2015 ECKC Preview: Rotax Micro Max

Season six of the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship is upon us and we here at CKN are very excited! Over the next three days we will break down all nine official ECKC classes utilizing a fun new format. For each category we have selected three drivers we think are championship favourites, three drivers who could play spoiler and one rookie who we feel could make an impact in their first campaign in the category. 

Kicking things off, Wednesday features all three Briggs & Stratton classes followed by Junior Rotax classes on Thursday and the Senior Rotax classes on Friday leading up to all the action at Goodwood. We will be trackside all weekend bringing you all the action on the site and our social networks. 

Micro-Max

Once again there is a promising young crop of drivers competing in the Rotax Micro-Max division while three of last years top runners have moved up, we will see a group of fresh faces racing for the top step of the podium. The youngest category competing at the ECKC has developed some great talents over the years.

Ben Cooper Racing Teammates Justin Arseneau and Dale Curran Jr. will be the drivers to beat in Micro Max this year. (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

The Favourites

Justin Arseneau:
Arseneau is the only driver in the class who has won a race in ECKC Micro-Max competition. Last season after he had a stellar run in wet conditions in Mont Tremblant to close out his season with a win. Early this year Arseneau switched teams as he went from PSL to the newly branded Ben Cooper Racing operation on the BirelART chassis. Thus far, Arseneau has already competed in the Florida Winter Tour championship where he walked away with a few top ten results in hand. Then a few weeks ago at SRA Karting Arseneau took the win at the Coupe du Quebec race in another rain filled affair.

Dale Curran Jr.:
Dale Curran Jr. is another driver who competed in the Florida Winter Tour during the Canadian off season. While down there Curran made the final in each round and kept on improving his results. Once back in Canada the family decided to make the switch to Ben Cooper Racing and BirelART where he was on pace with new teammate Arseneau almost immediately. With Goodwood Kartways being Curran’s home track he could be able to pull off the win after taking the checkered flag at the CRFKC race last weekend.

Ryland Duesburry:
Duesburry is one of the guys in the class who didn’t do much racing at the ECKC championship last season but this year he is ready to play with the big boys and he too competed in the Florida Winter Tour championship where he has gained some valuable experience. This year Duesburry has been one of the top drivers in the TRAK and MIKA championships in the class and he won the first race on the newly reconfigured Mosport Kartways track, along with his multiple podiums at Goodwood this season.

The Spoilers

Austin Boyle:
Everyone’s favourite Boyle has come a long way since he started karting a couple years ago. With constant improvement on the track the young driver pulled off his first win at the opening TRAK race this season. Since that win Boyle has been a contender for the win at every race he has competed in. Unfortunately Boyle won’t be running the complete championship this season and he will only be looking to take the win this weekend.

William Michaud:
The young French Canadian driver is back for another year of racing this season. While he may not have been one of the fastest drivers on track in previous years he was consistently running around the top five. This year Michaud has already competed in the Coupe du Quebec opener where he had the fastest lap in the final at SRA showing he has the speed to be at the front. If Michaud can put himself with the fast group of drivers he might be able to be the spoiler and bring home a couple wins and possibly even the championship.

Adam Moor:
Adam Moor raced a few big races last season in the Micro Max category as he was coming to terms with the Rotax Max category. This season Moor was off to a good start in his Karts & Parts prepared CRG after racing with the top three drivers at the CRFKC race at Goodwood this past weekend. With consistent improvement throughout the year Moor could be battling for wins bythe end of the season.

The Class Rookie

Gabriel Savoie:
Savoie is a going to be a new face to many of the drivers competing in the ECKC championship this year. Joining SH Racing this past winter Savoie has been determined to get up to speed as quick as he can, putting in countless hours on track and the improvement has showed at each race he has competed in. It will be interesting to see how far that progression leads him this summer, but hopefully he can be another driver battling up front for wins in Micro-Max.

Don’t miss the rest of our ECKC Class Previews this week, only on CKN!