Ryan Norberg making the transition from full-time driver to industry member and coach

Years before a deal was set in stone, GFC Karting owner Gary Carlton had a conversation with 10-time national champion driver Ryan Norberg that would change the direction of his career.

Norberg won six SKUSA Pro Tour championships and four USPKS titles with RPG

At the time, Norberg was still driving for Rolison Performance Group and Kosmic under the OTK banner, and was shocked when Carlton asked him one question — what his plan was after he wrapped up his driving career. Carlton described Norberg in that moment as being “bright-eyed,” as though the champion had never thought to ask himself that question before.

Flash forward to September 2025, and Norberg remembered the discussion. He inquired about potentially joining GFC, and was met with Carlton’s resounding approval. The pair quickly put words to writing, soon naming Norberg the company’s Director of Driver Development and Product Strategy.

“(Norberg’s) methodology lined up perfectly with what we already do, but it just strengthened it more because he’s been a current driver a lot longer,” Carlton said. “More recently than what I have been, and then with the name and the accolades that he’s done.”

Ryan was also named GFC’s lead X30 Factory Driver for the remainder of 2025, as well as for some races in 2026. In addition, Ryan’s ‘Norberg Karting Academy’ was set to compete under the GFC banner as an official race team.

For Norberg, the benefits of switching to GFC weren’t limited to karting. Norberg’s decision was largely in-part due to family concerns, such as having a child on the way with his wife, Shelbey. She also has a racing background and is an active contributor to the Academy.

“We’d been dating for almost a year, and we were wanting to get engaged,” Norberg said. “We found out we were pregnant, and. with racing, you’re gone a lot and you don’t see your family. I don’t want that for my kid.”

Additionally, Norberg believed that he made the switch at the right time due being at the height of his career. He claimed that it’s “always better to end at a peak instead of a valley.” He wasn’t upset with RPG or OTK, but knew that he wanted to be more than just a driver.

He wanted to leverage the brand that he’d forged. Originally, that itch was scratched via Norberg Karting Academy, which he founded in 2023. It was a nook he’d carved out in order to bring elite-level coaching experience to those who followed him on social media — namely, his YouTube channel that has amassed over 30,000 subscribers.

“The goal originally with the Academy was just to create a more ‘boutique’ coaching experience,” Norberg said. “It slowly developed into a race team.”

Since he became a driver coach, the tone of his days at the track had drastically changed. Instead of only having to think about his driving performance, he had to consider the experience of every client, some of whom he’d be in direct competition with.

“When I do race, I’m coaching and then also competing against the people I’m coaching,” Norberg said. “So, there’s overlap between the customers racing against me, and there’s times where I’ve got to race them as hard as I would race anybody else. But after the race, I do have to remember what they did wrong, and talk to them about their mistakes.”

Tiziano Rosso-Orcel leading Enzo Vidmontiene and Norberg at Florida Karting Championship event

The act of explaining aspects of karting that came to him as “feeling,” Norberg noted, was the biggest learning curve to his development as a coach. He said that it can be challenging to put words to feelings in a way that makes an impact on the client.

“He helps us with ways of driver development,” Carlton said. “He just brought more to the curriculum of what he’s found and done with his Norberg Karting Academy to add to the GFC brand.”

Tiziano Rosso-Orcel, a Lyon, France, native racing under Norberg Karting Academy, said that the best part about having Norberg as a coach is the standard of quality he has come to expect. Rosso-Orcel joined the Academy in 2025, and has since captured the 2025 Endurance Championship, and the 2025 Orlando Cup (KA100 Senior) in dominant fashion.

Previously, Rosso-Orcel raced under RPG and Orlando Kart Center in the earlier years of his professional karting career.

“I’ve worked with a couple teams and, out of everyone, Ryan has everything down,” Rosso-Orcel said. “It’s years of experience. I don’t think there’s any other coach in the U.S. that has just as much to show as Ryan.”

Norberg’s influence doesn’t stop there, however. It’s expanded to areas off the track as well, giving drivers a well-rounded education on the lesser-known details of being a driver.

“It’s really nice to have a coach that I follow everywhere,” Rosso-Orcel said. “It’s nice to have someone to tell you what you’re doing right and wrong, but also to see that person in action. I can always look at Ryan, how he’s doing things, what he does between sessions, and how he talks when he gets interviewed.”

Norberg now finds himself working alongside Gary Carlton, helping to build and expand the GFC brand (Photo: EKN)

That quality is enhanced by the Academy’s partnership with GFC. As Carlton is the person who designs the chassis that the team races with, if Norberg has any concerns or questions, he has the ability to call the owner himself, instead of having to go through a long troubleshooting process.

Going forward, Norberg dreams of his race team expanding to have 25-30 active drivers. He’s proud of the organization’s method of “pushing for the same goal,” and wishes to bring his coaching experience to as many drivers as he can. He offers his services for all engine classes, all skill levels and all ages.

As for his growing partnership with GFC, Carlton is confident in Norberg’s abilities to rise to the top of the karting landscape in the southeastern region of the United States. His experience, winning mindset, and eagerness to share his wisdom to the next generation of drivers are paramount to the future of the Norberg brand.

Norberg hopes to be remembered not only for being a 10-time national champion, but for the legacy he aims to leave being in the karting community as whole, turning the brand he’s generated into something bigger than just himself. Whether it’s the race team or the inspiration he gives to aspiring winners, his end goal is to make an impact everywhere he goes.

“I see Ryan becoming one of the most pivotal karting figures in all of the Southeast,” Carlton said. “I have no doubt that he’s going to become one of the more pivotal people that are in the karting industry with the GFC brand in that whole region.”

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