A little bit about Cliff Kujala
For roughly 2/3 of his life, Cliff Kujala has been involved in the sport of karting. First as a driver, the Phoenix, Arizona native worked up the karting ranks and was among the top shifterkart pilots at his prime. Stepping away from the driver’s seat, Kujala gradually learned the ins and outs of the karting industry and has become a fixture on this side of the sport for the past decade.
Kujala first entered the sport as a driver in 1993, competing at the local and regional level. His first major victory came in the IKF Region 7 Junior Sportsman category at his first ever regional event. He steadily worked up the ranks as a driver, reaching the national level and the SKUSA ProMoto Tour. Cliff finished second in the SKUSA ProMoto Tour Western Division SuperPro Championship, ranked inside the top-10 to end the season. During his time in the seat, driving for KGB USA, he began working at the shop with Dan Ruth, preparing the race team karts and building CR125 engines – racing on his own powerplant in the SuperPro category.
In 2003, Kujala was offered the opportunity to work for CompCor Distribution as they became an importer of the Tony Kart and Kosmic brands. Cliff was brought on as the Technical Director for two years before the company closed down its karting operation. For Kujala, this brought about a new partnership with the Tony Kart factory, as he was named President of the new Tony Kart USA organization. The distribution was split into two organizations in 2008, and Cliff remained with the OTK Kart Group as he joined forces with Buddy Rice and the Tony Kart West operation. When Rice opted to move to Southern California in 2010, Kujala stayed home in Arizona and decided to start up his own company – Pure Karting.
From 2010, Kujala has built a strong regional program, focused on the OTK product line while providing one of the best trackside race teams for regional and national events. During Cliff’s work within the industry, he has coached and engineered for a number of top drivers in North America, and around the world – including Jason Bowles (2004 SKUSA SuperNationals winner), Joel Miller (2006 Stars of Karting ICA champion), David Jurca, Gustavo Menezes, Parker Thompson and Davide Foré during the 2004 Stars of Karting season. Today, Kujala and Pure Karting are working with tomorrow’s stars, along with weekend warriors, including himself, as he occasionally jumps back into the driver’s seat to drive with customers. Off the track, he’s keeping busy, as he and his wife Amy welcomed their son Payson James in 2012, and their second son Parker Chase in 2015.