Race Report: Formula Karting Championship Round #4

The Formula Karting Championship (FKC) hosted the fourth race of their inaugural season at the world famous Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow, CA on July 21st, 2018. Racers and fans traveled the distance one again, bringing together some of the best novice and pro karting drivers, tuners, engine builders, and teams of SoCal. 

In the MDG Karting sponsored KPV 100cc Formula A (Senior) category, it has been great to see the same racers coming back race after race to battle it out. MDG Karting driver Eric Slivkoff qualified on pole and took the win in both heat races. However in the main event, Slivkoff felt the pressure from Emmanuel Menendez. In a very exciting last lap battle, side-by-side photo finish, Menendez finished .05 tenths ahead of Slivkoff, taking the main event win over Slivkoff. Michael Monaghan rounded out the podium. 

The KPV 100cc Formula M (Masters) category once again brought out a highly competitive field of talented Masters drivers, with the Le Cont tires continuing to be the dominating tire choice. MDG Karting driver Bryan Lampe stretched his lead even more in the championship with a flawless drive to once again win both heat races and the main event. Patrick Lonnee, Mark Tingley, John Shepherd, and Gary Hall III, rounded out the Masters field in second through fifth places, respectively. 

The Mike Manning Karting (MMK) sponsored TaG 100 Formula A (Senior) category saw some new and returning talent this race. The Championship Leader Henry Falls-Hand, an MDG Karting driver running an MMK powered Iame KA 100, dominated the day once again winning both heat races and the main event. Falls-hand gained even more of a championship lead. MDG Karting driver James Hayner finished a strong second, with Andrew Serrato rounding out the podium in third. FKC would like to give a shout out to MMK driver JP Amor, for first of all competing in the TaG 100 Formula A category for his first karting race ever, and for completing the main event, despite a rib injury. 

For the 2nd time this season, FKC offered cash money prizes to the podium finishers of the TaG100 Superpro Master category. This Le Cont sponsored class again brought out a field of veteran drivers. Early in the day it appeared Derek Zimmerman would be the grand prize money winner once again after winning both heat races, however Kevin Manning had a different idea in mind for the main event. Manning got by Zimmerman on lap 4 and led the remainder of the race, setting fast time on his MMK powered Vortex 100cc VLR (Rok) package,  taking home the win and grand cash prize of $250 cash. Zimmerman and Jonathan Silva crossed the checkered flag in second and third, taking home prize money of $200 and $100, respectively. Zimmerman is still leading the championship with 2 races to go, with Travis Irving and Jonathan Silva still trailing 2nd and 3rd. With one race drop allowed, any of these top 3 drivers still have a chance to win the grand championship price: a Vortex 100cc VLR Engine. Additional cash money will be awarded to second place in the championship with a $250 cash prize, and third place will win $150.

In the combined Shifter 125 Formula A and Shifter 125 Formula B combined category, we saw some national level shifter drivers go head to head. Florida native and national champion driver Austin Garrison made the trip to California to compete in the Shifter 125 Formula A category with a Rok engine, scoring the win in heat race 2. However, Robby Heck Jr. scored not only the heat race 1 win, but the finale main event win. Heck was rewarded a ticket to race at the 2018 Rok the Rio event in October, which includes engine rental, tires, and fuel paid for throughout the entire 4 day event, compliments of ROK Cup USA. LAKC Open Shifter class top contender Tyler Coffman finished second with his KZ engine, with Jorge Menchu rounding out the podium in third. Raymond Velasquez crossed the finish line ahead of Brady Blanquette to score the win in the Shifter 125 Formula B category. 

FKC will continue with the 5th round of its inaugural season at Grange Motor Circuit in Apple Valley, California on Saturday, August 18th. This race will be special to FKC as we will be running the Superpro Master TaG100 Money Race in honor of the late Jerry Henderson. The class will be titled the “JH10 Superpro Master TaG100” (Jerry Henderson, #10), with $250 cash being offered to the 1st place finisher, $150 to 2nd, and $100 to 3rd. FKC will also be selling t-shirts in memory of Jerry, and all of the sales proceeds will be donated to a charity of the Henderson Family's choice. If you would like to keep the memory of Jerry alive and help donate to a good cause, please pre-order a t-shirt here: http://www.formulakartchamp.com/store/p9/JH10__Grange_T_Shirt_Size__S.html.  Thank you in advance for supporting someone that had a wonderful impact on many lives across the karting community.  
FKC is also very excited to announce the addition of a new program to the shifter categories: the Elite Master Shifter category. This will be an introductory class with no championship points rewarded for the remainder of this season, however a fantastic opportunity for drivers 43 years and older to have a shot at earning prizes. We are planning to include this class as a championship class in 2019. Awards will be given to the top drivers in the age categories of +43, +53 and +63. The allowed engine package will be the Honda 125 per TAG USA rules, the class weight will be 410 pounds, and it is an open tire rule, but the Le Cont Prime tire is recommended. Please inquire at the contact information below if interested.  
 
FKC would like to give a huge thanks to all of its sponsors, drivers, families, and teams for their continuous support during their inaugural season. For more information about the Formula Karting Championship, please visit http://www.formulakartchamp.com, or “Like” them on Facebook, @formulakartingchamp.  

For complete race results from the Formula Karting Championship Round #4, please visit https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1562860.