Rock Island Grand Prix March Newsletter

GO! Consider this your official notification that registration for the 2009 Rock Island Grand Prix is now open. Previous competitors and others on our mailing list should also receive a postcard notification.

As always, someone snuck in before the announcement and has already registered. This year’s Early Bird award goes to Carmelo Rubio of Coral Gables, Florida, who registered in 125 Masters. There is no prize, just the knowledge that you are sneakier than everyone else!

Our entire 8-page Entry Packet with entry information, Supplemental Rules, Frequently Asked Questions, etc. is available in PDF form on our website at www.rockislandgrandprix.com. You should carefully review this document since there have been several significant changes this year.

There are several ways you can enter:

1) Fill out the secure form on the website and enter there using a credit card.

2) Download the entry form, fill it out and mail it to us with your check or credit card information.

3) Email or call and ask that a printed Entry Packet be sent to you.

Feel free to make copies and share them with your friends.

If you have any questions, please read the Entry Packet carefully first. We find that most questions are answered in that document. Otherwise, feel free to call or email with any questions you might have.

We are still tweaking the Online Registration Form program but decided to put it up anyway. This year, because of multiple entry fees and discounts for people running more than one class, it’s a bit more complicated than in the past. If you see any problems with the information that is emailed back to you after you register (if you provided a valid email address), please email and let us know.

We know this is a tough year for everyone financially. As we celebrate our 15th anniversary, this is a survival year for the Rock Island Grand Prix. After suffering big losses in 2008, your support this year will determine whether this great event will continue, or whether it will become part of karting history along with most of the other famed street races.

To that end, we have made minor increases to fees this year. At the same time we have provided discounts for drivers who race multiple classes and we will continue to pay a bounty for drivers who bring a new competitor with them to The Rock. Our hope in the future is to be able to role back fees, but we need to survive first. You can help make that happen.

We are really excited about our class lineup this year – which was already announced. We have gotten good response from the decision to move King of the Streets to SKUSA Spec Honda, while still providing race options for ICC, tuned moto and 125 Masters. We have also gotten great feedback from our announcement that we have added Rotax Senior and Masters and IAME Leopard classes, while at the same time making it easy for competitors to transition between those classes and TAG Senior and Masters, if they care to.

While the present schedule calls for running 12 classes in 2009, the door remains open to split some of the classes based on early registration. We think that only makes sense in an environment where we really don’t know what kind of turnout to expect. While the plan today is to run Rotax Senior and Masters together and score separately, we think there is already a good possibility that they could be split into separate classes. Your registrations will determine that, but we feel a good synergy working with the Rotax importers and dealers and national race director Marshall Martin who have been very helpful. We have hopes of becoming one of the premier one-off Rotax races in the world.

With early support ICC and tuned moto could also be split, as could Spec Honda.

During the off-season we created a Competition Committee which was a great help in providing direction to our Organizing Committee in deciding what changes to make in class structure and rules. We continue to explore non-racing opportunities to enhance the event: already added have been a Saturday night Honda Goldwing “Boogie Lights Parade” and a Saturday night Under 21 DJ Party at the Capri Theater (home of the Sunday John Deere Awards Ceremony) for younger racers, fans and family members.

We believe these are the kinds of activities that make Rock Island special for both competitors and spectators. More is on the way.

We hope that you will begin planning now to spend Sept. 4-6 (Labor Day Weekend) in Rock Island, Illinois. Our future could depend on it.

ATTN. WEST COAST DRIVERS: Superkarts! USA president Tom Kutscher has graciously offered to coordinate equipment transportation from the west coast. The current plan is to have shared trailers from both No Cal and So Cal with racers paying a fee to have their equipment brought to Rock Island and then work under a shared SKUSA tent. If you are interested, please contact Tom or Patti at SKUSA Headquarters, (951) 491-0808 for more information. We are also aware of some other west coast teams that plan to make the trek on their own.

VINTAGE RACE BUFFS: Plans are under way for a gathering of the stars and legends of karting’s past, June 18-20, at the New Castle Vintage Kart Event at New Castle Motorsports Park near Indianapolis, Ind. There will be a kart show, swap meet and racing using VKA format, classes and rules. Long time kart competitor and RIGP friend Jeff Brown is spearheading this great event. Additional information can be found at the Vintage Karting Association Web site at vintagepowersport.com. Or contact Jeff at invaderjb@aol.com or (248) 613-5839, after 7 p.m. eastern time for more information.

CONGRATS TO ALAN: We would like to congratulate Alan Rudolph on his appointment as president of the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by the IndyCar Series. Rudolph is a long-time competitor, friend and sponsor of the Rock Island Grand Prix and six-time winner of the King of the Streets race as well as our all-time leading money winner. We are sure that in his new role Alan will not only have a positive impact on the Stars of Karting program, but also the sport of karting in general. And Alan – if you feel the need to wear the crown in your new job, let us know. We’re sure the reigning King of The Streets Alex Speed won’t mind loaning it.