The 2022 racing season kicked off this past weekend at CalSpeed Karting, with the 8th season of the Sprint Series taking to the to track for the first of their 10 round championship. The Sportivo track would be the stage for the season opener, with a sold out crowd of 90 drivers aiming to start the year, and their titles hopes off on the right foot. This season’s crop of up and coming talent has been viewed as perhaps one of the most unpredictable heading into the season, and in the end, the results were exactly that…
Qualifying…
The 8 minute practice/qualifying session of the season saw drivers all split into their groups via how they signed up, so unlike the rounds that will follow where it is set by points, finding a partner was a bit more tricky for those that perhaps had more experience. Perhaps because of this, we saw three new faces at the sharp of qualifying, with Adrian Comstock scoring his first career pole to kick things off, with CalSpeed newcomer Alexander Blake in second and car transplant James Bratton in third. With their quick times, the trio would lead the field away for each of their respective heats…
Heat Races…
When the heat races did get underway, experience would pay off, and it was only Comstock that saw himself still in the hunt by the checkers during his 8 lap run. In fact, he would lead all but the final lap, as Frank Hsu kept the pressure on, stealing away the top spot on the final circuit to score his first career heat win.
In heat two, the #2 overall qualifier Alexander would come under fire from the drop of the green, with series veterans Jeremy Aldridge and Ivan Martinez, along with up and coming talent Brett Lopinsky all finding their way by on the opening lap. The former two would pull away to a healthy gap, with Aldridge leading flag to flag to score a heat win to start his 2022 campaign.
The final heat of three would see James Bratton line up on pole after qualifying third overall, but the opening lap would not go his way, and he would slip down the order. Instead, the lead would go to the outside pole man Jacob Abrams, who lead lap one before seeing Vince Azua moving to the top spot on lap 2. There was no stopping Azua, pulling out to a convincing win to notch his second career heat win…
C-Main
A mechanical issue in his heat race would see Nathaniel Small start the C-Main from the third position, but by the end of the first lap he was in the lead. The long time Sprint Series driver had his rivals in terms of experience, but he still would not be able to shake Pedro de la Hoya, who not only keep the pressure on, but overtook small on lap 2. The pair would run in tandem through until just passed the halfway point, when Small made his move back into the lead, however the big mover was Lee Povey. Povey had methodically worked his way up from 7th, and when Small re-took the lead, he had just moved into 3rd, and in front of pole sitter Michael Collins. Povey would make his own move for the lead on the penultimate lap, but the counter came from Small, re-taking the lead on the most important circuit to claim the W and the B-Main transfer.
B-Main
The theme of great racing continued through the B-Main, this time with newcomers David Mock and David Lawson leading the field away for the start, with fellow rookie Gregory Csik showing he had something for the front by stealing away the lead after lap one. But as we see plenty of in the Sprint Series, infighting at the front would see things shake up, and it would be SE title hopeful Nick Descamps and newcomer Emerson Thieman getting to the front, and working out to a healthy margin. But the Sprint Series is where many cut their teeth and hone their skills, so we also see mistakes. Unfortunately, a mistake from Thieman would see Descamps into the barrier and a penalty for Thieman, so this turned the fight for third between Ernesto Sanchez, David Mock, Gregory Csik, and Paul Wagner, into the fight for the win. It would go right down to the final corner with Ernesto leading, but after defending to much and pulling wide while trying to stave off an attack from Mock, it was Wagner doing the over-under to go from third to first in the final corner and steal away the B-main win…
A-Main
Already with a full day of great racing and fresh faces at the sharp end, the first Sprint Series A-Main of the year took the green flag with Jeremy Aldridge leading the way, followed by a line of about 5 or so drivers in tow. And while he would lead at the line for the first 7 laps, those laps were almost always contested, namely by fellow heat race winner Frank Hsu. Veterans may link up and work together, but as we often see in the first rung of the karting gladder, everyone wants to lead. This kept the rest of the pack close, and when it came down to the final few laps, the battle royal began. With three laps to go, Hsu finally was able to make the move stick and hold on to lead at the line, but he had Aldridge, and Ivan Martinez right in tow, with Joey Andrews and the overall pole sitter Adrian Comstock not too far behind. When Aldridge fired back to lead on the penultimate lap it was a five horse race, one that saw things go three wide at times, with Hsu carrying the outside on Aldridge on Sportivo, before getting a shove passed by Andrews. Hsu would go defensive into Monaco, but Andrews went lower, carrying enough to come out with the lead, and with the drivers fighting immediately behind, was able to hold on for his first career win in the Sprint Series…
The CalSpeed Sprint Series is already SOLD OUT for round #2, taking to the Grande circuit on January 29th, so be sure to sign up for round #3 before it sells out too!
Sprint Series Round #1 A-Main Top 10-
- Joey Andrews
- Ivan Martinez
- Jeremy Aldridge
- Frank Hsu
- Adrian Comstock
- Jacob Abrams
- Jack McNeel
- Vince Azua
- Brett Lopinsky
- Jacob Reis
Overall Point Standings Top 10
- Ivan Martinez 290
- Jeremy Aldridge 290
- Joey Andrews 285
- Frank Hsu 285
- Adrian Comstock 275
- Jacob Abrams 270
- Vince Azua 269
- Jack McNeel 262
- Brett Lopinsky 256
- Jacob Reis 248
SE Sub-Championship Standings Top 5
- Nick Rajewski 240
- Bowie Adams 205
- David Ramirez 195
- Camila Rubio 193
- Amber Garcia 190
CalSpeed is permanently closed
See the latest images and videos from CalSpeed Karting events