Posts Tagged ‘kart racing series’
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
K1 Speed Ontario – one of the largest indoor kart tracks in the Inland Empire and all of Southern California – held its first Challenge GP kart league race of 2010 this past weekend, and once again, there was a great turnout of both veteran competitors and new drivers! Pole position at our indoor raceway went to Khalifa Alasiri, who set the fast lap during qualifying with an impressive time of 52.12 seconds around our Super Track. Despite starting the race from P1 on the grid, Khalifa had his work cut out for him, as regular John Tanaka was starting right behind him and was intent on taking the win!
In the A Main race, Khalifa quickly found that winning the race would be no easy feat. With constant pressure being applied from behind, Khalifa found it difficult to run a smooth, clean, consistent race, and John Tanaka was taking advantage of his mistakes. Like a predator with prey in his sights, John was matching Khalifa’s every move and inching away at his lead. After several laps of tapping into the back of Khalifa’s kart, John was finally able to make a pass and make it stick. Though not the cleanest pass we’ve witnessed, sometimes a racer has to be a bit aggressive out on track if they want to take the lead! With just a couple of laps remaining, John quickly put distance between his kart and Khalifa’s, and ended up claiming victory almost 1.5 seconds in front of Alasiri, who claimed 2nd place in the A Main. Garrett Regan finished in 3rd place to claim the final spot on the A Main podium. It was an intense race and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a rematch in the future!
Challenge GP A Main Podium: 1st John Tanaka | 2nd Khalifa Alasiri | 3rd Garrett Regan
The B Main race had its own share of highlights, and we were pleased to see several new faces in the starting lineup. The race was won by Chris Weaver, who was able to run away from the competition and finish in front of 2nd place finisher Matt Shane by nearly 3 seconds. With such a dominant drive, we expect to see Chris compete in our A Main events in the future, and we hope to see him hit the track again in February for Round 2 of our Challenge GP kart league. The final spot on the podium of our B Main race was Holly Stamps, who ended up owning her little piece of racetrack. Several seconds behind Matt Shane and some 4 seconds in front of 4th place, Holly was able to concentrate on the task of driving, enjoy a clean racetrack and set fast and consistent laps!
Challenge GP B Main Podium: 1st Chris Weaver | 2nd Matt Shane | 3rd Holly Stamps
We would like to thank everyone who took part in the 1st round of our 2010 Challenge GP season in Ontario, and we hope to see them again! If you would like to compete head-to-head against some of the best indoor karters not only in California, but in the entire country, please stop by our Inland Empire indoor go kart track on Valentine’s Day, February 14th!
Video: K1 Speed Ontario Challenge GP Race – January 2010
Tags: Challenge GP, electric kart, indoor go kart racing, indoor karting, inland empire, k1 speed, kart league, kart racing, kart racing series, karting, ontario, riverside
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Ontario | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Racers tackle the indoor go kart track at K1 Speed Seattle in our Challenge GP kart league!
We had 10 drivers show up to compete in our first race of the 2010 season at
K1 Speed Seattle, and we were pleased to see that several of the competitors were new to the
Challenge GP series. The veteran racers were eager to welcome the new faces and were being very gracious before the race and after the qualifying sessions had come to a close; several of the new drivers found themselves receiving advice on the optimal lines and braking points. Even the experienced competitors found the race to be a challenge though, as the session was run in the opposite direction. With a reverse track layout, everyone was on a level playing field for the most part, leading to an exciting qualifying session!
Runner-up in last season’s Challenge GP series, Javier Cantu-Lucero qualified on pole position at our indoor raceway after setting the fast lap in the two qualifying sessions. Just behind him was Austin Treloar, followed by Erik Bee. The three started at the front of the grid and were eager to defend their positions as the race got underway. As the green flag was dropped for the main event, everyone was able to get off of the line cleanly. We were pleased to see that nobody fell behind (it could also be said that nobody gained a position though!) and there were no incidents as the karts funneled into Turn 1.
The front of the pack were running consistent lap times and were forming a procession as they lapped the track, but there was plenty of excitement farther back on the grid. On lap 3, Carlos Simental pushed his cold tires a bit too hard and went wide, allowing Theodore Georgas to take advantage and move up one position. Perry Skountrianos made a spectacular move on Michael Raiche on lap 10, throwing the nose of his kart into the inside of Michael’s before he could close the door. The move put Perry in 6th place, but 2 laps later, Michael pressured Perry into making a big mistake around the hairpin turn and Michael was able to regain his original position. Perry’s spin cost him two positions but by the end of the race he had gained back one position which left him where he started in 7th. Though they weren’t fighting for a podium spot, the mid-pack challengers were involved in some of the best racing we’ve seen!
At the front of the pack, Javier was being hounded by Austin Treloar who was putting up a valiant fight! Javier was able to keep his cool though and drove home to victory, despite Austin putting forth his best efforts to knock Javier off of his spot! Austin ended up claiming the second spot on the podium ahead of Erik Bee who finished in 3rd place. It was a great race and a fantastic way to start of the 2010 Challenge GP season in Seattle. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we were pleased with the turnout.
January 2010 Challenge GP Podium: 1st Javier Cantu-Lucero | 2nd Austin Treloar | 3rd Erik Bee
If you would like to compete in our Challenge GP kart league and race our high performance
electric karts around one of the best indoor go kart tracks in Washington State and the Seattle area, join us on February 9th for Round 2! We hope to see you there!
Tags: Challenge GP, go kart arena, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, kart league, kart racing series, redmond, seattle, washington
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Seattle | 1 Comment »
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
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
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Carlsbad | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
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!
Tags: Challenge GP, go kart league, go kart series, k1 speed, kart league, kart racing series, karting league, karting series
Posted in Challenge GP, News - K1 Speed | No Comments »
Monday, December 14th, 2009
With only 1 point separating 1st and 2nd place in our K1 Speed Ontario Challenge GP kart league, the last round of the season would be the race that determined the championship! Regular competitor John Tanaka led Garrett Regan by the slimmest of margins but went into the event looking to win the title and defend his championship from last season. However, Khalifa Alasiri (looking to be the proverbial wrench in John’s gears) followed up two consecutive victories by setting the fast lap during qualifying to claim the pole position at our indoor raceway! Not having the benefit of a clean line at the green flag, John faced an uphill battle.
At the start of the race, Khalifa started building a gap between himself and Garrett, who qualified on the front row in 2nd place ahead of John. With both Garrett and Khalifa in front of him, the only chance John had of taking the victory was an unlikely accident, but John didn’t need to win the race to take the title, as he went into the race with the points lead. Rather than risk a move that could result in him losing several positions, John ran a clean race back in 3rd place. Not surprisingly, Khalifa and Garrett both ran smooth, event-free races as well and the three finished in the order that they started.
Jul-Dec 2009 Ontario Challenge GP Winners: 1st Place - Garrett Regan and John Tanaka | 2nd Khalifa Alasiri | 3rd John Carroll
With Garrett finishing one spot in front of John, the two racers ended up tying for 1st position overall and will share the Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP championship at K1 Speed Ontario! Though Khalifa couldn’t take away the championship, his three consecutive victories were impressive and we expect that he’ll be in contention next season. His string of successes later in the season allowed Khalifa to finish in 2nd place overall ahead of 3rd place finisher John Carroll. The winners received prizes from Meguiar’s and our proud sponsor K&N Air Filters.
The winners of our Jul-Dec 2009 Challenge GP kart racing series stand atop the podium at K1 Speed Ontario!
It was a great season and we would like to thank everyone who participated! We look forward to 2010 and are excited to announce that our Challenge GP events will be run on our Reverse Super Track!
Tags: Challenge GP, go kart league, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor karting, indoor karting center, inland empire, k1 speed, kart league, kart racing, kart racing series, karting, ontario, riverside
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Ontario | No Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
The November round of our Challenge GP kart racing series at K1 Speed Carlsbad brought out some very strong competitors, including Paul Ciralli, Khalifa Alasiri and Kirk Meese. The father-son team of Stephen and Jordan Robertson was all too happy to disrupt the plans of these seasoned competitors though, as Jordan Robertson performed extremely well in both the qualifying round and position race; hovering on the tail of Paul Ciralli, Jordan was able to place pressure and fight for the win all race long! Though Jordan was unable to make a pass for first position, he finished just .22 seconds behind Paul for a 2nd place finish and was able to stay ahead of Khalifa Alasiri, who wound up taking the final spot on the podium in 3rd. It was an impressive performance by all accounts, and we expect to see Jordan continuously improve as he gains more experience.
Challenge GP Podium: 1st Paul Ciralli | 2nd Jordan Robertson | 3rd Khalifa Alasiri
We would like to thank everyone who came out and competed in Round 5 of our Challenge GP series as well as offer our thanks for their continued support. If you would like to participate in our Challenge GP go kart league, we will be announcing our new schedule for the Jan-Jun 2010 season soon. If you would like to see some of the best indoor karters in Southern California battle it out in person, feel free to join us at our indoor karting center in San Diego, California on December 20th for the final round of the year! We hope to see you there!
Tags: carlsbad, Challenge GP, go kart league, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor kart racing, indoor kart track, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, kart racing, kart racing series, karting, san diego
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Carlsbad | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
At the penultimate round of our 2009 Challenge GP kart racing series at K1 Speed Torrance, John Tanaka was once again dominant. Leading the race from the first position on the grid, John never looked back and easily took the win ahead of Paul Ciralli and Adam Langsdale. The battle for second place was exciting though, as Paul trailed Adam for several laps before making a move in the last corner that catapulted him into position to take the first series of sweeping corners on the preferred line. Despite having to go wide of the apex through the S-curve to accommodate Adam to his right side, Paul was able to make the move stick and ended up finishing the race in 2nd place. Adam was able to hold on and win the 3rd position on the podium.
A-Main Podium: 1st John Tanaka | 2nd Paul Ciralli | 3rd Adam Langsdale
The B-Main event saw regular racer Michael Arnold lead the field to a well-deserved win. Michael is not a stranger to A-Main events, so when he does compete in the B-Main, he is often very competitive and that proved true this weekend as well. In 2nd place behind Michael was Joe Batwinis, who finished ahead of 3rd place finisher Tyler Bryant.
B-Main Podium: 1st Michael Arnold | 2nd Joe Batwinis | 3rd Tyler Bryant
It was a great weekend of racing in Torrance and we look forward to the final round of the season on December 27th! If you want to watch some of the very best indoor karters in Southern California compete, we invite you to come out and join us! If you want to compete, be on the lookout for our new Challenge GP schedule soon!
Watch the video: K1 Speed Torrance Challenge GP Indoor Karting – Onboard with Paul Ciralli
Tags: Challenge GP, go kart league, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor kart racing, indoor kart track, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, kart racing, kart racing series, karting, los angeles, racing league, torrance
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Torrance | 2 Comments »
Monday, November 9th, 2009
Though there were some familiar faces present for our Challenge GP go kart racing series in the Inland Empire this weekend, the race was dominated by John Tanaka and Khalifa Alasiri. The two seasoned competitors quickly distanced themselves from the field as they made their way around our half-mile Super Track, and were running nose-to-tail the entire race. Their pace was so fast in fact that 3rd place finisher Garrett Regan – someone who has several podium finishes to his name and is contention for the Ontario Challenge GP championship – finished some 6.70 seconds back! The two racers were giving it their all and the result of their effort was clearly demonstrated on the track! John and Khalifa crossed the checkered flag separated by a mere 0.77 seconds, with Khalifa taking the win over John Tanaka.
It was a great race at K1 Speed Ontario this weekend and we would like to thank everyone who came out to compete. The final round of the Jul-Dec 2009 K1 Speed Ontario Challenge GP season is taking place on Sunday, December 13th. If you would like to watch the champion be crowned or would like to compete against the best of the best, join us at 7:00PM! We hope to see you there!
Tags: Challenge GP, go kart arena, go kart league, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor karting, indoor karting center, inland empire, k1 speed, kart racing, kart racing series, karting, ontario
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Ontario | No Comments »
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.
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!
Tags: Challenge GP, go kart league, go kart series, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing, indoor kart racing center, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, kart racing league, kart racing series, karting league, los angeles, torrance
Posted in Challenge GP, K1 Speed Torrance | No Comments »
