A great 2016 kicked off for Major League Karting with the first event of the year held at the Adams Motorsport Park in Riverside, California on February 21^st. This will be the inaugural season for the new race series in Southern California which welcomed drivers from as far away as Canada. With perfect weather conditions throughout the day for the 9 classes to begin their championship chase.

The day started with the Mini 60cc cadets taking the track. Mathias Coito sets down a qualifying time of 50.783 to secure the top spot for the first heat race. Coito continued to dominate in heat 1 but fell all the way to the back of the pack in heat 2 when Ethan Ho climbed to the top spot. Ho was also dominate in the pre-main with Tyson Quach finishing in second. In the final Quach jumped out to an early lead but it was Ho which led the remainder of the race and took first place in the season opener. Tough break for Coito who led early in the day and ran into mechanical problems in the main. (Photo: Ho.jpg 963×482)

Next on the track were the shifters in the KZ class. Tyler Coffman set the fastest time in qualifying with a 43.639. In heat 1 Coffman and Slava Prikhodko were fighting for position throughout the race. In the end it was Prikhodko who took the win in heat 1. They were back at it for heat 2 with Coffman getting the upper hand this time. In the pre-main Prikhodko jumped out to an early lead but Coffman came right back and led laps 2 thru 15 until a shift linkage break on lap 15 gave the win to Prikhodko. In the main, Prikhodko led wire to wire. Coffman was on his bumper the entire race but just could not find a way around the tight track at Adams Motorsports Park. Prikhodko edges out Coffman to win by 0.65 seconds. (Photo: Prikhodko.jpg 963×482)

In the TaG Masters class Paul Bonilla sets a time of 45.989 in his FTK powered Rotax. Bonilla continues to dominate through heat 1 as well with Ed Quinn trying to put the pressure on. All of the classes at MLKarting for heat 2 run an inverted grid. Vatche Tatikian leads for the first half of the race with Bonilla charging through the field. Boanilla takes the lead on lap 7 and takes the heat 2 vicory. The pre-main and main were led wire to wire by Bonilla. He takes the victory and first win of the season in TaG Masters. (Photo: Bonilla.jpg 963×482)

TaG Senior took to the track next with Adam Isman setting a time of 45.054 beating Scott Hargrove by .10 of a second. For the first heat Isman led early on but Nicky Hays came charging through the field to take the win with Remo Ruscihi taking second. With the inverted grid for heat 2, Chance Skaufel led the first few laps but it was Hays was looking for another win and got it in heat 2. In the pre-main Hays got out quick but it was Ruscihi who battled for the win. The stage was set for Ruscihi and Hays to battle for the victory in the main. They exchanged positions early on in the race but it was Ruscihi who proved just too fast down the long straight for Hays to get around and stay in front of Ruscihi. With a mere .028 seconds separating them Ruscihi takes the win and his trophy all the way back home to Canada. (Photo: Ruscihi.jpg 963×482)

MLKarting was excited to bring the LO206 class to karting. With Phil Giebler Racing bringing a host of drivers for the LO206 class it was sure to be exciting. Phil Giebler set the tone in the first heat race finishing ahead of Chance Skaufel with a time of 52.417. In heat 2 it was once again Giebler besting Skaufel by a slim .077 seconds at the line. For the main event, Giebler and Skaufel traded positions numerous times throughput the 18 lapper but in the end it was Giebler who edges out Skaufel, this time by only .046 seconds! (Photo: Giebler.jpg 963×482)

All pro classes ran the LeCont tire for almost 80 laps with no signs of degradation or loss in performance. A special thanks to our sponsors, LeCont, RLV, Briggs& Stratton, Motul, Vortex Engines, Phil Giebler Racing, Full Throttle Karting, Italian Motors and Production-Graphics for helping make this a great event.

The next event for the MLKarting program is set for March 20 at the Willow Kart Track facility in Rosamond, CA. For more about the 2016 MLKarting program, please visit www.majorleaguekarting.us along with their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Major-League-Karting-428904580630968

Share on Facebook

Tweet