Junior Open Wheel Talent

Taybor Duncan

I’m sad to report that nine-year-old Taybor Duncan has lost her life in a tragic go-karting accident in Colorado.  Duncan was taking part in a Sunday morning practice session at Grand Junction Motor Speedway when her kart struck a rescue trailer pulled by an ATV.  The incident occurred on-track.

This is a truly heartbreaking story. A facebook page has been set up in her memory.  Taybor was well-known throughout the Colorado karting community.  She was extremely passionate about racing and enjoyed every minute at the race track.  While Taybor spent most of her time competing in Colorado, she was no stranger to the National scene; last month she competed in the Rotax Max Grand Nationals in the Micro Max category at New Castle Motorsports Park.

My sincere condolences go out to the Duncan family and the entire Colorado karting community for their devastating loss.  Hopefully tracks worldwide will review their “kart pick-up procedures” so accidents like this can be prevented.

Championship Karting International announced the award winners for the inaugural “Karting’s Got Talent” program.  For those that missed it, here is my write-up on the program from April.

Karting’s Got Talent Award Winners

• Bryan Lemon, 14, Phoenix, Arizona
• Karl Weber, 13, Ambia, Indiana
• Camden Geise, 14, Orange County, California
• Mariah McGrif, 15, Vail, Arizona
• Nicholas Ramirez, 13, Riverside, California
• Broc Yocom, 15, Wichita, Kansas
• Andy Schlosser, 15, Sewickley, Pennsylvania
• Ayrton Mutagaana, 13, Ambridge, Pennsylvania
• Kyle Smith, 15, State Collee, Pennsylvania
• Phil DeLaO, 17, Phoenix, Arizona
• Taylor Minch, 15, Alpine, California
• Arie Ouimet, 19, Plymouth, Massachusetts

The youngest driver in the program is 13 and the oldest is 19.  I believe the original plan was to limit the age to 15 , but they only included two drivers over the age of 15 and both are brimming with talent.

From the latest CKI press release:

Along with a sponsorship package that will include items such as entry fee expenses, safety gear and apparel, tires, and racing oil, CKI will also follow the success stories of each of these drivers for public announcements with media assistance to help the drivers’ promote their driving accomplishments throughout 2010.

It’s nice to see tires added to the prize fund as that’s an area where most young drivers really spend the bulk of their funding.  Stay tuned for future updates on the program.

Last week, Brendon Hartley joined the long list of talented drivers dropped by the Red Bull junior program.  The 20-year-old Kiwi was competing in his second year of Formula Renault 3.5, and had failed to score a victory in 24 starts.   Personally, I think Red Bull jumped the gun a little as his lack of race wins fails to tell the whole story.

Hartley, who won the 2007 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, finished third in the ultra-competitive British F3-International Series in 2008 — logging five race wins and 11 podiums.  In 2009, he was thrown into one of the most hectic schedules possible, running in both the World Series by Renault and the Formula 3 Euro Series, while also balancing a testing role for F1′s Scuderia Toro Rosso.  Talk about diversity.  The seat time was excellent, but it’s hard to produce results when you are spread so thin.  This year, he completed 11 races in the World Series by Renault before being dropped.  During that time he logged eight top-10 finishes and three top-five finishes with a best result of 2nd.  He also set the fastest lap of the race at both Spa and Monte Carlo. There’s no question that his results this year, while impressive, were far from stellar.  Which is why Red Bull made the decision they did.  Obviously, he knew his support from the energy-drink giant was in jeopardy, which couldn’t have helped his results.  I have no problem with Red Bull’s decision, but I think they should have let him finish out the season.

Jean-Eric Vergne, 20, who is leading the British F3 Championship, will replace Hartley at Tech 1.  Vergne should be able to jump right into the new role as he has already completed four races with the team in the GP3 series.  Speaking of Vergne, it’s worth noting that he just swept both British F3-International rounds this weekend at Spa bumping his win total to eight races.

In the karting world, 15-year-old Jake Dennis of Britain won the opening round of the CIK-FIA U18 Championship held at “Prokart Raceland” in Wackersdorf.  The next event will be held August 27-29 in Alcaniz, Spain.

Also in international karting — big news here in the United States — the WSK World Series will be making their North American stop this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park.  If you’re not counting the SKUSA SuperNationals (which technically isn’t a world event despite the international attendance), this is the first time in twelve years that an “world” event has been held on American soil.  The Formula C World Championships were held in Charlotte in 1998.  Gary Carlton will be looking for his first international race win in KZ2 and Ron White – who won an international event at Sarno in 2004 – will make his return to international competition.  Both drivers should be considered favorites to win this weekend, despite the high-level of competition.  There will be 19 North American’s competing in the event.

U.S. Rotax Max Grand Nationals- New Castle Motorsports Park

Rotax competitors from all over the United States battled it out last weekend at New Castle Motorsports Park, hoping to represent USA in La Conca, Italy during the Rotax Grand Finals this fall.  Eleven drivers earned the opportunity and will represent the USA in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals on November 15-21, 2010.

2010 Team USA Members in Bold Print

• Senior Division: 1st- Stepanova Nekeel; 2nd- Sam Beasley; 3rd- Daniel Formal.
• DD2: 1st- Cody Hodgson; 2nd- Derek Wang; 3rd- Nathan Mauel
• DD2 Masters: 1st- Todd Ulmen; 2nd- Henry Malukas
• Masters: 1st- Eric Jones; 2nd- Sean Scott; 3rd- John Bonanno
• Junior: 1st- Andrew Palmer; 2nd- Alessandra Madrigal; 3rd- Ethan Ringel
• Mini Max: 1st- Jordan Perry; 2nd- Cole Glasson; 3rd- Dalton Sargeant
• Micro Max: 1st- Anthony Gangi; 2nd- Juan David Buitrago; 3rd- Justin Sirgany

Skip Barber National Championship- New Jersey Motorsports Park

It was a wild weekend for Skip Barber National competitors who completed Rounds Nine and Ten of the 2010 Championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park.  Two drivers earned their first-career National victories after post-race penalties were assessed.

Round Nine:  Felix Serralles earned his first win of 2010 by 0.004 seconds over championship leader Spencer Pigot.  Ashley Freiberg rounded out the top-three, earning the hard charger award for improving three positions in 15-laps.  Nick Andries set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:31.701.

Round Ten:  Freiberg earned her first-career Skip Barber National win on Sunday, while simultaneously earning her second-consecutive hard charger award from improving the most positions, and becoming the first female in history to win a Skip Barber National event.  She started the race sixth and ultimately crossed the line second behind Isaac Lyons.  However, after the race, Lyons was given a 25-second penalty for blocking, which relegated him to ninth overall.  Spencer Pigot finished second, earning his ninth podium in ten races.  Dennis Trebing was leading the final lap before contact sent him to seventh place.  Serralles grabbed the final podium spot.

Indy Lights:  Toronto

Firestone Indy Lights drivers spent last weekend North of the Border racing on the narrow streets of Toronto.  Two rookies claimed the top-two spots.

J.K. Vernay earned his fourth win of the 2010 season extending his championship lead to 68-points over Canadian James Hinchcliffe.  “Hinch” was running second for the majority of the race before making a slight error in Turn 3 — missing his braking point — and then being bumped off track in Turn 5.  Dan Clarke put together a career-best finish by crossing the stripe second 1.7469 seconds behind Vernay, who led the entire race.  Gustavo Yacaman also logged a career-best finish by finishing third.  His previous best was fourth at Milwaukee in May, 2009.

Stefan Wilson, who finished fifth, set the fastest lap of the race (65.8173 seconds) and earned hard charger honors for improving the most positions during the event.  Wilson started tenth and finished fifth after 50-laps.

EkartingNews.com put together a solid preview for this weekend’s U.S. Rotax Max Grand Nationals.  The preview includes an entry list for each category totaling about 200 drivers.  The event will be held at the highly regarded New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana.

Unfortunately, my coverage of the event will be slim this year as I have a wedding to attend this weekend.  If you’re able to make the trip, I highly recommend you do.

By now Lance Stroll, the 11-year-old from Montreal, doesn’t need an introduction.  Every media outlet in the world has mentioned his name this past week.  Stroll was recruited by Luca Baldisserri – former Ferrari engineer and current manager of the Drivers’ Academy – to join the Ferrari Young Drivers’ program.

“He is very young, but he has already shown in karting that he is exceptionally talented,” said Baldisserri in a release.

“We will follow him step by step in his forthcoming events in North America and he will soon also take part in our courses at Maranello.”

To date, Lance is the youngest recruit.  He will continue to focus on education while racing in North America, but will likely be whisked away to Italy in the coming years for driver development purposes.  The Ferrari announcement came just prior to this weekend’s Formula One race in Montreal.

Lance has a very impressive karting resume, which includes nominations from the Federation Sport Automobile du Quebec as Rookie of the Year in 2008 and Driver of the Year in 2009.  Last winter, Stroll claimed the Florida Winter Tour TaG Cadet Championship and the ultra-competitive Rotax Mini Max Championship. In addition he’s a two-time Canadian National Champion in Rotax Mini Max Competition.  He’s a proven talent.  That said, it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s the son of Lawrence Stroll – a Ferrari collector – who was ranked 74th on the Canadian Business Online ‘Rich 100‘ list.  The elder Stroll’s net worth was estimated to be $472 million in 2004.

Not to take anything away from Lance, connections have always been a part of racing and they always will be.

Perhaps the best part of this whole ordeal is the added exposure for karting throughout the world.  My email inbox has been overrun with “google alerts” featuring the keyword “karting.”

It will be fun to watch Lance over the next few years.  He certainly has the attention of motorsport luminaries everywhere.

Earlier this week, I wrote a column for The Ladder Report over at PopOffValve.com and a reader published an interesting link in the comment section that I’d like to share.

In the latest edition of GQ Magazine, Josh Dean wrote a piece on young go-kart racer Santino Ferrucci entitled The Great Santino. The lead in for the story starts like this…

“The most dominant young racer in America is an undersized 11-year-old with epic hair, a head full of Formula One dreams, and a name that just sounds fast.”

You can read the full feature here.

It’s nice to see go-kart racing featured in a mainstream publication like GQ.  Santino Ferrucci has been very impressive in cadet competition and is currently in the process of graduating to junior-level karting, competing on both sides of the pond.  He will be a fun driver to watch in the coming years.

Cadet Driver Sting Ray Robb

Championship Karting International (CKI) announced that they will be providing free entry into a series-of-choice for 10 up-and-coming karters.  The drivers who were the chosen recipients earned the most points of all first-time entrants while competing at New Castle Motorsports Park last weekend for the opening round of the 2010 CKI WSK North American Championship.

In total, CKI plans to distribute over $5,000 back into the karting community through this first time entrant program.

The drivers receiving sponsorship are:

• Blaine Rocha (Cadet, Mini Max)
• Andrew Palmer (KF3)
• Sting Ray Robb (Comer Cadet, Mini Max)
• Colton Aldrige (TaG Senior)
• Camden Donaldson (Comer Cadet)
• Karl Weber (Leopard Jr.)
• Kyle Smith (KF3)
• Andrew Hobbs (TaG Sr.)
• John Paul Southern Jr. (Comer Cadet)
• TJ Koyen (TaG Sr.)

Again, this is definitely a step in the right direction by CKI.  I like the selection process, as well, because it’s pretty black-and-white, there is no bias involved.  The top-ten first time entrants who earned the most points were awarded.

All of these drivers will have free entry (for one class) in a series of their choosing.  Most of the drivers will be using their free entry at a local club or regional program– which is great news.  Without a strong local and regional program the various national series will cease to exist and it seems that CKI realizes this.

This looks to be a win-win program for everyone involved.

PKRA Track - Phoenix

Due to some issues with the asphalt at the Grand Sierra Resort of Reno, Nevada, CKI officials have decided to move the 2nd Round of the CKI WSK North American Championship to the Phoenix Kart Racing Association (PKRA) track in Arizona.  The race was originally scheduled to be run on a temporary parking lot circuit in Nevada.

It’s unfortunate that the venue has to change but based on the reports I’ve heard, the cracks in the asphalt at the Grand Sierra Resort have worsened over the winter months.  The addition of PKRA looks to be a good move as the facility was just recently repaved.

It’s entirely possible that CKI will return to Reno and the Grand Sierra Resort in the future.

For those planning to attend the 2nd Round, only the venue has changed, the date has not changed and the event will still take place May 14-16, 2010.

Championship Karting International (CKI) and the Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving have put together a new support program for karters entitled “Karting’s Got Talent”.

The program is designed to help young drivers, who are between the age of 12 and 15, fund their karting/motorsport programs.  Twelve drivers will be selected by a panel of judges to take part in the program.  In order to be eligible drivers must first submit an application online or at a CKI event.  The chosen recipients will receive support from CKI that includes driving gear from Alpine Stars, Vicci apparel, Bridgestone tires, VP race fuel, Motul lubricants and decals from DecalWorks.

The overall winner of the program will receive a fully-funded ride in the 2011 Championship Karting International championship.

Overall, I like the program and it seems like the CKI officials are really pushing to help club level and regional drivers which is a real plus.  The support items -listed above- are all nice but they might have been better off to focus on tires and gasoline (both travel gas and race fuel) as both goods disappear much quicker than say decals and driving gear.  Regardless, they are certainly taking a step in the right direction and it’s nice to see programs like this pop-up in the racing community.