International News
Event Page: SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII – Updated Daily
Check in here often to see updates on how the 2014 SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII is Las Vegas, Nevada, USA is going. We will be posting highlights from the action, along with keeping tabs on the Canadian drivers in each class. This page will be active all weekend long.
You can also follow the action on the Kart360.com On Location page, as our friends are trackside for the event.
November 23, 2014
Maestranzi cuts through the field to win TaG Senior
Italian Marco Maestranzi had a stellar drive in the TaG Senior final to claim the win (Photo by: John Shofner/Kart360)
A DNF in heat racing set Marco Maestranzi back to 24th to start today’s Final. Maestranzi showed his outright speed in multiple sessions this week that hinted at his chances today. After avoiding the carnage of TaG racing on lap one, Maestranzi was into ninth by lap two. Making smart passes put Maestranzi into second on lap seventeen. Heading into turn one on lap eighteen, Maestranzi put a move on David Sera that the Austrailian could not defend. Maestranzi continued his torrid pace over the final eight laps to earn the victory by 3.2 seconds.
November 23, 2014
Sargeant puts the final stamp on his week in TaG Junior Final
Logan Sargeant dominated the TaG Junior class all weekend long (Photo by: John Shofner/Kart360)
It was one of those weeks for Logan Sargeant where everything went together. The young Amerian Ricky Flynn Motorsports driver took control of the final from the onset, immediately breaking out to a solid early advantage. It was fast, consistent laps that led to the 6-second advantage at the stripe over David Malukas and Anthony Gangi Jr.
November 22, 2014
Saturday Heats Update: Afternoon Classes
S4
Heat A vs B: Chris Jennings won heat 3 in S4 ahead of Eddie Olpin and Mike Mantel. Jimmy McNeil who won two heats on Saturday was fourth ahead of Vivek Tandon. Don McGregor was the highest placing Canadian in 15th and Michel Legrand was 24th in their last heat race.
Heat C vs D: Italian GP factory driver Gian Cavaciuti was won Heat C&D ahead of Trevor McAlister and Jason Faint. Mike Beeny was fourth followed by Jordan Musser. Elvis Stojko ended the race in 17th position.
Tag Cadet
Heat A vs B: Michael d’Orlando won his second heat race of the weekend ahead of Trey Brown and Jack Doohan. Jak Crawford had another good run in the Benik kart finishing in fourth ahead of Nicholas d’Orlando. Lachland Defrancesco’s luck continued to fail him as he was only able to finish 2 laps.
Heat C vs D: Guiseppe Fusco won another heat on his lenzo kart as he finished ahead of Australian Lochie Hughes. Derek Carmenate was third followed by Leonardo Marseglia and Sam Paley in the Tecno. Canadians Justin Areseneau and Matthew Marrocco finished the race in 29th and 34th.
KZ2
Heat 3: Paolo De Conto swept the heat’s in KZ2 after beating Praga’s Jonathon Thonon and Patrik Hajek to the line. Gary Carlton finally cracked the top 5 finishing in fifth with Maranello North America driver Lorenzo Camplese finishing in fifth. Orcic was the highest playing Canadian placing 12th with JF Lafontaine also finishing in the top 20 in 16th. The GP trio of Zachary Shearer, Zack Meyer and Chad Campbell finished 23rd, 24th, and 26.
Tag Senior:
Heat A vs B: Heat A vs B set up a great three way battle for the lead as David Sera took the win ahead of Jake Craig and Austin McCusker. Santiago Porteiro take fourth ahead of Mark Boos in fifth. Remo Ruscitti was 8th in the heat with Jordan Redlin finishing in 11th. Kevin Monteith was 37th after retiring on lap two of the heat.
Heat C vs D: Ben Stewart won the last heat of the weekend ahead of Dalton Sargeant and the Vinicius Papereli. Marco Maestranzi had got fourth after a race long battle with Danny Formal. Kale Kunicki was the 30th in the heat.
David Sera won his final heat of the weekend moving on to Super Sunday. (© 2014 Shofner Films / Kart360)
November 22, 2014
Saturday Heats Update: Morning Classes
Tag Junior
Heat A vs B: Logan Sargeant completed the heat race sweep in Tag Junior on Saturday morning as he dominated the final heat finishing 4.5 seconds ahead of Fast Qualifier Juluien Andlauer. Zach Holden took third in the Top Kart ahead of Luiz Branquinho and Zane Morse. Canadian Antonio Serravalle had a poor heat as he was out on the first lap. But his points total was good enough to transfer him into the main.
Heat C vs D: Anthony Gangi Jr. won the last heat in Tag Junior ahead of David Malukas, and Braden Eves. Christian Brooks was fourth ahead of USF2000 driver Colton Herta. Roman DeAngelis finally was able to crack the top ten finishing the heat in 10th as Zachary Sinclair finished in 14th. The two drivers went on to the LCQ where DeAngelis was fourth and advanced to the final. Sinclair on the other hand finished 8th and didn’t make the main.
S2
Heat A vs B: Kyle Kirkwood was the second driver to sweep the heat races on Saturday after winning heat three in S2. Behind Kirkwood was Miguel Lopez, Luke Shanahan, Hunter Pickett and Jonathon Koytk. Canadian Dominic Legrand finished the heat in 17th and was able to make the Main on Sunday.
Heat C vs D: OGP went two for two in S2 on Saturday when Austin Garrison won heat C vs D at the Rio. Heat 1 winner Fernando Casillas Jr. was second ahead of Jared Campbell, Austin Schimmel, and Will Preston.
Kyle Kirkwoor swept all three heats in S2 giving him Pole on Super Sunday (© 2014 Shofner Films / Kart360)
S5
Heat 3: Raul Gauzman brought home the win in heat three for the junior stock moto category ahead of Trenton Estep who couldn’t convert pole in any of the heats into a heat win. Canadian Evan White was thirteenth in the heat.
Tag Master
Heat 3: Leonardo Nienkotter made his way back to first in Tag Masters in Heat 3 as he beat Indycar stars Will Power and Richie Heard in heat three. Christian Dischner and Diegor Pelosi completed the top five. Dave Kunicki was 24th and the highest placing Canadian with Ron Hyde finishing in 29th.
S1
Heat 3: Karting Legend David Fore won heat 3 in S1 ahead of Jordan Lennox as the two drivers gaped the field in the heat. Danny Formal was third ahead of PSL karting’s Fritz Leesman and Gary Carlton. Scott Hargrove was seventh in the race having a great bounce back performance after a disappointing heat 2. Matthew Di Leo was fursther behind his fellow Canadian bringing home a 22nd place finish in the heat.
November 21, 2014
Friday Heats Update: Afternoon Classes
S4
Heat A vs D: New Zealander Matt Hamilton continued to dominate in the first S4 heat of the day as he had a three second lead in his Aluminos machine. Jason Faint got second in the heat as he is the only driver doing double duty in the class. Chris Jennings was third ahead of Trevor McAlister and Bonnier Moulton. Don McGregor was the top Canadian in the race taking 13th with Elvis Stojko three places behind him in the 16th position.
Heat B vs C: S4 Veteran Jimmy McNeil was first in the second group of heats ahead of Modesto winner Gian Cavaciuti, as both drivers left the pack behind. Robert Toninelli was third ahead of Mike Beeny and Mike Mantel. The sole Canadian in the race, Michel Legrand, finished 24th.
Heat A vs C: Hamilton won his second heat of the afternoon, but he had much more competition in this one as Cavaciuti was able to match the pace set by Hamilton. Former RIGP winner Jordan Musser was third ahead of Darren Elliott and Rob Logan. McGregor matched his result in the first heat with another 13th place finish.
Heat B vs D: McNeil was also two for two in heat wins after heat B vs D was over. McAlister was second ahead on Toninelli, Faint and former SuperNationals winner Howie Idelson. Canada’s Legrand was 24th for the second heat in a row while Stojko ran into some bad luck after contact forced him to DNF.
Tag Cadet
Heat A vs D: Alex Verhagen was the victor in heat 1 for Tag Cadet ahead of Canadian Nicholas d’Orlando and GT7 pilot Dylan Tavella. Giovanni Bromante was fourth and pole sitter Trey Brown was fifth. Matthew Marrocco was the next highest placing Canadian in 8th place.
Heat B vs C: Pserra Racing’s Jack Doohan won his first heat ahead of Kaylen Frederick and Leonardo Marseglia. Michael d’Orlando had a good race finishing in fourth ahead of Benik’s Derek Carmenate. Lachlan DeFrancesco finished the heat in 16th position while Justin Arseneau came home in 33rd.
Heat A vs C: Guiseppe Fusco won the first group race in heat 2 ahead pf Tavella and Carmenate who continued to out perform his teammates. Nicholas d’Orlando was fourth as pole man Brown once again finished in fifth. Arseneau had another disappointing heat finishing in 36 and will surely need to make his way through the LCQ in order to make the final.
Heat B vs D: Michael d’Orlando won his first heat ahead of Doohan as the two drivers pulled away from the field. Jak Crawford was third ahead of Jagger Jones and Alex Verhagen. Marrocco continued to impress as he finished tenth. Lachlan DeFrancesco had another tough race as he came home in 32nd.
Jack Doohan faired well through the Tag Cadet Heats on Friday. (© 2014 Shofner Films / Kart360)
KZ2
Heat 1: Paolo DeConto converted his pole position to a heat 1 win ahead of former race winner Jonathan Thonon and Bas Lammers. Patrik Hajek was fourth and Jeremy Iglesias was fifth. Canadian Philip Orcic was the highest placing of his countrymen taking 13th. Jean Francois Lafontaine brought home a 21st place finish on his Birel Art chassis.Two spots behind Lafontaine was Indy Lights driver Zack Meyer in his Innisfil Indy prepped GP chassis. Chad Campbell and Zachary Shearer were 28 and 29 overall.
Heat 2: The top four from heat 1 remained unchanged in heat 2 as David Fore was able to make his way back up to fifth. Orcic was 14th in the race and once again was the highest placing Canadian. Lafontaine, Meyer, and Shearer all improved, getting the 16th, 19th and 22nd positions. Campbell on the other hand had a rough heat race as he didn’t finish resulting in a 33rd place finish.
Tag Senior
Heat A vs D: Dalton Sargeant followed his younger brother’s lead by taking the win in the first Tag Senior heat beating the red hot TonyKart of Jake Craig. Liam McLellan was third ahead of Mark Boos and Bobby Kelley. Kale Kunicki was the only Canadian in the heat bringing his Vemme home in 22nd position.
Heat: B vs C: Austin McCusker won heat B vs D ahead of Danny Formal and Australian Ben Stewart. David Sera was fourth in the heat ahead of Vinicius Papareli. Canadian Kevin Monteith had a great heat going from 17th to 6th while Remo Ruscitti was ninth in the race. Just outside the top ten was Jordan Redlin in the fifteenth position.
Heat A vs C: Stewart won heat A vs C ahead of Craig and Italian Top Kart driver Marco Maestranzi. Formal was fourth in the race ahead of Austin Osborne. Canadian MacAllister had a DNS in the heat.
Heat B vs D: Sargeant won his second heat in the days final race ahead of Brazilian Andre Nicastro and heat B vs C winner McCusker. Kris Walton was fourth ahead of David Sera who once again had a top five finish. Monteith was the highest placing Canadian in 18th followed by Redlin and Kunicki in the 19th and 20th spots. Ruscitti had a bad heat after contact in the first lap put him all the way down in 31st position.
November 21, 2014
Friday Heats Update: Morning Classes
Tag Junior
Heat A vs D: Matias Fernandez was the victor in the opening heat of the day as he beat the class pole winner Julien Andlauer by 3 seconds. USF2000 rookie Coltin Herta was third ahead of JP Southern Jr and Ulysse De Pauw. It was a tough race for both Roman DeAngelis and Zachary Sinclair as the Canadians were not able to complete the first lap.
Heat B vs C: Logan Sargeant was the winner in his first heat finishing ahead of 2014 Mini Max FWT champion Gianluca Petecof and Tazio Torregiani. Antonio Serravalle had a solid race bringing the kart home in 11th place.
Heat A vs C: Luis Branquinho took first in Heat A vs C ahead of Andlauer, and Pro Tour championship leader David Malukas. Heat 1 winner Fernandez was fourth ahead of Christian Brooks. There were no Canadian drivers in this heat.
Heat B vs D: Sargeant drove away from the pack in Heat 2 with more than a three second lead on second place. Justice Lepe finished second followed by Zach Holden, Herta, and Anthony Gangi Jr. Heat B vs D saw all three Canadians in the class compete. Just outside the top five was Antonio Serravalle who finished 6th, improving from his first heat result. DeAngelis finished the race in 25th while Sinclair didn’t finish his second he and will surely need to make his way to the final through the LCQ.
Logan Sargeant is two for two in Tag Junior Heats (John Shofner/Kart360)
S2
Heat A vs. D: Kyle Kirkwood was off to a good start on Friday as he went on to win the first heat in S2. Kolton Griffin and Jarred Campbell were the only two who were able to keep up to Kirkwood in the on root to finishing second and third. Chris Jennings and Jason Faint completed the top five.
Heat B vs C: Mexican Fernando Casillas Jr. won the second heat 1 group in S2 finishing ahead of Miguel Lopez and Austin Garrison. Will Preston and Luke Shanahan were able to move up throught the field to complete the top five. Canada’s Dominic Legrand finished the race in 22nd as he was half a second off Casillas’s pace up front.
Heat A vs C: Kirkwood was dominant in heat two as he was a second and a half clear of the field at the checkered flag. Austin Shimmel was the best of the rest in second ahead of Austin Garrison, Cassilas Jr.m and Griffin.
Heat B vs D: Backing up a third place finish from heat 1 Campbell managed to take the win in heat 2 ahead of Miguel Lopez and Jonathon Kotyk. Jason Faint finished in fourth ahead of with Sky Finley completing the top five. Legrand had a much better result in this heat as he was able to move up all the way to thirteenth.
S5
Heat 1: Jacob Loomis just edged Raul Guzman to win heat 1 in the junior stock moto category. Pole sitter Trenton Estep was third ahead of Christian Brooks and Mathais Ramirez. West Coaster Evan White completed the race in the 17th position.
Heat 2: Ramirez was on the move in heat 2 as he claimed the win over Guzman. Estep finished third for the second heat in a row. Callum Smith was fourth and Patricio Ward fifth as he finally cracked the top five in his Praga. White improved his result from the first heat as he went on to finish 15th.
Tag Masters
Heat 1: Aussie Kip Foster, won the first heat in Tag Masters ahead of fellow countryman and IndyCar champ Will Power. Billy Cleavelin was third ahead of multi-time SuperNationals champion Leonardo Nienkotter from brazil. Diego Pelosi completed the top five in heat 1. The highest placing Canadian in the heat was Dave Kunicki as he was 26th while Ron Hyde suffered with a DNF.
Heat 2: Former IndyCar driver Richie Hearn beat Foster to the line in Heat 2 of Tag Masters. Power, Nienkotter and Cleavelin all managed to stay in the top five for the second heat in a row. The two Canadian’s in the class finished 37th and 38th respectively.
S1
Heat 1: Former Pro Tour Champion Fritz Leesman won heat 1 in S1 ahead of current championship leader Jordan Lennox. Danny Formal continued to impress in the class taking third ahead of David Fore and Gary Carlton. Scott Hargrove brought home an 11th place finish while Matthew Dileo took 22nd position.
Heat 2: Formal drove his DR kart to first in heat 2 as he took the win from Fore and Leesman. Lennox finished the race in fourth while Oliver Askew moved up to fifth. Di Leo improved from his heat one result after taking a 16th place finish where as Hargrove had a bad luck resulting in a DNS.
November 20, 2014
Thursday Qualifying Update: Afternoon classes
S4
New Zealander, Matt Hamilton (Aluminos), was quickest out of the box in S4 taking pole ahead of Jimmy McNeil (CRG-USA/CRG) and Italian Gian Cavaciuti (GP Texas USA/GP Kart). Don McGregor (Italian Motors/ItalKart) was only good enough to take 29th in the session as he was the highest placing Canadian in the class. Elvis Stojko (Team Maranello/Maranello Kart) was 40th, while Michel Legrand (PSL Karting/CRG) was 59th. Both drivers will need to step up their game during the heats in order to get through to the final.
Tag Cadet
Trey Brown (Ryan Perry Motorsports/TonyKart) took pole in Tag Cadet ahead of 2013 podium finisher Jack Doohan (PSerra Racing/TonyKart) and Guiseppe Fusco (Goodwood Kartways/Lenzo Kart). Lochie Hughes (Goodwood Kartways/Praga) was fourth, in front of Canadian brothers Nicholas and Michael d’Orlando (Koene USA/TonyKart). Matthew Morrocco (Goodwood Kartways/Intrepid) qualified 20th in his first SuperNationals appearance while Lachlan DeFancesco (Team Benik/Benik Kart) was 42nd and Justin Arseneau (PSL Karting/CRG) was down in 71st position.
KZ2
Paolo de Conto (Art GP North America/Birel Art) impressed everyone in qualifying as he gave the new Birel Art name it’s maiden pole in North America. Jonathon Thonon (Praga North America/Praga) and Bas Lammers (Formula K) were the top two drivers for most of the Session until de Conto went to the top of the time sheet on the his last lap. The top two in S1, David Fore (CRG USA/CRG) and Fritz Leesman (PSL Karting/CRG), completed the top five. Phillip Orcic (Ward Racing/TonyKart) was the highest placing Canadian as he was 16th right in front of Jean-Francois Lafontaine (OFL Racing/Birel Art). Zach Meyer (Innisfil Indy/GP Kart) was 25th while his teammates Zachary Shearer (Innisfil Indy/GP Kart) and Chad Campbell (Innisfil Indy/GP Kart) were 31st and 33rd respectively.
Tag Senior
Jake Craig (Wild2Karting/TonyKart) is having the best year of his karting career as the young American driver took Pole in the Tag Senior division ahead of Australian ace David Sera (KartSport North America/Deadly Kart) and Ben Stewart (KartSport North America/Arrow). Remo Ruscitti (Italian Motors/ItalKart) was the top Canadian in 14th and should be able to move up from there. Kevin Monteith (Praga North America/Praga Kart) was 34th as he continues to find speed in his first race back in a Tag Kart. Jordan Redlin (PSL West/CRG) was 42nd, Kale Kunicki (Extreme Karting/Vemme Kart) 56th and Jamie McAllister (Italian Motors/ItalKart) 79th as all three need to make progress through the heats in order to make it to Super Sunday.
November 20, 2014
Thursday Qualifying Update: Morning classes
TAG Junior
Julien Andlauer (Goodwood Kartways/Praga) took pole in Tag Junior ahead of Logan Sargeant (Sargeant Motorsports/TonyKart) on Thursday at the RIO as the two were followed by Spring Nationals winner Christian Brooks (Nash Motorsports/TonyKart), Braden Eves (J3 Competition/Comp Kart) and JP Southern Jr. (Checkered Motorsports/PCR) Canadians Roman DeAngelis (Koene USA/TonyKart) and Antonio Serravalle (PSerra Racing/TonyKart) fared well in the session as they were 20th and 22nd respectfully. Alberta’s Zachary Sinclair (Energy Canada/ Energy Kart) was a little further behind the two in 32nd position. The three Canadians will start the heats in the mid pack and if they can stay out of trouble all three can make the final.
S2
Kyle Kirkwood (OGP/TonyKart) had a good start to his two busy weeks as he took pole in S2 by half a tenth over Italian Loris Ronzano (GP Texas USA/GP Kart). Fernando Casillas Jr. (Extreme Karting/Vemme Kart) was third in the session putting him on the front row in all three of his heats. Jared Campbell (Champion Racing/Intrepid) and Koltin Griffin (Pure Karting/TonyKart) completed the top five in the class. The sole Canadian in the category, Dominic Legrand (PSL Karting/CRG), posted a time of 46.197s which was only good enough for 50th. Legrand will need to move up the field in the heats in order to make the main on Sunday.
S5
Texan Trenton Estep (Dallas Karting Complex/SodiKart) was the quickest in S5 qualifying with Jacob Loomis (Champion Racing/Intrepid) and Raul Guzman (GP Texas USA/GP Kart) less than a tenth behind him. Canadian Evan White (Overdrive Motorsports/TonyKart) was 19th in the 20 kart field.
Tag Masters
Kip Foster (Kartsport North America/Kosmic) who is always quick at the Rio topped the sheets in Tag Masters ahead of former IndyCar driver Richie Hearn (Mike Manning Karting/MMK). 2014 Izod Indycar Champion Will Power (Kartsport North America/Arrow) was third in the session as he was followed by multi-time class winner Leonardo Nienkotter (J3 Competition/Comp Kart) and Diego Pelosi (Bordogna Racing Engines/TonyKart). Ron Hyde (Italian Motors/ItalKart) was the first of the Canadians in 35th position while Dave Kunicki (Extreme Karting/Vemme Kart) took 44th.
S1
Karting legend David Fore (CRG-USA/CRG) claimed pole in the Pro Stock Moto category on Thursday ahead of two time S1 Champion Fritz Leesmann (PSL Karting/CRG). Daniel Formal (DRT/DR Kart) was third followed by Las Vegas’ own Matt Jaskol (PSL West/CRG) and the current S1 points leader Jordan Lennox (PSL Karting/CRG). Scott Hargrove (Italian Motors/ItalKart) put in a top ten performance qualifying in the 8th position. The second Canadian in the class finished, Matthew Di Leo (Praga North America/Praga Kart) the session in 25th.
November 18, 2014
SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII: Down and Dirty in Las Vegas
It’s that time of year again. November marks the favourite month for many North American karting teams, drivers and enthusiasts as the worlds best converge on Las Vegas, Nevada for the annual SKUSA SuperNationals, the largest karting event on this side of the pond and where factory race teams send actual support, chasing the massive glory that comes with being a SuperNationals champion.
Read More
November 18, 2014
Tuesday Photo Gallery
Kart360.com has uploaded a photo gallery of the track setup and preparations from Tuesday.
Check it out here.
