Danny Formal powered his DRT Racing DR Kart to the pole position in S1 (Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The second day of action at the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals XIX presented by Evinco completed under another gorgeous day around the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Today completed the final preparation before the real battle began, with qualifying taking place at the end of each session for all the nine categories. The quickest speed put in by the more than 500 drivers placed them in their starting position for the three heat races taking place over Friday and Saturday, hoping for one of the grid spots on the SuperSunday grid. Today’s timed session set the tone for who is a contender, and who needs to do some work over the next two days to position themselves for a chance at victory, or a shot at the Fikse Wheels Pro Tour championship.

Anthony Gangi Jr. came in looking to prove the EKN staff wrong on their predictions as to who would win in TaG Junior. The Tony Kart driver laid down the quickest lap in the timed session to earn the pole position. After lots of shuffling for the provisional pole, Gangi came in with just 30 seconds remaining with a 52.049-second lap. His fellow Fikse Wheels Pro Tour point standings rival Zach Holden (Tony Kart) came in second at the end, ahead of Brazilian Gianluca Petecof (Italkart). Merlin driver Alex Bertagnoli was fourth, making his debut in TaG Junior at the SuperNationals, wtih Gabriel Paturle making it two Italkart machines in the fast-five. Fikse Wheels Pro Tour point leader Brandon Lemke (Merlin) and defending champion David Malukas (CompKart) were 20th and 15th respectively.

Leading Edge Motorsports landed two pole positions, including S2 with Brandon Frank (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

Leading Edge Motorsports and Brandon Frank put together the right package to land themselves at the top of the time sheet in S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto qualifying. The Bermuda driver posted a 50.367-second lap aboard his Praga kart to earn his first SuperNationals pole position. International drivers made up for of the fast five, with Argentinean Jorge Pescador (Praga) in second, Thomas Neubauer (BirelART) from the slow group in third and Dario Capitano (Italcorse) in fifth. Texas ProKart Challenge front-runner Austin Wilkins (Sodi Kart) was the only American in the fast-five, ending up fourth.

The next session put a second Leading Edge Motorsports / Praga driver on the pole position with Hunter Kelly posting the fast time in S5 Junior Stock Moto. The NorCal driver ran a 51.904 to edge out Canadian Evan White (Kosmic) by just 16 thousandths of a second. Fikse Wheels Pro Tour champion Callum Smith (Praga) was third with Lawson Nagel (Sodi Kart) and Blair Hosie (Alpha) making up the fast-five.

A lot of the regular names we see year after year in TaG Master were at the top of the monitor as qualifying took place. Defending Fikse Wheels Pro Tour champion Ethan Wilson (FA Kart) was among them, along with former Pro Mazda Championship driver Luis Schiavo (Intrepid). In the end, the defending race winner Kip Foster came out as the top dog. A 52.793-second lap at the very end landed him on the pole position for the heat races. That was good enough to edge out Schiavo by 49-thousandths of a second. French driver Frederic Johais, now living in Nevada, put his Tony Kart on the inside of row two for the heat races, alongside Argentinan Juan Manuel Basco (AM). Wilson ended up in the fifth position.

Mike Beeny was best in the S4 qualifying sessions (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

S1 Pro Stock Moto was the first headline category of the qualifying round, ending the morning session of classes. A monster lap was put down by DRT Racing’s Danny Formal, making a return back to the United States after moving to his native Costa Rica. His 49.655-second lap was nearly three tenths quicker than that of Fikse Wheels Pro Tour point leader Rick Dreezen (Ricciardo Kart). Five-time world karting champion Davide Fore (CRG) was third ahead of NorCal’s Brian Keck who put his Ron White Racing / CRG into an impressive fourth position. Defending Fikse Wheels Pro Tour champion Jordon Lennox (BirelART) completed the fast-five.

A number of drivers were among those lurking at the pole position in the S4 Master Stock Moto session, which began the afternoon categories running under the Las Vegas night light. In the end, Utah pilot Mike Beeny set the quickest lap, a 50.431 to beat out defending Fikse Wheels Pro Tour champion Gian Cavaciuti (GP). Rob Logan (CRG) was a solid third with Mirko Mizzoni (Italcorse) and Mike Mantel (CRG) making up the fast-five, all within two hundredths. Championship contenders Jimmy McNeil (CRG) and Darren Elliott are right there in sixth and seventh.

International drivers have been performing very well in TaG Cadet, and it appears to be trending thus far in 2015. Italian Mattia Michelotto (Energy) jumped to the top of the order on the final circuit with a 56.476, beating out Tomas Mejia (Tony Kart). Nicholas d’Orlando (Tony Kart) was third with point leader Lachlan DeFrancesco (Benik) and Lucas Bohdanowicz (EVO Kart) in the fast-five.

Aussie champ David Sera put himself in position to challenge SuperSunday, earning pole position in TaG Senior (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

A name not many people had on the radar when the KZ2 category hit the track for qualifying ended up as the quickest driver in the session. Mach 1 USA made a big splash in their debut at the SuperNationals, landed the provisional pole position in the headline division with Irish driver John Norris at the wheel. The triumph was short-lived as Norris lost the spot due to a one position penalty not disclosed at the time of print. That promoted BirelART pilot Jordon Lennox to P1 on the grid for the heat races with Norris to his outside. American Gary Carlton led much of practice, slotting in third with his Formula K debut at the SuperNationals. Canadian Phillip Orcic put two Mach 1 karts inside the top-five, as the fast-five was closed out by Jorge Pescador (Praga).

Aussie multi-time champion David Sera has come very close to winning at the SuperNationals on more than one occasion. His qualifying effort put him in a position to challenge for that elusive victory, earning the pole position over a full field of TaG Senior drivers. The Deadly Kart pilot with KartSport North America moved to the top spot on his third circuit and remained there to the checkered flag. Former Rotax US champion Stepanova Nekeel made a late charge aboard his Ryan Perry Motorsport / Tony Kart, but came up 85 thousandths short. Roger Ralston Jr. landed a solid lap to place third ahead of defending race winner Marco Maestranzi (Top Kart) and newly crowned CIK-FIA KFJ world champion Logan Sargeant (Tony Kart). Fikse Wheels Pro Tour point leader Brandon Jarsocrak (Tony Kart) finds himself ranked 45th, needing work to be done in the heat races.

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