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| November 02, 2012 News |
| EKN Industry Exclusive: Status Report - Praga / OK1 and the Future for Intrepid |
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It’s a simple fact in motorsports that equipment manufacturers come and go, and they also go through evolutions and internal conflict. In the spotlight as we cap the 2012 racing season is the intriguing scenario surrounding Intrepid, Praga and OK1. As official company statements began to filter into the office, backed up by discussions with the North American reps of these brands, EKN came to the decision that a ‘status report’ was warranted to clarify the situation as it pertained to the brands in Canada and the United States.
This story begins with the launch of SKM, the company started by Mirko Sguerzoni, which became a household karting name from the early days of the chassis and components was first imported into the North American market in the late 1990s. SKM specialized in the design and construction of high quality components for many chassis lines, and it enjoyed substantial growth and eventually became one of the leading kart component and chassis producers in the world at the time. The company grew from this genesis as they began development of a new chassis brand - Intrepid.
The Intrepid brand first hit the ground in North America in 2003 as both Champion Racing (Oklahoma) and Italian Motors (British Columbia) became the exclusive importers for all SKM karting products, including the new chassis line. Eventually, Champion would become the sole distributor of the brand for the continent. In the United States, and across the world, the Intrepid kart found success, garnering numerous victories and championships. Champion Racing was awarded the eKartingNews.com Team of the Year awards (2006-2007), as they scored many victories and championships under a growing dealership program. In Europe, Bas Lammers earned the KZ1 World Championship aboard an Intrepid, with Alexander Albon and Charles Leclerc scored World Cup titles in KF3 in recent years. The 2009 SKUSA SuperNationals saw Intrepid sweep the top three positions of the podium in the KZ class with Lammers standing on the top of the podium. In addition to the Intrepid line, SKM has also manufactured other chassis brands, including the original SKM chassis, Italkart, Storm, and others.
2011 was a transition year for the Intrepid brand in North America. Champion Racing stepped away from the program as the North American representative to focus on building a new motocross course at their Oklahoma Motorsports Complex facility in Norman. They did remain in the karting scene, forming a partnership with the Formula K brand and technical manager Eddie Jean Van Belle, or better known as ‘Cash’ - a former Intrepid employee. Intrepid Canada - led by the Di Leo family at Goodwood Kartways outside Toronto - took on the role and established Intrepid North America as the new exclusive importer. It was also in early 2011 that the new Praga chassis was introduced to the karting market through the SKM factory, in addition to a new relationship with successful businessman Petr Ptacek.
The Praga name dates back to 1907 when the company - based in Prague, Czech Republic - began building motor cars. The diverse company has manufactured engines and gearboxes for aircraft and tanks, motorcycles, and sport cars over the last 100 years. Before World War II, it was the largest manufacturer of automobiles. Following the war, the company rebuilt itself, specializing in the production of spare parts for automobiles. Under the direction of Ptacek, the company has moved into the karting arena forming the partnership with Intrepid S.r.l.
The Praga chassis was introduced to United States in early 2011 through Champion Racing, but saw very limited growth in the country. When Intrepid North America formed, the Praga brand saw strong representation at the SKUSA SuperNationals that year with a number of European and other international drivers competing on the chassis. Come 2012, the Praga brand began competing at high-profile events, including the Florida Winter Tour and the SKUSA Pro Tour. The chassis gained its first major victory on United States soil with Canadian Daniel Morad under the Intrepid North America banner in the DD2 category at Palm Beach. At the SKUSA SummerNationals event, it was Greg Bell’s Leading Edge Motorsports outfit with Trevor McAlister behind the wheel that took Praga to the top of the podium in shifterkart action.
While all of this was going on, issues arose on the other side of the pond within the organization at SKM and the Intrepid factory. In October, Ptacek announced the creation of IPKarting S.r.l., the manufacturer of IPK Racing Products (Innovative Products for Karting), still housed within the original SKM/Intrepid factory. Recently, IPKarting introduced to the karting community how the new company would be moving forward, focusing on the Praga brand and the new OK1 (Orange Kart) for 2013, a re-branded version of the Intrepid kart. The change in Italy prompted a similar adjustment in the United States and Canada as Intrepid North America rebranded itself as IPK North America, focused on the future with the new company and working closely with the factory. As they did in 2012, IPK North America is set for another strong season including the Florida Winter Tour and the major karting events in Canada.
Coming into the mix with the new direction of IPKarting is IndyCar driver Jay Howard. A presence in North American karting since coming to the United States from the UK, Howard signed on as the sole distributer of the Praga chassis brand for the United States, creating Praga USA to compliment his race team program - Jay Howard’s Team Motorsports Driver Development (Team MDD) - based out of Indianapolis. Jay showed the Praga brand well at the Pan American Challenge Championship event in Colorado, working with Greg Bell, and took the provisional victory in Senior Max until a start penalty stripped him of the win. Howard is committed to expanding the brand across the country while competing at major karting events in 2013. IPKarting has a solid international race program in place for 2013 having signed reigning KZ1 World Cup champion Bas Lammers as lead factory driver. Additional drivers are scheduled to commit to the brand as well.
With all the changes taking place at the northern Italy factory, questions were raised as to the future of the Intrepid brand and the SKM name. In recent weeks, a statement was received by EKN from the Intrepid Driver Program, confirming the ‘Intrepid’ and ‘SKM’ trademarks are still 100% owned by Mr. Mirko Sguerzoni. EKN contacted them and received a statement confirming;
“The company is operative in the planning and production of the Intrepid chassis and of the complete range of SKM spare parts, the production is absolutely independent and is not connected to IPKarting. To be clear, no connection and no cooperation with IPKarting. We are studying a lot of innovations and to safeguard the Intrepid customers. We guarantee the continuity, the future and the high quality of the materials as in the past. In the main time Intrepid Driver Program, the racing team, follows in its main goal that is the drivers research and the material evolution.”
Just this week, Champion Racing and Intrepid Driver Program confirmed that a partnership has formed once again, as the Norman, Oklahoma operation is the new Intrepid North America program, and will oversee the distribution of the Intrepid brand. Talking with Champion’s Rodney Berryhill, they are focused on the upcoming season, setting up for a full assault on the national karting scene and building up another strong dealership network. They will be in Las Vegas to close out the year with the Formula K brand with a few of their customers, but will also be there to answer questions on the new future for Intrepid.
The next question which we had here at EKN was this: where does Leading Edge Motorsports fit in all of this? The Northern California-based shop has been a long-time supporter of the Intrepid brand after working very closely with Champion Racing. They’ve been incredibly successful with the brand, including part of two eKartingNews.com Team of the Year awards, in addition to a Mechanic of the Year for Bell – who worked with Jordy Vorrath aboard an Intrepid. Working with the Canada-based Intrepid North America operation in recent years, Bell continued building a strong customer base for the Intrepid brand, while also starting the groundwork to position the Praga line on the West Coast. Moving forward, Bell and his Leading Edge Motorsports shop will continue to support their Intrepid customers after nearly seven years with the brand. No one can question Bell’s knowledge of the product line as he has built a strong resume – this guy knows how to take the brand to the top of the podium. Bell and LEM will continue to work with the Praga brand after finding strong success in the past year, and is encouraged to offer up the new OK1 brand to round out a strong product line for current and future customers.
We contacted Michael Valiante of Italian Motors, who are the importers of the Italkart brand. He confirmed to EKN that production and part supply has not been, nor will it be, interrupted. Italkart is currently second in the SKUSA Pro Tour TaG Senior championship standings, heading into the SKUSA SuperNationals XVI with Remo Ruscitti behind the wheel and a full tent of drivers set to compete in Las Vegas once again - including 2010 winner Andre Nicastro.
As we enter the 2013 season, the karting market now has three chassis brands built around the same primary design - similar to what we see at the larger kart manufactures - CRG, Tony Kart, and Birel. The difference between them and the Intrepid/Praga/OK1 lines is this - two factories with two different philosophies. Mirko Sguerzoni will attempt to rebuild the brand he helped to develop as one of the best in the market, while the Praga/OK1 brands will move forward under the ownership of the new IPKarting company. The upcoming season may not best depict the future for either brands, but there is no doubt 2013 will be interesting to watch them develop, especially in the North American market. |
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