2014 CKN Year in Review Awards: Rotax Junior Driver of the Year

For the second year in a row we present the CKN Year in Review Awards. We here at Canadian Karting News decided to create our own set of awards, all pertaining to categories we feel worthy and throughout the final weeks of 2014, we will highlight an award for categories such as Junior and Senior driver’s of the year in both the Rotax Max and Briggs & Stratton divisions, helmet design of the year, Canadian event of the year among many others.

To see the full list of awards and announcement dates, click here.

While these are all the opinion of CKN, you can let us know who you think deserved each award. Using the comments below each article, let us know who you feel was worthy of the award and a short blurb why you believe so.

**2014 Rotax Junior Driver of the Year**
2013 Winner: Jeffrey Kingsley

Nominees:

– Roman DeAngelis
– Cedrik Lupien
– Samuel Lupien
– Ryan Martin
– Gianfranco Mazzaferro
– Clay Van Eerd

Winner: Gianfranco Mazzaferro

It seems like forever ago when Montreal, Quebec’s Gianfranco Mazzaferro kicked off his season with a victory at the Florida Winter Tour all the way back in January. It was a great start to the sophomore season for Mazzaferro in Rotax Junior and while he was unsuccessful to keep up the form in Florida, the experience helped him simply dominate the competition when he returned to Canadian competition.

Kicking off the Canadian season with the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Mazzaferro won the first four rounds of the championship at Mosport and Goodwood. While he had a hiccup on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, a dominating performance at the ASN Canadian National Championships earned his second Canadian title in as many years and secured his position on Team Canada for the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.

A month later he confirmed the ECKC title with a pair of podium finishes in Mont-Tremblant before taking off Spain and the Rotax Grand Finals in November where he lead the Canadian contingent but came up just short of making the Final.

Gianfranco Mazzaferro had a stelar season in 2014, winning almost everywhere he raced in Canada. (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)