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| June 08, 2012 News |
| Race Report: IKF Region 7 Sprint Championships - Apex Karting Center |
| Article by: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine |
 | Travis Lowe
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The IKF Region 7 Sprint Championships continued their 2012 journey at Apex Karting Center in Perris, California on June 2-3 for round three of the series. Apex was touted as one of the highlights of the 2012 season and it didn’t disappoint. With the Apex circuit off the calendar for the last few seasons, many of the IKF regulars were looking forward to the fun and challenging track. Turn one is especially exciting as the braking zone for most classes comes at the crest of a rise before dropping into a fast and flat 90 degree right hander. Weather was near perfect in Southern California and the predicted heat was a few degrees less than anticipated. It was still warm, but all the big heat came in the racing.
The RLV PRD Junior 2 was the first class to take a green in anger and it was Willow’s winner Willy Axton who secured the pole position. Heat 1 went to Axton, but ‘Quick’ Nick Ramirez toped the charts in Heat 2. Ramirez got the hole shot to start the 20-lap main event and was followed into the hairpin for the first time by Chance Skaufel, Axton and Royal McKee. Ramirez led the opening laps, but Axton was able to get by in turn one before the crossed flags of halfway. McKee too was able to work his way up and around Skaufel and Ramirez to challenge Axton. As the laps wore on Axton was able to creep out a larger and larger lead and score his second win in a row. McKee was a solid second place as Hanna Grisham drove her butt off for a well earned third place.
Buddy Rice Karting TAG Senior was dominated by Willow winner Travis Lowe. Lowe has mixed feelings about this track after a horrendous crash here a few years back, but with pole and two heat wins he clearly had his eye on the prize. Lloyd Mack Jr. showed some speed and was considered a possible challenge for Lowe in the final, but he pulled off on the parade lap and never took the green flag. Lowe went flag to flag for the win, easily besting the rest of the class. After the first lap no one really gave any challenge. Second place was up for grabs as Mike Herda was run down and passed by Andrew Wiener in the closing laps. Wiener was able to pull out a slight advantage for second place with Herda settling for third.
 | Hunter Corbitt
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Jake Drew led the way in the Fleming Racing Engines Junior 1 PRD qualifying with a time of 42.424 over Hunter Corbitt. The first seven drivers all were within one-second of his time, but it wasn’t close enough to keep Drew from winning Heat 1. Corbitt bounced back in Heat 2 for the win over Anthony Sawyer and Drew. The final was a bit of a parade as Corbitt gained the advantage on the start. Lap one saw Corbitt leading with Drew and Sawyer in tow. That order continued for all 20 laps with Corbitt knocking out an impressive four-second advantage over Drew and Sawyer. Noah Garza stayed in the hunt, finishing just behind in fourth.
Christian Brooks scored the pole in the P1 Engines KPV2 qualifying session with a time of 41.555. Behind Brooks the competition was very close as Noah Grey just edging out Nick Ramirez for the P2 starting position. With most of the field all within tenths, Brooks looked to have his hands full, but come Heat 1 it was clear he had the dominant kart. Heat 2 again saw Brooks drive away from the pack, and that superiority continued right on into the final. From the drop of the green Brooks was on his way to certain victory. Opening lap excitement scattered the field a bit leaving Grey, Matt England, and Josh Kurtz out of the race. The #8 was a popular digit as #8x Justice Lepe, #8 Hannah Grisham and #83 ‘Quick’ Nick Ramirez all battled it out for second place in the early going of the 20-lap final. Colton Herta picked up his pace in the latter stages, but settled for fourth place. Brooks kept the pedal down at the head of the race and took and easy win. Grisham was best in class moving up to second place on the Apex podium, finishing just a few seconds ahead of Ramirez.
Pitts Performance Kid Kart qualifying was won by Rylee Martinez. She was two tenths quicker than Tanner Hudspeth and Kaden Vermillion. The trio of Martinez, Hudspeth and Vermillion all ran solidly in the heat races, but it was Martinez who won both and started the final from the pole. Martinez and Hudspeth dueled for most of the contest, but it was a charging Aden Dodge who came up big. Martinez crossed the finish line first, with seconds to spare over her challengers, but tech had the final word and Dodge was declared the winner. Hudspeth was elevated to second place with Jaden Goetz landing on the podium in third.
 | Anthony Sawyer
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The Pure Karting KPV1 class is by far the biggest and best KPV action west of the Rockies. Twenty-two drivers took place in the final qualifying session of race day #1 of the IKF Region 7 Sprint Championships. With the first 13 starters within seven tenths, it was anyone’s guess on who would land the pole position. Hunter Corbitt had that honor with an impressive time of 44.197, the only driver above 57mph. Jake Drew qualified P2 with Jackson Lodsdon, Carter Herrera and Anthony Sawyer completing the fast five. Drew scored the win in Heat 1 over a train of six karts followed by Corbitt. He backed it up again in heat 2 with Sawyer bounding up to second and Ryan Schartau moving into third. Drew set a blistering pace to get the final started but was soon passed in turn one by Schartau. Schartau’s lead didn’t last long either as Corbitt took over the point. Sawyer moved his way up into second place and stayed glued on Corbitt’s rear bumper. The lead duo was able to gain a slight advantage over the field and as the laps went on it was clear that only those two karts were in it to win it. Sawyer took his turn out front but he was unable to shake Corbitt. The white flag lap saw multiple passes with Sawyer slipping by in the last turn to score the KPV victory over Corbitt. Drew led the next five karts to the finish for third place. Noah Garza and Schartau rounded out the top five.
Day two started with the Mike Manning Karting PRD Sr. Qualifying session. Brandon Reed aboard the #33 bested the ten kart field with a time of 40.754. Lloyd Mack Jr. qualified P2 and went on to win both heat races. Bobby Kelley was second in Heat 1 and Travis Lowe was the runner up in Heat 2. Mack got a great start to begin the 20 lap final with Reed slotting in behind him on the opening lap. Jerry Henderson and Cris Araujo came together in turn 2 ending both their days, but it had no effect on the leader Mack. Lowe made a sweet move to slide past Reed for second place but it was short lived as a charging Kelley went by him the very next lap. By lap five the order was set and it stayed that way to the checkered flag. Mack took the win over Kelley, with Lowe finishing third just a few seconds back.
 | Lloyd Mack Jr.
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
PKS Kart Supply Kid Kart Heavy saw Tanner Hudspeth out qualify Rylee Martinez by just a tenth of a second. The ten kart field was pretty close together in times with Chance Gibson, Daniel Inzunza and Kaden Vermillion the fast five. Heat 1 went to Gibson with Saturday’s winner Aden Dodge landing the win in Heat 2. The final was a different story as the green flag flew. Martinez got a great start with Carson Mallett slotting in to second place just ahead of Vermillion and Dodge. Vermillion quickly dispatched Mallett and the battle for the eventual win was on. Martinez and Vermillion traded the lead a few times during the 10 lap contest, but with five karts in the hunt a small mistake could be costly. Vermillion made the winning move late in the race and he was followed to the checkered flag by Mallett, Gibson and Dodge. Martinez got shuffled back on the last lap and had to settle for fifth.
Empire Karts KPV1 Heavy had a surprise pole sitter by the name of Jackson Logsdon. Logsdon was quick on Saturday but he really brought the “A” game on Sunday to run a 44.270. Hunter Corbitt, Myles Farhan, Anthony Sawyer and Jake Drew rounded out the top five. Farhan led a six kart pack to the finish in Heat 1, while Sawyer did the same for Heat 2. The 20-lap final was one of the better races all weekend as three different racers piloted the group of contenders. Noah Garza led the majority of laps only yielding a few laps to Sawyer and Drew. The lead group originally consisted of half a dozen drivers but one by one Garza was able to run them off his wheel. Good runs by Corbitt and Logsdon earned them finishing spots inside the top five, but in the end Garza had things in hand. Sawyer and Drew finished in second and thrid glued to Garza’s bumper, but last lap moves proved no match for the #48 kart.
K&P Manufacturing KPV4 Heavy was a snoozer with only three entries. Matt Kimball has been a dominating force in this class, but he was a no show this weekend at Apex. Stephen Huelsman was the pole sitter and won the first heat race, but in the final Brad Richardson was the primary protagonist. Richardson took the win by three seconds over Huelsman and Kyle Gash.
 | Ryan Schartau
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Nick Ramirez won the Hyper Racing Engines KPV2 qualifying session over Christian Brooks and 13 others with a time of 41.356. Heat 1 saw Brooks lead Ramirez, Colton Herta, Nathan Seegrist, and Thomas Boost to finish. The pole sitter dropped to fourth in Heat 2 as once again Brooks led the way trailed by Herta and Boost. The final was not as awesome for Brooks as contact on lap three left him fighting his way from the back. Ramirez had a fantastic start, grabbing the lead into turn one. Royal McKee looked inside Ramirez in turn two but wisely fell in line. Boost looked to have some fight in him and was quickly on the heels of McKee and Ramirez. McKee attacked the leader but he was only able to lead a single lap. Ramirez crept out to a small advantage but he wasn’t certain of the win until he was able to cross the line and raise his hands in the air. Boost hit the turbo in the closing laps, passing McKee on his way to a great second place finish. Josh Kurtz too was able to mount a late race charge and finished his weekend off on the podium in third.
Grand Products Rookie Comer 80 has been a wonderful addition to the R7 race program this year. The numbers have been pretty good, but the competition has been fierce. Ryan Schartau grabbed the final pole of the day over Jagger Jones with a time of 45.624. Schartau, Dezel West and Jones were the best in Heat 1, and two, but Jones day ended early in the final after running in third for most of it. Schartau just killed it in the final, leading every single lap on his way to a fantastic win. The fight for second was hot and heavy behind Schartau as West fended off Jones and then Trey Brown. Marcus Rodriguez finished a little ways back in fourth while Luca Roma completed the top five.
Round four of the IKF Region 7 Sprint Championships will take place at the Santa Maria Kart Track August 4-5. In my humble opinion, every race in the summer months should be held in Santa Maria. Great summer food, perfect weather and a great track for racing gets my vote every time. Get your pre entry in now and join in the awesomeness. |
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