Thomas Nepveu and his team shine at Las Vegas. Pole Position and a Top-5 Finish in the Final

The 2021 season was an eventful one for Thomas Nepveu who changed teams and kart brands during the year. These decisions paid off this past weekend with two wins and a third-place finish in the qualifying races, the pole for the Final, and a top-5 finish after an all-out battle among the leading pack throughout the 24-lap Final. Thomas was able to shine throughout the weekend against more than 80 drivers entered in his class (X30 Senior), at the most prestigious karting event in North America, SKUSA SuperNationals 24 held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

The event held over five days allowed Thomas Nepveu and his team to tune his new kart to near-perfection with the assistance of Kart Republic, Kartsport North America, and the Trinity Karting Group: six practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, and a qualifying session at the end of the day on Thursday. The starting grid for the Sunday Final was determined by the accumulated results of three Heat Races (two on Friday and one on Saturday).

On track action

The six practice sessions held on Wednesday and Thursday were key to ensure a competitive rest of the event. According to Sporting Manager Coy Arbour: "The first two days of practice and the qualifying session were close to perfect for Thomas and the team. After working hard on the set-up and tire behaviour in the first practice sessions, we ended up fourth and then third quickest in the last two practice sessions, respectively 0,101 and 0,098 sec behind the quickest drivers in each session. We ended up 9^th in qualifying, after slightly misjudging the effect of drop in temperature and atmospheric pressure at the end of the day in the Las Vegas desert, which affected tire and engine behaviour. That qualifying result places us at the front of the grid for the two heats that will take place today (Friday) and the third heat tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon. We are not quite perfect yet, but our set up works great, and we expect to do well in the most important race in our 2021 season."

Three Heat races were then used to set the grid positions for the Final. These sessions allowed Driver Thomas Nepveu to secure pole position and post a fighting Top-5 finish in the Final. "I started Friday's Heats 1 and 2 near the front of the grid after qualifying ninth on Friday afternoon. The first few corners in Heat 1 were hectic but I managed to grab third position then concentrated on finding ways to go quicker yet in order to pass the guys in front of me. It worked as I moved up to second and then to first place for the last two laps of a close finish. The start of Heat 2 was not quite as hectic for me and I was able to grab second position until I grabbed the race lead on lap 5 and held on for a comfortable win after ten enjoyable laps on a great handling machine. This is our fourth event with the new kart and our team has worked hard to learn how it behaves in every condition, and our work on Wednesday and Thursday this week paid off well today. The kart was quick at the start as well as at the end of each race, which augurs well for Heat 3 on Saturday and the longer Final on Sunday. I started Heat 3 knowing that I would start the Final race on pole if I finished this last heat in 5^th place or better. The kart was strong, and I did not take any chances and finished in third place," explained Thomas Nepveu.

"The Final was a difficult race as I was able to stay with the lead pack for all 24 laps, but the kart seemed a little less sharp than earlier in the week. I needed for the guys in front of me to make a mistake but that never happened, and I had to fight hard to keep my 5^th place at the finish - not the result that we were shooting for!" declared the driver after the Final race. 

Despite the frustrating result, it was obvious over the past weekend that Thomas Nepveu was a much more mature driver than when he had started the 2021 season The skills and experience gained over 18 races in a single seater series with a professional team have clearly carried over into his kart program. With a new brand of kart and a tight, effective team lead by Sporting Manager Coy Arbour, Thomas Nepveu confirmed his potential on the way to a career as a professional driver.

This 2021 season was the most important so far in Thomas Nepveu's career, as he continued his development in karts while participating in his first season in single-seaters in the USF2000 series in the Road to Indy Program as part of the developmental series put on by IndyCar racing for young drivers hopefully on the way to a career in the IndyCar series.

Driving Instructor

Thomas Nepveu's personality and technical knowledge also make him an ideal driving instructor, capable of transmitting his knowledge while making the student and the family comfortable during these important and often emotionally charged moments. Thomas Nepveu began working with novices in the spring of 2019, when he was only 14 years old, and continues to do so for the BCR (Ben Cooper Racing) race team. Last winter, with he even helped some PSL Karting drivers at a track in addition to taking care of his own machine (track walks, debrief meetings after each track session).

Kart Republic

Founded in 2017 by Dino Chiesa, this Italian manufacturer has dominated kart racing at the international level since its inception. It quickly moved to American competition, taking its first win at the most competitive North American event, the Las Vegas SKUSA SuperNationals (1^st - X30 Senior class - Nov. 2018). The brand has recorded a multitude of wins since then and solidified its position at the top of the kart racing world.

2021 Thomas Nepveu Karting Schedule

Photo Credit: On Track Promotions

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Thomas Nepveu Career Path and Results

Born in Oka (Quebec), Thomas Nepveu has always shown a great interest in extreme sports, starting with small motorcycles on dirt tracks. He quickly moved on to karts first in the Montreal area, then on to provincial and national series in Canada, on to the United States, Europe and other continents. 

2020

• Single seater debut in the Mexican F4 series at the Autodromo de Querétaro, Mexico
• 1 victory and 2 podiums out of 3 F4 races
• Victory in the ROK Fest East series - Charlotte (NC) (ROK Senior class)
• 6^th out of 52 entries, one pole from 3 races in ROK Cup Florida Winter Tour
• 6^th and 1 podium (3^rd) out of 4 races in the SKUSA Winter Series
• 8^th and 2 poles out of 6 races in the SKUSA Pro Tour 

2019

• Transition to Rotax Senior class
• Canadian Karting Champion
• Canadian Shifter Open Champion
• Two top-5 finishes in the SKUSA Pro Tour (Senior class)
• Qualified for the Final in the WSK Euro Series (Sarno, Italy) 

2018

• US Open Champion
• 3^rd in the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour series
• 4^th in the Max Challenge class at the Rotax Grand Final (Brazil)
• 15^th in the CIK-FIA World Championship OKJ (Sweden)
• 5^th in the ROK the Rio (Las Vegas)

2017

• Transition year to the Junior class (12 to 16)
• 1st in the Florida Winter Tour (2^nd round)
• 2^nd in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship  

2016

• Debut with PSL Karting
• Youngest driver (11) on the Canadian Karting Team
• Champion in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship with 7 victories in 7 races, a first in this event
• Champion at the Mini Swift Super Nationals
• Runner-up in the Mini Max world championship
• Team Canada finishes first of 54 countries in the Rotax World Championships with Thomas Nepveu the top Canadian finisher in the Mini-Max class

2015

• Transition year (11 to 13 age group)
• Quebec Cup runner-up
• 4^th in the Eastern Canada Championship
• 3^rd in the Canadian Championship

2014

• Quebec Cup champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 3^rd in the Canadian Championship
• 3^rd in the Florida Winter Series (first podium for Thomas Nepveu in the United States)

2013

• Wins all Canadian championships in the 9-year-old class
• Quebec Cup champion
• Western Canada champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 6^th in the Micro Max class at the Rotax Grand Finals in New Orleans, Louisiana

2012

• First year in racing, in the Micro Max class, in Quebec and Ontario
• 5^th in the Quebec Cup