciting, which made the ride go by very quickly. Also, the scenery passing through Austria was unbelievable and now I have yet another place that I want to visit when I have enough down time. Once we passed through Austria, we crossed the border into Germany and even though I have passed through the Munich airport in what seems like a million times, it was the first real time I have been on Germany soil and I was little excited. On the way up we met my mechanic Blaz on the highway just as our exit for the track had come. Blaz, who lives in Slovania, woke up early in the morning and drove himself up to Germany and made some good time, probably burnt a serious amount of gas to catch up with us before we got to the track. After taking one wrong turn, a few looks on the map, and then asking a fellow resident, we found our way to the Pro Kart Raceland Circuit.
Full Story
June 7, 2011
 | Gary aboard Mattia Madami's sailboat
(Photo: garycarlton.us) |
It has been a long break in the season and being it has been over a month since the last race, I have been itching to get back out there. But with the long break it has given me a lot of time to do some really neat experiences and even try out a few new things. The biggest thing that is different here in Italy is the lifestyle and the way they look at life compared to America. I have been coming back and forth to Europe since 2007 but never have stayed more than two or three weeks and then would come home. Now that I have lived here as of the first of March (with a five day trip back home in between), I have a much different prospective on what it is really like. I do not think it is better than an American lifestyle or no worse. It’s just a very different way of living life and I could go on and list every detail but in reality you have to experience it first hand to understand what makes living here so different. This diary is a log of the things I have done on and mostly off the track during this long break and took some photos along the way.
Full Story
April 25, 2011
 | Despite issues during practice, Carlton was able to keep positive and post solid lap times
(Photo: Chris Walker - kartpix.net) |
WSK Euro Series - Portugal Journal
It was a really exciting day for me because it would be the first time I have been to the Chiesa Corse/Zanardi Factory. My home in Desenzano is about an hour and a half drive to Padova, where it is based, and being that I still have not purchased a car yet, I would use the awesome train system in Italy. All over Europe they had built train systems that can get you pretty much anywhere you need to be. It makes it really easy to get around and is one of my personal ways of traveling. Once at the train station in Padova, I was picked up by Otello Chiesa (father of Chiesa Corse/Zanardi race team boss Dino Chiesa) and we had a very interesting ride over to the Chiesa Corse workshop. Anyone that has been in a car with Otello; you know what I'm talking about.
Once at Chiesa Corse, I finally was able to meet everyone that worked at this historic place. I say historic because looking at all the memorabilia on the office walls is really something. You start to realize how many great drivers have raced for this team and have gone on to race in the highest levels of motorsport. Pictures of drivers like Hamilton, Roseberg, Pantano, Long, and you can’t forget the bearer of the chassis' name, Zanardi. While taking a tour, Dino gave me the quick version of the history of Chiesa Corse and when looking at everything you could feel the passion for karting running through the shop walls. This place was special and I know after spending just an afternoon inside I felt more excited and even more fortunate to be a part of this team. After grabbing some Zanardi swag for the race, I headed to a hotel for the evening and set my alarm for an early wake-up for our flight the next morning.
Full Story
March 17, 2011
 | Only a few laps of testing during break-in sessions after three months out of the seat was all that prepared Gary for qualifying
(Photo: Chris Walker - kartpix.net) |
WSK Euro Series - Sarno Journal
When I first arrived in Italy the initial plan was for me to pass up the opening round of the WSK Euro Series due to the fact that I had not driven a kart since the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas last year. I had never driven the Zanardi/IAME package, and I did not even know if my body could stand up to the abuse a KZ kart can dish out. But upon my arrival, I got a call from Dino Chiesa (Team boss of Chiesa Corse/Zanardi Race Team) and he informed me that the bosses at IAME expressed it was really important that we start the development of the engine right away. Once I heard the news, everything changed and I started packing my bags inside my new apartment that's located inside the new CRG factory.
Being that the Zanardi Factory was an hour away, and at the moment I have no car, the first time I would meet everyone from the team and get fitted to my karts would be Wednesday morning at the track in Sarno. I was able to hitch a ride inside the Maxter Engine Service van and I will tell you, that was one of the longest 8 hour drives I have ever been through. I was so nervous about my collar bone that I had broken only 6 weeks before during a non-karting training incident and had a fairly big operation with many pins and screws holding it back together. I had many exercises that would help it stretch out and spoke with many people on how to deal with the pain, if it became a big problem but would not really know if I was going to be able to race until I sat in the kart and took it on track. I will tell you that I have never been so nervous, yet excited in my whole racing career. I wanted to really show all the guys at Zanardi and IAME that they had made the right choice in bringing me on board to their program and all I could think was how disappointing it would be to tell them that the pain was too much for me to drive.
Full Story
March 9, 2011
 | Gary Carlton
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Introduction
For most of the people involved in the sport of karting could only dream of driving one as their daily job. A handful of drivers around the world have become to be known as ‘factory drivers’, piloting karts at events around the world for their respective chassis or engine manufacturer. A very select few of Americans have earned the opportunity to test their skills against of the big names in the sport. Moving away from their homes and calling Europe home under the guidance of the manufacturer, the experience was one of learning and gaining the ultimate experience to add to their resume to help the climb up the motorsports ladder.
The latest name to be added to that list is Californian Gary Carlton. Considered by many as the top shifterkart driver in North America, the now 25-year old from Marysville is teamed up with the respectable Chiesa Corsa operation based in Italy to pilot their Zanardi/IAME KZ1 package in 2011.
Full Story
To follow his Driver Blog from his opening weekend in Sarno, Italy, visit HERE. |
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