South Haven, MI – Round two of the PG Racing Championship Enduro Series washeld at the 1.9 mile 11 turn Gingerman Raceway located near South Haven, MI. Unlike the past two years, the rain stayed away and the racers enjoyed beautifulsunny weather with temperatures in the 60s. The event was co-hosted by the River Valley kart Club and GEM Promotions, who have many years of experience inputting on road racing events. Race director Bill Schatz and flagman Earl Clement did an excellent job at keeping the event flowing smoothly as eight races were heldeach day along with seven rounds of practice on Friday. Also competing this weekend were the Great Lakes Region Superkarts USA (SKUSA) group who held a 25 minute shifter kart race on Sunday. Overall, entries were down a little bit, possibly due to the escalating gas prices reaching $3.39 a gallon and Mother’s Day weekend commitments.

The Gingerman Raceway, now entering its 12th year of operation, continues to make facility improvements each year. New spectator mounds have recently been added near turn one and the track concession stand, Heidi’s, was offering home cooked dinners. Other recent track improvements included the addition of more electrical outlets throughout the pit area which allowed for many motor-homes to hookup. The track surface, which is now about 11 years old, is holding up well and did not seem to have deteriorated much since last season. The track design allows for plenty of run-off area with natural sand traps making it one of the safest tracks in the Mid-west. Although it is a relatively safe track, several red flags were thrown during practice. Ryan Vehring managed to get upside down and suffered a concussion, but was back at the track as a spectator after having an MRI.

In the first race of the day on both Saturday and Sunday, the Novice classes for the nine to eleven year-olds got to race for 20 minutes. Colin Campbell won the Sprint Yamaha Novice class both days and in the Sprint 4-Cycle Novice classes, it was Alex Marchese and Travis Sabatka taking the wins. The TAG Cadet class was the largest Novice group both days with 10 entries. Sebastian Peters won the Saturday race and Charlie Stray captured the Sunday race with quick time of the weekend for Novice classes at 1:50.420

In the Junior classes for the 12 to 15 year-olds, Lina Baker and Stephanie Schumacher each captured a win in the Sprint Jr. 4-Cycle classes. Brad Brittin pulled away to big wins both days in the Jr. Sprint YBX Can class and Austin Duncan won both days in TAG Jr. Zach Silver and Ryan Lankenau each captured a win in the Jr. 80cc Gearbox classes.

The enduro karts held one 45-minute race each day with Jon Anderson setting fastestlap in his 250 Unlimited kart at 1:29.059. Scott Grenier dominated the Yamaha Heavy class both days picking up two wins. Other enduro class winners included Jon Andersonand Doug VanSweden in Unlimited #1 and #2, Tom Disch and Mike Roncke in Controlled Limited #1 and #2, and James Hurst in Yamaha Sportsman Heavy. Hurst was also racing in the Yamaha sprint classes taking a win in the PP Can Sprint 340 class.

In the TAG Senior classes, Jay Spoden and Adam Schatz were the dominate karts with Spoden taking both TAG Sr. class wins and Schatz taking both TAG Heavy class wins. Schatz also competed in the TAG Senior classes running second to Spoden much of the time. Spoden would also win the G-125 Sprint shifter class making him the only triple class winner over the weekend. Enduro regular Scott Grenier also competed in the TAG Heavy classes finishing in second and third place.

The 125 Sprint shifter race had the most karts take to the track with 35 entries on Saturday. Qualifying on pole Saturday was Clayton Prater with Derek Crockett taking the pole on Sunday, both driving WildKart chassis. Prater and Joe Sturm battled for the win both days, with Sturm, also on a WildKart, winning by just .028 seconds on Sunday and winning by .108 seconds on Saturday. In the G-125 classes, Jay Spoden edged Ross Kasner on Saturday by 3.86 seconds, and Dean Opperman beat out Kasner on Sunday by 5.866 seconds. Eric Chappe and Ralph Wofford took the Spec Moto 125 Sprint class victories. Prater picked up the Pro Shifter race win at the end of the day on Saturday as he pulled out to a 10 second win over Sturm.

The OHV and Animal classes had some great action and close finishes. Mike Stroik won both Briggs Animal classes, edging out Jonathan Evans, Vince Bartolotta and Brad Richards on Saturday with the top four finishing just .4 seconds apart. In the OHV International classes, Regan Vehring won both days, edging Jonathan Evans by just .222 seconds on Sunday.

In the Yamaha sprint CIK body work classes, Jessica Brannam won both days, barely edging Josh Lane on Saturday by .061 seconds. On Sunday Jessica pulled away to a big 22 second win over Regan Vehring and Ashley Freiberg. The HPV Pro classes saw some tight action with Jeff Hoff edging Brian Valin on Saturday by .149 seconds and Valin would take the win over Hoff on Sunday by 6.836 seconds. Mike Hoff picked up wins in the Over 35 Sprint Can class both days and Jerry Revely was a double class winner in the Yamaha Sprint Lite and Heavy classes. Other double class winners included Brian Freiberg in PP Can Sprint 360 and 380, and Tom Howerth in Briggs Sprint 360 both days.

After the first two rounds of the 2007 PG Racing CES season, competitors are gearing up for the next big event held at Road America on June 8 – 10, the Supernationals. For more information visit www.championshipenduro.com or www.badgerkartclub.com.

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