Latest News

Phil Arscott off to Italy!!! World Finals

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:54:08 -0700

Phillip Arscott who is one of the US top karting pilots will be joining Team America at the 2008 Rotax World Finals next month in Italy.

Running in Rotax Sr. Phil will compete against the best and he has a really good chance to kick some serious butt.

Joining him as his tuner will be Blake Choquer. With over 25 years of combined karting experience the two will finish very well and have there sites set on a top 10.

Check back often as I will blog our trip and post photos. Our journey starts on the 23 of November.

Stay tuned for updates.....Leaving for Italy November 23.

Parker Finsihes 9th at US Nationals

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 20:46:25 -0700

Congratulations to Parker Mckean at the US Rotax Grand Nationals where he finished 9th in the Minimax class.

At the beginning of the weekend Parker qualified in 15th spot and slowly moved his way up through the field.

Great job Parker on a solid drive. A great way to finish off in the Minimax class being in the top 10.

We also went and saw the opening game of the Green Bay Packers.

BBR Purchases Engine Dyno

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:09:29 -0700

In preparation for 2009 Blake Choquer has purchased a Land and Sea engine dyno to build a strong motor and engine tuning program.

BBR has been looking at dynos for the last couple of months. After struggling with engine problems last week in Calgary I realized the only way to have maximum HP and torque is through testing in a controlled environment.

In a few weeks our Dyno operation will be up and running and we will be offering our services at the track. Now you will be able to test your engine to get the specs as well as tune jetting.

All of this is for preparation for the 2008 US Rotax Grand Nationals.

2009 BBR Karting plans to build a Engine program specializing in 2 Cycle (Rotax, Tag, Jica) as well as World Formula.

I am very excited and I can’t wait for 2009. I have always wanted to focus on becoming a top engine builder and now I finally have all the tools to be successful. With our CNC shop the possibilities and endless. Watch out as we will be building some big HP engines and some pretty tricked out Carbs.

To find out more contact Blake Choquer from BBR Karting.

Robert Linse Wins at RoadRace Nationals

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:57:16 -0700

Congratulations to Robert Linse who had a very successful weekend at the 2008 IKF Road Race Nationals in Portland.

Robert walked away with a couple podium finishes in Tag and in the Rotax field.

Today he drove to victory lane winning a Duffy!!!!

Congratulations Robert for your win. Your efforts and hard work this season has paid off and it has really shown.

Great Success at 2008 4 Cycle Natioanls

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 13:39:01 -0700

Bryce had great success at the 2008 IKF US 4 Cycle Nationals. He ran in 3 classes and his performance in all 3 were amazing. He lead most of the laps in each race. It was a great weekend and allot of fun.

World Formula Lt (Wednesday)

After qualifying 3rd, Bryce got into 2nd in the Prefinal right behind the leader Taylor Daynes. However during a red flag incident as the leaders slowed down Bryce bumped Taylor breaking his tie rod. The officials would not let him repair his kart and re enter the race so Bryce had to start at the rear of the field for the final.

Starting in 10th for the final Bryce used his magic and by lap 3 took the lead of the race passing the whole field. As the 16 laps counted down Bryce had the win in his sights. On the last lap Tristen Orcin tried to make a pass causing contact. The two went off track and Taylor took the lead and win. Bryce regained control finishing an impressive 2nd after starting last. It was a great race to watch and super exciting!!!

World Formula (Thursday)

Bryce started 3rd in the Final and on the green flag he took the lead and never looked back. He had a 2 car gap the whole race ahead of Tristen. With only a couple laps left something went wrong and Bryce’s engine seized. It was so sad to see, cause it looked like Bryce had the win in his sights.

Animal (Friday)

With the help of Marty Racing Engines he built us a Animal (alcohol) engine to compete on the last day. With zero practice time we headed into qualifying. The Arrow Chasssis performaned flawlessly as well as the engine and we took the Screaming Eagle Pole Award by only a few hundredths of a second.

Bryce was so excited getting the screaming Eagle and it was a great accomplishment.

In the final Bryce started 3rd behind Deven and Taylor. A few laps into the 16 lap final Bryce took the lead and lead til the 13 lap. Deven made the pass to regain the lead and on the last lap Bryce trailed in 2nd. Bryce attempted to make the pass heading down the back straight but Deven took the defensive line. With only 2 corners left Bryce made his patent move that we practiced 3 weeks earlier in testing and took the lead.

Heading onto the main straight Bryce had the checkered flag in his sights, Bryce pulled out to block Deven but he got a clear gap. It was a drag race to the end. Unfortunitely Bryce lost by 1 foot. The closest and most exciting race I had ever seen. Congratulations to Deven!!

It was such a great weekend and I am so proud of Bryce and his driving. Everyone was so impressed with his driving. Thank you to the Josephsons, Schornes CMC, Marty for all your help and support.

www.kartingstar.com

Bryce Choquer Competes at the 4 Cycle US Nationals

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 13:32:29 -0700

In a last minute decision and some support from a few sponsors Bryce will be competing at the 2008 IKF US Grand Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

Bryce will be competing in the Jr. 2 World Formula Lt, Jr. 2 World Formula Heavy and Jr. 2 Animal Class.

Bryce will be driving the 2007 Arrow 4 Cycle chassis powered by a CMC World Formula.

Stay tuned to find out results and news from the Nationals. It is going to be a great, fun event and we expect to do very well. Along with Bryce we will be working with Markus Josephson who is running the World Formula Sr. classes.

www.kartingstar.com

Bryce Choquer Wins @ Saskatoon GP

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 13:22:24 -0700

Bryce Choquer turned some heads this past weekend at the 2008 Western Canadian Rotax Championship after his domininant performance in the Rotax Jr field.

On Wednesday Bryce unveiled his new 2008 Swiss Hutless Toxic chassis. It is a 30/32mm frame. The SH looks amazing and the components are all very nicely machined.

For the rest of the weekend it was smooth sailing. On Saturday Bryce qualified Pole by almost 2 tenths. In the Pre-Final he took the lead and never looked back. In the Final Bryce pulled away from the field never looking back. The new chassis worked flawlessly and was so responsive to the changes we made.

Bryce is now the points leader of the Rotax Western Challenge heading into the last race in Calgary later this month. Stay tuned to see if he will be claimed the Champion and head to the 2008 Rotax World Finals.

www.kartingstar.com

Jeff Bachelo Dominates Western Canadians

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 13:14:49 -0700

Jeff Bachelo has set the pace for the first rounds of the Western Canadian Championship dominating the Canada Sr. field.

Jeff has led every single lap @ CartBC and the Saskatoon GP. His dedication, experience and pure speed hasn’t been matched yet.

CartBC
Pole
Prefinal Win
Final Win

Saskatoon
Pole
Prefinal Win
Final Win

Blake Choquer is Jeff’s driving coach and chassis tuner on his Arrow 4 Cycle chassis.

Congratulations Jeff and Keep up the Great Work.

Mojo D2 Warning

Mon, 19 May 2008 19:35:09 -0700

Last Friday I was informed that there have been some faulty D2 tires. The faulty tires have a cut in the side wall almost like a giant razor sliced through the tire. If not inspected the tires will still hold air, but once driven on completely de-laminate.

Out of the 10 sets I had this weekend I came across one faulty front. Before you mount a set push on the sidewalls and the crack will open up. It is very clear if you have a faulty tire.

I don’t think this is a big problem and I haven’t heard of any problems in the states yet. A couple faulty tires were found in Montreal too.

KF1 Finals - Lonato, Italy

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:04:42 -0700

Here is the WSK Final from KF1 in Lonato. This is a wicked video. The track is fast. I wouldn’t mind racing in that series.

Click image to open Link.

Rotax World Final Chassis Released

Tue, 6 May 2008 10:13:17 -0700

Bryce Wins Tag Jr. and Rotax Jr.

Mon, 5 May 2008 23:21:33 -0700

Rotax Jr.

This past weekend Bryce Choquer competed at the IKF Goldcup in McMinnville, Oregon. Right from the start Bryce started off strong in Practice setting the fastest pace.

In a last minute decision Bryce also entered in Tag Jr. to compete against the Italian Motor Leopard drivers.

In Rotax Junior Bryce qualified pole and from there he never looked back winning all three heat races and the final. He ran some unbelievable lap times in the final at 40.54.

Bryce dedicated his Rotax win to KJ Mckinster.

Tag Jr.

In Tag Jr. it was an uphill battle the whole weekend. Bryce qualified 5th in the field and in the heat races he had some great battles with the Leopards and pulled off a couple top 5 finishes.

In the final Bryce’s consistency paid off and and slowly he moved up from 5th place into the lead to take the win.

It was a great weekend, and it was so exciting to see him walk away with two wins. Congratulations Bryce on two amazing races.
McMinnville Gearing

Rotax Jr. 12/70
Tag Jr. 12/71
Rotax Sr. 12/74

Heart Rate Testing w/ GPS

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:26:31 -0700

Garmin is one of the industry leaders when it comes to GPS and training products for atheletes. Garmin is now setting it’s sights on the racing world. This year I have teamed up with Garmin to help develop solutions to incorporate our heart rate into the whole data analysis package.

Currently on the kart we have all this Data that tells us our engines rpm, lap times, water temp, etc. All of this information is very beneficial but it is leaving out one of the most important aspects... the driver.

Ask yourself how do you know if you are driving at your peak performance? Are you in the zone every single session? Up until now you probably never even thought about, but now that its on your mind, imagine fine tuning yourself to reach optimal heart rates lap after lap.

The heart never lies and in fact our personal performance can be directly linked to it. In preliminary tests data has shown when a driver is in the zone he is more consistent and his times are faster. When his heart rate is too high we saw slower lap times and fatigue. In one test the data showed it took 2 laps to get up to our target heart rate.

Forerunner 305

Right now I am currently using the Forerunner 305 for testing and it is very impressive. It has GPS and a heart rate monitor. With multiple screens you have access to pace, speed, heart rate and overall times. If you like you can also view your location in GPS mode.

The Software is what is important to us, because it interprets all the data. Garmin Training Center and Motion Base allow you to look at your rate, compare it to time, distance, speed and also give you the capabilities to play back your session.

The Future

Where I think the future lies in monitoring our heart rate while driving is to incorporate this data into the AIM files for Mychon and Race Studo Analysis. Having the two forms of data merge would be a great step towards understanding the human performance on track relative to lap times and consistency. You could break down each lap and visually see what your average heart rate is, find the spots where your maximum is and fine tune yourself in that section of the track.

This is the goal. Hopefully one day soon you will get the chance to see your heart rate in Race Studio 2.

Rotax Grand Nationals - USA

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:25:34 -0700

The 2008 Rotax US Grand Nationals will be held at theUSA International Raceway facility located in Shawano, Wisconsin, just 35 miles west of Green Bay.

The raceway is 30 feet wide and over a mile long, and the fifth-mile oval has 35 foot corners and a six foot elevation change from one side of the track to the other. The land where the track sits has gentle slopes and some severe elevation changes like a 20 foot and a 15 foot ravine.

After looking at lap times I am guessing times will be about 1:15.00 which is crazy and going to be very exciting to see. The track looks amazing.

Here are a few videos of the track. Check them out.

Parker Mckean Ready To Go

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:09:55 -0700

This past weekend Parker Mckean tested at CartBC to get ready for the upcoming IKF Goldcup Race in McMinnville, Oregon May 2-4.

Parker is one of the strongest Minimax drivers I have ever seen and he is currently leading the Northwest Rotax Challenge and has set his sights on the 2008 US Grand Nationals.

On Saturday Parker practiced with Bryce Choquer in a Rotax Junior setup. The two worked on racecraft and passing. On Sunday it was all business in testing Minimax and getting the kart and Parker dialed.

Stay tuned to find out how Parker does this coming weekend in Oregon...

Braydon Ouellet 2008 DD2 Campaign

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:12:04 -0700

Braydon Ouellet wil be running the 2008 Western Canadian Rotax Challenge in both DD2 and the Rotax Senior classes in hopes of making it to the Grand Finals in Italy later this year.

Braydon is the 2006 Canadian National Champion in Rotax Junior and represented Team Canada at the Worlds in Portugal.

This weekend Braydon will be practicing with Blake Choquer at CartBC and getting ready for the first race of the year 4 weekends away. Its going to be an exciting year and keep an eye on Braydon.

Bryce Wins - Rotax Challenge #1

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:54:09 -0700

It was an emotional day after the loss of KJ McKinster, one of Bryces closest competitors just a few days ago.

It was the first BC Rotax Challenge race of the season and Bryce Choquer was ready to go. On Sunday he skipped qualifying and started in the back of the 8 car field.

In less then two laps he had the lead and never looked back. Bryce won the prefinal and final race. At the trophy ceremonies Bryce dedicated his victory to KJ McKinster.

Bryce’s next big races will be the McMinnville Goldcup in 2 weeks and the first round of the Western Canadian Rotax Challenge in 4 weeks.

www.kartingstar.com

In Memory Of KJ McKinster

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:48:35 -0700

Today we lost one of the Northwest's upcoming junior drivers. KJ McKinster passed away in a racing accident at the Tri Cities IKF Goldcup. KJ was among the best of drivers and he had a great personality off the track.

KJ always walked around with a big smile and he was always a pleasure to talk to. Having the oppurtunity to have raced against him it truly wont be the same without him at the track.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the McKinster family as well as Mike.

We will miss you KJ.

Kart Works Gear Calculator

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:15:50 -0700

Finally it has arrived. The software that will revolutionize karting is available today. What is it? Well lets just say if you are caught at the track without it, victory lane will seem even farther away this year. Here is the down low on the Kart Works Gear Calculator that myself and John Kine have been working on and developing for the past 5 months.

The GearCalc program will help you choose the best possible gearing for your driving ability. The best possible gearing will enable you to run average RPM's that will result in your engine producing maximum horsepower and torque for a maximum percentage of each lap. This is achieved by using your engines optimum Target average RPM's in your calculations using GearCalc which in turn will provide you with the best possible gearing choice.

This Target Average RPM's should be available from your engine manufacturer. It is also available from data acquisition devices such as MyChron. As your driving skill improves you will increase your average RPM's thus allowing you to reduce your sprocket size which will yield faster lap times. The GearCalc software will help you choose optimum gearing as your ability and times improve.

It is important that the data used: Lap Times, Actual Average RPM's, Tire Circumference and Track Length be as close to actual as possible. The best aid in getting accurate data is an effective data acquisition device (it will supply Actual Average RPM's, Maximum Horsepower and Torque RPM's (Target RPM's) and Driving Line Track Length).

Mychron RPM Cable

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:35:45 -0700

There is nothing worse testing at a track, posting some fast laps coming in to look at the data and have error’s on the rpm.

The last couple of weeks with races and testing we have come into a couple problems with not picking up rpm’s.

I always thought you just clip that piece on the ignition wire, but this diagram shows you how to do it right.

No more error’s on RPM now.

AIM Lambda Test

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:13:09 -0700

Saturday I decided to hit the track and try out our latest addition to the Mychron 4 analysis system. Currently we are using the Mychron 4 with GPS system and I must say it is very impressive.

About a week ago I never even knew what the AF Lambda sensor was or what it did. So I did a little research to get the details on it. Turns out this is the closest were going to get to having a Dyno at the track. The Lambda sensor reads the Air to Fuel ratio in the Exhaust system. I installed it on my Rotax Sr. package.

A couple key setup notes that we have to take into consideration. In my carb I was running the new floats with P1 on the needle and a 158 main jet. Very lean if you ask me. I was running VP MS98 and Motul 800 2T.

Going into the test I always believed that the Rotax is over jetted and figured we could be running Jets from 152-158 on the West Coast.

Now the point of the Lambda is to see the consistency in AF ratio from low end rpm ranges to high rpm’s. A perfect ratio is 1.00. If the Lambda reads above 1.00 it is lean. If it reads below it is rich. Now the 1.00 is a baseline. You can find a certain AF ratio ex: .89 that is the sweet spot for the motor producing maximum HP, but we wont get into that information.

Test #1
I hit the track and a baseline lap time was 53.20. The Engine felt good and I was watching the Lambda reading around the track. The bottom end was perfect reading in from .90-1.00. However on the top end on straights the Lambda would read as high as 1.68. As soon as I hit rpm’s above 12,000 the Lambda would go above 1.00.

I came in and made a quick jet change to a 165 main jet. I went back out within 5 minutes and right away I noticed a difference on the Lambda during the straights. I dropped the reading at top end to 1.23. Surprisingly I could feel a difference on the straight as well for power. My times dropped 1.5 tenths as well.

I later got into more complex testing with Fuels and carbs but sure enough the data from the Lambda is so helpful. For me it just really helped re-assure what I was feeling on track.

With so many variables of chassis and engine setup we can mistake problems in the kart for weak engine performance. This really helps eliminate that.

Bryce Choquer New Website

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:03:50 -0700

Bryce Choquer the young gun from the west is proud to announce his new website www.kartingstar.com

Now you can keep track of one of Canada’s top drivers and all of his news during the 2008 Season.

The new website looks great and has lots of up to date pictures from Bryce’s last race in Tri Cities.

www.kartingstar.com

Robert Linse is Speed Racer

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:31:30 -0700

Robert Linse’s first senior race was last weekend in Tri Cities and it was a great race to remember.

Robert qualified in 4th place only 2 tenths behind the leader. Robert had some major speed throughout the weekend and it was great to see.

Robert consistanly finished in the top 5 all weekend with finishing as high as 3rd in the heat race.

In the final Robert had some tough battles and fell back to 10th. Although it wasn’t the finish we were looking for his strong performances throughout the weekend were very impressive.

Roberts next race is three weeks away in Tri Cities for the first round of the Goldcup.

Danny Buecker Starts Season Off Strong

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:44:31 -0700

Danny Buecker kicked the 2008 Season off with a 3rd place in the opening round of Northwest Rotax Challenge.

Danny who is only 15 years old turned some heads as he podium in his first Rotax Senior race. In the final Danny lead the early laps of the race and had a good battle against two of the Northwest best drivers Joey Mcguire and Carl Skerlong.

Danny’s next race is three weeks away in Tri Cities for the first round of the Goldcup.

Bryce Dominates Tri Cities Until Final

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:08:22 -0700

This past weekend Bryce Choquer competed in the opening round of the Northwest Rotax Challenge.

Right from the start Bryce showed his speed and was the one to beat. In the heat races Bryce won all three with having at least 2 tenths a lap in the race.

In the final Bryce and KJ (off pole) got inverted for poor starts and starting third at the green flag Bryce moved up to P1 within a lap. After lap one he had already a one kart gap on the pack.
His speed couldn’t save his battery terminal from staying on, and he had to pull off track. By the time Bryce got it plugged in again he was half a lap behind.

It was evident Bryce was the fastest kid, but sometimes a little luck can make all the difference. It was a good start to the season and Team BBR is ready for 2008.

Deicing a Carb - Rotax Tip #123

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:18:09 -0800

14 years I have raced karts, and the past weekend testing I saw something very unique.

Never in a million years would I have expected to perform deicing procedures as on your typical commercial airliner. Yes, its true. It was so cold at the track, the carbs on the Rotax were freezing and getting covered in Ice.

Inside the carb, the cold damp air was collecting oil particles and the frost was turning pink. The outside temperature was 0* Celsius.

I couldn’t even adjust any of the externals including the idle screw, air screw or remove the slide cap.

Pretty cool if you ask me.

Blake’s Blog - SuperNats and World Finals

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 19:26:12 -0700

Blake's Blog Online

In November when Blake Choquer and the rest of Team Canada head to Dubai for the 2007 Rotax World Finals. You can visit Blake's Blog every day as there will be updates and pictures all about the racing, the lifestyle, foods and just cool stuff Blake sees.

Visit and save Blake's Blog as a favorite. You dont wanna miss the action.

www.kartingstar.com

Blake’s going to Dubai - Rotax World Finals

Thu, 1 Nov 2007 20:58:46 -0700

Congratulations Blake Choquer for the winning the 2007 Western Canadian Rotax Challenge. Blake dominated the series from the start with 3 straight wins out of the 6 race series. At the final round in Calgary Blake set a new track record on the saturday and in the final was looking for the lead. Unfortunitely a loose battery wire caused Blake some engine problems and he managed to finish 5th. Blake has won the Western Canadian Rotax Challenge 4 years in a row 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004!!

"It was a great feeling knowing that I was fast all weekend, and even though I had a bad battery connection I was so excited to know I was going to Dubai. Nothing else mattered. After being in Portugal at the World's in 2006, we have a better understanding of the preperations before we head to this year's worlds. Not only that I know what to expect and I am confident that I will post some great results in Dubai. I am looking for a top 10 finish!!!!

Blake would like to thanks his Mom and Dad for all there love and support. Blake would also like to thank Maxjet.ca - Ron Arsenault, BBR Karting and Wrench 2 Win DVD's and also BRAC Systems - Dennis Yasar.

Blake’s Heading to the US Nationals

Wed, 1 Aug 2007 21:02:41 -0700

During the week of August 22-25 Blake Choquer will be at the 2007 US Grand Nationals in Colorado and will be wrenching for Dave Lehmann of Kart O Rama in the Rotax Masters class.

This will be Dave's first time at the US Natioanls for Rotax. Dave has been karting since the day he was born, because Dad Jack Lehmann has one of the oldest kart shops in the world.

Dave's most recent National title was winning a Duffy at the IKF US Grand Nationals. Blake brings 13 years of karting knowledge from the most elite levels as well as extensive knwoledge in data acquisition. Most recently Blake has joined Maxjet.ca and will be working with them in the near future. "It should be a great weekend and with Dave driving I think we can achieve some good results"

Congratulations Danny

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:05:24 -0700

On July 13-15 Danny Buecker competed in the 6th Northwest Rotax Challenge race in Canby Oregon, also known as Pats Acres.

Heading into the weekend Danny was leading in points, and in qualifying on Saturday Danny posted the 3rd fastest time behind Marcus Joespheson and Phillip Orcic. In the first heat everyone stayed in line, and nobody switched places. However, come sunday morning Danny stepped it up big. In the prefinal he was on fire, and had a big battle between the two front runners. After about 8 passes back and fourth Danny came out on top as the winner. In the final we saw another great battle for the lead. Once again it came down to the last lap. In the end Danny couldn't get the lead and had to settle for 2nd. Overall it was a great weekend and good practice for the upcoming US Rotax Grand Nationals. Danny is the top guy from the Northwest who will be heading to the Nationals August 14-18. Best of luck Danny!!!

Blake Choquer was Danny's mechanic and driver coach for the weekend. We had a great time slowly improving on our performances. Danny was driving very consistent which made it great for getting the best setup possible. Danny is looking strong heading into the Nationals, and he is definitely a guy to watch for.