With the goal to support the Great Lakes region of karting, track owners and operators have united to bring a revamped series for 2014. Dubbed the Great Lakes Sprint Series (GLSS) presented by Bridgestone, the program will have a new vision and structure in 2014 as they look to restore the prestige of karting in the Midwest from years ago.
The GLSS will remain a full World Karting Association divisional transfer series for several classes in 2014. Sticking with the traditional grassroots of karting that still utilize the Yamaha Engines, the GLSS will focus and support on the always popular IAME Junior and Senior ranks, Yamaha Rookie, Junior and Senior divisions, Cadet Sportsman as well as the ever popular Comer Kid Kart class. Providing the karting community with a series in the Midwest to attain national points, the GLSS is helping to grow the sport from the bottom up. New to the series in 2014 is the addition of the Rotax Max Challenge (RMC) classes.
Running under full RMC rules, all Rotax divisions including Rotax Micro Max, Mini Max, Junior and Senior Max, DD2 and DD2 Masters will be offered. The Great Lakes Sprint Series in conjunction with the MRP Rotax Challenge, will offer punches to qualify for the 2014 United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals to be held at Miller Motorsports Park. All races from August 2013 to July 1, 2014 will count towards qualification for the 2014 USRMC Grand Nationals while all races after the 2014 Grand Nationals that are held in 2014 will count towards punches for the 2015 USRMC event.
“We are very pleased to have the Great Lakes Sprint Series as a WKA divisional transfer in 2014,” expressed World Karting Association’s Keith Shampine. “With the renewed focus of the series, the continued support of the traditional Yamaha classes that are the foundation of our sport, the addition of the Rotax classes and the great effort being put into the program by the track owners and operators, the 2014 racing season is looking bright.”
The Great Lakes Sprint Series presented by Bridgestone is pleased to announce their 2014 racing schedule. Commencing on the May 2-4 weekend in northern Indiana with a double race weekend for all classes, the Michiana Raceway Park facility in South Bend, Indiana will help kick off the 2014 season. As one of the longtime WKA Master Tracks, MRP of South Bend has been on the rise since hosting the 2011 United States Rotax Grand Nationals. Continuous upgrades to the facility provide for even better racing on the challenging circuit.
Moving forward in the series, Rotax classes will only be offered on Saturday allowing drivers to travel and compete throughout the Midwest at already established local Rotax series, the void will be filled with some local option class or classes chosen by the host track and details will be released on the tracks entry form, also it will give the series a condensed schedule on Sunday to ensure teams and competitors can get on the road early.
Rotax divisions will count the best four out of five events while all other divisions will run double race weekends and count the best six of eight main event finishes towards the end of the year point championship.
Race two in the series will take place June 13-15 and will see teams and competitors travel east to the Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PittRace). Noted by some of the drivers as their favorite venue in the United States, the challenging layout with great elevation changes will be another obstacle in the quest for the GLSS championship.
The Great Lakes Sprint Series presented by Bridgestone will end their season with back-to-back events at the New Castle Motorsports Park (NCMP) facility in New Castle, Indiana. August 29-31 will see series competitors take to the NCMP IronMan configuration where they will be running the full circuit with lap times in excess of one minute thirty seconds. With a difficult oval portion and a tricky re-entry to the national circuit, drivers will be tested to see who can keep the speed and come out on top.
Returning to NCMP less than a month later, the GLSS will close their season on the traditional national circuit September 26-28, a week before the final round of the World Karting Association Manufacturers Cup program. With series points tabulated after the final round, the Great Lakes Sprint Series awards banquet will take place the evening of Saturday, October 4 during the WKA Manufacturers Cup weekend at New Castle Motorsports Park.
The Great Lakes Sprint Series presented by Bridgestone will complete their entire series on WKA Master Tracks showing their dedication to the World Karting Association and the support that they provide to United States karting.
Shampine added, “I would like to thank all the people that have helped restore the Great Lakes Sprint Series. A special thanks to track owners Garry Lobaugh and Mark Dismore as well as track operator Brandon Adkins. With continued support from the karting community our 2014 Class Sponsors, we need to thank MRP, CRP Racing, Grand Products, Margay Products, TS Racing.com, Haddock LTD, Top Kart USA, Comet Kart Sales, Checkered Motorsports, KartWerx/Praga Karts, HDM Trucking, OTK USA and IAME, Rok Cup USA, Max Speed & Bridgestone as well as all the teams and drivers for continuing to develop the grassroots of karting and for working together to help the Great Lakes Sprint Series thrive in 2014 and beyond.”
Entry information for the Great Lakes Sprint Series presented by Bridgestone can be found on the following link: http://www.worldkarting.com/index.php/series/great-lakes-series-page.
Please like the Facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Lakes-Sprint-Series/160581637292875 to receive update. Contact series officials at gldivisional@aol.com, Keith Shampine of the World Karting Association or one of the series Master Tracks that are hosting an even on the 2014 schedule.
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