The End of a Chapter
The time finally came where we say goodbye to Kart Racing. For the past 16 years I lived my passion for speed. It was June 2004 when Robert and I attended a Go Kart Race in Rockford, IL. when the races ended, I asked Robert if he would like to start our own Kart Racing Team, he agreed immediately and I started to research where and how to start our team. A month later we purchased a used go Kart, a 2003 BRM. and a yamaha motor 100CC
It was Sept 4 2004 when Robert participated in his first race at the Legendary Milwaukee Mile track.
The following Year, we registered Robert to participate in the 2005 Championship at Badger Kart Club in Dousman, WI. in the Junior Can Class. Using #11, a number that would turn out to be our trade mark number.
While he did not registered any victories, he went from the rookie back in the pack to a consistent top 5 for the second half of the schedule 16 races of that year.
For the following year, we moved to the Championship held in the state of Illinois, in Joliet. Scoring a few victories for that year, he finished Second in the championship.
While running for the 2006 Championship in Joliet, we also did a double duty of running the Junior Can class for the MWSS (Midwest Sprint Series) Championship, where Robert competed alongside names like Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly.
At the end of 2006 Robert decided to pursue other sports and wanted to play Football as he entered Main West HS.. He would be the QB wearing number 11 .
For the 2007 Championship, I moved from being the mechanic to being the driver. I registered to compete in the Yamaha Senior Supercan Class..... back then I was in my first year, just learning and trying to improve my skills as the driver.
2008 I switched from super can class to the Pipe 100CC but did not compete the entire season, as we spend some time traveling that year.
2009 brought us a new Kart and new engine.. and a New Championship Series. An AMV Evolution Kart with a 125cc Fireball Tag motor. Competing in the Tag Masters Championship, while the kart was just stunning, the engine gave us many problems as the quality of the work was under par. we tried it again in 2010 but we got the same results. So, for 2011 we made a switch to run the Leopard IAME engine, much better, much faster, more reliable.
My work to improve as a driver continued while I enjoy the camaraderie of the competitors in the TAG MASTERS class.
At the end of 2011, I had an opportunity to run in the Robo Pong 200. A race in which some of the professional drivers from Indy Racing League would come out to take part on a mini version of the Indy 500 at the New Castle Motorsports Pak in Indiana.
2012 and 2013 saw a change of chassis for the RP Racing Team, switching to a Merlin LM30 chassis with a Leopard engine. These were the years that I finally would be able to keep up with the pack.
2014 and 2015 yet another change, we switched to a Praga Kart Dragon EVO and powered by a new motor coming out of IAME factory. The X30 125cc . A motor that would come to be the future of the sport here in the US.
2016 marked an important year as I did something that I wanted to do for a few years. A national Racing Championship, traveling to different tracks in the country. While my results were as expected ( Back of the pack) it was something that I will never forget as I got to be lining up with some of the best in the country and some maybe a future stars in professional motor sports.
2017 was my second year competing in National Racing, while the results did not change or improve it gave me tremendous satisfaction to be a part of the series.
in 2018 upgraded to a new Praga Chassis but only participated in 1 race for the whole year. 2019 saw the same , just one single race.. So, this 2020 decide that it is time to hang 'em up.
Today 16 years later, I sold all of my equipment, from spare parts to the trailer...
I will be behind the lens..... continuing to do my photography and concentrate on the Aimgain BRZ....... that should see some track time in the future.
So, it is not a total good bye, but rather an "I will see you around"
