Posts Tagged ‘go kart series’

Changes For Our 2010 Challenge GP Season!

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Racing enthusiasts take part in the Challenge GP go kart league at K1 Speed!

Racing enthusiasts take part in the Challenge GP go kart league at K1 Speed!


With the 2009 season of our Challenge GP kart league coming to a close, we are already preparing for 2010, and we are pleased to announce that we are implementing some exciting changes! One of the most dramatic changes (and one which the participants seem to appreciate) is that our tracks will be run in the opposite direction! After six months of running “forwards” at K1 Speed Carlsbad, K1 Speed Irvine, K1 Speed Ontario, K1 Speed Torrance and K1 Speed Seattle, we will even the playing field for new competitors by running our indoor go kart tracks “backwards” this Challenge GP season between January and June, 2010.

Our indoor go kart tracks take on different rhythms and personalities when run in the opposite direction, and for all intents and purposes become brand new tracks! For novice competitors, operating our tracks in reverse allows them to compete on a level keel with veteran racers; for individuals who have raced at their local K1 Speed indoor karting center a dozen times or more, changing the track direction gives them the opportunity to experience their favorite location in a whole new light! Needless to say, it’s great fun and we always love to watch as racers dissect a new layout and unlock the track’s secrets! We also feel that this is a great reason to take part in our Challenge GP kart racing series, as our reverse layouts are not available for our regular Arrive and Drive racing options (except in Anaheim).

In addition to the track direction, we are also making some slight changes to the point system. Each racer will now receive 2 points for his or her position in a race (for example, if someone finishes 1st in a race with 10 competitors, he or she will receive 20 points) and we are excited to announce that we will be rewarding the individual who sets the fast lap and earns the pole position at our indoor raceway an additional 2 points that will be added to his or her total! We suspect that this new change may lead to some heartbreak out on track, but it should result in some fantastic drives as well!

The dates for the 2010 season of our Challenge GP go kart league will be announced soon and we hope to see you competing on track next season!

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K1 Speed Irvine Challenge GP Kart League Results

Monday, December 7th, 2009
Competitors in our Challenge GP indoor karting league navigate our Super Track at K1 Speed Irvine

Competitors in our Challenge GP indoor karting league navigate our Super Track at K1 Speed Irvine


The final round of the Jul-Dec 2009 K1 Speed Irvine Challenge GP karting league took place this weekend and a new champion was crowned! There was a full grid for the race, and we were pleased to see that some new faces showed up to compete as well, including K1 Speed-sponsored driver Gustavo Menezes who recently earned two podium finishes at the SKUSA SuperNationals XIII event in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the caliber of drivers out on track, we expected an exciting race and the competitors did not disappoint!

Two racers in our Challenge GP indoor kart league fight for position at K1 Speed Irvine

Two racers in our Challenge GP indoor kart league fight for position at K1 Speed Irvine

After qualifying, Toby Rodriguez, Taylor Hays and Khalifa Alasiri led the front of the pack in the A Main race, with regular racer and defending champion John Tanaka starting back in seventh place. Gustavo Menezes was able to qualify in sixth in his first ever Challenge GP race and was able to compete head-to-head with some of our veteran racers! Clearly, Gustavo’s skills in TaG 125cc karting helped him adapt to our high performance electric karts and our indoor go kart tracks quite quickly, as he was a rocket out on track!

Challenge GP A Main Podium - 1st Toby Rodriguez | 2nd Taylor Hays | 3rd Khalifa Alasiri

Challenge GP A Main Podium - 1st Toby Rodriguez | 2nd Taylor Hays | 3rd Khalifa Alasiri

At the drop of the green flag, Toby, Taylor and Khalifa quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the field after running consistently fast lap times. Back in the middle of the pack, Gustavo Menezes was on a mission to make up positions and he went to work quickly to gain ground. Gustavo’s first pass was on Ahmed Alasiri; going into a hairpin corner, Gustavo slightly tapped the back of Ahmed’s kart with a late braking maneuver which allowed both John Tanaka and him to take the inside line and make the pass. The next person in Gustavo’s sights was Bill Kreig, who is a very fast and very consistent driver. Heading into a slow speed corner, Gustavo once again late braked and this time was able to pull off a clean pass free of contact. Unfortunately for John, he was not able to follow this time and would tail Bill for the remainder of the race. Toby Rodriguez ended up winning the last round of the season, ahead of Taylor Hays who finished in second place and Khalifa Alasiri who finished third. Defending champion John Tanaka could do no better than sixth and Gustavo Menezes was able to make his way up to fourth in his first ever event!

Challenge GP B-Main Podium - 1st Michael Arnold | 2nd Justin Davenport | 3rd Michael Tekstra (not present)

Challenge GP B Main Podium - 1st Michael Arnold | 2nd Justin Davenport | 3rd Michael Tekstra (not present)

In the B Main race, Michael Arnold was able to climb to the top step of the podium ahead of second place Justin Davenport and third place Michael Tekstra. The B Main event was another exciting race, with veteran Michael Arnold once again proving his worth out on track. This sixth and final round of the season also produced some series champions though! The overall champion for our K1 Speed Irvine Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP season is Toby Rodriguez, who accumulated a total of 172 points over six races! Second place overall went to defending champion John Tanaka with 162 points and Bill Kreig claimed third place with 141 points. An honorable mention must also be given to Alton Arnold III who finished tenth in the A Main race but fourth place overall in the season with 138 points, just 2 points shy of Bill Kreig!

Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP Series Champions - 1st Toby Rodriguez | 2nd John Tanaka | 3rd Bill Kreig

Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP Series Champions - 1st Toby Rodriguez | 2nd John Tanaka | 3rd Bill Kreig

We would like to congratulate all of our winners – both our series champions and our individual race winnrers! Though we should probably be used to it by now, we are constantly impressed with how exciting our Challenge GP events are! We would like to thank all of our fans, supporters and competitors for a great race and a fantastic season, and we hope to see you again next year! Be on the lookout for our 2010 Challenge GP kart league schedule soon – our tracks will be run in the opposite direction next season so veterans and new racers alike will be on a level playing field!

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Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Irvine | 2 Comments »

K1 Speed Seattle Challenge GP Kart Racing Results – December 2009

Monday, December 7th, 2009

With the Top 3 positions and the championship already determined in the 2009 K1 Speed Seattle Challenge GP season, the final round this past weekend was for pride and bragging rights! Series champion and track record holder Randy Olivarez set the fast lap and earned the pole position at our indoor raceway, but runner up Javier Cantu-Lucero earned the second spot on the grid and was looking for the win. Newcomer Austin Treloar impressed everyone with his qualifying time, which was just a tenth of a second off of Javier’s qualifying time, and managed to start from the third spot on the grid in his first ever Challenge GP race! Considering that there was a full grid with 11 drivers, we were pleased to see him so far up the grid and expect to see more out of Austin next season!

Jul-Dec 2009 K1 Speed Seattle Challenge GP Champions - 1st Randy Olivarez | 2nd Javier Cantu-Lucero | 3rd Sean Naslund (not present)

Jul-Dec 2009 K1 Speed Seattle Challenge GP Champions - 1st Randy Olivarez | 2nd Javier Cantu-Lucero | 3rd Sean Naslund (not present)

Once the green flag dropped, Javier tucked right in behind Randy and was ready to make a move as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Going into the first hairpin corner, there was some contact in the front of the field which forced Randy wide, allowing Javier to take the inside line alongside. Though it wasn’t the cleanest pass, Javier was able to make it stick and took the lead away from Randy. On lap 14, Javier made a mistake but Randy was unable to capitalize; trailing Javier as close as he was, Randy ended up simply bumping into the back of his kart and lost the momentum he needed to make the pass. The race winner ended up being Javier, followed closely by series champion Randy Olivarez. The battle for third place was close, but in the end newcomer Austin Treloar ended up claiming the final spot on the podium ahead of his fellow novice Challenge GP competitor Brad Herley. It was a great race worthy of the final round of the decade!

December Challenge GP Podium - 1st: Javier Cantu-Lucero | 2nd Randy Olivarez | 3rd Austin Treloar

December Challenge GP Podium - 1st: Javier Cantu-Lucero | 2nd Randy Olivarez | 3rd Austin Treloar

It was a great year at K1 Speed Seattle for our Challenge GP kart racing league and this was perhaps our most exciting season yet; the defending champion Sean Naslund put up a great fight at the beginning of the season but Javier Cantu-Lucero and Randy Olivarez both stepped up and were extremely competitive all season long. We really look forward to next year and expect to see great things from our regular competitors as well as newcomers like Austin and Brad! Stay tuned for an updated calendar of events in 2010 soon!

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K1 Speed Torrance Challenge GP Kart Racing Results – October 2009

Monday, October 26th, 2009

There was a great turnout for our Challenge GP race at K1 Speed Torrance this weekend but the story of the day was John Tanaka’s brilliant drive from 3rd place on the grid to win the race. As a former Challenge GP champion, John has a reputation for being fast, consistent and aggressive, and he put all three traits to good use on Sunday. In an A-Main race that included legendary import drag racer and Bergenholtz Racing team owner Ed Bergenholtz, John was able to qualify in a very respectable 3rd place. Once the green flag dropped though, John quickly went about making his way to the front of the pack.

John Tanaka (1st), Michael Arnold (3rd) and Sean Brazeau (2nd) share a laugh on the podium at our K1 Speed Torrance indoor karting center in Los Angeles, California.

John Tanaka (1st), Michael Arnold (3rd) and Sean Brazeau (2nd) share a laugh on the podium at our K1 Speed Torrance indoor karting center in Los Angeles, California.

Michael Arnold, who competes on a regular basis in the Challenge GP series, qualified in 2nd place for the main race and had the unenviable task of holding off a determined John Tanaka. The pressure appeared to be on Michael’s mind as he made his way around the track, as he was regularly checking over his shoulder only to find John matching his every input. This mental distraction ended up being Michael’s undoing; heading into the braking zone of the first hairpin turn about halfway through the race, John was finally able to make his move and complete the pass to take the second position. With a short amount of laps remaining though, it looked as if though John may not be able to catch the race leader Sean Brazeau. Amazingly, John was able to close the gap between himself and Sean and on the last lap of the race, forced his way inside of Sean at the same spot on the track that he passed Michael! With less than half a lap left, John took the lead and never looked back, winning the race in a drive that had the spectators shouting from the sidelines! It was a truly great drive worthy of a Challenge GP champion, and it helped solidify John’s lead in the point race.

We would like to thank everyone who attended our Challenge GP race in Los Angeles this weekend, including John Tanaka, Sean Brazeau, Michael Arnold, Ed Bergenholtz, and the winners of the B-Main race, Gary Culbertson, Paul Ciralli and Korta T Autrey for a great event! If you would like to compete against some of the very best indoor karters in Southern California or the Pacific Northwest, we invite you to attend the next Challenge GP event at your local K1 Speed indoor karting center. Our Challenge GP races allow veterans and novices alike to compete in genuine wheel-to-wheel racing for an affordable price, and are great fun! There are two rounds remaining in the Jul-Dec 2009 season, so we hope to see you there!

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K1 Speed Carlsbad Challenge GP Results – September 2009

Monday, September 21st, 2009

This weekend marked the half-way point for our Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP season at K1 Speed Carlsbad, and we had several very fast competitors come out to battle for the win. Among the racers who showed up were Curt Chapin, who is a former Challenge GP champion and ProScore record holder, regular competitors Paul Ciralli and Kirk Meese, and father and son team Stephen and Jordan Robertson. The qualifying session was very close, with several drivers in contention to start the race from the front row of the grid, but in the end, Paul Ciralli was able to set the fast lap and take the pole position at our indoor karting center. Jordan Robertson, who is under 18 but has qualified to compete in Challenge GP events, was able to best his father’s time and qualify on the front row in 2nd place, and Curt Chapin was able to beat the rest of the field despite a recent hiatus from the track to qualify in 3rd.

Paul went into the race with the points lead and was eager to defend his position, but Jordan and Curt were on his tail as soon as the green flag dropped and the racers headed into the first corner. Such was the pace of Paul, Jordan and Curt that Kirk Meese, who is an experienced and very fast competitor himself, was unable to match the top 3 drivers and started to drop back with the rest of the field. Paul, Jordan and Curt were setting very fast lap times and were able to maintain their pace lap after lap as they headed around the track in a 3 car train (several times it appeared as if all three karts were attached to each other as they made their way around the track)! Though Paul and Curt were impressive on track, Jordan Robertson did particularly well this weekend and was a man determined to win! Jordan was on the tail of Paul Ciralli for the entire race and ended up setting the session’s fast lap in the process with a blistering time of 26.28 seconds, but he was never able to make a pass. Any potential move on Paul might have allowed Curt to slip by, so Jordan played it safe and maintained his position. After 16 hard laps of racing, the top 3 drivers finished in the order that they started with less than 1 second between them! Kirk Meese led the rest of the field past the finish line some 10 seconds later.

Curt Chapin does his best impersonation of the Stig while Paul and Jordan celebrate their podium finishes!

Curt Chapin does his best impersonation of the Stig while Paul and Jordan celebrate their podium finishes!


With 3 rounds completed in our Carlsbad Challenge GP go kart league, the season is definitely heating up: Paul has started to solidify his lead against the competition – though there are still 3 rounds remaining so another driver, such as Jarrod Buccola, may still be able to take home the championship – and Jordan Robertson made a name for himself in a big way this weekend, and will be one to look out for in the future! We are eager to see how the rest of the season progresses; barring any mishaps, Paul is in a strong position to take home the top prize but the competition is starting to put on the pressure! Join us at K1 Speed Carlsbad on Sunday, October 18th if you are interested in competing in our Challenge GP go kart league and think you have what it takes to race against the very best!

1st: Paul Ciralli 2nd: Jordan Robertson 3rd: Curt Chapin

1st: Paul Ciralli 2nd: Jordan Robertson 3rd: Curt Chapin

1st: Paul Ciralli
2nd: Jordan Robertson
3rd: Curt Chapin
4th: Kirk Meese
5th: Erwin Solis
6th: Stephan Robertson
7th: Jon Simms
8th: Jim Mihal

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K1 Speed Seattle Challenge GP Kart Racing League – September 2009 Results

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Having finished in 3rd place in Round 1 of our six round Challenge GP series and missing Round 2 altogether, defending champion Sean Naslund needed to take home the victory this weekend if he wanted any chance of repeating his success from last season. Racing against veteran competitors Randy Olivarez and Javier Canto-Lucero, Sean had his work cut out for him – especially considering the performance that these two men have put on in the last two races – but he didn’t let the pressure deter him. After setting the fast lap time in qualifying and taking the pole position, Sean led the field all the way to the checkered flag to take an unchallenged win, greatly boosting his standings and putting him back in the running.

1st place: Sean Naslund 2nd place: Randy Olivarez 3rd place: Javier Canto-Lucero

1st place: Sean Naslund 2nd place: Randy Olivarez 3rd place: Javier Canto-Lucero


Though neither Randy nor Javier found themselves on the top step of the podium this race, both are still in contention for the championship with the season half over, thanks to strong finishes in all three rounds. We look forward to seeing how the rest of the series pans out and we expect that all three men will give everything that they have to take home the gold at season’s end! If you would like to take part in our Challenge GP kart racing league, join us at K1 Speed Seattle for the next round on Sunday, October 4th!

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