Archive for December, 2009
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
High-performance sports bikes in the parking lot at K1 Speed Carlsbad
In addition to being a popular spot for car enthusiasts,
K1 Speed is also a hit with motorcycle enthusiasts. In fact, many of our customers bring in their own helmets and our customers who ride tend to get a hang of our karts pretty quickly! On New Year’s Eve, members of the
Gentlemenz Affairz motorcycle club visited our
K1 Speed Carlsbad indoor go kart track in San Diego, California to bring in 2010! The crew proudly sported their club apparel, and there was some healthy competition on track to see who would set the fastest time of the group in our
electric karts!
Members of the Gentlemenz Affairz motorcycle club at our K1 Speed Carlsbad indoor go kart track in San Diego, California
There is a wide variety of motorcycle clubs these days celebrating an even more diverse range of bikes – from choppers, bobbers, Harley Davidsons, Indians, cruisers, vintage bikes and European marquees, to name but a few – but the members of this San Diego club have a passion for high performance sports bikes. Not content with the factory performance or aesthetics of these machines though, the guys modify their bikes to both personalize them and to increase their performance. From extended swing arms and aftermarket exhaust systems to custom paint jobs, the motorcycles of the Gentlemenz Affairz club are truly unique and have the performance to match their looks!
A custom paint job depicting scenes from the film 300!
The 300 theme is even carried over to the rider's helmet!
We would like to thank the club members for visiting our indoor karting center in North County San Diego, and we hope to see them again soon! We always appreciate it when motorsports enthusiasts choose our indoor go kart tracks to satiate their need for adrenaline and speed!
K1 Speed is a popular spot with motorcyclists
Tags: carlsbad, Carspotting, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor karting center, k1 speed, san diego
Posted in Carspotting, K1 Speed Carlsbad | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
K1 Speed is pleased to support the 2009 Red Bull: New Year. No Limits bash!
To support our friend Travis Pastrana and the
Red Bull: New Year. No Limits year-end celebration in Long Beach, we recently held a contest to see who could set the single fastest lap time of the month at our
K1 Speed Irvine and
K1 Speed Torrance indoor karting centers. The contest took place between December 1st and 24th, and individuals had the chance to compete for the fastest lap time on Track 1 at our Irvine location or at our newest indoor go kart track in Los Angeles for a unique and exciting prize. The two individuals who set the fastest times would each receive a pair of free VIP tickets to the Red Bull tent on New Year’s Eve to watch Travis Pastrana’s daring jump over Long Beach harbor onto a floating barge some 200ft away! The turnout and enthusiasm for the event was great and it was fantastic watching people try for that perfect lap.
Now that the contest has ended, we are pleased to announce the winners and their superb lap times! The top time of the month for Track 1 at K1 Speed Irvine was 21.38 seconds, set by Khalifa Alasiri. The time was nearly broken by Toby Rodriguez, who managed to set a lap time of 21.40 seconds, but in the end, Khalifa’s record ended up being fast enough to claim victory! In Torrance, Challenge GP competitor and regular K1 racer David Kelmenson was able to set a lap time of 26.61 seconds, which was fast enough to earn him 2 free VIP tickets to the Red Bull: New Year. No Limits event on December 31st! We would like to congratulate both of our winners for superb performances and thank them for their support, and we hope that they enjoy the festivities on New Year’s Eve!
*In the event a winner is unable to claim the prize, it will be awarded to the runner-up.
Tags: indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor kart racing center, indoor karting, indoor karting center, irvine, k1 speed, los angeles, orange county, red bull, red bull new year no limits, torrance, travis pastrana
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Monday, December 28th, 2009
The last round of our 2009 Challenge GP season took place at K1 Speed Torrance this past weekend. Not only did the December 27th race mark the final Challenge GP race of 2009, but it also marked the conclusion of our inaugural Challenge GP season at our newest location, K1 Speed Torrance in South Bay Los Angeles, California! It was a great race and the spectators witnessed some fantastic performances on the track. Now that the season is over though, everyone is anxious for the start of the 2010 season, which will see participants tackle our Torrance indoor go kart track in the opposite direction! The new reverse track layout should make next season interesting and put all of our competitors on a level playing field!
Challenge GP B-Main Winners: 1st Michael Arnold | 2nd Richard Langsdale | 3rd Gary Culbertson
In the B Main race, Michael Arnold led the way and was able to take home the victory. Behind him, Richard Langsdale finished in 2nd place ahead of Gary Culbertson, who took the final podium position for 3rd place. Though Michael may have wished for slightly better results, his strong finish in the B Main solidified his standings in the overall point standing, allowing him to earn a 3rd place finish in the very first K1 Speed Torrance Challenge GP season!
Challenge GP A-Main Winners: 1st David Kelmenson | 2nd Paul Ciralli | 3rd David Messimer
The A Main race was exciting and a great way to close out the 2009 season! Paul Ciralli started the race in 4th place but was able to move up to 2nd after an on-track incident in the first hairpin corner on lap 2. From that moment on, David Kelmenson led Paul and David Messimer around the track in a 1-2-3 procession. Despite Paul’s best efforts, he could not make a clean pass on David and opted instead to defend his position and take home the 2nd place trophy. Everyone is definitely going to be watching David Kelmenson next season though; he has shown time and time again that he is capable of running at the front of the pack, and we expect he’ll be battling for overall honors next year.
2009 K1 Speed Torrance Challenge GP Winners: 1st John Tanaka | 2nd Paul Ciralli | 3rd Michael Arnold
Former Challenge GP champion John Tanaka ended up winning the K1 Speed Torrance Challenge GP kart league championship, ahead of Paul Ciralli and Michael Arnold. Once again, John has proven to be a formidable opponent out on track and with this latest championship, he has shown that he has the skills to win anywhere! We can’t wait for the 2010 season to begin! If you would like to race against some of the very best indoor karters in Southern California, join us at our Torrance indoor kart racing center in January!
Tags: Challenge GP, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, kart league, kart racing series, karting, los angeles, torrance
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
An electric Tesla Roadster at K1 Speed Seattle
Our latest
Carspotting feature showcases an automobile that we feel is particularly appropriate for K1 Speed: the all-electric Tesla Roadster! Spotted outside of
K1 Speed Seattle recently, this striking blue Tesla caught our attention and we were pleased when we found that the owner was more than happy to show it off! With an advanced chassis based on the nimble Lotus Elise and cutting edge lithium ion battery cells, the Tesla Roadster – like our K1
electric karts – proves that high performance and electric efficiency don’t have to be mutually exclusive. We are big proponents of electric power at K1 Speed, and with cars like the Tesla Roadster and Audi E-Tron concept car paving the way for electric performance cars, we are excited to see where the technology takes us in the future!
The owner of this Tesla Roadster swapped out his electric sports car for our high performance electric go karts!
It was a pleasure having the owner of this Tesla Roadster at our K1 Speed Seattle indoor karting center in Redmond, Washington, and we look forward to seeing him again soon!
Tags: Carspotting, electric car, electric karts, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing center, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, redmond, seattle, tesla roadster, washington
Posted in Carspotting, K1 Speed Seattle | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
The final race of the Challenge GP season at K1 Speed Carlsbad took place this past weekend and when the last competitor crossed the finish line, a new champion was crowned! The event was fantastic; the racing was close, everyone was in good spirits and there were some surprises on the podium. Long-time racer Kirk Meese pulled out the win over young up-and-coming racer Jordan Robertson, who finished in 2nd place and David Messimer who fought off Paul Ciralli for the final spot on the podium. Regulars John Simms and Jordan’s father Stephan also put up good fights but were unable to earn a trophy this time around.
December Challenge GP Podium -- 1st Kirk Meese | 2nd Jordan Robertson | 3rd David Messimer
Despite Paul’s 4th place finish, he was still able to claim the season championship! After finishing 2nd to John Tanaka last season in our Carlsbad Challenge GP kart racing series, Paul was consistent and competitive all season long, and his efforts paid off with a championship finish. The Top 3 finishers for the season were Paul Ciralli in 1st place, Jordan Robertson in 2nd (who impressed everyone this season with his continuous improvement and competitiveness) and Kirk Meese finishing in 3rd place overall. Our winners received gift bags and prizes from Meguiar’s Car Care and K&N Filters, whom we would like to thank for their support. It was a pleasure hosting our Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP season and we greatly look forward to the 2010 series!
Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP Final Results -- 1st Paul Ciralli | 2nd Jordan Robertson | 3rd Kirk Meese
Tags: carlsbad, Challenge GP, go kart league, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, kart league, kart racing series, kart series, san diego
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
Children from the Hope Community Center Orphanage visit our K1 Speed Carlsbad indoor karting center!
We had the pleasure of hosting a small group of children from the
Hope Community Center Orphanage at our
K1 Speed Carlsbad indoor karting center in San Diego, California today and judging from the smiles on their faces, the children enjoyed it! The Hope Community Center Orphanage is a non-profit charity that aims to provide a better life for Kenyan children who have lost their parents to disease or poverty, and currently there are 320 children in the organization. In the spirit of the season, we were more than happy to provide a small group visiting California with an opportunity to experience the thrill and excitement of go kart racing!
Tags: california, carlsbad, hope community center orphanage, indoor go kart racing, indoor kart racing, indoor karting, k1 speed, san diego
Posted in Charity and Special Events, K1 Speed Carlsbad, News - K1 Speed | No Comments »
Monday, December 21st, 2009
With Christmas upon us and the New Year only a couple of weeks away, we wanted to remind our fans of our holiday hours. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, K1 Speed will be closing at 7PM and our centers will be closed on Christmas day. We will be open for business on January 1st, 2010 though so feel free to bring in the New Year and the new decade with K1 Speed!
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Friday, December 18th, 2009
Carspotting: Dodge Viper RT-10 at K1 Speed Torrance
The Dodge Viper has been a hit with auto enthusiasts ever since it was introduced nearly 20 years ago, and for good reason! The large displacement V10 engine develops a huge amount of horsepower and torque and the exterior styling is unmistakable. Though the Corvette has always been a bit more affordable and perhaps a bit more user friendly as well, the Viper can lay claim to the title of America’s premier supercar with little debate! With a noteworthy and successful racing history ranging from Le Mans 24 Hour wins to ALMS wins at Daytona and Sebring and endurance wins at the Nurburgring and famous Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the Viper has proven itself capable of going head-to-head with some of the biggest names in motorsport!
The menacing front fascia of the Dodge Viper RT-10 is unmistakable!
It was bittersweet seeing this Dodge Viper RT-10 at our K1 Speed Torrance indoor karting center in Los Angeles, California, as the future of the Viper platform is up in the air. Production on the current model will soon end and there are no definitive plans to bring the car back (though Dodge may introduce the car’s replacement or the next generation in 2012). Nonetheless, it was great being able to exam one of America’s most iconic sports cars up close! If you would like to see more of our customers’ most exciting cars, be sure to check out our Carspotting entries! We love it when motorsports enthusiasts visit K1 Speed, as we like to think it validates our goal of offering an authentic racing experience that can be enjoyed by enthusiasts and novices alike!
Tags: Carspotting, dodge viper, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing center, indoor karting center, k1 speed, los angeles, torrance
Posted in Carspotting, K1 Speed Torrance | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Members of the California Indoor Racing Kart League host the 2009 season finale at K1 Speed Irvine!
The
California Indoor Racing Kart League held its 2009 season finale at our
K1 Speed Irvine indoor go kart track in Orange County, California recently and many of our top customers were in attendance! Some of the best indoor karters in Southern California participate in the CIRKL – including Ed Bergenholtz from the famous
Bergenholtz Racing Team and Challenge GP champions John Tanaka and Toby Rodriguez – and we greatly appreciate the fact that they choose K1 Speed to host their races! We look forward to the 2010 season of the CIRKL and expect to see many of the league members at our
VIP Top 50 ProScore party on January 3rd! Thank you to everyone at the CIRKL for their continued support!
Tags: california indoor racing kart league, cirkl, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor kart racing center, indoor karting, indoor karting center, indoor racing, irvine, k1 speed, kart racing, karting, orange county
Posted in K1 Speed Irvine, News - K1 Speed | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
2009 K1 Speed Junior Kart League Champions -- 1st Patrick Landeros | 2nd Brandon Kim | 3rd Hunter Kim
The last round of our 2009
Junior League was held this weekend at
K1 Speed Anaheim and it was a great event! The children had a fantastic time and were pleasantly surprised when we ran the track in the opposite direction, as it created an exciting new challenge. With the new layout, Brandon Kim was able to beat the competition and take the race win, ahead of Hunter Kim and Patrick Landeros. The great drive by Brandon tied him in points with Patrick Landeros, but over the course of the season, Patrick had more overall wins so ended up being crowned Series Champion in a closely contested battle! We would like to thank all of the kids and their families who participated in our 2009 Junior League at K1 Speed Anaheim and we look forward to seeing them develop their skills!
Tags: anaheim, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor karting, indoor karting center, junior kart racing, junior karting, junior league, k1 speed, karting, oc, orange county, youth kart racing, youth karting
Posted in K1 Speed Anaheim | No Comments »
