This past weekend was a big weekend for the competition teams for LVGP.  The Junior Team traveled to face off against Mid Atlantic Grand Prix in Delaware and the Adult Team traveled to Victory Lane Karting to compete in the 24hrs of Charlotte.

The Mid Atlantic Grand Prix Challenge was the first time our Juniors have left the building to compete against another track.  On Dec 2nd LVGP held a qualifying session in which the top 5 kids made an All Star team to compete in the event.  The format for qualifying was a 20 minute practice/qualifier followed up with 4 feature races of 20 laps.  The top five finishers were Joey Brey, Jessica Brey, Tommy Kleppinger, Nicholas Winton & Brenna Schubert.  This group squared off against a Mid Atlantic Grand Prix team of Stephen Mallozi, David Rodgers, Tolly Flinn, Joseph Davidson, & Joshua Shine.

The competition involved a 2 day challenge in which Day 1 was held at Mid Atlantic Grand Prix and Day 2 was hosted at Lehigh Valley Grand Prix.  The first day of competition was an eye awakening experience for LVGP.  The first feature heavily favored the team from Mid Atlantic as their names shown at the top of the leader board.  This did not discourage LVGP as the team became more familiar with the track and managed to climb their way back into the competition.  After the day of racing, LVGP walked out with a 16pt deficit.

Day 2 was a different story.  Home track advantage was crucial as only a few of the MAGP drivers figured out the racing line.  LVGP made a strong comeback and evened the score after the second feature.  This left the team with breathing room heading into the final 2 feature races.  In the end LVGP came out with a 17pt Victory sealing the deal for the first ever Challenge against MAGP.

The driver’s were scored individually as well as by team.  The top 3 finishers for the event were Jessica Brey scoring 68pts, Stephen Mallozzi 64pts and Brenna Schubert 60pts.  It was a tight race from start to finish and we would like to thank all of the drivers that participated.

The adult team of Ryan Suchon, Kyle Lick, Jason Frankenfield, Kevin Bligan, & Carl Bligan hit the road south for the 24hrs of Charlotte held at Victory Lane Karting.  This race is a true test of endurance as the 13 teams that participated competed for 24hrs of straight karting.  A standard race at LVGP is 8 minutes.  It is hard to image going for 24hrs!!

The team ran into issues from the start as the kart shut off on the Lemans start and Kyle Lick failed to buckle his seat belt.  This set the tone for the team as they continued to hurt themselves throughout the race.  Jason Frankenfield later was penalized 2 laps for exiting the kart under weight.  The sick bug hit the team as Kevin Bligan & Carl Bligan had to pull off the track early in stints costing the team precious time.  ”When you compete against the best you cannot make mistakes.  Every second, every exchange, every kart swap can determine your outcome,” stated Ryan Suchon.

It was a disappointing finish for the team coming in 6th place.  In qualifying many of the teams had LVGP slated to be a contender.  Despite adversity the team did finish the race and looks forward to redemption at next year’s competition!

The 12hrs of VLK held at Victory Lane Karting in Charlotte, NC is always a great test to see how your team matches up against the best in the industry.  LVGP sent down 3 teams to take part in the annual event with hopes to prove that we have what it takes against the top drivers in the nation.

The field hosted competitors such as Fred Ogrim, Dan Burke, Johan Schwarz and other internationally ranked drivers.  Out of a 14 team field team LVGP took home 3rd, 7th and 11th respectively.  Missing 2nd place by a few tenths of a second to the team from Endurance Karting provided excitment for the drivers.

“Last year we fought for 5th place.  This year we proved we had what it took to get 2nd.  We just missed it, but I know they will be looking out for us next year,” said Kyle Lick aka Runt.

It truly was an exciting finish.  With just over an hour and a half left in the race Mike Bednar passed the kart off to Carl Bligan for the finish.  With a 1/4 lap lead, Carl had the impossible task of fighting off Dan Burke from Endurance Karting.  At the 55 minute Dan took advantage of some lap traffic and made an impressive move to sneak past Carl and team LVGP.  Dan managed to hold Carl off for the finish as the both crossed with a very little gap between them.

“We knew it was going to be tough to hold Dan off.  I have been on Dan’s team in the past and have seen him work his magic.  It was tough being on this side of it but I am extremely proud of Carl and the team for a strong finish and a great race!” Kevin Bligan, LVGP driver and father of Carl Bligan commenting on his son’s finish.

The LVGP teams all seemed to struggle in the pits throughout the race.  Seat belt issues plagued all 3 teams that were all running strong lap times.  It cost the team 2nd place but there was no chance the team had at catching the front runners from VLK.  There is great excitement on the improvement from last year but in the back of their minds the competitors know they left too much time in the pits.  Next year should be a fun and exciting test.

LVGP Team Roster

Kevin Bligan, Carl Bligan, Jason Frankenfield, Ryan Suchon, Kyle Lick, Jianni Koburi, Andrew Pettijohn, Pat Gillin, Michael Bednar

Click the Link for a video from the race!

LVGP will be holding a 12hr race at the end of March.  Look out for details!

The karting world is growing.  One of the individuals that started the sport in it’s infancy just happens to be a member at Lehigh Valley Grand Prix.  Kevin Bligan started indoor karting at Arnold’s, which is now Arnold’s Family Fun Center.  The sport which hosted only a few facilities when Kevin started now is turning into a major industry.

Kevin’s latest adventure was attending the Indoor Karting World Championships held in Belgium with his son Carl.  Even though the father son duo didn’t finish where they had hoped, they still did very well in the 185 driver field.  The next race for Kevin will be the Machismo race held in Las Vegas.  The Machismo event will be held in conjunction with the final race of the Izod Indy Car Series.  Following the Machismo Race Kevin will be participating with team Lehigh Valley Grand Prix at the 12hrs of Charlotte, held at Victory Lane Karting in December.

For more info on the IKWC and the 12hrs of VLK.