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SKUSA SuperNatioanls XV
Las Vegas, NV
November 16-20, 2011
Las Vegas, NV
November 16-20, 2011
News
January 17 2008 - MerlinUSA Starts 0ff 2008 Strong
The WKA Manufacturer’s Cup series kicked off it’s season opener December 27-30 in Daytona, FL. Several Merlin drivers were on hand to take their shot at starting the season off with victory at the famed DIS circuit.
Saturday’s action got started in HPV Lite with Merlin drivers Jesse Wirtz and Sr class rookie TJ Koyen taking to the track. Qualifying would see a pair of top tens with wirtz nabbing the outside row 4 position and TJ making a splash with a 3rd place effort. With the time table crunched, the only race for Saturdays events was the final. After a strong start Koyen would make an aggressive run to take the lead before half way never looking back to cruise to a 2 second victory in his first Sr class race. While falling back at the green Wirtz would steadily work his way back into the top ten with an eventual 5th place result.
Class #2 with Merlin entries was the Cadet category. The Merlin MR-MINI cadet chassis made its debut with only 3 Friday practice sessions to tune in. With the amount of entries in the Cadet class a LCQ was required putting a heavy emphasis on qualifying. Two drivers piloted the first 2 MINI’s in the states to top ten qualification results with H&S Motorsports driver Trent Hindman grabbing 9th and Kyle Kalish a touch quicker holding down the 7th position. The final would bring a melt down to Hindmans engine while running in 6th position dropping him to 29th. Kalish would battle through his first Cadet race to take home a strong 7th place result. Sunday’s Cadet race would see Hindman narrowly miss the pole with a runner-up qualifying position. Hindman would remain quick holding on to a solid 4th place result as Kalish narrowly missed the top ten with a 12th place finish. A great debut for both pilots and the new MR-MINI chassis.
Following the Cadet category on Saturday was the HPV Jr Lite category which saw 5 Merlin drivers in action. The green team would be lead in qualifying by Merlin newcomer Shinya Michimi while posting the off pole position. Tommy Andersen would time in 4th quickest with Jordan Bachmayer 12th, Cody Humphreys 19th and Shawn Sharkey 20th. With an LCQ required all drivers made it in the final with room to spare. The final would see Michimi jump out into the lead and pull a gap over Arrow driver Zach Busch. While Michimi enjoyed the view from the point Tommy Andersen was mowing down the distance between eventually catching Michimi allowing the two drivers to pull away. Sharkey and Bachmayer both suffered mechanical dnfs while Humphreys battled in the aggressive Jr category making headway to 14th position. With the two drivers well ahead of third place Andersen would make his move into turn one and hold on to the checkered for his first national win. Michimi would stay on his bumper pushing at the line for a Merlin 1-2 finish.
Jason Foley was the lone Merlin entry in the Yamaha Heavy category but that didn’t backhim down as he timed in quickest grabbing the pole over Margay driver Scott Ferris. The final would prove a true battle as .3 of a second separated 1st from 4th. After the dust settled Foley landed in the top 5 with a 4th place result.
Yamaha Jr Sportsman took the track next with Ben Hewitt, Kyle Kalish, Josh Hotz and Emerson Reed all in attendance. Struggling through qualifying Hewitt and Kalish posted the best times placing them 11th and 13th on the grid. The final would show improvement as Hewitt would drive his way up to 6th while Kalish would crack the top ten with a 9th place result. Josh Hotz went on a rampage showing phenomenal speed and turning very quick times in the final to finish 10th from 21st. Emerson Reed would also improve his starting position to 24th in the final tally.
Yamaha Jr Super Can Heavy had 4 Merlin drivers in action for the 18 lap event. Cody Humphreys would post the best qualifying time of the 4 placing him 11th on the grid. MDR driver Christian Wright would start one row back in 13th for the final. Michimi would start 16th after avoiding contact with a driver during the timed session with H&S Motorsports driver Shawn Sharkey in 17th. The final would see Christian Wright post a solid top ten finish in the 9th position. Michimi turned up the wick and set the track on fire as he drove his way up to 6th at the finish.
Yamaha Sr Sportsman Lite was the final class on Saturday’s schedule. The high point of the class would be TJ Koyens 3rd place qualifying effort with Wirtz snagging a top ten in 9th and Foley timing in 11th. The final was a bit of a struggle as Wirtz resulted a 10th place finish with Koyen slipping to 11th. Foley would fall 2 spots to end the day 13th.
Sunday started with the HPV Heavy class and drivers Jesse Wirtz and James DiGirolamo. Both drivers would qualify inside the top ten with DiGirolamo timing 6th quickest and Wirtz 8th. Wirtz would succumb to a cracked header in the final relegating him to 11th as DiGirolamo advanced from his pre-final finish position to 7th.
HPV Jr Heavy saw a close race at the stripe for Tommy Andersen as he narrowly missed victory with a runner up finish. Michimi who sustained an eye injury Saturday night was unable to compete in Sundays events which was a definite blow to the crew. Cody Humphreys would end the day 12th with Sharkey 19th and Bachmayer again suffering a dnf in 25th.
TJ Koyen and Jason Foley made a run at the Yamaha Lite field on Sunday with a couple top 10 qualifying results. Koyen would time in 3rd in his first Yamaha pipe race with Foley clocking the 8th quickest time. The final would see Koyen on the podium again with a 3rd place result. Foley would struggle after starting from last after turn 1 with a 13th place finish.
HPV Jr Sportsman would see another push through the field by Josh Hotz as he did on Saturday. Aftre qualifyin 22nd Hotz turned up the wick in a big way ending the final in 6th position again turning some of the races quickest laps in the process. Kalsih and hindman would succumb to dnfs with Kalish experiencing a flat tire on lap 2. Ben Hewitt would improve on his qualifying position and end the final in 15th.
Yamaha Jr Supercan Lite would prove exciting for Cody Humphreys who after a wreck in the pre-final would pass 17 karts to finish 11th turning some of the races quickest laps in the process. Christian Wright would have another solid run finishing 13th with Shawn Sharkey improving 6 spots from qualifying to finish 15th.
The weekends final event was the Yamaha Sr Sportsman Heavy category. This race could have been missed as contact sidelined and Jesse Wirtz entering turn 1. Foley and DiGirolamo would continue but not without problems as DiGirolamo would be sidelined with a broken chain. Foley would make up lots of ground from the pile up at the start to end an eventual 11th.
Next up on the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup tour will be Charlotte, NC. Look for full fields once again as the Merlin crew looks again for victory.
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The WKA Manufacturer’s Cup series kicked off it’s season opener December 27-30 in Daytona, FL. Several Merlin drivers were on hand to take their shot at starting the season off with victory at the famed DIS circuit.
Saturday’s action got started in HPV Lite with Merlin drivers Jesse Wirtz and Sr class rookie TJ Koyen taking to the track. Qualifying would see a pair of top tens with wirtz nabbing the outside row 4 position and TJ making a splash with a 3rd place effort. With the time table crunched, the only race for Saturdays events was the final. After a strong start Koyen would make an aggressive run to take the lead before half way never looking back to cruise to a 2 second victory in his first Sr class race. While falling back at the green Wirtz would steadily work his way back into the top ten with an eventual 5th place result.
Class #2 with Merlin entries was the Cadet category. The Merlin MR-MINI cadet chassis made its debut with only 3 Friday practice sessions to tune in. With the amount of entries in the Cadet class a LCQ was required putting a heavy emphasis on qualifying. Two drivers piloted the first 2 MINI’s in the states to top ten qualification results with H&S Motorsports driver Trent Hindman grabbing 9th and Kyle Kalish a touch quicker holding down the 7th position. The final would bring a melt down to Hindmans engine while running in 6th position dropping him to 29th. Kalish would battle through his first Cadet race to take home a strong 7th place result. Sunday’s Cadet race would see Hindman narrowly miss the pole with a runner-up qualifying position. Hindman would remain quick holding on to a solid 4th place result as Kalish narrowly missed the top ten with a 12th place finish. A great debut for both pilots and the new MR-MINI chassis.
Following the Cadet category on Saturday was the HPV Jr Lite category which saw 5 Merlin drivers in action. The green team would be lead in qualifying by Merlin newcomer Shinya Michimi while posting the off pole position. Tommy Andersen would time in 4th quickest with Jordan Bachmayer 12th, Cody Humphreys 19th and Shawn Sharkey 20th. With an LCQ required all drivers made it in the final with room to spare. The final would see Michimi jump out into the lead and pull a gap over Arrow driver Zach Busch. While Michimi enjoyed the view from the point Tommy Andersen was mowing down the distance between eventually catching Michimi allowing the two drivers to pull away. Sharkey and Bachmayer both suffered mechanical dnfs while Humphreys battled in the aggressive Jr category making headway to 14th position. With the two drivers well ahead of third place Andersen would make his move into turn one and hold on to the checkered for his first national win. Michimi would stay on his bumper pushing at the line for a Merlin 1-2 finish.
Jason Foley was the lone Merlin entry in the Yamaha Heavy category but that didn’t backhim down as he timed in quickest grabbing the pole over Margay driver Scott Ferris. The final would prove a true battle as .3 of a second separated 1st from 4th. After the dust settled Foley landed in the top 5 with a 4th place result.
Yamaha Jr Sportsman took the track next with Ben Hewitt, Kyle Kalish, Josh Hotz and Emerson Reed all in attendance. Struggling through qualifying Hewitt and Kalish posted the best times placing them 11th and 13th on the grid. The final would show improvement as Hewitt would drive his way up to 6th while Kalish would crack the top ten with a 9th place result. Josh Hotz went on a rampage showing phenomenal speed and turning very quick times in the final to finish 10th from 21st. Emerson Reed would also improve his starting position to 24th in the final tally.
Yamaha Jr Super Can Heavy had 4 Merlin drivers in action for the 18 lap event. Cody Humphreys would post the best qualifying time of the 4 placing him 11th on the grid. MDR driver Christian Wright would start one row back in 13th for the final. Michimi would start 16th after avoiding contact with a driver during the timed session with H&S Motorsports driver Shawn Sharkey in 17th. The final would see Christian Wright post a solid top ten finish in the 9th position. Michimi turned up the wick and set the track on fire as he drove his way up to 6th at the finish.
Yamaha Sr Sportsman Lite was the final class on Saturday’s schedule. The high point of the class would be TJ Koyens 3rd place qualifying effort with Wirtz snagging a top ten in 9th and Foley timing in 11th. The final was a bit of a struggle as Wirtz resulted a 10th place finish with Koyen slipping to 11th. Foley would fall 2 spots to end the day 13th.
Sunday started with the HPV Heavy class and drivers Jesse Wirtz and James DiGirolamo. Both drivers would qualify inside the top ten with DiGirolamo timing 6th quickest and Wirtz 8th. Wirtz would succumb to a cracked header in the final relegating him to 11th as DiGirolamo advanced from his pre-final finish position to 7th.
HPV Jr Heavy saw a close race at the stripe for Tommy Andersen as he narrowly missed victory with a runner up finish. Michimi who sustained an eye injury Saturday night was unable to compete in Sundays events which was a definite blow to the crew. Cody Humphreys would end the day 12th with Sharkey 19th and Bachmayer again suffering a dnf in 25th.
TJ Koyen and Jason Foley made a run at the Yamaha Lite field on Sunday with a couple top 10 qualifying results. Koyen would time in 3rd in his first Yamaha pipe race with Foley clocking the 8th quickest time. The final would see Koyen on the podium again with a 3rd place result. Foley would struggle after starting from last after turn 1 with a 13th place finish.
HPV Jr Sportsman would see another push through the field by Josh Hotz as he did on Saturday. Aftre qualifyin 22nd Hotz turned up the wick in a big way ending the final in 6th position again turning some of the races quickest laps in the process. Kalsih and hindman would succumb to dnfs with Kalish experiencing a flat tire on lap 2. Ben Hewitt would improve on his qualifying position and end the final in 15th.
Yamaha Jr Supercan Lite would prove exciting for Cody Humphreys who after a wreck in the pre-final would pass 17 karts to finish 11th turning some of the races quickest laps in the process. Christian Wright would have another solid run finishing 13th with Shawn Sharkey improving 6 spots from qualifying to finish 15th.
The weekends final event was the Yamaha Sr Sportsman Heavy category. This race could have been missed as contact sidelined and Jesse Wirtz entering turn 1. Foley and DiGirolamo would continue but not without problems as DiGirolamo would be sidelined with a broken chain. Foley would make up lots of ground from the pile up at the start to end an eventual 11th.
Next up on the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup tour will be Charlotte, NC. Look for full fields once again as the Merlin crew looks again for victory.
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