It was the annual trip for Speed Concepts Racing to the GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, North Carolina to conclude the 2021 United States Pro Kart Series (USPKS). With eight Redspeed branded drivers competing across four classes, Speed Concepts Racing and Speed Lab Racing Engines earned two race wins, three podium finishes and five top-ten results at the fast and challenging circuit.
Leading the way for Speed Concepts Racing on the results sheets was X30 Masters driver Scott Roberts. After pacing inside the top-five on Friday’s practice sessions, Roberts came to race when it counted earning both main event victories in dominating fashion leading flag-to-flag.
Ayden Ingratta, who entered the event as the X30 Pro Junior championship point leader by the slimmest of margins, left the weekend with the Vice Championship. With a second-place result on Sunday, an unfortunate penalty in Saturday’s main event relegated him from third to fifth which was the final difference in the national championship. Despite his best efforts, Ingratta has turned into the racer that nobody expected and will be a threat to score victories at all remaining events in the 2021 season. Joining Ingratta in the X30 Pro Junior class was G3 Argyros and team newcomer Alex Mercado. G3 earned a pair of top-20 results and has shown vast improvement since moving to the junior category mid-season while Mercado scored 20th and 22nd place results, solid finishes for his first event weekend with SCR.
A pair of competitors would do battle in the Mini Swift category as Felipe Benito was joined by another new driver to the program, Sebastian Santana. Benito had an impressive drive on Saturday and garnered his best result of the USPKS season with a 15th place finish while Santana battled in the top-ten on Sunday, finishing eighth in the prefinal before ending his day 16th in the main event.
Jack Jeffers made his X30 Pro debut this past weekend and while he failed to finish on Saturday due to a brake issue, he returned Sunday with a vengeance to take home a top-ten result in seventh. Santiago Benito also earned his best result of the 2021 USPKS season with an eleventh-place result on Saturday and was named the biggest mover during Sunday’s main event climbing 26 positions to finish 20th on the final results sheet.
“A huge thank to our drivers, team members, crew and family for a great season and another solid race weekend,” explained Mike Speed. “We have shown great improvement in several of our drivers and have been in contention for race wins and podium results in every race weekend. We have two big events left this season, and we are ready to attack and provide our drivers the best possibility to win.”
Next up for Speed Concepts Racing is the ROK Cup USA ROK Vegas event November 3-7 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Speed Concepts Racing has the opportunity to add a few more drivers in 2021, especially as the program heads into the ROK Cup USA ROK Vegas and Superkarts! USA SuperNationals. Please contact Mike Speed at Mike@Speed-Concepts.com.
For more information on Speed Concepts Racing and the Redspeed Racing Kart, please contact Mike Speed via email to Mike@Speed-Concepts.com. Be sure to follow Speed Concepts Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for news, results, information, and photos from the event. Find us at ‘Speed Concepts Racing’ or @SCR_Karting.
Photos: Studio 52