Hebner gets first IKF win

Grant Hebner obtained his first-ever International Karting Federation (IKF) win on February 5.

Hebner won the Touch and Go class main event at the California Speedway Karting Facility in Fontana after taking the lead in the 16th lap of the 20-lap main event.

“I was very surprised at how well we did,” Hebner said. “I had no idea that we would do so well.”

The first International Karting Federation Region 7 races of 2005 took place February 5-6 after a February 4 practice. Hebner raced in the HPV-3, or 100 cc dry clutch, class in his first February 5 race and followed that with his race in the Touch and Go class. The TAG division runs 125 cc water-cooled engines with a dry clutch and an electric start. Hebner also participated in the Senior Superbox class February 6 after his family brought the Yamaha 100 cc wet clutch engine out of storage and bolted it onto his kart the night before the race.

The races were the first since Hebner switched from a Haase chassis to a CRG. PCH Motorsports, for which Hebner drives, switched to the CRG chassis but allowed drivers to retain the Haase chassis if they desired. Hebner opted for the CRG chassis. “We tested them and they worked really good,” he explained.

The rest of the PCH team is using the CRG chassis, so the switch also increased the compatibility. “It made sense to run it, also,” he remarked.

PCH originally stood for Pacific Coast Haase, but with the switch from the Haase chassis to the CRG model the team is now simply called PCH Motorsports.

Hebner, who added a fourth-place Senior Superbox finish to his TAG win, considers the new chassis to be a key in his initial 2005 success. “When we were in the Haase chassis we really didn’t have anyone to set up the go-karts,” he noted of his 2004 season. “It was a learning process all year.”

This year Hebner has added engineer Travis Irving to his crew. “He sets them up so I can go fast, and he was a big part of winning that race,” Hebner remarked.

Hebner and Irving have known each other since Hebner’s early days of kart racing. At the time Irving was working for one of the other competitors, and when Hebner was pitting next to Irving’s team he needed assistance. Irving answered the call. “He helped us out and we just clicked,” Hebner noted.

Hebner began the competitive portion of the weekend by qualifying second in the HPV-3 class with a time of 43.619 seconds on the 5/8-mile, 14-turn track. Hebner then took his qualifying lap for the TAG class and earned the pole with a time of 42.397 seconds.

In the HPV-3 heat race, Hebner finished sixth. “It’s really hard to pass on that track,” Hebner said. “I made a couple of mistakes in trying to pass some people.”

Those mistakes caused Hebner to get passed himself, costing him those positions in the 12-lap heat race. “I just really didn’t drive a smart race in HPV-3,” he opined.

Hebner considered the HPV-3 race to be a learning experience. He fared considerably better in the 12-lap TAG heat race, battling for the lead throughout the race and finishing second.

In the 20-lap HPV-3 main event, Hebner was regaining the positions he lost in the heat race before a mechanical failure forced an early exit. Despite not finishing, Hebner earned 12th place for the race.

Hebner began the TAG main event on the outside pole. On the first turn, the Fallbrook driver was trapped by a car to the right, allowing the third-place driver to get by Hebner. “I didn’t have anywhere to go,” Hebner explained.

That forced Hebner to pass two drivers, and the move into second place was better accomplished sooner than later. “I wasn’t trying to be real patient with that,” Hebner said. “I couldn’t let the leader get away.”

After five laps Hebner was in second. The pass into first place wasn’t as urgent a matter. “I really waited and was really patient for the right moment and made sure he couldn’t get me back,” Hebner explained.

Hebner had time to study leader John Crow. “I really tried to pace myself and see where I was gaining on him and he was gaining on me,” Hebner noted. “I watched him for many laps and saw exactly where I was faster.”

Hebner waited for Crow to make a mistake. “When he did, I took advantage of it,” Hebner said.

The 16th lap in which Hebner took the lead was late enough in the race that Crow was unable to regain first place. Hebner hung on for the victory. “It was an awesome race,” he remarked.

Hebner wasted little time in thanking his crew for the victory. “I would really like to thank my father for all his support, Travis Irving for his expertise setting up the kart and helping me with my race craft, and Wes Phillips for all his help coming to terms with the new CRG chassis. Also Randy Neal of PCH Motorsports for giving us all of us such a fantastic opportunity to excel,” he said.

In addition to Bryant Hebner, Irving, Phillips, and Randy Neal, the PCH crew also includes Jake Neal, Jeff Pesner, and Jonathan Wright. Alex Sanner is not part of the PCH crew but provides Hebner’s engines and was at the track that weekend.

Irving is regarded as one of the country’s top Yamaha drivers, so the Senior Superbox race was a chance for Hebner and Irving to race each other. Irving qualified on the pole while Hebner qualified fifth.

After the qualifying session, the track was hit by rainfall. The rain shortened the Senior Superbox heat race to eight laps and the main event to 16 laps, and it also forced the crews to switch to rain tires prior to the heat race. Hebner had practiced in the rain last year during a Stars of Tomorrow race weekend in British Columbia but had not previously raced in the rain.

In the heat race Irving lost the lead when he spun while Hebner finished third. The rain continued between the heat race and the main event.

Hebner took the lead in the main event but spun. “Just went into a corner a little too fast and spun out,” he explained.

Hebner rejoined the field in mid-pack and worked his way to fourth by the end of the race. “It was a great race, especially in the rain,” Hebner said. “I actually did very well in the rain to my surprise.”

The race was also Hebner’s first Superbox race at the IKF level.

Irving earned bragging rights by finishing second. “I was beating him until I made a mistake,” Hebner noted.