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| March 06, 2013 |
| Team News: VemmeKart/Extreme Karting - California ProKart Challenge Willow Springs Report |
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VemmeKart/Extreme Karting made their presence felt at the 2nd round of ProKart Challenge (PKC) California March 1-2 at Willow Springs kart track.
Doug Sorensen/Extreme Karting, Vemme USA importer, with his team trailer along with Team Vemme and the VemmeKart factory truck from Canada made the trek not only to Willow Springs, but will also be attending all of the ProKart Challenge California and Pro Tour races to provide factory trackside service and support.
VemmeKart/Extreme Karting is very proud to announce a team of diverse drivers who competed in the S1, S4, TaG J & TaG M classes.
S1
S1 (Pro) and S2 (Semi-Pro) classes are ran together and these two classes are the cream of the crop of young shifter drivers with the S2 hot shoes looking to make a big impression and move up to S1 next year. This makes for arguably the toughest racing at any PKC event. Long time Extreme Karting SoCal team driver Peter Abba qualified 8th after missing the setup a little bit in the stout S1/S2 combined field. In H1 Peter gained some pace but with the mixed S1/S2 field, it was very tough to make headway. In H2 Peter did a great job and gained a spot and was looking forward to the main. With help from the VemmeKart principle, Peter found even more speed in the Main and finished 8th in the extremely tough S1/S2 mixed field and came away 7th in points. Peter is looking forward to the next race at Adams which he considers his home track, and with the additional speed found in the chassis, he’s confident of even better results.
S4
Another long time Extreme Karting SoCal team driver Ken Schilling was joined by Chris Perrault who hails from Campbell River, BC, Canada. Both Ken & Chris qualified for the SuperNats main event on Super Sunday out of an extremely competitive and deep 68 driver field. S4 has continually been one of the largest and deepest classes in ProKart Challenge.
Over the winter Ken worked on his “relationship” with his new Vemme which he had for only one week before the SuperNats. He qualified 3rd at the previous race at Buttonwillow and continued his great results by qualifying 3rd again, only a couple tenths off of pole. Ken held station in H1 and finished 3rd. In H2 he did another good job but was passed on the next to last lap, making him start the main in 4th. Unfortunately, a mess at turn one of the start put Ken all the way to the back with a bent steering shaft & spindle. While starting to try and make his way back through the pack he was taken out by a back marker. However, Ken left Willow Springs an extremely strong 4th out of 20 drivers in points! Ken commented after the race, “Over the last few years in S4 I’ve usually been mid-pack, but the only change has been the new Vemme chassis helping me to move towards the front. I want to thank and give all of the credit to Team Vemme!”
Here’s a link for a video of Ken’s H1 race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7weBfVxtiww&list=UUIQnA__TdyyOVLXoJXQRjQQ&index=1
Chris qualified 11th while struggling to find speed. In H1 Chris found some added pace in his Vemme but was unable to make any headway and held station. Unknown to us at the time, but Chris was struggling with health issues and chose to sit out H2 to see if he could rebound to race the Main. After taking some time to go to the hotel, shower and rest a little bit, Chris came back and donned his racing suit to do the best he could in the Main. Struggling mightily, Chris did a fantastic job in the 20 lap main to finish 7th! After the Main VemmeKart principal Vince Mandarino commented, “I’m very proud of Chris being able to tough it out and doing so well in the Main coming from the back!”
TaG J & TaG M
Also from Canada (Surrey, BC) is the father/son duo of Dave & Kale Kunicki. Kale competed in the TaG J field and Dave contested TaG M. Both TaG J & TaG M were large and fiercely fought classes of 20 & 14 drivers respectively.
TaG J
Kale, while still recovering from a bad wreck at last year’s ProKart Challenge Lancaster race, qualified 16th out of the really deep 20 kart field. 10 of the drivers were all less than ½ second apart! In H1 Kale turned up the volume and moved up six spots to finish 10th! In H2 he continued his aggressiveness and moved up three more spots to 7th! In the middle of the Main Kale lost a couple of positions but did a fantastic job to earn them back and more, finishing a fantastic 6th spot!!! Needless to say, but dad Dave and Kale himself were extremely excited with the results, especially after the qualifying results. Kale is a solid 12th out of 25 drivers in points going into the next round at Adams.
TaG M
Dave was racing in only his second ever kart race at Willow Springs! After finishing strong at the last race at Buttonwillow, Dave has gained speed and confidence and in qualifying posted a very solid 7th out of 14 drivers. At the start of H1 there was a big mess in turn 1 sending Dave back to 11th. Putting his head down, he gained back 2 spots in the deep field to finish 9th. Unfortunately, H2 saw another huge pileup in turn one at the start which put Dave out of the race forcing him to start the Main from the back. Shaken up, but not deterred, he strapped on his helmet for the Main event. After laying back a little to survive turn 1, Dave immediately began carving his way through traffic and gained 3 spots on the first lap! On the second lap he gained 3 more positions putting him up to 8th. On lap 4 he gained one more spot putting him back to his original qualifying spot where he finished the race. Dave is very happy to be 10th out of 18 in points going into the break before the next race at Adams.
A newcomer to Team Vemme was Kevin Manning, son of veteran karter and kart shop owner, Mike Manning of Mike Manning Karting (MMK). After driving a competitor brand for many years, Kevin was very excited to try the Vemme. In qualifying Kevin laid down a hot lap that landed him off pole in 2nd place! In H1 he continued with the torching of the track and maintained his 2nd place. In H2 however, Kevin and his mechanic just barely missed the setup and gave up a spot to finish 3rd. At the start of the Main Kevin stayed right on his teammate’s bumper and made it through turn 1 to 2nd place. This track eats tires and compensating for tire wear is a real challenge and Kevin put up a mighty effort to hold onto 2nd place. But it wasn’t meant to be, as ½ way through the Main he was passed for 2nd and he had nothing in return. So, Kevin settled back and garnered a well earned podium finish for himself and the Vemme chassis in 3rd position. Kevin said after the Main, “I’ve been on another brand for so long that I wasn’t sure what to expect on the Vemme. After receiving it just one week ago, having a short practice day on it and getting setup help from Team Vemme, it was clear that even the smallest change could be felt and tuning it was easy. I’m very excited to be on the new Vemme chassis and contesting the rest of the PKC season as well as the Pro Tour and SuperNats representing Team Vemme!!!” Kevin was certainly the start of Team Vemme at Willow Springs and sits a fantastic 2nd in points, only 25 points behind the leader going into the break and heading to the 1st round of the Pro Tour. Watch out Tucson!!!
“2013 Vemme Road to the Rio”
Vemme Kart and Extreme Karting (Vemme USA importer) are pleased to announce the “2013 Vemme Road to the Rio” plan.
For any driver winning a race series championship in the United States in 2013 using a Vemme chassis exclusively, Vemme Kart and Extreme Karting will pay for that driver’s entry, race tires and tent space in the Vemme tent alongside the factory drivers and tuners for the 2013 SuperNats at the Rio in Las Vegas (November 20-24, 2013).
“We are pleased to be able to make this offer to our customers and hope to see even more racing with us throughout 2013 and especially in Las Vegas. We are confident that competing on a Vemme chassis will help all of our loyal existing and new customers alike to improve their program” says Doug Sorensen, Extreme Karting principal.
Vemme owner/principal Vince Mandarino and son Lorenzo have many years of racing both in North America and Europe. Vince has designed these chassis for the North American market to suit the tracks and tires commonly run. Christian Schureman’s victory in S2 at the SKUSA Summer Nationals in Utah last year is evidence of the Vemme capabilities.
Vemme has both a 30/32mm and a 30/30mm chassis available. The Omega 30/32 comes in both shifter configuration and TAG/100cc. Either version is available with steel or ceramic brakes. The Omega 30/30 chassis has proven successful in TAG and 100cc.
The just released new VemmeKart cadet was designed not only to have friendly grip level characteristics and ease of tuneability, but also a lot of attention was paid on minimizing the brake rotating mass. Vince states, “We have developed a brake system of very small dimensions and also chose to have the rotor made from ceramic. The ceramic brake rotor weighs at least one pound lighter than the steel rotor allowing much more free rotation. This provides “free” horsepower in both acceleration and steady state MPH which is a huge advantage in this class”. Another benefit of the ceramic rotor is greater heat dissipation than steel which provides the best pedal feel and braking power in this class.
The VemmeKart factory and Extreme Karting would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the team owners, drivers, mechanics, etc… Without you there would be no VemmeKart!!!
For more information concerning this offer and/or joining the team, please contact Extreme Karting. See below for contact info.
Extreme Karting, Inc.
Doug Sorensen
1177 N. Kraemer Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92806
714-630-3655 - doug@extreme-karting.com
http://www.extreme-karting.com |
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