Interview: Kart Racer Larry Kurpiewski
We talk to a regular kart racer about the Yamaha and GE Superstars of Superkarts race at the Red Bull USGP
By Chris Jonnum
If you’ll be at the Red Bull United States Grand Prix on Saturday, July 9, then you’ll be in for a treat. That’s when the Yamaha and GE Superstars of Superkarts race will pit legendary motorcycle road racers Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Doug Chandler, and Kevin Schwantz against each other in 250cc twin-cylinder, two-stroke shifter karts. Also on the track will be regular kart racers, and we figured we’d speak with one of them—55-year-old Larry Kurpiewski, a self-described “club racer that also runs with the big guys” about what to expect. Larry, a 40-year veteran whose son Ryan will also be on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track that weekend (they comprise Team Idaho Superkart), was happy to oblige.

RRX: Larry, what’s this race going to be like?
Larry Kurpiewski: Well, this is really a race that Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey got started. They’re the ones that got us into Laguna Seca three years ago, and it’s been the best races in the world, really. They started it and got it going, and it’s called the World Superkart Challenge. Now there’s another series going on that’s racing us at other tracks, and that’s going under the name U.S. Superkarts. But World Superkarts is what was started at Laguna, and Eddie and Wayne were really responsible for getting that going. It’s just a one-race thing every year, and the U.S. Superkarts Series is a six-race series. It’s an east-west thing, with a total of three races in the east and three in the west, and then a year-end race at Road Atlanta in November.

This Laguna thing is a thing separate, on its own, and it came out of the World Superkart Series. We were getting entries to Laguna Seca from Australia, New Zealand, England, France, so it’s a great thing. It’s a little bit smaller than that [this year], because I understand there’s only 30 of the twin-cylinder 250s that are running, where before it was roughly 30 twin-cylinders and 30 single-cylinders—all 250s. Most of them were two-cycles, but there were a couple 450s four-strokes running in the 250 single class, and they were very fast—at the front of the singles, and some of them were even up into the top 10 of the twin-cylinder speeds. You can hear them from a long ways away. You know when they’re around you.

How well known is the Laguna race in the karting world?
It’s very, very well known. A lot of guys from the 125 shifter series that are running sprints have been there, invited to run different karts and stuff … There’s been a lot of stuff all over the world about Laguna. It’s a world-renowned track. The first race, we ran there was with the Winston West cars, and the last few races at Laguna have been with the American Le Mans Series. It’s worked out really good. The karts have been faster than all but the top class in the American Le Mans Series.

People say driving shifter karts is similar to driving a Formula 1 car.
Yeah, Formula 1 of course is quicker, but you’re right, because of the reaction time. They go through the corners a lot faster than most of the cars do, and the feel is like open-wheel car racing.

Who are the top American drivers in kart racing?
I would say Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey are definitely the ones. J.R. Osborne, out of Colorado, is really good, and Johnny West, out of the Chicago area, is really fast. Kyle Martin, who is a known karter from the 125s, has done really well too. [All three will be racing at Laguna.] We’re not as fast as some of these guys. We usually end up mid-pack, but hopefully we change that this year.

So Lawson and Rainey would be considered to be among the top guys in the country in kart-racing?
Oh, absolutely. They’ve taken what they learned in bike racing and applied it to karts. They approach it as professionals. You go down there, and they can tell you exactly how to drive each corner. They know the gearing, and they’ve practiced and tested there. Wayne lives very close to Laguna, so they’ve track-tested there a lot. But it doesn’t matter where they go; they’re both really quick.

So Wayne isn’t hampered much by the fact that he has to use a special kart that’s entirely hand-operated?
Not at all. No, you can’t tell the difference between him and another competitor—other than he’s better than most of them! [laughs] If I had to put my money on somebody, it would be Eddie. Eddie and Wayne have both really helped karting, with the people they know from bikes and stuff. They brought a whole new professionalism to karting. I mean, I’ve been in it a long time, and our stuff looks good and runs good, but it’s just not quite to the edge that Wayne and Eddie love. And yet they help their competitors. If you’re having a problem, you go over there and talk to them for a minute, and they usually help you out of your problem. They’re great competitors, and that’s the thing about karting; almost everybody helps everybody. I had a welder in my pits at the last Laguna race, so I helped a lot of people keep their karts running.

What’s the ultimate goal of a young racer in karting?
Well, like me, I stayed in it, just because there’s nothing you can run for the price that is as fast. You get a lot of track time in a kart, and like you said, it’s the closest thing to Formula 1 that you can get. That would be my goal, to be a Formula 1 racer—of course I’m way too old; I’m 55 years old. My son’s too old, too, and he’s 31. But we both enjoy it, racing each other … Karting is a good place to prepare for car racing, because it takes good reactions. You’ve got to be really smooth to be fast. Look at the Indy 500 this last weekend. That Danica Patrick lady came from karting. That was where she started, and that’s where a lot of them start—Brian Herta, Scott Pruitt, and then of course all the Europeans and Brazilians started in karts. Karting is much bigger in Europe and Brazil than it is in the U.S. [The Laguna race will field racers from Australia, the U.K., Denmark, and France.]

Anything you’d like to add?
It’s going to be a good race. The karts are going to be very competitive, and there will be races going on everywhere [on the track]. Everybody I’ve talked to in the pits at Laguna just loved to watch the karts race. They just can’t believe the way they come through the corners, and the way they brake.

I’m looking forward to it. Thanks, and good luck.
Thanks, and see you at Laguna.