Simraceway Performance Karting Center is one of the top facilities in North America

It would be hard to argue with fact that the sport of karting is currently at a crossroads in its 50-plus-year history.  The enthusiasm for the professional levels of racing, such as F1, NASCAR and IndyCar, is waning and young people just simply don’t have the intimate connection with automobiles that their parents once did.   But even while we find ourselves struggling to inject new blood into the foundation of karting, our infrastructure continues to be developed and through the increasing interest in ‘rental karting’, both indoor and outdoor, our future is being supported and fueled.  New tracks are being built all over the country and arrive-and-drive rental ‘race’ karts have become a very popular option for young people.  Turning these rental customers into actual kart racers and kart owners will be a big part of renewing the sport’s foundation, and KC Morrison from the Simraceway Performance Karting Center is part of a new wave of Track Manager who believes that tracks are meant to be ‘raced on’, not just used for entertainment.  Morrison is building a program in Sonoma, California at the Simraceway Performance Kart Center that makes full use of the karting facility and the results of this focus are sure to expand the karting community in Northern California and beyond.  This weekend, the facility will be welcoming the Superkarts! USA California ProKart Challenge for a major regional event that will play host of over 150 drivers, but the track has so much more to offer for all levels of enthusiasts.

The karting facility at the famed Sonoma Raceway has had many names, and even more caretakers. It has hosted countless national and regional events and it is among the most popular tracks in the country.  The skyline view from the track’s elevated perch is unmatched and the surrounding tourist amenities, including the Napa and Sonoma wine regions and the city of San Francisco, are tough to rival.  The newest approach to track management will put the facility into 100% full throttle mode, as they are leveraging everything that the track and the location has to offer.  Over the past year, Morrison has rolled out a program that could easily be the model for tracks all over the country.  The tiered mix of rental karts, arrive-and-drive racing karts, schools and corporate programs all open the door for visitors to contemplate joining their new dedicated track series.  They also enjoy the participation of series like the SKUSA ProKart Challenge, and the Rotax Challenge of the Americas, and the local Sanzaru Games Karting Championship.

Arrive-n-Drive along with different levels of schools is helping to rejuvenate the northern California karting community

Morrison, 33, has a long history in the sport with a wide array of experience. Like so many, his motorsports journey began in karting.  He cut his teeth on the oval kart tracks of upstate New York, and would be part of the sport from then on.  As a motorsports professional, he worked through the Jim Russell Mechanics Training program and then excelled as a mechanic at many levels of the sport, including IndyCar, the American Le Mans Series, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Ferrari Challenge and Rally America.  He also took a turn on the official side of the pit wall, working for NASCAR in the Grand-Am Series.  This impressive block of experience has helped him take a broad look at how to achieve success for the facility and the sport at Simraceway.

For 2015, KC’s main goal is to increase awareness and to grow the sport of karting across the board.  As stated, Morrison has designed several different programs and the Performance Karting Center (PKC) has a karting option for literally every budget.   The concept is to provide people with their initial karting experience, and then offer them new options as they develop their skills and passion for the sport. The basic offering to visitors is the rental kart program. The track’s ‘Public Grand Prix Karting’ experience is typical of the daily track offering these days, as SPKC has a fleet of Stratos rental karts that will give any newcomer an exciting karting outing. They also have competition-ready Margay Ignite LO206 four-cycle karts and Rotax Max machinery in their fleet. The LO206 and Rotax karts are also available for rent on a ‘per session’ basis, providing track visitors will the opportunity to test themselves as they sample quicker equipment.  Current plans also include adding a fleet of newer concession karts to the mix, so that they can start weekly club races and arrive-and -drive endurance events.

EKN’s David Cole and Rob Howden sampling the Simraceway course and the Margay Ignite Briggs machines

As part of the full spectrum of karting experiences, SPKC offers a strong curriculum of educational courses, beginning with ‘Introduction to Karting’ classes, including a Cadet-specific course.  Additional classes focus on driver development, such as ‘Techniques of Karting’ and ‘Advanced Karting’.  The final class focuses strictly on race competition itself – ‘Kart Racing’.

Armed with the knowledge learned though the initial rungs of the SPKC program, drivers may then move onto the LO206 and Rotax Arrive-and-Drive Series.  They offer a great arrive-and-drive program. The Rotax series runs in their own specific group (Light/Heavy), while the LO206 will run with Junior and Senior being grouped together. The concept is to transition motivated rental kart customers into their ‘own’ programs by bridging the gap with the rental fleet and purpose-built race karts.

The EKN staff has a chance to spend considerable time behind the wheel of two of the SPKC’s Margay Ignite spec karts during the lunch break of the Rotax Challenge of the Americas finale in April, and we were suitable impressed.  We’re big fans of the Briggs LO206 powerplant, and Margay has presented an incredible package with the Ignite K3, which comes in at $3995 brand new, race-ready, with the Briggs LO206 engine.  We hammered out laps in the karts, dicing back and forth, finding the limits and the best racing lines.  For drivers coming out of Morrison’s schools and rental programs, their Arrive-and-Drive Ignite karts are ideal. Once a driver has decided to make the jump to kart ownership, the investment required is very manageable, and the track even offers on-site storage.  They’re really doing all the right things to grow the sport from the foundation up.

The SPKC has their Margay LO206 karts available for rent during any of their open practice sessions, and they can also be rented for the new-for-2015 ‘Summer Series’, which is focused on the LO206 category. This is a new club-based series that is sponsored in part by NOVVI Oil and will take place on four selected Saturdays throughout the spring and into the fall (5/9, 6/20, 7/18, 9/19).  It is open to drivers with their own karts, as well as those wishing to run the SPKC arrive-and-drive Margays. Regular classes for LO206 include Junior 1, Junior 2, Senior and Senior Heavy.  Masters drivers are welcome to come join in on the fun.  They had their first event in early May and enjoyed a solid initial turnout to begin the program.  The new KPX Championship LO206 series will be part of the September date, which should bring lots of entries.

Morrison is extremely excited about the 2015 season and the future of the karting programs at Simraceway Performance Karting Center.  He is proud to have the right team, which he refers to as “the hardest working rock stars in the business”, behind the movement and the facility to match. Due in large part to Margay Racing and Briggs & Stratton, and guys like David Klaus and Dan Pellizari, they have been able to assemble a truly world-class LO206 program for 2015, one that will help re-invigorate and grow the sport in the region.  By all signs, it will be a banner year for the NorCal Karting scene, thanks in no small part to how the Simraceway Performance Karting Center is fueling interest and excitement for the sport of karting.

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