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| EKN One-on-One: Andy Seesemann - Gatorz Challenge of the Americas |
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 | Gatorz Challenge of the Americas promoter Andy Seesemann
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
As the calendar turned over to the month of April, the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas was completing its fifth season with the final day of competition for the 2012 edition of the series. As the Rotax Max Challenge program has grown throughout the United States, so has the Challenge of the Americas, which runs during the months of January, February and March every year. Labeled as the ‘West Coast Rotax Winter Series’, the three-event program enjoyed an increase of nearly 20% in participation from 2011, with both Senior and Junior Max divisions averaging over 30 drivers every weekend. Each year, Rotax national champions have come from the Gatorz COTA program, and the series has also welcomed Rotax World Champions to the fray, including Australian David Sera and Canadian Scott Campbell.
One of the factors that helps draw people to race in the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas series is the prize structure. Along with Gatorz providing eyewear and apparel at every podium ceremony, the real ticket racers aspire to win are the championship awards. The Senior, Junior and DD2 champions each earn a ticket to compete at the Rotax Grand Finals for that season. This year, Phil DeLaO (Senior), Zacharie Scalzo (Junior) and Fritz Leesmann (DD2) will represent the Gatorz COTA and their respective countries in Portimao, Portugal at the end of November. The remaining champions - John Crow (DD2 Masters), Paul Bonilla (Masters), Christian Brooks (Mini Max) and Jacob Blue Hudson (Micro Max) - all received paid entries to the United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals in South Bend, Indiana on August 7-11.
The driving force behind the entire series is one of the original members of the US Rotax program - Andy Seesemann. One of, it not, the only driver to compete in all United States Rotax Grand Nationals, Seesemann is a true believer in the Rotax Max Challenge program. After helping to promote the Rotax brand in Southern California, he expanded his promoter role by creating the Challenge of the Americas back in 2007, making the announcement at that year’s Grand Nationals in Colorado. Now five seasons are into the books and the series has become a solid fixture on the national karting calendar for the United States and Canada. With the 2012 season now closed, we tracked down Andy for a few words reflecting on the series and what’s in store for the future.
eKartingNews.com: First off, thank you very much for having us be part of the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas this year. It was a great time each weekend and we got to connect with new and old friends. The atmosphere around the paddock was very friendly, and even though the racing was intense, there was still a positive and openness going from tent to tent.
Andy Seesemann: Thank you for being there. I really feel that a series matches to the personality of its promoter. Some people that run a series, whether it’s for profit or non-profit, they definitely match the personality of the person or people at the top of the ladder. I just try not to create drama myself. So we leave the intensity on track, to help keep a lot of the drama away.
EKN: Looking back, how would you grade the series for the 2012 season? Certainly the entries numbers increased from 2011, so you’ve had to have positive feelings when the final checkered waved on April 1?
AS: Personally, I’m pretty tough on myself so I would say B or B-. I think I have a lot to improve on myself. The part that I’m weakest at is the promotional aspect. It just doesn’t match my personality. I’m an operations guy, a nuts-and-bolts type person, which is why I think the series runs very smoothly. If you notice, I probably have the fewest press releases than everyone else, I beat my chest fewer than anyone else too. So, I need to get better at that, or I need to find someone to help me get better at that aspect because it’s definitely part of the package that we need to present. If we do that better, I think our participation will increase even more. This year was a huge step for us. Before it’s been about at a C grade for the past year or two. The relationship we have now with EKN helped out, but we still have a long way to go in my eye. We’ve increased 40% from 2010 to 2012. It’s a great stat.
 | Champions from this season received trips to the Rotax Grand Finals and the US Rotax Grand Nationals
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
EKN: What were some of the highlights this year, in your point of view, either on the race track or off the track?
AS: From promoter’s stand-point, we had no ambulance runs. That’s always first in my brain is that the ambulance didn’t move. Obviously we had a few minor injuries and I think one broken arm, but this year was relatively safe for our drivers. The increase in participation was another highlight. Not having RAIN for the first time ever was a huge highlight. Our new schedule certainly helped that out. Getting our Junior class over 30 was a big deal for me. The Senior class, for a second year now, was mid to high 30’s in entry numbers for each weekend. The Junior class finally broke the 30-mark this year after sitting in the 20’s. We still have some work to do with the Cadet categories, as we need to get some influx of new karters into the sport as we saw a number of drivers graduate to Junior.
EKN: What can you say about the numbers in the DD2? Obviously, it’s not just in your series but the rest of the country that has not seen the growth it has in Europe and other places around the world. What are your thoughts on the category?
AS: I think DD2 does well in places that focus on that program. It’s a great product, an interesting one at that. Rotax bills it as their top product. Unfortunately, the customers have not given us the same feedback. I think in the west there are more specific reasons that hurt the growth. There is a larger shifterkart community here, as Tom (Kutscher) does a great job promoting with a huge Stock Moto following. It’s similar customers, similar price point, though they are not exactly the same. We averaged seven in 2010, seven in 2011 and eight in 2012. It is what it is, at this point.
EKN: 2012 marked a change in the schedule, going to Arizona twice with a Southern California finale. As you mentioned, for the first time, the series avoided rain at all three events. Are there any plans to change it around again for next season or leave it alone going forward?
AS: We have to look at a few different factors. No track is perfect. There is always room for improvement with tracks. There is a piece or two at each facility that I’d like to see improved per our program. If I can get some of those pieces to fall into place, I’d love to go back to the same places we were before. People loved going to Sonoma (Infineon Raceway). Looking back at this year, skipping that facility for the first time in recent years helped as the weekend we would have gone there had rain storms. Unfortunately, it’s part of the climate there. We just can’t go into April or May as that’s when other programs begin. We have to be in the January-February-March timeframe, and those are the rainiest months out of the year in NorCal. Time will tell, I’d like to go back there. Tucson (Musselman Honda Circuit) was a great addition to our program. People were really happy with the facility, they were extremely happy with the racing. Odds are it will be pretty good we can go back to those tracks, but if not, there are others willing to take their spot.
EKN: Staying with the schedule theme, you worked aggressively to avoid conflicts with the Florida Winter Tour, SKUSA, IKF Region 7 and other racing series. You obviously like taking the pro-active role in certain situations. Were there any challenges in making that work for 2012?
AS: The first one I always talk to is Bill Wright (Florida Winter Tour) because we run programs that are very similar to each other. He’s been doing it far longer and has a bigger program, but we’re trying to get to a place where he is. I certainly respect what he’s done. We do have a few drivers that go back and forth, but more so it’s teams that go back and forth. We absolutely cannot share dates with the FWT. We’ve landed on the ‘Formula Kart’ weekends, but I prefer not to be on any of their dates. This year we had to move some things around after I had released my schedule and he had his preliminary schedule. One hard piece of the puzzle, with CalSpeed Karting, is dealing with the NASCAR weekend. That closes the kart track down for two weeks, so we have to work around that. Luckily, the SKUSA Pro Tour doesn’t start until April, so we don’t have to worry about that. The ProKart Challenge is pretty flexible, so once we set our schedule, he can work with us.
 | The 2012 edition of the COTA program saw an 20 percent increase in total entries, 40 percent over the last two years
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
EKN: What type of changes, if any, do you have in mind for 2013? Will the format remain the same, focusing on a lot of track time for each category?
AS: The format is pretty well set. The only thing that may impact it is if Junior or Senior get to a point where they have to start running LCQ’s. We would have to add two more races within the course of a day, which may extend the racing into the twilight hours or cut something somewhere. I’m not sure how I’m going to do that. That will be a good problem to have as that means our numbers continue to grow. For right now, we are fine where we are at. We don’t start at 7:00 am go to 7:00 pm at night. Our day is pretty much 8:00 am to 5:00 pm with a few exceptions. On Sundays, we try to have everything done by 4:30 to help people get out of town. As long as our numbers don’t warrant LCQ’s, although I would love for that to happen and I welcome that, I don’t foresee any big changes in the way we run our program.
EKN: When we first got together at the opening round, you were happy to leave your staff alone and let them do their work. In case there was a need for your final approval or input on something, you were still right there. Does that allow you the option to get in the seat and race during those weekends, or are you happy to wear the promoters hat for the weekend?
AS: I’m happy to be the promoter, although I still love to race, but it’s too hard. I’m probably the only one who runs a series at this level that still puts a helmet on from time-to-time. And when I run my series, as you know, I’m too hard on myself and get mad if I don’t do well at the things I need to accomplish. If I race, I don’t think I would do well because of running the race. It comes down to the fact that it’s too hard now. The series has grown too large to be able to do it anymore. I’d certainly love to, but I can’t see it happening in the future.
EKN: Thank very much Andy for your time and we look forward to being part of the 2013 Gatorz Challenge of the Americas program.
AS: We loved having you out here and it definitely took the Challenge to another level. Thank you. |
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