Recap: 2024 Teen & Adult K1 Speed US & E-World Championship

2024 Teen / Adult U.S. & World Champions Are Crowned!

On Saturday, June 29th, nearly 100 racers from 4 countries, over 20 states, and over 30 K1 Speed centers arrived in Winchester, California to compete at the 2024 K1 Speed Teen & Adult U.S. and World Championships, a private event at the world-class outdoor karting facility, K1 Circuit.

The U.S. Championship format was identical for both divisions: one 8-lap practice session, one 8-lap qualifying session, and one 8-lap race for position around the 1.1 mile Pro Layout at K1 Circuit.

Out of the 99 drivers, 88 were Americans who dreamed of becoming of the first teen and adult US Champion that wasn’t named Peyton Phillips (who took the titles in 2019 as a teen, and 2023 as an adult). At the end of the day, two young, talented drivers took over as our new defending champions.

Additionally, any international drivers competing in the World Championship were given three track sessions to make up for the time their American competitors would have prior to their event.

The World Championship was also equal in format for both division: one 8-lap qualifying session followed by one 8-lap race for position.

And while every driver had come with one target on their mind: to become the World Champion of their division at the end of the day, only two could become the ultimate K1 Speed champion.

Read on now for a brief summary of what transpired on that hot, 97-degree day in Riverside County.

The Teen Championships

2024 K1 Speed Teen U.S. Championship

The day was split into two different events: the teen event starting in the morning, and the adult event taking place in the afternoon.

The day started with a track walk session, which for most of the drivers was the first time they’d experience K1 Circuit, a track they’d get to race ahead of its opening to the general public. After the walk, all drivers were formed into a single line to draw one random ball, from 1 to 50, to determine which of the three practice groups they’d be a part of.

Drivers then took part in a Drivers’ Meeting by Mike Smith, the General Manager of K1 Circuit, who answered any questions and concerns the drivers may have about their competition. Then, it was go-time.

Teen U.S. Practice Session

Three different groups took to the track for their practice sessions.

The Top 10 from Practice were as follows:

1. Logan Nealis | Addison, IL |  82.985
2. Thatcher Loper | Orlando, FL | 83.129
3. Jake Kriegisch | Thousand Oaks, CA | 83.200
4. George Gaston | Portland, OR | 83.255
5. Isaac Travers | Canton, OH | 83.328
6. Andrew Bradbury | Concord, NC | 83.352
7. Isaac Nelson | Portland, OR | 83.409
8. Rodolfo Garcia Muriel | San Diego, CA | 83.834
9. Sherod Charity | Richmond, VA | 83.969
10. Evan Rivas | Salt Lake City, UT | 83.993

Teen U.S. Qualifying Session

For qualifying, racers were grouped based on their best lap time achieved in practice, thus the fastest racers were in Group A, second-fastest racers in Group B, and third-fastest racers in Group C.

Qualifying determined not only the starting position for racers, but which race they’d be in as well. The fastest 25 racers would progress to the A-Main race which would decide which three racers were moving on to the World Championship as Team USA. While our B-Main race would set the rest of our final standings, from 26th position to 47th.

While the purpose of this was to aid faster drivers from possibly being held up by any slower drivers, thankfully thanks to the large track format and few drivers on track, drivers from all three qualifying groups – even Group C – were able to crack into the A-Main race.

Here are the final results from qualifying:

A-MAIN RACE QUALIFIERS:

1. Henry Martin | Concord, NC |  81.749
2. Logan Nealis | Addison, IL | 81.86
3. Andrew Webster | Indianapolis, IN | 82.038
4. Evan Rivas | Salt Lake City, UT | 82.077
5. George Gaston | Portland, OR | 82.106
6. Jake Kriegisch | Thousand Oaks, CA | 82.234
7. Connor Wooten | Atlanta, GA | 82.287
8. Sawyer Kidd | Concord, NC | 82.310
9. Andrew Bradbury | Concord, NC | 82.691
10. Rodolfo Garcia Muriel | San Diego, CA | 82.958
11. Race Oliver | Atlanta, GA | 83.043
12. Matthew Frago | Richmond, VA | 83.154
13. Oliver Mockridge | Thousand Oaks, CA | 83.177
14. Sherod Charity | Richmond, VA | 83.38
15. Cayden Wysong | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 83.446
16. Isaac Nelson | Portland, OR | 83.450
17. Cody Hicks | Oxford, MI | 83.648
18. Ryan Desanto | Horsham, PA | 83.718
19. Ana Palestro | Seattle, WA | 83.752
20. Charlie Ropke | Buffalo Grove, IL | 83.757
21. Mason Farmer | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 83.757
22. David Eldik | Las Vegas, NV | 83.800
23. Ronon Gitman | Indianapolis, IN | 83.858
24. Leyton Theiss | Canton, OH | 83.903
25. Liam Moga | Denver, CO | 83.989

B-MAIN RACE QUALIFIERS:

1. Billy Elwell | Cinnaminson, NJ | 84.049
2. Kaitlyn Rains | Austin, TX | 84.183
3. Isaac Travers | Canton, OH | 84.193
4. Connor Johnson | Atlanta, GA | 84.205
5. Zac Chaplinski | Boston, MA | 84.331
6. Van Drugmand | Nashville, TN | 84.350
7. Luke Hugen | Denver, CO | 84.700
8. Brendan Boyd | Boston, MA | 85.020
9. Savannah Weber | Canton, OH | 85.060
10. Matthew Campbell Jr. | Boston, MA | 85.241
11. Colin Torres | Addison, IL | 85.242
12. Marcus Zhuk | Nashville, TN | 85.452
13. Otoniel Figueroa | Cinnaminson, NJ | 85.541
14. Amelia Suell | Las Vegas, NV | 85.731
15. Matthew Zhuk | Nashville, TN | 85.938
16. Nicholas Jones | Oxford, MI | 86.624
17. Dillon Jones | Indianapolis, IN | 86.681
18. Dennis Beerley | Horsham, PA | 87.004
19. Nick Digironimo | Cinnaminson, NJ | 87.589
20. Cooper Kolb | Horsham, PA | 87.952
21. Nickolas Demattia | Portland, OR | 88.237

Teen U.S. Championship Races

After qualifying, the event moved in to the main US Championship races. First up was the A-Main Race to determine the US Champion and the top three drivers progressing to the World Championship. Then we ran the B-Main Race so to sort out the final standings for positions 26th on.

Concord’s Henry Martin Wins the Teen U.S. Championship!

In the A-Main race, Henry Martin of Concord, North Carolina became our Teen U.S. Champion, and won in style from pole position! Connor Wooten from Atlanta, Georgia had a tremendous race moving up from seventh on the grid to take the runner-up spot. And Logan Nealis of Addison, Illinois finished strong in third position to seal his progression to the World Championships.

Here are the final results from the two races:

A-MAIN RACE RESULTS:

1. Henry Martin | Concord, NC
2. Connor Wooten | Atlanta, GA
3. Logan Nealis | Addison, IL 
4. Jake Kriegisch | Thousand Oaks, CA
5. Evan Rivas | Salt Lake City, UT
6. George Gaston | Portland, OR
7. Andrew Bradbury | Concord, NC
8. Isaac Nelson | Portland, OR
9. Charlie Ropke | Buffalo Grove, IL
10. Matthew Frago | Richmond, VA
11. Liam Moga | Denver, CO
12. Rodolfo Garcia Muriel | San Diego, CA
13. Cody Hicks | Oxford, MI
14. Sawyer Kidd | Concord, NC
15. Cayden Wysong | Fort Lauderdale, FL
16. Mason Farmer | Fort Lauderdale, FL
17. Ronon Gitman | Indianapolis, IN
18. Ryan Desanto | Horsham, PA
19. David Eldik | Las Vegas, NV
20. Ana Palestro | Seattle, WA
21. Sherod Charity | Seattle, WA
22. Race Oliver | Atlanta, GA
23. Oliver Mockridge | Thousand Oaks, CA
24. Leyton Theiss | Canton, OH
25. Andrew Webster | Indianapolis, IN

B-MAIN RACE RESULTS: 

1. Luke Hugen | Denver, CO (26th)
2. Isaac Travers | Canton, OH (27th)
3. Zac Chaplinski | Boston, MA (28th)
4. Billy Elwell | Cinnaminson, NJ (29th)
5. Connor Johnson | Atlanta, GA (30th)
6. Colin Torres | Addison, IL | (31st)
7. Van Drugmand | Nashville, TN (32nd)
8. Brendan Boyd | Boston, MA (33nd)
9. Thatcher Loper | Orlando, FL (34th)
10. Matthew Campbell Jr | Boston, MA (35th)
11. Amelia Suell | Las Vegas, NV (36th)
12. Kaitlyn Rains | Austin, TX (37th)
13. Dillon Jones | Indianapolis, IN (38th)
14. Marcus Zhuk | Nashville, TN (39th)
15. Savannah Weber | Canton, OH (40th)
16. Dennis Beerley | Horsham, PA (41st)
17. Nick Digironimo | Cinnaminson, NJ (42nd)
18. Matthew Zhuk | Nashville, TN (43rd)
19. Nickolas Demattia | Portland, OR | (44th)
20. Nicholas Jones | Oxford, MI (45th)
21. Otoniel Figueroa | Cinnaminson, NJ (46th)
22. Cooper Kolb | Horsham, PA (47th – Did Not Start)

Teen World Championship Races

Immediately after the Teen U.S. Championship, the action continued in the Teen World Championship. The top three Americans: US Champ Henry Martin, Connor Wooten and Logan Nealis joined Puerto Rico’s Hector Nevares and Christian Velez to see who would emerge champion and claim the $10,000 top prize.

Teen World Championship Qualifying

The five teens went out on track for a 8-lap qualifying session. The three Americans were back on top again, yet this time, in reverse order: Nealis on pole, Wooten in second, and Martin in third place. But never discount Puerto Rico.

Here are the results from Qualifying and the starting grid for the Teen World Championship race:

1. Logan Nealis, USA, 81.178
2. Connor Wooten, USA, 81.295
3. Henry Martin, USA, 81.384
4. Hector Nevares, Puerto Rico, 81.771
5. Christian Velez, Puerto Rico, 82.574

USA’s Logan Nealis Wins the 2024 K1 Speed Teen E-World Championship!

He may have finished third in the Illinois State Championship and third in the U.S. Championship, but he finished first when it mattered most: Logan Nealis is our 2024 K1 Speed Teen E-World Champion! As a result, he’s not only walking away with the ultimate K1 Speed title, but will take home $10,000!

Finishing in a very strong second position after making moves on the track was Hector Nevares who put Puerto Rico back on the podium for the first time since Antonio Arias in 2019! He’ll bring some silverware and $5,000 back with him to the U.S. Territory.

And finally, our Teen U.S. Champion, Henry Martin, made sure he took home a second trophy and some money too with his third place finish, netting himself $2,500.

Here are the final results of the 2024 K1 Speed Teen E-World Championship:

1. Logan Nealis, United States
2. Hector Nevares, Puerto Rico
3. Henry Martin, United States
4. Christian Velez, Puerto Rico
5. Connor Wooten, United States

The Adult Championships

2024 K1 Speed Adult U.S. Championship

Just like our Teen event, the Adult Championships began with a track walk session before each racer drew a number to determine which race group they’d be a part of. Then, they also had their own Drivers’ Meeting before they took to the track for their 8-lap practice session.

Adult U.S. Practice Session

Two different groups took to the track for their practice sessions.

The Top 10 from Practice were as follows:

1. Liam Mahon | Daytona Beach, FL | 80.069
2. Garrett Manes | Richmond, VA | 80.079
3. Jon Eric Mills | Houston, TX | 80.157
4. Conner Greer | Nashville, TN | 80.676
5. Marcus Patterson | Indianapolis, IN | 80.852
6. David Haraldsen | Phoenix, AZ | 81.149
7. Xander Powers | Boise, ID | 81.182
8. Jack Lindner | Oxford, MI | 81.207
9. Nick Nicklas | Nashville, TN | 81.224
10. Roberto Soto Alberti | San Diego, CA | 81.235

Adult U.S. Qualifying Session

Like the teens’ qualifying session, adult racers were grouped based on their best lap time achieved in practice, thus the fastest racers were in Group A, and Group B.

And like in the teen qualifying session, racers’ best lap times determined not only their starting position, but which race they’d be in as well – A-Main or B-Main, with again, the fastest 25 racers would progress to the A-Main race which would decide which three racers were moving on to the World Championship as Team USA.

New Track Record Set By Liam Mahon!

Liam Mahon of Daytona Beach, FL took pole position, setting the fastest time of the event (and we believe the fastest time ever set at K1 Circuit in our OTL E-Pro Kart on that speed) with a blistering 78.915!

Here are the final results from qualifying:

A-MAIN RACE QUALIFIERS:

1. Liam Mahon | Daytona Beach, FL | 78.915
2. Jon Eric Mills | Houston, TX | 79.514
3. Jack Lindner | Oxford, MI | 80.219
4. Eric Sutcliffe | Addison, IL | 80.259
5. Xander Powers | Boise, ID | 80.267
6. Jayden Martinez | Carlsbad, CA | 80.874
7. Nick Nicklas | Nashville, TN | 80.924
8. Garrett Manes | Richmond, VA | 80.975
9. Brennan Spencer | Orlando, FL | 80.976
10. Marcus Patterson | Indianapolis, IN | 81.179
11. Cody Snider | Orlando, FL | 81.320
12. Roberto Soto Alberti | San Diego, CA | 81.329
13. Armand Deligny | Canton, OH | 81.336
14. Conner Greer | Nashville, TN | 81.431
15. David Haraldsen | Phoenix, AZ | 81.435
16. Willy Mulder | Portland, OR | 81.644
17. Rachel Hart | Canton, OH | 81.756
18. Jon Eichert | Nashville, TN | 81.841
19. Andrew Crosson | Dallas, TX | 81.863
20. Dustin White | Denver, CO | 81.878
21. RJ Concepcion | Cinnaminson, NJ | 81.913
22. Nathan Pokorny | Indianapolis, IN | 81.997
23. Joshua Dillon | Denver, CO | 82.225
24. Jeremy Brown | Atlanta, GA | 82.229
25. Steven Orellana | Corona, CA | 82.232

B-MAIN RACE QUALIFIERS:

1. Gabe Orlowitz | Boston, MA | 82.262
2. Elan Nadelman | Horsham, PA | 82.273
3. Ryan Dunn | Oxford, MI | 82.528
4. David Pontz | Canton, OH | 82.592
5. Hunter Herman | Las Vegas, NV | 82.692
6. Alex Smith | Cinnaminson, NJ | 82.892
7. Alexx Uranza | Austin, TX | 83.387
8. Myles Braxton | Seattle, WA | 83.646
9. lan Prehmus | Denver, CO | 83.673
10. Scott Howatt | Buffalo Grove, IL | 83.725
11. Riley Falkenberry | Indianapolis, IN | 83.781
12. Benton Blakeman | Las Vegas, NV | 84.457
13. Supannee Haraldsen | Phoenix, AZ | 84.766
14. Michael Harbin Jr | Cinnaminson, NJ | 88.733

A-MAIN RACE RESULTS:

1. Liam Mahon | Daytona Beach, FL
2. Jon Eric Mills | Houston, TX
3. Eric Sutcliffe  | Addison, IL
4. Garrett Manes | Richmond, VA
5. Conner Greer | Nashville, TN
6. Jack Lindner | Oxford, MI
7. Xander Powers | Boise, ID
8. Brennan Spencer | Orlando, FL
9. Jayden Martinez | Carlsbad, CA
10. Marcus Patterson | Indianapolis, IN
11. David Haraldsen | Phoenix, AZ
12. Roberto Soto Alberti | San Diego, CA
13. Armand Deligny | Canton, OH
14. Rachel Hart | Canton, OH
15. Nick Nicklas | Nashville, TN
16. RJ Concepcion | Cinnaminson, NJ
17. Joshua Dillon | Denver, CO
18. Steven Orellana | Corona, CA
19. Cody Snider | Orlando, FL
20. Jeremy Brown | Atlanta, GA
21. Nathan Pokorny | Indianapolis, IN
22. Willy Mulder | Portland, OR
23. Jon Eichert | Nashville, TN
24. Dustin White | Denver, CO
25. Andrew Crosson | Dallas, TX

B-MAIN RACE RESULTS: 

1. Riley Falkenberry | Indianapolis, IN (26th)
2. Alexx Uranza | Austin, TX (27th)
3. Alex Smith | Cinnaminson, NJ (28th)
4. Hunter Herman | Las Vegas, NV (29th)
5. Elan Nadelman | Horsham, PA (30th)
6. Gabe Orlowitz | Boston, MA (31st)
7. Ian Prehmus | Denver, CO (32nd)
8. David Pontz | Canton, OH (33nd)
9. Myles Braxton | Seattle, WA (34th)
10. Scott Howatt | Buffalo Grove, IL (35th)
11. Benton Blakeman | Las Vegas, NV (36th)
12. Ryan Dunn | Oxford, MI (37th)
13. Supannee Haraldsen | Phoenix, AZ (38th)
14. Michael Harbin, Jr. | Cinnaminson, NJ (39th)

Adult World Championship Races

Immediately after the Adult U.S. Championship, the action continued in the Adult E-World Championship. The top three Americans: US Champ Liam Mahon, Jon Eric Mills and Eric Sutcliffe joined their international competitors to see who would emerge champion and claim the $25,000 top prize. Their competitors were:

• Eldy Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
• Ernesto Armstrong (Puerto Rico)
• Elias Sostre (Puerto Rico)
• Tyler Illidge (Canada)
• Gobindar Sandhu (Canada)
• Christian Tyler Dadula (Canada)
• Sebastián Alvizar (Mexico)
• Iñaki Velasco (Mexico)
• Abraham Sanchez (Mexico)

Adult World Championship Qualifying

The dozen adult racers went out on track for a 8-lap qualifying session. And like the Teen event, the Americans led the way once again, with a slightly different order. This time Texan Jon Eric Mills claimed pole position followed by the US Champion Liam Mahon and Eric Sutcliffe starting where he finished the US Championship, in third position. Like the Teen World Championship, Puerto Rico had a driver in fourth waiting to pounce with the return of Eldy Gonzalez from last year’s competition. Canada’s Tyler Illidge gave his country’s best qualifying effort in fifth position, and Sebastián Alvizar gave Mexico it’s best starting place on the grid of seventh.

Here are the results from Qualifying and the starting grid for the Adult World Championship race:

1. Jon Eric Mills, United States, 79.364
2. Liam Mahon, United States, 79.569
3. Eric Sutcliffe, United States, 79.719
4. Eldy Gonzalez, Puerto Rico, 80.311
5. Tyler Illidge, Canada, 80.353
6. Ernesto Armstrong, Puerto Rico, 81.220
7. Sebastián Alvizar, Mexico, 81.358
8. Iñaki Velasco, Mexico, 81.590
9. Gobindar Sandhu, Canada, 81.908
10. Christian Tyler Dadula, Canada, 82.109
11. Abraham Sanchez, Mexico, 83.763
12. Elias Sostre, Puerto Rico, 84.151

USA’s Liam Mahon Wins the 2024 K1 Speed Adult E-World Championship!

Liam Mahon and Jon Eric Mills fought hard nose-to-tail the entire 8 laps but at the end of the day, Liam Mahon’s pass for the lead stuck and fresh off his U.S. Championship victory, took the 2024 K1 Speed Adult E-World Championship title! As a result, Mahon took home $25,000 – our biggest cash prize yet! And the podium itself was swept by the United States for a second consecutive year, with a repeat podium from our US Championship. This means Jon Eric Mills took home the $15,000 cash prize and Eric Sutcliffe took home $7,500 after a tight battle with Eldy Gonzalez the entire race distance.

Here are the final results of the 2024 K1 Speed Adult E-World Championship:

1. Liam Mahon, United States
2. Jon Eric Mills, United States
3. Eric Sutcliffe, United States
4. Eldy Gonzalez, Puerto Rico
5. Tyler Illidge, Canada
6. Iñaki Velasco, Mexico
7. Sebastián Alvizar, Mexico
8. Christian Tyler Dadula, Canada
9. Elias Sostre, Puerto Rico
10. Gobindar Sandhu, Canada
11. Abraham Sanchez, Mexico
12. Ernesto Armstrong, Puerto Rico

Be A Part of Next Year’s Adult & Teen U.S. / World Championship!

If you think you have what it takes to compete against the country’s and world’s best drivers from K1 Speed, then make sure you enter our Challenge GP leagues as often as possible! Drivers who finish in the Top 3 in the final standings of their Challenge GP league will move on to the State Championship. If you finish in the Top 3 of that State Championship in the Teen or Adult division, you’ll be invited out to K1 Circuit too! So learn more now about how YOU can be a part of it next year!