Hebner wins California State Championships

Grant Hebner won karting’s California State Championships in the Touch and Go Class during the 2006 Fallbrook High School graduate’s Thanksgiving Weekend break from Cal State University San Marcos.

The qualifying, heat race, and main event were all held on November 25 at the 0.7-mile, 14-turn Grange track in Victorville. Hebner won the TAG class for the second year in a row.

“Went very good, actually,” Hebner said.

The race itself might have gone well, but the preparation wasn’t easy. The holiday timeframe prevented Top Kart from giving factory support to its drivers, although before the disqualification of Steven Barros for a minor technical infraction the top three finishers all utilized a Top Kart chassis. Grand Products, which is the North American distributor for the Italian-based Top Kart chassis, also arranged for Hebner to obtain a Leopard TAG engine.

Hebner competed with a Rotax engine for most of the year. “We personally thought that the Leopard was going to be the best way to go, so we ended up buying one,” he said.

The Leopard engine was built by SwedeTech, and Hebner received it two days before the race. The Thanksgiving timeframe also made Hebner’s father, Bryant, the only crew member, so Bryant Hebner served as the mechanic for the weekend.

The engine was bolted onto the kart in time for the five Friday practice sessions November 24. “When we went on the track for Friday practice, the first two sessions we just broke the motor in,” Grant Hebner said.

While Hebner did not run at full speed during those first two practice sessions, he was still able to monitor the kart’s setup at lower speeds. “We could still get a feel for the way the kart was working,” Hebner said. “I was just running at really low RPMs.”

Hebner made his debut at full speed during the third practice session. “The whole entire day Friday we were just ridiculously faster than anybody else there,” he said.

Barros actually earned the fast qualifying lap during the morning qualifying session November 25 with a time of 56.367 seconds. Hebner qualified second with a time of 56.440 seconds. Hebner noted that his kart was set up for longer runs. “The first couple of laps my go-kart wasn’t the best,” he said.

The qualifying session involved one warm-up lap followed by two qualifying laps. The second-place qualifying time, however, still put Hebner in the front row to begin the ten-lap heat race.

Hebner soon took the lead over Barros. “By the third corner I was already in first place,” Hebner said.

Hebner remained in first for the rest of the race while Barros spent the duration in second. “He was on my bumper the whole entire race,” Hebner said. “If I would have made a mistake he would have gone by.”

Hebner finished with a time of 9:15.976 while Barros’ time of 9:16.139 was 0.163 seconds behind Hebner’s. “The go-kart was very consistent the whole entire race,” Hebner said.

Hebner also had the fast lap of the heat race, completing the sixth circuit in 44.740 seconds. “I just did the lap exactly perfect,” he said, noting that his kart held up for the remaining four laps.

Hebner began the 14-lap main event on the pole and got the jump on Barros. “It was just a good start,” Hebner said.

Barros stayed in second, closely behind Hebner. “We just kind of fell into line,” Hebner said. “He just stayed right there behind me the whole race.”

Hebner’s winning time of 13:03.194 was less than 1/20 of a second faster than Barros’ time of 13:03.242. “Steven was just on my bumper just the whole entire race, and he tried to pass me probably every other lap,” Hebner said. “It was a close race all the way to the finish.”

Barros was disqualified for a butterfly nut on the carburetor not meeting specifications. “It was a technical issue. It didn’t give him any advantage,” Hebner said. “I really have to give it to him.”

The disqualification gave Barros’ brother second place. Joey Barros finished 4.889 seconds behind Hebner. “We were leading the field by a good amount,” Hebner said of Steven Barros and himself.

Hebner also posted the fast lap of the main event, requiring only 56.272 seconds to complete the eighth lap.

Steven and Joey Barros were also Top Kart drivers in the race, giving the chassis maker a 1-2-3 finish prior to the disqualification. The fourth-place driver prior to the disqualification finished more than five seconds behind Joey Barros and more than ten seconds behind Hebner.

Hebner was sponsored by Dopamine, Fallbrook Auto Gallery, Go Karting, Grand Products, and Orbitaltv.com.