Posts Tagged ‘torrance’
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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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 »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
K1 Speed is pleased to support this year's Red Bull: New Year. No Limits!
We are pleased to announce that
K1 Speed is supporting our good friend Travis Pastrana and this year’s
Red Bull: Near Year. No Limits celebration in Long Beach, California! Over the last couple of years, Red Bull has brought in the New Year with a bang, and this year will be no different. On New Year’s Eve, accomplished motocross rider, rally driver and action sports icon Travis Pastrana will try to set the world record for the longest distance jump in a rally car, and to make the feat even more daring, Travis will be launching from the pier in Long Beach onto a floating barge some 200ft. away! In the tradition of Robbie Maddison’s epic football field jump in 2007 and Paris Hotel step-up in Vegas last year, Travis is looking to do something that has never been done and we can’t wait to see it unfold on New Year’s Eve. As part of our collaboration, we are offering our customers a chance to win 2 VIP tickets to the event!
Travis Pastrana practices for his Red Bull: New Year. No Limits. world-record attempt in his Red Bull Subaru rally car.
If you would like 2 VIP tickets to what is sure to be the biggest New Year’s bash on the west coast, head down to K1 Speed and try to set your fastest lap! The individuals who set the single fastest lap time between December 1st and December 24th at
K1 Speed Torrance and
K1 Speed Irvine (track 1) will each receive a pair of VIP tickets, so get your racing gloves and helmet on and head out to K1 Speed in Orange County and Los Angeles! Whether you’re fastest when you are chasing people down or you like a nice, clean open track, we invite you to come in to our Torrance or Irvine indoor karting centers between now and Christmas Eve for what is sure to be a fantastic contest. And don’t forget to check our
Online Scoring System to see the latest time to beat!
Travis Pastrana will attempt to set the world record for distance jumped in a rally car on December 31, 2009 in Long Beach, California.
Tags: indoor karting, irvine, k1 speed, red bull new year no limits, torrance, travis pastrana
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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
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Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
The Kogi BBQ truck – famous for serving up delicious Korean / Mexican fusion cuisine throughout the Los Angeles and Orange County area – will be at K1 Speed Torrance on November 20th and 21st between 6-9PM. Whether you’ve heard the buzz on the Kogi truck and have not yet had an opportunity to try their fantastic Korean short rib tacos or you’re a regular customer, we invite you to come out to our Los Angeles indoor go kart track this Friday and Saturday for delectable food and exciting indoor karting action! We hope to see you there!
Tags: indoor go kart track, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, kogi bbq truck, los angeles, torrance
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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
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Friday, October 23rd, 2009
This Halloween, come in to K1 Speed wearing your scariest and most outrageous costumes and enjoy the excitement of indoor go kart racing! All 6 of our indoor kart racing centers – Carlsbad, Irvine, Anaheim, Torrance, Ontario and Seattle – will be open until 11PM on Saturday, October 31st and will be offering our Buy 2 Races, Get 1 Race Free special all day long! This special represents a 33 percent savings over the standard price and is a fantastic deal. Whether you’re planning on going door-to-door for candy or will be attending a Halloween party later in the evening, kick off the most thrilling night of the year with genuine thrills at K1 Speed!
Start off your Halloween celebrations this year indoor go kart racing at your nearest K1 Speed karting center!
Tags: anaheim, carlsbad, go kart racing, halloween, indoor go kart racing, indoor karting, indoor karting center, inland empire, irvine, k1 speed, karting, los angeles, ontario, orange county, redmond, san diego, seattle, southern california, torrance
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
We reached the half-way point of our Challenge GP indoor kart racing league this weekend at K1 Speed Torrance in Los Angeles, California, and the event proved to be quite interesting! During Qualifying, the fast lap time was being set and reset by different drivers constantly, as everyone was very competitive right out of the gate; the result of this back-and-forth between the drivers were two separate fields with diverse and competitive starting grids. Though we had a familiar face take the pole position to start on the front row of our A-Main race, several drivers who are accustomed to competing in the A found themselves in the B-Main race instead, such was the closeness and relative equality of the field.
The drivers for our Challenge GP indoor kart racing league at K1 Speed Torrance in Los Angeles, California.
During the A-Main race, John Tanaka was able to pull away from the field after the drop of the green flag, but surprisingly started to slowly lose ground as the race wound its way down. With only a few laps remaining, David Kelmenson was right on John’s rear bumper and went for the pass, but John’s defensive line prevented David from overtaking. In the melee, David and Brandon Cruz, who was following behind in a close 3rd place position, nearly were passed by Michael Arnold who had been hovering back in 4th, but in the end, all three drivers were able to defend their positions and cross the finish line in the order that they started the race. The action was intense though as everyone was watching anxiously as David and Brandon began inching their way back up to the front towards the end of the race!
A-Main Race - 1st: John Tanaka 2nd: David Kelmenson 3rd: Brandon Cruz
Regular competitor Khalifa Alasiri started the B-Main race in 2nd place but was able to quickly pass pole-sitter Joe Batwinis for the lead, and he never looked back. Though Joe was unable to maintain his position at the front of the pack, he was able to prove his mettle on track by holding off long-time K1 competitor Kirk Meese, who was doing everything possible to make a pass. Determined not to lose another place on the podium, Joe raced a classic defensive battle and was consistent throughout, which allowed him to hold off Kirk and finish the race behind Khalifa in 2nd place! Battling Khalifa and Kirk certainly illustrated quite clearly to everyone who was there that Joe is someone to lookout for in the future, and we expect him to do well!
B-Main Race - 1st: Khalifa Alasiri 2nd: Joe Batwinis 3rd: Kirk Meese
Everyone was very competitive this weekend and the racing was some of the closest that we’ve seen! If you want to compete in our Challenge GP go kart league, join us at our K1 Speed Torrance indoor karting center in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 25th for the next round! We hope to see you there!
Tags: go kart league, go kart racing, indoor go kart racing, indoor go kart track, indoor kart racing league, indoor karting, indoor karting center, k1 speed, karting, los angeles, south bay, torrance
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009
K1 Speed is well known for having authentic racing memorabilia and genuine racecars on display at its indoor karting centers, and one of the reasons for this reputation is that we are constantly looking for unique and exciting items to display at our locations throughout Southern California and Seattle, Washington. We like to think that our go kart centers are mini museums celebrating the thrill and glory of motorsport as much as they are indoor go kart tracks, so it is important to us that we add to our collection and rotate our displays on a regular basis. With this in mind, we recently acquired two fantastic cars for our K1 Speed Torrance indoor karting center in South Bay, Los Angeles, and we couldn’t be happier with how they look in our lobby!
Classic Dale Earnhardt Sr. #3 Goodwrench Car
The first car that we have added to our collection, which we are extremely pleased and honored to have on display, is one of Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s #3 Goodwrench NASCAR stock cars. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a legend in motorsport and NASCAR circles, and was famously referred to as “The Intimidator” because of his aggressive driving style around the banked ovals of super speedways. The all-black GM Goodwrench livery that he made famous seemed to be a perfect fit for his character and driving personality, as he was a no-nonsense driver once he got out on the track. This simple and striking livery was so well known that it became a part of Dale’s legacy, leading people to give him the Johnny Cash-esque nickname “Man in Black.” It can probably be said without much controversy that as the 555 blue and yellow Subaru livery is to Colin McRae or the red Ferrari Marlboro livery is to Michael Schumacher, the black Goodwrench livery is to Dale Earnhardt Sr., and will forever be his. We are proud to have this car on display not only because the car celebrates the bygone era of the late 80s, but also because it celebrates one of the greatest stock car drivers of all time.
Road & Track / Honda R&D Civic Si Racecar
We have also acquired a 2006 Honda Civic Si racecar that was campaigned by Road & Track magazine at the December 2005 National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race in Northern California. Driven by Editor Kim Wolfkill and several drivers from Honda Research and Development in Ohio, the car was able to complete 645 laps during the 25 hour race and finish 1st in class. Perhaps even more impressive than the car’s class victory though is the fact that the car was able to finish 4th place overall out of a field of 58 cars! The car is a testament to what can be accomplished with solid engineering and reliability, as the nearly-stock Civic was able to beat much more notable cars around the curvy and hilly circuit thanks to solid preparation and consistent driving.
If you would like to see these cars in person, please feel free to visit our Torrance indoor karting center! After taking in our racing memorabilia, you can enjoy the thrill of wheel-to-wheel racing with our high performance electric karts! We hope to see you soon!
Tags: civic si, dale earnhardt sr, go karting center, goodwrench, indoor go kart track, indoor karting center, k1 speed, los angeles, nascar, number 3, racecar, road and track, stock car, thunderhill, torrance
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