BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — AEM Karting of Illinois and Performance Racing Development (PRD) of Colorado are proud to announce a new partnership that will give West Coast and Rocky Mountain karting talent an inside opportunity to race under the AEM tent at premier LO206 and KA100 events in the East plus supply OTK chassis and AEM-tuned engines to PRD’s growing driver development program that focuses on the Colorado Karting Tour (CKT) and other events in the West.
AEM’s focus in 2023 will be following national KA and 206 series including USPKS, Stars and CKNA, and PRD drivers will have the opportunity to race with a leading OTK-backed team in AEM Karting and take advantage of the top-level equipment and tuning resources at their regional programs.
“We feel this will be a great teaming to give PRD’s up-and-coming karters an opportunity to race with the best while expanding AEM’s reach out west,” AEM Karting co-owner Mick Gabriel stated. “James Sullivan and Brian Clark’s PRD is a growing driver development program and they share very similar goals and focuses as we do at AEM. The partnership should be a win-win for everyone involved, and give karters on the regional scene in Colorado a chance show their talents on the national stage in the East.”
PRD Managing Partner and Senior Driving Consultant James Sullivan echoed Gabriel’s thoughts on their new program.
“We’re both proud and excited to announce our new partnership with AEM. This partnership enables PRD to bring OTK chassis supplied by AEM and powered by the unmatched engine performance of AEM race tuning to Colorado and our racing series in the state. Get ready for a new breed of performance in Colorado as well as exciting new opportunities for drivers to step up and perform at the highest levels of karting with the best equipment available.
“This program will enable our local talent to compete at a national level and also bring national-level performance to our state and local series,” Sullivan added. “We cannot wait for the season to get started and we are beyond excited to be able to partner with the AEM team to make it happen,” Sullivan added.
PRD’s James Sullivan —
Sullivan is a multi-time karting champion in the Centennial State who in recent years has raced and done well at many national events in the East.
AEM Karting is led by Gabriel, a four-time CKNA North champion with a long resume of 2-cycle and 4-cycle karting wins and championships. The 25-year-old Illinois standout recently scored his first CKNA Grands win in October at New Castle in the headline Senior Medium division. Mick and his dad, Mike Gabriel, co-founded and co-own AEM Karting with Chris Surdenik.
For more information on the new AEM-PRD partnership, contact PRD’s James Sullivan at jsullivan@prdcolorado.com or AEM at info@aemkarting.com / 630-863-7898.
PRD is on Instagram at @prdcolorado and AEM is at @aemkarting on Facebook and Instagram.
AEM’s most recent karting accomplishments —
2022 CKNA Grands Champions
2022 USPKS 3rd Place
2022 CKNA Grands Pole Sitters
5x CKNA North & South Champions
2022 USPKS KA Podium
2022 Florida Winter Tour Winners
2022 WKA Grands Winners
2022 Route 66 KA Podium
2022/2021 Stars Winners
2022/2021 Route 66 Winners
2021 Rock Island GP Winners
2021 Daytona KartWeek Winners
2021 Tillotson Team USA
2021 Daytona KartWeek x2 Winner
AEM Karting still has tent space open for upcoming big races in Florida including Dec. 17-18 Sunshine State Karting Challenge at Homestead, WKA’s Daytona Sprint Championships Dec. 28-30 and CKNA’s Winter Nationals at Jacksonville Jan. 6-8. For information, contact AEM at info@aemkarting.com / 630-863-7898. Visit AEM’s official website at aemkarting.com.