GALLERY // ROBERT CARRIER'S TOP SHOTS OF 2009

Now that the year has ended, I've had an opportunity to go through some of my photos and reflect on the events that I was able to cover for ColdTrackDays. It was an absolute pleasure joining the CTD team in 2009, and I'm honored to work amongst such talented photographers. We have some exciting things planned for 2010 and I look forward to seeing what sort of photos I'll have the opportunity to shoot over the next 12 months! Thanks to everyone for supporting CTD – we all appreciate it!... [read more]

SCCA Solo National Tour – San Diego, CA: Qualcomm stadium in San Diego, California – current home of the Chargers football team – hosts a round of the SCCA Solo National Tour every year, and draws some of the very best autocross racers in the entire country. As I've been a fan (and on-again-off-again participant) of autocross racing since my early days of college, I grabbed my camera and headed down to the Q for a weekend of motorsport.

Symbolic Motor Co. Show N' Shine – La Jolla, CA: Every year, the Symbolic Motor Company – an exotic car dealership with two locations in Southern California – hosts a BBQ and Show N' Shine at its service facility that is open to the public. The event is a fantastic way for car enthusiasts to chat with like-minded individuals over a glass of wine while taking in some of the world's greatest cars, including race cars, vintage cars, and exotics.

Long Beach Grand Prix – Long Beach, CA: The streets of Long Beach have played host to some of the world's fastest cars since 1975, and this year was no different. In addition to the main event, which saw Danica Patrick and some of the top IRL drivers navigating the street course in 700hp open wheel monsters, the event also included the ubiquitous Toyota celebrity race and a round of the American Le Mans series.

Redline Time Attack Round 2 – Rosamond, CA: Of all the events I covered this year, I would have to say that Round 2 of the Redline Time Attack was easily the least pleasant. Needless to say, Rosamond can get unbearably hot during the spring and summer months! Despite the heat, lack of shade, and four-hour drive from San Diego, it was still a thrill to catch my first Redline Time Attack event in person.

Coronado Speed Festival – Coronado, CA: Next to the Monterey Historic held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca every year, the Coronado Speed Festival is the largest vintage car race in California. Held on the runways and taxiways of Naval Air Station Coronado, the event draws a wide variety of cars as well as drivers who are there not to showcase their cars, but to compete!

Redline Time Attack Round 8 – Fontana, CA: Compared to the RTA event held at Willow Springs Raceway, the 8th and final round of the 2009 Redline Time Attack season was an absolute pleasure! A leisurely hour drive north of San Diego, Auto Club Speedway is a world class racing facility that far exceeded my expectations, and Fontana in November is much more comfortable than Rosamond is anytime! It all added up to a fantastic event that I thoroughly enjoyed shooting.

SKUSA SuperNationals XIII – Las Vegas, NV: Two words could best describe the 2009 SKUSA SuperNationals kart race in Las Vegas, Nevada: Michael Schumacher. The Formula One legend – who recently ignited the motorsports world with his announcement that he has signed up for the 2010 season with his long-time partner in crime Ross Brawn – was in attendance, and for this reason, I was in attendance as well! Though I was too young to watch him in his Benetton days, I have been a Schumi fan since the days of his epic battles with Mika Hakinnen, and I was not going to miss the opportunity to meet him in person (which I did, albeit shortly)!

For a look at more photos from ColdTrackDays correspondent, Robert Carrier, click here

Photo/Editorial: Robert Carrier

EVENT // SKUSA SUPER NATIONALS XIII

Robert Carrier: Michael! Good luck out there today!
Michael Schumacher: Thank you.

So went my brief conversation with the 7-time Formula One World Champion at the SuperKarts! USA SuperNationals XIII in Las Vegas, Nevada. It probably didn't help that I caught him on the grid with the other drivers before the SuperPro main event, and thus right in the middle of his preparation for the upcoming 25 lap race, but I've heard that he's not exactly a social person anyway. Nonetheless, the short interaction is an example of what set this Supernational apart from all that came before it and made it the biggest and best SKUSA race ever... [read more]

There were a variety of classes that competitors could take part in over the course of the weekend, including the popular TaG (Touch and Go) Junior class, TaG Senior class and the KF2 class. The TaG Senior and KF2 classes in particular were both extremely fast and featured a host of world-class karters, some as young as 15 years of age. It goes without saying that the TaG classes are just as much a breeding ground for future professionals as the shifter classes are.

The TaG karts themselves, from such manufacturers as Tony Kart, CRG, Birel, Intrepid and Top Kart, differ only slightly from their shifter kart cousins. Utilizing single speed gearboxes and often lacking front brakes, the KF2 karts offer most of the performance of a shifter in a simpler package that allows up-and-coming drivers to focus on the fundamentals of steering, throttle and brake input, and passing before moving on to bigger and better things.

Despite the impressive performance of the TaG karts, the SuperPro shifter kart class was the one that people came to see. The starting grid for the SuperPro event included not only the KZ2 world champion and Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, but also ex-F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr., Sebastien Buemi from the Torro Rosso F1 team, and a host of world-class karters from as far away as Europe and New Zealand.

The 125cc shifter karts were amazingly fast around the short .66 mile road course set up in the parking lot of the Rio Hotel and Casino, lapping some 3 seconds faster than the still-very-fast TaG Senior karts. Seeing some of the top drivers navigate the course in these machines firsthand, I can say that it comes as little surprise that karting is the most popular stepladder into upper echelon motorsport. Quite simply, the speed at which these karts accelerate, change direction and slow down is amazing.

Despite the immense talent that current F1 drivers possess, the fact that karting is in many ways nothing more than a hobby for them meant that the F1 racers started no better than ninth. Perhaps not surprisingly, the small contingent was led by none other than Michael Schumacher. A couple of spots behind him were Nelson Piquet Jr. and then finally the young F1 driver Sebastien Buemi back in the middle of the pack. Though I assume many of the spectators in attendance were expecting a one-two-three podium from the F1 drivers and may have been disappointed with their mid-pack starting positions, I was actually quite impressed that the three were able to compete head-to-head with individuals who dedicate their time and energy exclusively to the discipline.

At the beginning of the SuperPro main event, the field of nearly 40 karts funneled its way into the first corner and miraculously made its way through without too much drama. If the start of an F1 race seems a bit dicey, I highly recommend attending at a sprint kart race! I would not have been surprised to see several of the karts go flying into the stands! Not everyone made it through the race unscathed though; after roughly 12 laps, Sebastien Buemi dropped out and came limping into the pits as the rest of the field continued buzzing around.

Quite to my surprise, Sebastien came over to where I was photographing the race and nudged against the fence to my immediate left. I took advantage of the unexpected opportunity and asked him what happened on track. and he told me that he broke one of his wheels and was forced to retire. I couldn't really think of anything noteworthy to say, so I offered the obligatory apology even though I had nothing to do with the situation! With that exchange done, we both refocused our attention to the track to watch the legendary Michael Schumacher in action, and perhaps for the first time all day long, I dropped my camera and simply soaked it all in.

I had the pleasure of watching Schumi in action at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix and will always remember the sight and sound of him navigating the beautiful Melbourne circuit in the stunning Ferrari F2001, but that feels like a world away. Here I was seven years later standing alongside current F1 driver Sebastien Buemi watching retired Formula One icon Michael Schumacher driving around a track in anger, and I can say that the surreal nature of the moment was not lost on me. As far as motorsport events go, this was clearly the highlight of 2009 and will be something that I remember for some time to come!

For full results from the SKUSA SuperNats XIII event, visit the SuperKarts! USA website

For a look at all of my photos from the SKUSA Super Nationals XII, click here

Photo/Editorial: Robert Carrier

EYE CANDY // THE FINER SIDE OF KARTING

The SKUSA Super Nationals XIII event in Vegas this weekend was fantastic! It will probably take me a day or two to get all of the photos together and to finish up my editorial, so in the meantime you may like this bit of Eye Candy from the race on Sunday. Enjoy the finer side of karting with Cyndie Allemann!

Click here for a look at more of Robert Carrier's photography, and be sure to stay tuned for additional coverage of the SKUSA Super Nationals XIII // [comment]