Race Recap: AMP Kart Racing Summer Series Championship Round 1

MARCH 18th 2023

By: Steven Newbold

DanGoLeg here with URN covering all of the racing action this weekend from Atlanta Motorsports Park in beautiful Dawsonville, GA. The weather is absolutely perfect, sunny and 49 for some UNGOVERNABLE action here at AMP’S 18 turn, 40 foot elevation change kart course. DanGoLeg was happy to be apart of the racing action today covering all the different classes of racing as AMP’S track-side reporter. We were able to talk with many drivers of all ages and backgrounds from today’s events.

The first group on track to kick off all of the UNGOVERNABLE racing action was the L0206 cadets and juniors. This division is made mostly of age groups 5th-8th grade. These powerful karts run speeds around 55 mph. You may think this is not fast but in something this low to the ground you feel like you are flying. The racing in this division is superb for their ages. The battle up front for the cadet division was between Bowen Greene, Luke Giglio and Licoln Massey. Bowen and Luke finished their races side by side and was separated by less than a second. The junior division was just as exciting as track veteran Alyssa Vascocu beat out Ian Patterson and Luke Kohrman to win the first round of the summer series.

The following group did not disappoint either, this group was made up of TAG senior and masters. TAG karts consist of a 2 stroke racing engine and they can move on track. 16 year old Daniel Perez held off Sam Machado and Mateo Rubio-Luengo to secure the first round of the AMP summer series. The master class was filled with UNGOVERNABLE racing action with all sorts of crossover passes and knifing between the top 5 throughout the race. The top 3 Daniel Perez, Sam Machado and Mateo Rubio- Luengo. The battle for second was a mere .319 of a second off and this was no where the closest battle of the day.

My personal favorite class, L0206 delivered the most action of the day. This class, in my personal opinion holds the record for being the most Ungovernable due to the all around aggressiveness of the class both master and senior. Both finishes were a side by side battle to the line, in all honesty if it was not for the video replay and timing and scoring to the naked eye nobody would have known who won. The senior class banged and bumped their way to a Ungovernable finish with Nicholas Lefferdo, Daniel Mitchell and Michael Suco making the podium. The same can be said for the master class as (the cookie man) Matt Lassiter, Danny May and track veteran Al Edwards set the podium for the master class.

The next engines to roar to life in the pits was the Ungovernable drivers of the TAG Rookie and Cadet divisions. Do not let their small size fool you these young drivers mean business when they roar to the start finish line. The racing was tight and very clean with so many impressive moves for position. The Rookie division was won by Issac Carvalho, followed by Camila Canache and Arthur Nahapetyan. Tag Cadet winner Bowen Greene, Callen Berghoefer and Gabriel Lopez Valarde

As the day progressed so did the speed, the next class of karts on track was the KA100 Junior and Senior divisions. These karts are very similar to the TAG karts but are air cooled. We had drama early in the race when a young driver spun in turn 15 and a second driver made contact on the 4th lap of the race. We were unable to determine kart numbers based on our position on track. The racing was fast and delivered plenty of action. The junior class was won by Adam Wein, followed by Oliver Najbrt and Talon Laney. The Senior class was won by Mateo Rubio-Luengo, followed closely by Brandt Estes and Teodor Simenov.

Well you know how I said the day progressed with speed? I might have lied, the following class of racers are KIDS! These fierce little drivers are maybe 5 or 6 at the oldest and boy do they put on a show every time out. The Kid Kart division runs a shortened configuration called (The Jelly Bean). This 5 turn configuration gives the younger drivers a chance to develop. These drivers are wide open with zero fear. The division is separated by a Comer and L0206, we had two drivers in each division. First place in the L0206 division went to Tyson Burkett and Luca Vino Figueroa. The Comer division victory went to Arlo stowers and Mattias Sandbloom.

Finishing off the day we come to our fastest division as AMP, the Shifter division. These high powerful karts can reach speeds up to 100 mph. This division is separated like the others with a master and senior class. AMP regular Zack Frank absolutely dominated the entire field by setting a new track record (48.585). He would go on to claim the victory in the Senior division followed by Evan Bonfanti and Carsten Gregory. The Master division was won by Oz Cheek followed by Chad Lee and Ryan Corso.

URN’s DanGoLeg was the official pit reporter of AMP Summer Series. His comment on his first broadcast race coverage was put in just a word, UNGOVERNABLE. In the chaos of race day we were able to catch every overall winner, except the Kid Kart division. Talking with some of the drivers there is a strong presence of professionalism. These drivers are young and some have multiple years of experience. The overall experience is something that will go down in URN history as our first pit reporting broadcast. URN would like to thank the entire production crew and a special thanks to “BIG RIG” Will Rigdon.

If you are interested in starting your racing journey or are just looking for some afternoon family fun please check out the wonderful facilities at AMP. They have everything from Spec Miata, E30, Legends cars, karting, bandaleros, motorcycle racing and even a F4 development team. For public karting please reach out to AMP Kart Racing at 678-990-5914. They are open Wednesday- Sunday 1:00- 5:30 pm currently. Online reservations are recommended.

A premier destination for kart racers, motorsports enthusiasts and thrill seekers, AMP Kart Racing’s track is one of the only pro-kart circuits in America built to CIK Level A/F1 Standard. Designed by F1 architect Hermann Tilke, the nearly mile long track features 43 ft of elevation change.

Since opening in 2012, AMP Kart Racing has offered daily public rental karting in a professional fleet of concession karts that can reach speeds over 55 mph. AMP Kart Racing also offers a variety of kart racing competitions, private karting instruction and corporate group options. Unlike any other karting venue in Atlanta, AMP Kart Racing is a one stop solution for kart racers, offering track membership, kart storage, retail for karts and kart parts and a specialist kart service center

Atlanta Motorsports Park

AMP Kart Racing is part of Atlanta Motorsports Park, the first green, sustainable motorsports club of its kind, for high performance cars, motorcycles and karts. In addition to providing a driver’s haven for its members, Atlanta Motorsports Park offers private track rentals and corporate group options.

AMP’s main road circuit is a two mile long road course that was designed by Formula One track architect Herman Tilke. The track consists of 16 turns and 98 feet of elevation changes throughout the course. Two famous corners have also been incorporated into the track: Spa-Francorchamp’s corner of Eau Rouge and the famous Carousel corner from Germany’s Nürburgring track.

It opened its doors in 2012 and has subsequently earned an enviable reputation as Atlanta’s ultimate motorsports playground.