Last night (January 7) we completed our third race in the 5 race series at Sykart in Tigard and had another great time. To learn more about the Kart Racing Series, see our page here.
GT1
Alex Casey logged his first win in GT1 after a long fought battle with Scott Huck. Scott qualified for the pole position and from the beginning of the race Alex’s car looked like a trailer behind Scott until Alex executed a nicely timed pass to take the lead. Alex was able to hold the lead and give Scott an unfamiliar 2nd place finish. Scott did log the fastest lap in the GT1 final earning him a nice 2 point bonus and further securing his hold on 1st place overall. The always competitive Thomas Ellsworth rounded out the top 3 in the GT1 final. Carlos Santayana (sporting a very cool new helmet he picked up from club sponsor Sidedraught City) and Michael Kardas had some impressive lap times last night but I think they got tangled up with Bruce Feller near the end of the final to finish farther back than they might have otherwise; watch for Carlos and Michael to move up in the standings over the next couple races.
Speaking of Bruce, he seems to have a knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact the Sykart workers have termed the phrase, ‘don’t pull a Bruce’ when offering race instruction to the groups. All kidding aside, Bruce drives some clean lines and with a little better luck, he’ll finish on the podium again (Bruce finished 3rd at the first race of the series). Thanks for being such a good sport Bruce! Claude Laviano and Michelle Hows round out the group from last night’s GT1 race. They are both improving each race and will soon be in the thick of the racing…if they don’t tangle with Bruce.
Here are the GT1 results from January 7:
- Alex Casey
- Scott Huck
- Thomas Ellsworth
- Michael Kardas
- Bruce Feller
- Carlos Santayana
- Claude Laviano
- Michelle Hows
You can find the overall standings and earlier race results here.
GT2
Jesse Burkett continues his dominance in GT2 with another 1st place finish and is basically conducting a clinic on the track. Jessee’s lap times are very consistent and while most of us have a corner or two (or four) that gives us trouble, he drives very clean lines around the entire course. Unlike GT1 which had 1st & 2nd separated by less than a second, Jessee finished nearly 15 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
Despite an unforced error by Jon Garcia during the rolling start which left him stuck between turns 4 & 5 (apparently Jon can only drive fast) the rest of this race was pretty clean and tight up until the last couple laps. I rolled out at 8th on the start with newcomer Dave MacIntyre behind me and quickly got around Erik Dunkle to start closing in on Shane Verhaaren. This is where I spent most of the race, trying to close the gap behind Shane who was hot on Jon’s tail. As the race progressed, I noticed the gaps were pretty tight between the 2nd place car through 7th. I followed Shane and Jon around the course for several minutes watching Shane trying to pick away at Jon and get around him. Shane was able to squeeze Jon out on a corner but it was a short-lived victory as Jon got his place back with a squeaky clean pass in the center of the course’s S turns. Late in the race I was able to get around Shane after he made a slight error and further up ahead Scott Gallagher and Mike Christopherson ended up sideways on the track. Jon and I ducked through the carnage unscathed with only 1 lap to go in the race and continued on for a 3-4 finish. Dan Hones finished 2nd and is showing his skill behind the wheel and that several track days a year in his 135i translate to top finishes in the karts. Dan missed the first race in November otherwise he’d be further up the overall standings. Watch for him to continue moving up over the next couple races.
Here are the full results for GT2:
- Jessee Burkett
- Dan Hones
- Jon Garcia
- David Hows
- Shane Verhaaren
- Scott Gallagher
- Mike Christopherson
- Dave MacIntyre
- Erik Dunkle
You can find the overall standings for Gt2 here.
It has been fun to see the progression of drivers over the first 3 races and I’ve had several participants say that this has been one of the most fun events the club has put on. It is a great winter-time activity and fun to get to know some new people and strengthen the friendship with others. If you’re kicking yourself for missing out on the series, there may be a way for you to take part. We allow substitutions for racers who have a one-time conflict and can’t race. Email me and let me know you’d like to sub at the next race (include whether you are under or over 175lbs). If not, I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing this again next year.
Cheers,
David Hows
Communications Director
david@bmworegoncca.com