Jim Berry’s Trutech Racing

CKNA racing in Camden, Ohio at G & J Kartway.

RLV a CKNA event sponsor sent driver Geoff Shaw and myself as mechanic & tuner to represent the VLR chassis.
We ran 2 classes each day. 206 senior heavy & 206 masters.
Friday was a very good day. Geoff hadn't raced since October 2021.
By session 3, we were at the top end of the speed charts and stayed the all day.
Running 2 classes put a fire under my shoes. We had to be on the grid every 30 minutes. We were both up to the task at hand.

Saturday Qualifying
2nd in Masters off pole
4th in Senior Heavy (mechanic went a bit to low with tire pressure)

Heat 1
1st in masters
1st in senior heavy

Heat 2
1st in masters
1st in senior heavy

Main
1st in masters
2nd in senior heavy

Sunday Qualifying
1st in senior heavy
1st in masters

Heat 1
1st in senior heavy
1st in masters

Heat 2
1st in senior heavy
3rd in masters (missed front end adjustment by 1/4")

Main
2nd in senior heavy (missed tire pressure by 1 1/4 lbs)
1st in masters (made tire pressure adjustment & narrowed front)

We worked and fought every moment every time we were on the track. This was no easy task. We had great support from the everyone in California. Jay & Sophia Storey, David Vasquez, Hot Rod & Art V.
We were an island in a sea of Coyotes, Eagles and others. This was an entire group/team win.
Thanks to everyone for your help and support.
Geoff and I had never worked together, but it seemed as though we had been team members before. Geoff lead all but 20 laps of the entire event. Great driving and perseverance by Geoff.
😊 😊

Another great time at round 3 of Tri-C racing.
Qualifying began very well for us.
Seth jumped over to help out Rod (RLV) & myself in 206 senior. He put it on the pole with nearly no practice.
New with us in KPV, Randy Sturgeon qualified 3rd.
100 cc masters saw Seth qualify 2nd & Pietro had traffic and managed 8th.
Matt McCoy in 100cc senior was 15th.

Heat 1
Seth fought for the win in 206, but was roughed up a bit and finished 5th.
KPV saw Randy hold his own for a 3rd place finish.
100cc masters was a battle for all, Seth holding onto 2nd, Pietro moving up to 6th.
Matt McCoy moving up 1 position to 14th.

Heat 2
206 senior saw Seth move from 5th to 3rd capturing fast lap easily while passing to move forward.
Randy in KPV struggled a bit on the start and dropped to 4th, but improved on his lap times.
100cc Masters was a war zone as usual. Pietro moved to 4th showing some speed.
Seth fought out a 2nd., only to fall in tech to a 1/8" to wide in the rear tire area.
Matt McCoy continued to move forward to 13th position.

Main
Seth in 206 senior was a battlefield again, ending up put of the race due to a pair of drivers making contact with nowhere to go.
KPV saw Randy continue working hard and maintaining his 4th place finish.
100cc masters. Wow, what a battle ground. Seth sat on the sidelines not wanting to receive any further rib soreness. So, the battle was left for Pietro. He battled back and forth rough rider Brian Phillipsen
for 3rd place, exchanging positions several times during every lap. Pietro made a near last corner pass to secure 3rd place.
Matt McCoy marched to a 11th place finish.
Nothing but great racing and great times for everyone in the Trutech Racing pits.

Thanks to Mike Smith, Derek Burris & David Dodson and Terry (KPV) Nash for all the help and hard A__ work they performed throughout the weekend. ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^

LAKC 4/9 – 4/10
Our team decided to run LAKC this past weekend for some extra practice and fun.
Although Saturday was a tremendous amount of extra work for the guys.
We were down 1 mechanic, David Dodson, he was in Arizona at a Rotax event.
Also Seth Willits is still on the mend with bruised ribs, but hopes to be back for the TRI-C event this coming weekend.
Derek Burris and Erick Day worked tirelessly throughout the day. They had to ready 2 karts while taking care of our team drivers.
Pietro was in good form on Saturday for fast lap of the group, Mike Smith getting in some driving
to ready himself for the California ROK Championships coming up next month was 2nd quick to Pietro.
Matt Steele was continuing to improve as the day/weekend progressed. Tyler Redman joined in the fun and had a great day with great improvement working with data/driver coach, Mike Smith.
With Saturday in the books, Warm ups and then qualifying began.
Mike put it on the poll with our new VLR engine, Pietro with a good 3rd place grid position, and Matt had a solid 6th place starting position.
Prefinal had Mike out front with Ronnie Swain & Pietro following close behind. Matt continued to improve and was working hard.
For the Final, Mike took the lead on the start, but had a line of drivers nose to tail hoping for a mistake that never came. Warren Kindberg, Ronnie Swain & Pietro Moro battled for that 2nd spot with Warren getting 2nd, Ronnie 3rd & Pietro 4th. Matt working closely with mike on data and driving made huge improvements in the final finishing 5th and within .2-.4 tenth’s lap times of the leaders.
So once again, great work from behind the scenes with Derek & Erick & Mike. Everyone stayed as we had a great time at the team Barbecue that Beckie Smith provided for everyone. This really is a group of great team members working together and smiling all day.

Jim Berry
March 24, 2022
Shared with Public
Well, round #2 at TRI-C is in the books.
We had another great time racing with TRI-C and our team as well as our associate team AGR.
Mechanic’s Derek Burris & David Dodson did a great good tuning on the chassis and keeping everything tight.
Mike Smith did his usual and gave great data and driver coaching to all of our drivers as well.
Seth Willits is healing from a cracked rib and couldn’t be with us this weekend, his smiles and hard effort were sorely missed by all.
Matt McCoy had an engine change due to broken reed at the last moment. He qualified in senior 14th with a great effort. In the first heat a slight problem with a broken steering hub bolt sent him to the side lines. A great bounce back in the final starting 28th, drove his way to a solid finish.
Matt Steele in his first TRI-c 100cc masters race qualified a solid 11th. Had a solid drive in the first and ended up in 8th. Contact in the final sent him back and fought his way to a good finish.
Pietro Moro solid day again. Qualified 6th and drove to a 4th place finish in heat #1. With the mains lengthened, it was a race to remember. Everyone fought hard and with a last lap pass on a great competitor Ostiguy, Pietro pulled out a great 2nd place finish.
Our associate team did very good as well.
Scott Grano had a good day qualifying 17th, driving up to 14th in heat #1, with a solid finish in the final.
Rocco Guarino had a solid qualifying in 14th, drove up to 9th in heat #1 and held his own finishing 9th in the final.
Alex Guiterrex, their team leaded had a very solid day. Qualifying 5th to start off. In heat #1 he drove to 3rd to set up the final. After a very hard-fought battle with points leader Brett Harrelson, he made a move in the hairpin at the end giving him the lead and a well-earned win.
As a group, we had tons of fun, smiles and another great day here in paradise at the racetrack.

Jim Berry
Feb. 21, 2022
Shared with Public
Things are always moving forward for us.
We started a new program this year,
We provide pit tent space, mechanics, data and driver coaching.
My mechanics are David Dodson and Derek Burris
Driving coach and data is Mike Smith
Our first TRI-C race was Saturday and our new drivers did very well for their first 2 cycle race.
Seth Willets qualified 5th and a 3rd place podium finish in the final. Raced all day with very sore ribs. He had to ice them down in between heats. A true competitor.
Pietro Moro qualified 3rd & had fast lap in heat #2 & a 5th place finish in the final. Fought hard all day and smiled always.
Mark Connell came out after 19 months off and did extremely well.
Qualified 16th and worked his way to an 8th place in heat #1, had a few overtaking issues in heat #2, but rebounded to a great 13th place finish in the final.
Matt McCoy joined us as well on Saturday and qualified 11th, after a slight coming together in heat #1 with other drivers he bounced back in the final to finish 14th.
Great shout out to David Dodson & Derek Burris for doing everything in the pits & of course, our driving coach and data guy, Mike (Cal Speed) Smith.
Our group laughed and enjoyed all day Saturday.
So I guess all is well in paradise

Mike Smith
Nov. 12, 2021
FINALLY got my edit done from the ROK Cup USA ROK Vegas race last weekend: https://youtu.be/a2n_bhCwXAM
If you run the "Hot Dog" fairing on the OTK, check out Surreal Motorsports camera mounts; fit perfectly, and is super easy to install: www.surrealmotorsport.com/shop
(Thanks A.J. Carter!)
Shout out to Emerson Thieman and Adam Kasick for the added footage, Jim Berry for the opportunity to drive and the epic power, Tom Nields for his non-stop work on the chassis, Greg Welch of Forward Direction Motorsports for the hospitality, Blake Craig of Tru Tech Racing Engines for the constant tuning advice, as well as Tim Shutt of Timmy Tech for the data work to help me find a little extra, or more accurately, back it off a little into the corners... 😛
Thanks also to Jay Braxton of Stilo USA for bringing me on board the Stilo Factory Pilot Program; The Stilo helmet is by far the lightest, AND most comfortable helmet I have ever worn, and I encourage everyone to try one on!
Last but not least, thank you to my wonderful wife Beckie Smith; she is the glue that holds me together on the logistics - can't do it without her!
Had a blast all week, and hope to give it a go once again in 2022!

Mike Smith is at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
Nov. 7, 2021
It's ROK Cup USA Sunday!
Have had a ton of fun racing with my buddies Matt Johnson and Adam Kasick this weekend, and looking forward to a fun 20 lap Final this afternoon.
After a pair of 2nds and a pair of 3rds in the heats, we will start 2nd in the VMI/PKX Redspeed ride, and hoping we can move up one spot by the end. Jim Berry and Tom Nields have been phenomenal on the spanners, but I also gave to thank Blake Craig of TruTech Racing Engines, Greg Welch of Forward Direction Motorspprts and Tim Shutt for the advice and data help. This is definitely a team effort, and I am just honored to be able to be a part of it.
Warm up around 1pm, and the championship race at 3pm; live timing via the ROK Cup USA app, or via https://rokcupusa.com/live-timing/
Wish us luck!

Mike Smith is at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
Nov. 4, 2021
Wednesday practice in the books, and just finished with the first of our final two practice sessions before qualifying this afternoon.
We have podium pace, but looking for a bit more to put the VMI/PKX #727 on pole and fight for the win this weekend.
The ROKCupUSA 2021 track is fun, and seems like it will race pretty well. Grip is slowly building, but thing can get a little hairy when you go offline with the debris and marbles. Hopefully a track blow will take care of that...
Huge thank you to Jim Berry for the opportunity and the power! Woo the power! He and Tom Nields are turning the spanners this weekend, and killing it. Thanks to Greg Welch and Forward Direction Motorsports for the hospitality, and of course my CalSpeed Karting family back home for holding down the fort while I am gone! And last but not least, Beckie Smith for being the absolute best wife period. She is such a huge part of these weekends for me behind the scenes; I would never want to do them without her!
Follow along via the ROK Cup USA app on live timing all weekend; we're running VLR Masters.