Jean-Francois Lafontaine Proves Unbeatable in Briggs & Stratton Senior

Entering the Briggs & Stratton Senior National Final, Jean-Francois Lafontaine (KMS/Birel) was the only driver to remain unbeaten through every official session as he earned the SuperPole and won all three of his heat races, easily earning the preferred pole-position. As the largest class of the weekend, the fences were full and it was standing room only in the grandstands as everyone wanted to catch a piece of the excitement.

A solid push from Steven Szigeti (SH Racing/FA Kart) helped move Lafontaine to the lead and once the dust settled through the first lap, Darryl Timmers (PRO/Intrepid) and Pearce Herder (Karts & Parts/Awesome Kart) advanced up to third and fourth, with Herder quickly moving up from his eleventh place starting position. Michael Glaze (DMR/FA Kart) and Simon Belanger (SH Racing/FA Kart) made it a six-kart lead train and the race was on.

Szigeti played a smart strategy to push Lafontaine to try and break the draft early, but it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen as Herder pushed Timmers to keep the gap at a minimum. Things ran equal up front until Herder moved to second at the halfway point, bringing Timmers with him and sending Szigeti back to fourth.

The excitement continued at the front four shuffled positions but Lafontaine quick to regain the lead position whenever he surrendered it.

As the laps counted down, Szigeti blew past Timmers for second and he brought Glaze with him, as Herder was doing all he could to setup a pass on the leader.

But the pass never came as Lafontaine drove a flawless defensive line and Herder fought off a hard charging Szigeti. A little last lap mayhem saw Szigeti fly off the track in corner fourteen and regain on the track in corner sixteen just as the lead two went by. Lafontaine took the win, his second National title in a row while Herder had to settle for second. Timmers elevated back up to complete the National podium while Glaze and Belanger completed the top-five.

Weekend Results

All smiles on the Briggs & Stratton Senior National podium. (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)