UPCOMING EVENTS
2024 SCHEDULE
*Calendar is subject to change*
SKUSA PRO KART CHALLENGE ROUND SIX
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALE
SKUSA PKC SEASON FINALE (R6)
A great learning race, and a good note to end my 2024 season on.
QUALIFYING: After setting a lap, my gas cap came off, splashing fuel on my tires. Every lap, my delta would be 2-3 tenth up, only to lose all grip in the high speed corners and ruin the lap. These conditions and a track limit penalty put us P24/47 in a super close field.
PRE-MAIN: Within the first lap, we went from P24 —> P19, achieving the fastest lap on lap 2. Halfway through, I was forced off the rubber due to a late move by another driver. I went from P18–> P28 in half a lap, losing my progress. I charged forward to P24 again, but last lap shuffling and a track limit penalty put me P35. Considering our pace (.2 tenth off fastest lap, and faster lap time than top 3), we focused on the main.
MAIN: After making up spots on the start, our right rear got hit at no fault of our own (see last slide). The driver apologized, but I was 42nd at the end of the 1st lap. With 18 laps on my hands to make a comeback, and high pressure, we went from P42–> P22, finishing P21 after penalties. Yet again, our pace was that of the front runners, and we made a ton of overtakes.
Story of the weekend/season; Overall, my 2024 season has been a great one for my debut year in senior. Competing in national-level races, we performed well, showed real pace, promise, and results. Knowing that the pace was there this weekend without a result to show it is not ideal, but the lap times speak for themselves, and I’m very confident going into ‘25. Despite having no practice since my race a month ago, for us to immediately be as fast as some of the best drivers in the country is a massive achievement, and we can be proud of the work we’ve done to get here.
I would like to thank my amazing team @formula_works @gfckarting for their great support, my mechanic @jim.drew.522 for working tirelessly to give me a fast machine, my mom @pinartoprakcomposer for supporting my racing, and my driver coach James Ruffier for helping me be the best version of myself both on and off the track. So proud of everyone that helped us get to where we are now, and I can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store for us!
SKUSA PRO KART CHALLENGE ROUND FIVE
DAY TWO OF THE DOUBLE HEADER
SKUSA PKC ROUND 4 & 5
One of my worst weekends turned into one of my very best, with an amazing result.
RACE ONE:
Quali: P29, 9 tenth off pole, 1.04.8 without possibility of a draft.
Pre-main: Overtook 9 drivers to reach 20th after a chaotic race.
Main: We lost positions on the start, but crawled our way back to 22nd to finish the race. I wasn’t happy with the result, but determined to improve.
RACE TWO/ROUND FIVE:
Quali: P27, 9 tenth off pole, 1.04.4, but after a penalty (unsure why)➡️ P30, as my second fastest lap was 1 hundredth slower.
Pre-main: We overtook 9 drivers to reach 21st, but on the last lap, a kart in front lost control, and t-boned my right rear. There was nothing I could do, and resulted in a loss of 15 positions, starting the main event P35/46.
Main event: From this moment on, we changed. We knew if we put everything together, we would be one of the fastest drivers on track. So we did. In 18 laps, I overtook 21 karts, and throughout the race, we were undoubtedly one of the fastest on track. We had an amazing head-head finish with my teammate @jacksonrace_ , but I lost out by one-hundredth. In the end, I finished P14/46 with the hard charger award, with the same speed as the leaders (1.04.0).
The story of the weekend is; we fell hard, but we rose back up even harder. From crying in my helmet after the pre-main, feeling like my world was collapsing in on itself, to just 2 hours later, feeling on top of the world, the comeback story could not have been sweeter. We ran 2 SKUSA events of the season, and drove to 2 hard chargers. Not too bad of a statistic. Just gotta start at the front instead of having to work my way up!
I would like to thank my team @formula_works @gfckarting for all their amazing help over the weekend, my mechanic @jim.drew.522 for the great and insanely helpful teamwork and for keeping the kart dialed in, my mom @pinartoprakcomposer for supporting my racing, and my driver coach James Ruffier for helping out a ton and telling me exactly what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it. Everybody played a massive role in yesterday’s result, and I couldn’t be happier. Can’t wait for tri-c in a couple weeks time!
SKUSA PRO KART CHALLENGE ROUND FOUR
DAY ONE OF THE DOUBLE HEADER
SKUSA PKC ROUND 4 & 5
One of my worst weekends turned into one of my very best, with an amazing result.
RACE ONE:
Quali: P29, 9 tenth off pole, 1.04.8 without possibility of a draft.
Pre-main: Overtook 9 drivers to reach 20th after a chaotic race.
Main: We lost positions on the start, but crawled our way back to 22nd to finish the race. I wasn’t happy with the result, but determined to improve.
RACE TWO/ROUND FIVE:
Quali: P27, 9 tenth off pole, 1.04.4, but after a penalty (unsure why)➡️ P30, as my second fastest lap was 1 hundredth slower.
Pre-main: We overtook 9 drivers to reach 21st, but on the last lap, a kart in front lost control, and t-boned my right rear. There was nothing I could do, and resulted in a loss of 15 positions, starting the main event P35/46.
Main event: From this moment on, we changed. We knew if we put everything together, we would be one of the fastest drivers on track. So we did. In 18 laps, I overtook 21 karts, and throughout the race, we were undoubtedly one of the fastest on track. We had an amazing head-head finish with my teammate @jacksonrace_ , but I lost out by one-hundredth. In the end, I finished P14/46 with the hard charger award, with the same speed as the leaders (1.04.0).
The story of the weekend is; we fell hard, but we rose back up even harder. From crying in my helmet after the pre-main, feeling like my world was collapsing in on itself, to just 2 hours later, feeling on top of the world, the comeback story could not have been sweeter. We ran 2 SKUSA events of the season, and drove to 2 hard chargers. Not too bad of a statistic. Just gotta start at the front instead of having to work my way up!
I would like to thank my team @formula_works @gfckarting for all their amazing help over the weekend, my mechanic @jim.drew.522 for the great and insanely helpful teamwork and for keeping the kart dialed in, my mom @pinartoprakcomposer for supporting my racing, and my driver coach James Ruffier for helping out a ton and telling me exactly what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it. Everybody played a massive role in yesterday’s result, and I couldn’t be happier. Can’t wait for tri-c in a couple weeks time!
TRI-C ROUND FOUR
TRI-C ROUND FOUR
A great weekend with great pace and progress, for yet another strong result.
QUALIFYING: Tri-c has a one lap qualifying format, and this time, we got the tire pressures perfect, allowing me to set a great time close to pole.
RESULT: P3 of 27
PRE-MAIN: I got a great start, moving up to second on the first lap. However, close to the end of the race, I lost a spot, resulting in P3, with a faster lap time than the two in front.
RESULT: P3 of 27 + second fastest lap
MAIN: I got a great start to hold P3, being the very fastest on track for the first few laps, but after losing one spot, I got shuffled back further. However, I worked my way back up to the front.
RESULT: P5 of 27
Overall, it was a great weekend, we leveled up in terms of results and speed, but I’m left feeling like something is owed now, as I was one of the quickest of the weekend.
I couldn’t be more grateful to my amazing team @formula_works @gfckarting , my mom @pinartoprakcomposer for her continuous support, my mechanic @cody_diggs56 for all his hard work and keeping the kart quick, and my driver coach for keeping me fast. I will not be driving PKC in Santa Maria unfortunately, but I aim to use this momentum forwards into Tri-c round five. We’re the closest we’ve ever been to a win and podium, and though it’s gut wrenching to be so quick without hardware to show it, we’ve made huge progress towards where we want to be. Let’s keep pushing onwards and forwards; it’s only a matter of time.
SKUSA PRO KART CHALLENGE ROUND TWO
SKUSA PKC R2
Hard Charger Award (gain of 8 spots) on senior SKUSA debut
QUALI: This being a completely new track to me, we struggled a bit with pace.
RESULT: P19 of 28.
PRE-MAIN: I bogged on the start, causing me to go close to last. I pushed forward to overtake many, and finished 20th with a faster lap time than those in front.
MAIN: We figured out why I was struggling with speed, fixed it, and became much quicker. I then found the pace that I needed, and pushed forward to save the weekend. I got a great start, going around the outside into turn one to overtake 5 (see final slide). I then pushed forwards into the top 10, where I tried to settle for more and get 9th. Unfortunately, the move didn’t stick, I got crossed over, and 3 followed on the inside of the next corner.
RESULT: P12 of 28 + first ever hard charger award
Overall, on a new track, I would’ve liked more practice to fine tune my driving more, instead of fixing everything by the main event, but considering the extremely high national level, I’m very proud of my performance and my first ever hard charger award. We will continue to push forward and onwards to tri-c round four in two weeks.
Thank you to the best team ever @formula_works @gfckarting , my mechanic @erik_tomsons_photography for all the hard work to keep the kart and me dialed in, my mom @pinartoprakcomposer for all her support and continuing to believe in me, and my driver coach for working hard to keep me quick and in the right mindset all weekend long. Let’s push for more in round three at Santa Maria, and as my new slogan; it’s only a matter of time.
TRI-C ROUND TWO
TRI-C ROUND TWO:
One of my best weekends yet pace wise.
PRACTICE: We were one of the quickest, setting a 46:0 on scrubbed tires.
QUALIFYING: Due to the one lap format, getting tire pressures correct is extremely difficult. I struggled to get my tires up to temperature, which resulted in P15 of 25.
PRE-MAIN: With great pace and lots of work to do, I set my mind forward. On the start, I got in an incident, where I got sandwiched and then went in the air. I was 22nd by the end of it, but kept my head down to finish 12th in 12 laps (1 overtake per lap).
RESULT: P12 of 25 (+3 positions from original P15, + 12 from end of first lap)
MAIN: Starting on the outside row, the race was chaotic to say the least. There was lots of battling all round, and I gave it my all. I was quickest on track at a few points, where I snatched the fastest lap. Ultimately I didn’t keep it, but my times were the same as the front runners. This being said, I got caught up in the battles behind, where ultimately I made one big race craft mistake that costed me positions. Had that not happened, P6 or 7 was within reach.
RESULT: P10 of 25.
I’m very proud of my performance and raw speed this weekend, it’s been one my best ever. In a field where the top 15 are separated by a mere few tenth, I continue to learn, get better, and progress. I always hate to say it but this game involves luck, and ultimately we got the worst end of it in the qualifying and pre-main. We were extremely quick and consistent, and I’m confident we can push for a better result in round three.
Thank you to my amazing team @formula_works @gfckarting , my mechanic @dynex.x for working hard and keeping the kart quick, my mom @pinartoprakcomposer for allowing me to live my dream, and my driver coach for keeping me in the right mindset all weekend long. The pace is great, we’re properly quick, we just need to put it all together for round three. I unfortunately won’t be racing the season opener of SKUSA PKC due to me being out of state, but I aim to still be competitive in the championship. Let’s keep pushing forwards, and as I always say; it’s only a matter of time.
TRI-C ROUND ONE
TRI-C R1: An almost perfect weekend
PRACTICE: We were consistently one of the fastest, showing great speed.
QUALIFYING: Due to the format, we only get one qualifying lap. I set a good time to qualify P4, and though I did feel I could’ve done better, this was still a great result for day one.
PRE-MAIN: I had a good start, until I went three wide into turn two, which resulted in a kart ramping on top of me. This caused a big pileup, and a red flag for the race to be restarted, where I unfortunately made a small but punishing mistake to let off throttle slightly and then push on it. This meant my acceleration was much less than the others. I fell back many spots before reaching turn one. To add some salt to the burn, I also had damage from the pileup before the red flag, which greatly hindered my pace to get back to the front.
RESULT: P11 of 25
MAIN: From here, my only mindset was to make a comeback, and to save the weekend with a good result. Come the start, I stayed on their bumper, making up 4 spots in the first lap. However, there was a big crash (see second to last slide), where a kart flipped. The driver is ok, but it did cause a red flag, resulting in all my progress having to be redone. Despite this, I pushed through, and simply re-did the amazing start. I overtook five people within the first lap, putting myself P6. I quickly caught up fifth place, overtook them, and from there, I slowly but steadily caught up to P4. I was quicker, but didn’t have enough laps to truly get within overtaking distance.
RESULT: P5 of 25
Overall, I’m extremely proud of the weekend. Had the pre-main gone our way, a podium was definitely possible. However, I’ve learned from this mistake, and our pace has grown greatly. We have never been this close to a podium in such a competitive environment, which has given me the confidence to keep pushing forwards.
Thank you to my team @formula_works @gfckarting for all their support, my mechanic @alexanderjsiragusa for pushing with me, my mom @pinartoprakcomposer for allowing me to live my dream, and my driver coach for working hard with me towards results. We’re getting closer and closer to the front, and it’s only a matter of time.