What a ride it has been CKN Nation! This years CKN Summer Tour has been a blast and we are slightly disappointed that it has to come to an end this weekend with our final Canadian event of the season. It feels like we kicked off at SH Karting only a few weeks ago, when in fact is has been almost five months.
We head back to the beautiful Jim Russell Karting Academy in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec only three weeks after the ASN Canadian Championships to settle the score and determine 18 new champions; 9 for the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship and 9 for the Coupe du Quebec. Needless to say, Sunday’s podium ceremony will be a busy one.
We aren’t quite sure what to expect this weekend in terms of entries as the final event of the year has shown some significant drop-off in years past but with a handful of the championship races still up for grabs, the usual suspects in each division are sure to be in attendance.
The weather forecast for this weekend is remarkably different from the Canadian Championships. Friday morning drivers are waking up -4C and the cool temperatures are expected to stay all weekend long. Rain in also in the forecast for both Saturday and Sunday but thankfully the temperatures are expected to rise back up into the high teens by the time the rain arrives. Whatever the weather presents this weekend, drivers will need to be on their toes and prepared to adjust.
Check out our ECKC Championship Previews:
| Briggs & Stratton Junior, Senior & Masters | Rotax Micro, Mini & Junior |
| Rotax Senior, DD2 & DD2 Masters |
A couple major story lines highlight the news as we arrive in Mont-Tremblant.
To begin with, Rotax Junior driver Cedrik Lupien has withdrawn from this weekends event and thus forfeited his position in both championships. Lupien was involved in a practice incident on Thursday while testing in Mont-Tremblant, resulting in a broke wrist. He entered the weekend as the championship leader in the Coupe du Quebec as well as second place in the ECKC, a position that would have earned him an invitation to join Team Canada at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Spain.
The karting silly season has begun as we hear of a couple driver/team adjustments. Notably Rotax Junior driver Thierry Cote will suit up with SH Racing aboard an FA Kart after spending the season with PSL Karting on a CRG. In Rotax DD2, Austin Riley will make his debut in the category aboard an Energy Kart moving up from the Junior category. Elvis Stojko is another driver who has made a team adjustment, albeit he won’t be competing in Tremblant this weekend. Stojko has joined the Maranello North America team and will debut at the Rotax Pan American Challenge in a months time.
PSL Karting has grabbed a few headlines this weekend with the addition of a major international star. Belgian driver Max Timmermans will make his Rotax Senior debut on a CRG in Mont-Tremblant after a very successful season in Europe with the Strawberry Racing TonyKart team. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the CRG chassis and if he can give Zachary Claman DeMelo and the remaining Rotax Seniors a run for their money. Making his third Canadian start of the year, Dutchman Milan Dontje is back with PSL for another start in Rotax DD2.
Speaking of Rotax DD2, we very well could have the largest turnout of the season this weekend for the category. Notably additions include KMS duo Pier-Luc Ouellette and Ben Cooper, who are both making their first ECKC starts of the season. American Michael Illavia makes his second ECKC start of the season with his J3 Competition outfit as well. With Jeff Kingsley and Fred Woodley going head-to-head for the title, this weekends DD2 action will be exciting!
Our CKN Live page will be active this weekend with live timing, however the chat will only feature our social updates.
If you can’t be in Tremblant this weekend, CKN is the place to be as we highlight all the action and the crowning of all 18 champions!
Finally, if you took part in any of our CKN Summer Tour events this year keep an eye out for our next contest. We have some excellent prizes available to be won and the details will be announced next week as to how to win them. **Hint, think of your favourite CKN Summer Tour moment.
