Features
2018 CKN Year in Review Awards – Part 2
Happy New Year CKN Nation!
We hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season and just like us, is excited about the upcoming karting season. The break won’t last long as we will be travelling south soon for the Rok Cup Florida Winter Tour, which kicks off in Miami in just two weeks. We’ve also got a good feeling we will be seeing the schedules for the 2019 Canadian season released in the coming days.
To wrap up 2018, we’ve compiled our annual CKN Year in Review Awards. While it’s impossible to include everyone, these awards are our way of noting the hard work, effort and performances of drivers that stood out from the pack to us, at the races we attended and/or covered.
We hope you enjoy them.
Hard Luck Driver
Nominees:
Davide Greco, Brennan Taylor, Coltin McCaughan, Jamie MacArthur, Marco Signoretti
2018 Winner: Marco Signoretti
Throughout the year, there are a number of hard luck instances that leave a driver wondering ‘what if?’ after having the chance at victory snatched out of their hands.
Our Hard Luck Driver of the year goes to Marco Signoretti after a couple of unfortunate events at Mosport Kartways this summer. In the third round of the Champion Ron Fellows Karting Challenge, Signoretti and Jon Treadwell had built up a points lead that put them in a race of their own, that is until the Final rolled around and Signoretti wasn’t on the grid.
With Ontario under an extreme heat warning, and Signoretti racing, working for his Energy Corse racing team as well as coaching some of the young drivers until the team tent, the heat got to him and while walking to the grid for the Briggs Senior Final, his body collapsed from heat exhaustion.
His fellow competitors were kind enough to allow the next class to hit the track and give Signoretti some time to recover, but he made the smart decision to sit out the race and ultimately surrender the championship.
Two months later, back at Mosport, Signoretti was vying for the Rok Senior Canadian Championship. He qualified on the pole-position and after some crazy weather, was starting the Final from fourth on the grid, a great spot to have a shot at the win. But his chances ended only moments after the green flag flew. The two drivers on the front row, Zachary Claman DeMelo and Ryan MacDermid, fought hard heading into the first corner and made contact. As he watched it unfold in front of him, Signoretti had nowhere to go but into the accident and then the grass, taking away any chance he had at not only the race win but the Pfaff Kartsport Cup as well.
As one of the most versatile Canadian drivers in the sport right now, we can’t wait to see what Signoretti can do in 2019.
2017 Winner: Jordan Prior
2015 Winner: Fred Woodley
2014 Winner: Cedrik Lupien
2013 Winner: Kevin Monteith
Mechanic of the Year:
Nominees:
Tom Allen, Chris Black, Taylor Gates, Lou McCaughan, Tony Ploder, James Treadwell
2018 Winner: Tom Allen
An award I am challenged with every year. There are so many mechanics from coast to coast and each and everyone has made an effect on the driver or drivers they work with. This year I was really impressed with the number of fathers who turned the wrenches on their kid’s karts and that has led to me in selecting Tom Allen as the 2018 recipient.
Tom helped his son Townes to the Western Canadian Karting Championship in the Rotax Junior category. The WCKC utilized an engine raffle this year, meaning Tom had a little extra work to manage each race weekend, but he did it in stride and the pair drove home the title in the final race of the season. This earned the opportunity of representing Team Canada at the Rotax Grand Finals, and while most first-timers to the event hire some extra support, Tom stepped up and together, the pair raced their way into the Grand Final, something most Junior drivers do not achieve in their first trips to the ‘Olympics of Karting’.
An honourable mention goes out to Lou McCaughan, who following the WCKC finale in Chilliwack, BC, drove straight across the country with the kart in the back of the pickup truck, so his son Coltin could compete in the Rotax Canadian Open.
2017 Winner: Wesley Schindel
2015 Winner: Brian Bettencourt
2014 Winner: Alex Louet
2013 Winner: All Mechanics
New Helmet Design of the Year
Nominees:
Ayden Ingratta / Censport Graphics, Jordan Di Leo / Lone Palm Design, Justin Luik / SMART Race Paint, Robert Soroka / Censport Graphics, Jen Gray / Lone Palm Design, Teddy Sin / Oktane Visual
2018 Winner: Ayden Ingratta / Censport Graphics
I love this award, but it challenges me every year. There are so many nice helmets in the sport now and some incredible painters to thank for them. Their countless hours and passionate efforts make many drivers stand out a little more on and off the track.
This year’s winner comes from the paint booth of Tyler Cenarussa of Censports Graphics. His work on Ayden Ingratta’s new helmet was phenomenal and following the gold Sebastian Vettel replica that Ingratta was previously using, had his work cut out in order to top it. He did just that. The helmet featured a number of different candy chrome colours and accented elements. Topped off, Tyler stencilled in a Star Wars graphic on the back to cater to Ayden’s request. All in all, it is a piece of art that should be placed in a trophy case in the near future.
2017 Winner: Michael Glaze / Lone Palm Design
2015 Winner: Ryan MacDermid / Savage Designs
2014 Winner: Kellen Ritter / Censport Graphics
2013 Winner: Austin Boyle / Polen Designs
Check back in tomorrow for Part 3 of our annual year in review awards!
