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| June 12, 2005 News |
| EKN Trackside: USSC - Road America - Sunday Report |
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When the main event of this weekend’s round of the U.S. Superkart Championship rolled off the pit lane at Road America, all eyes were on the beautiful carbon fiber rocket of Colorado’s JR Osborne. After a dominant Prefinal win on Saturday, Osborne was starting from pole and was expected to show the way to his second straight series victory. Things didn’t play out that way, however.
The first time down the long shute between turns three and five, Osborne appeared with Pat Yoshikane right on his rear bumper. Yoshikane’s P-1 Performance is the manufacturer off Osborne’s chassis and with two of the American-made karts running up front, the duo settled in to put a cushion between themselves and the remainder of the field. Yoshikane had turned up the wick from Saturday’s Prefinal and was pushing Osborne aggressively during the opening lap.
 | Pat Yoshikane leads JR Osborne into turn five early in the final
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
Behind the leaders, Derek Eastty (Nemesis/FPE) had advanced to third while Riley Will (Zip/BRC) and Johnny West (Stockman/Honda) has locked horns in fourth and fifth after West stampeded from the tail of the grid on the opening lap following his Prefinal DNF. Eastty looked to be ready to join the fight for the win after making adjustments on his team’s new FPE-powered Nemesis. After jumping to third on the opening lap, the Texan would be forced to steer his car behind the wall after just two laps later, however, when pre-race improvements to the kart’s air induction system failed to mate with the jet settings on the FPE’s carburetors. With a massive gain in RPM, the gearing was winding the FPE out before the end of the long Road America straightaway and not wanting to risk the team’s new powerplant, Eastty’s decision was to turn his focus to round three at Barber in July.
Up front, Yoshikane would flex his muscles to take the lead from Osborne as they began dicing for position. After some great wheel-to-wheel racing, Osborne would eventually disappear from the track, forced to the pit lane with a debeaded left rear. There would be no back-to-back wins for Osborne to start the year. After his crew replaced the tire, the reigning US champion would return to the track and would eventually turn a new track record of 2:15.548.
With Osborne now out of the way, the race looked to be Yoshikane’s, but an overheating lower cylinder worried the leader and instead of burning down his powerplant, the Californian elected to park his P-1 in the paddock, handing the lead of the duo of Will and West.
 | Riley Will was the big winner in FE
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
For the remainder of the race, the leaders put on what is likely one of the best head-to-head battles of the year. Swapping the top spot 5-6 times each laps, the win came down to a drag-race to the line which was won by Will by just 0.010 seconds. After cautiously working his way to the pace throughout the weekend, Will was thrilled with the victory, which came with his full BRC package, complete with his BRC cylinders. For West, the result will give him the Formula E point lead heading to Barber. A veteran of the class, he was all smiles following post-race tech, reveling in the magic of the fight he had just been in.
Behind the leaders, Jimmy Long (PVP/Honda) came home third after outrunning Jim Brannon (MSR/Honda) for the final podium position. Brannon would retire before the end of the event, however, when he stuck his powerplant with just a few laps remaining. Chris Taylor would take fourth in his Brian-Turfrey built machine, a ride that is in continuing development.
 | Andy Kiker outlasted his competition to win ICE
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
In the ICE 250cc Single category, Jim Ingram (PVP/GasGas) and Andy Kiker (Anderson/Honda) were the stars of the show, dicing with FE drivers Long and Brannon were embroiled for a majority of the race. Racing with each other, and the FE pilots, Ingram would eventually work past Brannon to get a stranglehold on the lead but with Kiker continuing his pressure, Ingram’s GasGas would eventually lose its bottom end, stranding him out on the track. Kiker would bring his car home in one piece to score the victory and the point lead in the class. After winning the title last year, he is focused on backing up the feat with another championship crown.
Robert McMillan hustled his under-powered Nemesis to a solid second place finish over Michael Kranz (Nemesis). McMillan has not been in a kart for some time but has been lured back to the Nemesis Superkarts squad as the manufacturer is amping up its program this year with Eastty carrying the flag in Formula E. This runner-up finish bodes well for any future outings.
Round three of the series will take place at Barber Motorsport Park in Birmingham, AL in late July and the EKN team will be trackside once again to give the series complete coverage. Watch for a more in-depth report on this weekend’s Road America rounded in the August issue of Super Kart Illustrated (www.superkartmag.com).
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