P1 Engines Wins 2018 SKUSA SuperNationals and ROK the RIO Events in Las Vegas
SKUSA KA100 Senior as well as ROK the RIO 100cc Senior and Masters Champions
Closing the 2018 season on a high note, P1 Engines capped off an incredible year by claiming three major victories. Providing power for ROK Cup Promotions ROK the RIO 100cc Senior and Masters winners, the California based engine builder also secured a Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) SuperNationals title in KA100 Senior as they look to springboard the momentum into 2019.
“Early in the year we heard that the KA100 was going to start making its way to the West Coast with one year in competition already on the East Coast,” explained Jesus Vasquez, Owner of P1 Engines. “I was able to get my hands on one late last year and started my own research and development program on how we can make a stock engine better. Working on it, I quickly realized that this engine was going to be great for the sport of karting. Before the KA100s hit the market, a new karter had the choice of starting off in a Briggs & Stratton 206 or jumping right into an X30. The 206 was great for getting a large number of new karters and the KA is a great way to keep them karting. It offers great power, reliably and utilizing a harder tire, it really keeps the cost down. Noticing that this was going to fill a large void in the karting world, we quickly started to develop the KA in both Senior and Junior competition knowing that larger fields were just around the corner.”
The IKF Grand Nationals was the first event on the West Coast that allowed P1 Engines to show off their KA power and they were able to secure victories and championships in both KA100 Senior and Junior with Colby Dubato and Oliver Calvo. On that very same weekend, the P1 Engines KA power made their debut at Route 66 Sprint Series with Stephen Dial scoring a pair of wins. Next up was the California ProKart Challenge Lancaster Grand Prix where Oliver Calvo continued his win streak and took home $1000.00 for his victory. Locally, P1 Engines power secured main event wins in LAKC competition with Alan Tang in KA100 Junior and Alex Siragusa in KA100 Senior.
The only thing left for the year was the ROK Cup Promotions ROK the RIO where IAME KA100s were allowed to participate, and of course the 2018 SKUSA SuperNationals. Going into the ROK the RIO with huge momentum and a handful of drivers, P1 Engines odds looked good. At the end, the premier engine preparation company came home with a clean sweep in 100cc masters with Jonathan Silva, Travis Irving and Tim Meyer Jr. finishing 1-2-3 making it a P1 Engines powered podium. In the 100cc Senior ranks, it was Jenson Altzman who brought home an exciting win.
Last but not least was the SKUSA SuperNationals and the glory of Super Sunday. Taking P1 Engines to the top step of the podium was Steven Barros with a dramatic win in KA100 Senior. Jumping back in the kart only a few months ago in local California competition, Barros secured third, second and second place results in his SuperNationals warmup events. When in Las Vegas, Barros qualified fourth and remained a frontrunner throughout the heat races finishing inside the top-ten. In the main event, Barros started the race inside row four, and from there fought his way to the front managing to lead the most important lap off all to bring home a big win and help P1 Engines end the year on top of the KA100 program. Also finishing in the top-ten was Neil Alberico in seventh, Stephen Dial ninth and Tomas Mejia tenth.
Vasquez continued, “I need to give a big shout out and thanks to Roland Haynes and Blake Wankowski for helping me early on with the KA engine program.”
For more information on P1 Engines or to book one of their national level engines for testing or event weekend use, please visit them online at www.P1Engines.com or contact P1 owner Jesus Vasquez at 909.948.2718 or via e-mail to Champions@P1Engines.com. Also, to follow up-to-date results and information on P1 Engines, become a fan of the “P1 Engines Fan Page” on Facebook.
