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10.18.07 - New Hours for P1

With the onset of winter, the hours for P1 Kart Circuit have been changed to 10:00am to Dark on Wednesday through Sunday for the karts. The Criterium series is over for the year but be sure to check back for a new Criterium schedule as it becomes available.

08.18.07 - SKUSA Supernationals XI

The eleventh SKUSA Supernationals are scheduled to take place November 14th through 18th at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. There are several local drivers already planning to race the event along with a handful of track staff going up to work the event. Others are talking about going up as spectators as this is one event that you likely don't want to miss. More information can be found at the SKUSA web site: http://www.superkartsusa.com/eleven/.

Photos courtesy Kickball Racing

08.18.07 - Desert Kart Challenge Race V

Race 5 of 6 in SKUSA's Desert Kart Challenge saw some great action and also mishaps for several class championship leaders.

In shifters, all the classes had lower turnouts than previous rounds. S1 and S3 had two entrants and the rest only one each! In S1, for various reasons, Jason Campbell, Chris Oaks and Tom Auayfuay (2nd thru 4th in the championship) were not there, and neither were most of the other drivers from previous races. As such, Josh Lyon had only to start the heats to claim the championship. Lyon took pole and set the fastest lap of the event (49.378) in the first heat, but motor problems late in the heat raised doubts he would even take the grid for the 2nd heat. Bud Grossenbacher made the most of Lyon's problems and took the S1 checker in both heats.

In the main, Lyon only completed a few laps before coming to a halt amid a shower of sparks from a spun axle sprocket. G1, S2, S4 and S5 also had uncontested wins for Greg Brydle, Tom Tanner, Chip Thorn and Austin Newmark. In S3, Curtis Ruth took a win over Dave Van Gordon who moved from TaG masters for this race, giving up the championship lead in that class.

The dark cloud over DKC championship leaders carried over to TaG Senior and TaG Junior. But good turnout for the TaG classes meant some exciting races. In TaG Senior, championship leader Kyle Hathcox qualified dead last, never completing a hot lap. On Pole for the 2nd race in a row was James Rooke, followed by Bud Grossenbacher and Nicky Freytag. Heat 1 had a lot of action and passes for the lead with the 1st 3 exchanging positions several times until Bud pulled out a small lead over Rooke. Rooke may have mistook the white flag for the checker because he dropped off the pace at the flag long enough for Freytag to pass him for 2nd place. Championship leader Hathcox clawed his way from last to finish 5th. Heat 2 of TaG Sr. was just as exiting, with the same top 3 exchanging positions often. Rooke lead the final lap and would start the main from pole. Grossenbacher was 2nd and Freytag 3rd. Hathcox moved up one more spot in heat 2 to start the main on the outside of row 2.

The TaG Sr. main started out like the heats with the top 3 putting on a show with close racing. But eventually, Grossenbacher's flawless drive pulled out a 3+ second lead at the checker flag, in one of the best races of the DKC season.

Chance Stephens took the TaG Junior pole with a 54.256 lap. Despite close racing, Chance lead every lap of the 1st heat until the final when he dropped to 3rd in a 3 way scuffle and then collided with championship leader Gus Flasser ending the race for both. Taylor Monnig took the 1st heat win. Landon Cling won the 2nd heat. The fortunes of Flasser and Monnig reversed themselves with Flasser finishing 2nd and 1st heat winner Monnig finishing dead last after a problem in the 1st lap.

The champion's jinx wasn't thru with Flasser yet! In the main, a weld in his chassis gave way resulting in him dropping out at the half way point. After winning the 1st heat and finishing last in the 2nd heat, Taylor Monnig made a great comeback to win the main with an 8+ second gap over 2nd place Oliver Schanze. Pole sitter Chance Stephens completed the TaG Junior podium.

Ted Fisher took the TaG masters pole with more than a second to spare. The 1st heat ended pretty much as it started with only one driver, Brian Rasmussen, improving 1 position at the finish. The rest of the night did not go well for TaG Masters with only 3 drivers finishing the 2nd heat and the main. The 2nd heat and main win went to 2nd place qualifier Joe Johnson, moving him into the Tag Masters championship lead over Dave Van Gordon, who moved to S3 for this race.

In the end, the gremlins were not able to prevent Josh Lyon and Gus Flasser from clinching their respective championships despite a DNF for both. And even TaG Senior leader Kyle Hathcox managed to pull a few more points over 2nd place Harley Owens who also struggled in this race. So, all in all, it’s a score of: Champions: 3, Gremlins: 0.

Photos courtesy Kickball Racing

07.14.07 - Desert Kart Challenge Race IV

SHIFTER CLASS:

Qualifying on pole in S1 was Josh Lyon with a 49.619 second lap with Jason Campbell 2nd with a 50.179. Curtis Ruth was on pole in S4 with a 51.521. Greg Brydle's 51.971 was good for G1 pole. Will Pfeifer was on pole in S2 with a 53.177.

Lyon won the first heat in S1 by a large margin. Bud Grossenbacher and Nick Firestone got by Jason Campbell early on to finish 2nd and third. The other classes were relatively uneventful with the exception of S2 pole sitter, Pfeifer dropping out in lap 4.

Lyon got a bad start in heat 2 which allowed Bud into the lead. Lyon pulled alongside Bud in the Carousel but Bud came down toward him. Josh got on the binders hard but could not avoid contact and they both spun (click here for DirtBikeTV video ). Lyon was out with heavy damage while Bud continued to finish third in class behind heat winner Nick Firestone and 2nd place Jason Campbell.

Nick Firestone and Jason Campbell started on the front Row of the main with Tom Auayfuay and Curtis Ruth (S4) on the 2nd row and Bud Grossenbacher starting right behind them. Lyon lined up 10th on the grid with obviously bent steering components. Bud got by Tom and Curtis on the first lap. Lyon passed five karts on the 1st lap and Tom Auayfuay on the 2nd lap to move into 4th place behind Bud. Bud and Josh got around Jason in lap 5 and they set out after Nick. Josh passed Bud at the final turn of lap 7 to move into 2nd place. Lyon hounded Firestone until the final lap when Josh passed Nick at the last turn to take an 8th straight win at the P1 circuit. Grossenbacher took the final step on the podium.

TAG SENIOR:

James Rooke took pole in his 1st DKC race with a time of 52.059. TaG Sr point leader, Kyle Hathcock qualified 2nd with 52.349. Unfortunately, pole sitter James Rooke was out at the first turn of the main. The top 4 starters were all involved in the incident. Lap 2 saw Dante Dupree in the lead, followed by Jason LaVeque and Harley Owen. Jason passed Dante for the lead in lap 7 but Kyle had recovered from the first corner off and also caught Dante on lap 7. Kyle got by Jason on lap 8 to take the lead and go on to win, followed by Jason and Chad Brassfield, who also made a great recovery from the first corner incident, completing the podium.

Click this link for complete round 4 results.

picture courtesy of goracing magazine

06.01.07 - DKC to include Comer 80 in the mix for the June 16, 2007 night race

In an effort to grow karting in the Tucson area and give Jr. Karters participation in this premier series, the popular Comer 80 (Jr. 1 / Cadet) class has been added to the DKC race line up. For those running the Desert Kart Challenge, do not fear, your track time does not diminish as the Comer 80 will be ran with the TAG Jr. class. The Comer 80 will be scored separately and will be running IKF rules.

For more information, please email charlie@p1kartcircuit.com or contact Charlie at 520.245.5278.

SKUSA president Tom Kutcher strategizing with crew member

Front Pit Row Full

Drivers meeting under a tent with chairs, now that's catering to the racers!

Star Mazda Race Car on display

Local Mazda Dealer displaying their Mazdaspeed equipped cars.

The world's ugliest shoe on display by Chip Thor

05.19.07 - Desert Kart Challenge Race II

The 2nd race of the new SKUSA Southwest Region saw once again the expertise of Tom Kutcher and crew to help out with the racing format. Tom is well known for running a tight ship. Keeping to the schedule is key to running a successful event. Tom, Charlie and crew kept things going and on-time, timing sheets went up when they were supposed to, classes staged when they were supposed to and racing format was kept in check. With 3 - 15 minute practice sessions, 10 minute qualifier, 2 - 10 lap heat races and a 20 lap main, you definitely got your moneys worth.

The warm day and cool night kept everyone in good spirits. This growing series saw good comradely amongst the racers. Parts were being shared, tuning tips and jetting advise were all being shared. Just a great time racing with your peers. Race 2 saw the track running clockwise and finding grip was the key in turning good lap times.

SHIFTER CLASS:

The shifter class saw 12 racers within the S1, G1, S3, S4 and S5 class. Qualifying In S1 saw Jason Campbell on pole with a time of 50.482. Tom Auayfuay was P2 with 51.058 and Joshua Lyons was DQ for a tire infraction. G1 saw Greg Brydle on pole with a time of 51.253 followed by Mike Shnaekel (51.850) and P3 was Tommy Baker (52.751). S4 (stock honda heavy) saw Curtis Ruth P1, Chip Thor P2 and John Wills P3 respectively. Ellie Nash was P1 in S3 (Stock Honda Light) and Austin Newmark was P1 in S5 (Stock Honda Jr.)

It was going to be interesting to see how fast Josh Lyons was going to charge through field with having to start last and being the fastest shifter out there. Jason (Energy/DDR TM) was on Pole and got a good start with Tom (Tony Kart/IM-TM) in P2 followed by Curtis Ruth (KGB/Honda) in P3 to the first turn. Josh (Sodi/Superdyne TM) jumped from 12 to 7 in the first turn and was in 4th place by the end of the first lap. Up front, Jason and Tom was in close contact while Josh was attacking Greg (First Kart/SRA TM) for third place. Eventually Josh was able to get by Greg by lap 3 and was in pursuit of Tom. Josh finally past Tom on lap 8 and finished 2nd. Heat 2 was pretty much the same with Josh taking the win over Jason. The main was a repeat of the 2nd heat as Josh set the fastest lap of the night with a 49.70

SHIFTER MAIN RESULTS

Pos	No.	Name	Laps	Total Tm	Diff	Best Tm	In Lap	Best Spd (Mph)
1	1	Joshua Lyon - S1 MTD Sodi Kart / Superdyne TM	20	16:45.662		49.702	19	56.889
2	7c	Jason Campbell - S1 BGR Energy / DDR Tm	20	16:54.313	8.651	50.191	11	56.334
3	14x	Tom Auayfuay - S1 AZ Kart Werx Tony Kart / Ital Motors TM	20	16:56.435	10.773	50.289	17	56.225
4	40c	Curtis Ruth - S4 Innovative KGB / Swedetech Honda	19	16:41.565	1 Lap	51.752	18	54.635
5	36x	Mike Shnaekel - G1 AZ Kart Werx Kosmic / TM	19	16:46.700	5.135	51.973	14	54.403
6	48	Chip Thor - S4 Innovative KGB / Swedetech Honda	19	16:59.653	18.088	52.851	16	53.499
7	47x	Austin Newmark - S5 Team AZ Karting Birel / Honda	19	17:05.165	23.600	51.536	16	54.864
8	95x	Tommy Baker - G1 Innovative KGB / Hitech TM	18	16:55.409	2 Laps	52.530	14	53.826
9	24	Greg Brydle - G1 First Kart / SRA TM	10	8:41.684	10 Laps	51.487	2	54.916
10	96	John Wills - S4 CRG / Stock Honda	8	8:47.469	12 Laps	1:02.840	3	44.995
11	56x	Ellie Nash - S3 Intrepid / Stock Honda	2	3:38.461	18 Laps	1:02.615	1	45.157
12	25	Mike Gehia - S4	0	--:--:--.---		--:--:--.---	0	-

TAG SENIOR FINAL RESULTS:

Pos	No.	Name	Laps	Total Tm	Diff	Best Tm	In Lap	Best Spd (Mph)
1	13	Dante Dupree	20	17:43.177		52.297	5	54.066
2	24x	Harley Owen Margay / Iame	20	17:47.726	4.549	52.549	10	53.806
3	64	Ronald Morris, III	20	18:02.102	18.925	53.359	8	52.990
4	4	Alex Prince	20	18:02.951	19.774	52.459	20	53.899
5	46	Irfan Berk	20	18:06.914	23.737	53.391	11	52.958
6	24k	Kyle Heathcox Birel / Iame	20	18:26.994	43.817	52.479	5	53.878
7	13x	Jeff Bland	20	18:34.800	51.623	54.702	8	51.689
8	57	Steve Smith	19	17:51.905	1 Lap	54.103	19	52.261
9	77	Simon Beltron	19	18:17.617	25.712	56.023	18	50.470
10	80	Chase Cottlow Innovative KGB / Iame	0	0.020	20 Laps	--:--:--.---	0	-

TAG MASTER FINAL RESULTS:

Pos	No.	Name	Laps	Total Tm	Diff	Best Tm	In Lap	Best Spd (Mph)
1	53c	Dave Van Gordon Innovative Intrepid / Biland	20	18:22.191		54.517	19	51.864
2	30	James Bria Innovative KGB / Iame	20	18:25.583	3.392	54.278	20	52.092
3	31	Joe Johnson	20	18:31.508	9.317	54.583	10	51.801
4	16x	Ted Fisher	20	18:50.217	28.026	55.289	20	51.140
5	88	Jim Flynn	20	19:14.067	51.876	55.560	14	50.890
6	55	Sam Cook	9	8:59.541	11 Laps	56.417	8	50.117
7	3	Mauricio Giraldi GPK GP / Iame	4	3:47.219	16 Laps	55.423	4	51.016
8	59	Paul Walshaw	0	--:--:--.---		--:--:--.---	0	-
9	12	Greg Jewett AZ Kart Werx Tony Kart / Sonik	0	--:--:--.---		--:--:--.---	0	-
10	02	Jeff Eckart	0	--:--:--.---		--:--:--.---	0	-

TAG Jr. FINAL RESULTS:

Pos	No.	Name	Laps	Total Tm	Diff	Best Tm	In Lap	Best Spd (Mph)
1	7	Gus Flasser	20	18:22.277		52.074	19	54.297
2	44	Jorge Ledesma, Jr.	20	18:35.633	13.356	53.115	5	53.233
3	123	Augie Lerch	20	18:48.625	26.348	53.556	8	52.795
4	10	Tyler Cerbo	3	3:35.625	17 Laps	58.130	3	48.641
5	36	Mayme Shnaekel	0	--:--:--.---		--:--:--.---	0	-
Not Classified
DQ	22	Chance Stephens	20	18:21.721		52.459	7	53.899

Thank you to all that showed up to race and to support this great series. We look forward to seeing you on the next one. This series is growing, come out and join the fun. Next Race is June 16, 2007 night racing.

Team News - Kart Racing Inc.

04.08.07 - Team News - Kart Racing Inc.

For Immediate Release:

Heat, Dust, and Technical difficulties could not hold off team driver Christopher Oaks from his right full spot atop the podium at the inaugural Desert Kart Challenge held in association with SKUSA and the Pro Kart Challenge. This was the first of a six series event, held in Tucson, Arizona at the P1 Kart circuit. This weekends action proved to be a test of endurance and will with wind gusts on Friday and Temperatures above 90 degrees. Friday's practice had gone well running late into the evening under the newly installed state of the art lighting, and after one of the best meals ever served at any kart track, Christopher Oaks went out to set fast lap of the day. Saturday was another day and proved to by quite different with Christopher Oaks in his Debei Powered ICC power plant installed upon his Reynard Shifter kart. Under beautiful desert conditions and the weather moderating to the 80's Christopher suffered his first setback by losing a chain shortly into the 10 lap qualify period. The first difficulty allowed Jonathan Wright on his Tony Kart to claim the win of the first Qualifier. Kart Racing Inc Driver, Christopher Oaks, starting from the last position on the second qualifying session quickly jumped out front, making a bold move along the sidelines and shooting up 5 rows, moving up to first place within the first two laps. It was at lap five when the chain snafu hit again, side lining Oaks to the mid section of the track and allowing the Tony Kart driver to assume the pole position. With only one shot left and starting from dead last on the S1 main event, The Debei / Reynard package showed it's power and prowess once again by leaping from dead last, into third by the end of the first turn. Passing the lead driver before the start of the back straight away and maintaining the lead for the next 20 laps, to earn the top rung on the podium. Kart Racing Inc, of Tucson , the importer of the Debei ICC/SICC kart engine as well of the Reynard Chassis was ecstatic to have their driver to be sitting on top of the podium for this inaugural event and looks forward to many returns, especially with just receiving the brand new 2007 Engines on which a third place victory just occurred against the top drivers in the world at the Italian Open, in Sarno, Italy just last week. Michael of Kart Inc is looking to add to it's stable of drivers thru it's local arrive and drive program and to the list of shops to carry the Debei and Reynard Line. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Michael of Kart Racing Inc at ReynardKarts@gmail.com or call us at 520-623-KART

SKUSA announces new Southwest Region

Desert Kart Challenge (DKC) modeled after the SuperKarts USA's Prokart Challenge (PKC) will be running at Tucson's P1 Kart Circuit. The first race is April 7, 2007. Open practice is Friday, April 6, 2007. More details will be forthcoming.

Charles Quiroz of P1 is excited about spearheading this new SKUSA region. For SKUSA official press release visit ekartingnew.com.

SuperMoto is coming to P1!

P1 Kart circuit is working closely with Pima County to bring supermoto to southern Arizona. The initial track layout will be 100% road course, and we plan to add a challenging moto section in the future. Stay tuned for more information!

What is Supermoto?

Supermoto, or Super Motard is a cross-over of motocross and road racing. Races are commonly held on road racing tracks with an off-road section in the infield; approximately 70% tarmac and 30% dirt. The motorcycles used are frequently custom-created combinations of off-road motorcycles and road-racing rims/tires. Riders also wear a combination of road race and offroad equipment, normally leathers and a motocross helmet and boots. Unlike normal motorcycle racing, the emphasis lies on slower (<100 mph), short and twisty tracks, where skill matters far more than outright machine performance.