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Well what can I say that hasn’t been said already? AWESOME weekend with SKUSA at IMI. Personally, it was one of the roughest race weekends i’ve had in years ( :bang ), but it was still a blast and the entire SKUSA staff puts on a great show. Lots of track time and very tough competition seem to be emerging themes in the SKUSA Mountain Region. The pace at the front of the S2/S3/S4/G1 field was insane…Matt Kistler was untouchable all weekend. The TaG senior main (heat races too) was one of the best races for the lead that i’ve seen in a long while. Must’ve seen 3 lead changes in one lap…for practically the whole race!
Folks, even if you come out to watch it’s worth it because our announcer, Mr LaPorta, does one heck of a job. But I would come race with us if i were you, because this has been some of the most fun i’ve had in my years in karting.
And how about that tuner race? It was pretty cool to see the legend, Alan Rudolph, bombing around IMI in rental karts. I think i might have seen him dozing off on the back straight!
I have to give a HUGE thanks out to Cris Schurman for loaning me his backup engine after mine decided it wanted to make less power than the S5 karts!
AJ Noud and the entire Kartworks crew for their great (as usual) track side support.
The whole IMI staff.
And all my fellow racers for coming out to support this growing series, and making the racing fun!When is round 3? Seems to far away…cant wait. :~
Oh, and finally; Sam, Curt, AJ, Cris, Angie, Tony, and the whole SKUSA MR staff…keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s been great so far! :clap:
It IS a good date! I’ll be there…but I won’t be racing in Masters. Does that mean that I still have to bring my master? :zombie
Trial and error was my method when I raced my Rotax. Maybe I was too cheap to buy a jetting program, but I just tried out different jet combinations to see what worked for me. Provided you don’t go too lean (I had a 150 in my tool box, but rarely used it. Like Joe said, 152 is about as low as you’ll go in CO) it’s tough to hurt a Rotax. The beauty of Rmax rules (provided that’s what you’re running) is that the Jetting is pretty restrictive, so there aren’t that many combinations to try. When i was first starting out, I would just ask other people what they were running for jets/needle and tune from there…gave me a decent baseline.
My advice would be to play with it. When you’re out test & tuning, change something different on the carb each session and try to watch what it does. Every engine is a little different, so not everyone’s setup will work on your engine (my second Rotax liked being about a jet size leaner than my first). Listen for high pitched ‘popping’ when you’re WOT on the straights; if you hear that, you are (likely) too lean…bump the main up a size.
Your mileage may vary, but that’s what worked for me.
Wow! And a purpose built track, at that! We all know that means it will blow any and all facilities currently in the US out of the water (in terms of amenities, that is). I’m with David (hope it’s not a boring stadium track), but even if it is…who cares, F1 IS COMING BACK!. 😀 Hopefully they put some imagination into the track and include some unique features & elevation changes. My personal pick for an F1 venue would have been Road America, but that dream would have never happened (too narrow, not enough runoff, no mega garages, its in farmtown, Wisconsin, etc…). Followed by Miller, Road Atlanta, Laguna, and Watkins Glen, but a purpose built track should be very cool!
Can’t wait to see the layout. When can i Buy tickets?! :loony: I propose a Colorado Karters road trip.
There has been talk about building something like this in colorado for years, I first remember hearing about it when there was talk that Second Creek might close down. Hasn’t happened yet, and I know that several different groups (including ISC) have pitched the idea. I’ve been hoping something would come of it for years…and still am!
This would be AWESOME if it did happen. Especially if they build everything they’re promising!
Wow, what an event! That was some of the most fun i’ve had at a kart race! The entire SKUSA staff pulled off something really special. The track layout was fun, fast, and challenging (my favorite temp track ive driven on ). The schedule was bang on time. The crews were very knowledgeable, professional, efficient, and friendly. Corner workers did an awesome job of keeping us racers safe. The racing action was great!
Tony, you’re a natural at calling these kart races. You made it fun to listen to while we were working in the pits. The post race interviews were a nice touch. Keep up the good work!
Big thanks goes out to the people who made this happen. I am personally very happy to see SKUSA back in Colorado. Like Tom Kutcher said in the driver’s meeting (that’s the president/CEO of SKUSA who came out for this race), SKUSA is about the racing. No politics, lets just race! That’s what we did, and it was a blast. Hopefully this can get people back into the FUN of karting! That’s what this is all about! I had FUN! Speaking of fun, there was lots of it (laps, that is). 6 (?) 15 minute practice sessions on friday, 2 on saturday morning, 10 minutes of quali, 2 heat races, and a 20 lap main. Loads of track time, and really good $/lap value. It made the day a little hectic, but that was part of the fun & the challenge.
The venue was awesome. Never considered PPIR as a site for a kart race, but it proved to be a good one. The parking lot we raced on was very smooth & wide with lots of room to race. It didn’t tear up equipment, which is rare at a temp track. Indoor flush toilets, running water, some tasty food, covered scales, paved pits & parking, and a great view from both the sidelines and the 3rd story of the grandstands! What more could you ask for? First class venue, for sure. Makes me very tempted to come down for some PPKRC events this year.
Fabulous event everyone, I can’t wait for the next round.
+1 for Gunslinger. They did mine, and i’m really happy with the way it turned out. I did the initial sketch, and then their painter put his artistic license into it so it didn’t look so amateur. :loony: Check out the ghost-checkers in the blue metallic paint. Seeing it in the sunlight really makes things pop out.
I’m with Chris, come out to a race and see what this stuff is all about. If you’re not busy this weekend and you fancy a drive, the inagural race of the SKUSA Mountain Region is happening at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain. It’s happening on a temporary track, and that type of track always delivers the fun. Should be Colorado karting at it’s finest.
As far as what kind of kart to start out with…that’s up to you. Usualy I suggest to a new guy to start in a TaG or similar. The TaG should be more user friendly and rewards smoother driving, forcing you to learn how to preserve momentum. However, it seems that people who come from motocross don’t have too much trouble adapting to the shifter karts. Driving a TaG vs. Shifter couldn’t be more different.
Personally, I raced Rotax for 4 years and just converted to a shifter this year. Love it. The power is addicting and its fun to bang gears, but I can still recommend the Rotax any day of the week.
Regarless of what you choose, have fun with it and ask a lot of questions!
@Curt Kistler wrote:
Jon,
Does this look familiar?That looks a heck of a lot like a track i rearranged with a rental kart a couple years ago in Vegas…. 8)
