Top-10 Most Read Articles on CanadianKartingNews.com in 2014

It was a record setting year on CKN in 2014. Our website traffic continues to grow, our trackside presence grew as we added more events to our annual coverage and overall it was another fantastic year for the sport of karting.

There were many highs and lows to along with this year, with some headlines catching major attention, for good and bad. While champions were crowned and trophies were handed out, some of the most read articles this year had to do more with the risk involved in the sport and the inevitable.

Without further adieu, here are the 10 most read articles on CKN from 2014.

A Statement to the CKN Nation: It’s time for North America to take a page out of the Rotax Euro Challenge notebook

After taking a trip to Italy for the Rotax Max Challenge EuroMax race, we were very intrigued to help bring what has them a successful series back home to North America.

We struck a few nerves and opened the eyes of some but got the attention we had hoped.

New Karting Track in Saint-Celestin, Quebec Officially Opens!

Stephane Couturier and his family began a new project late in 2013, building a brand new karting facility in Saint-Celestin. The doors were officially opened in July to the new track and it appears to have its first competitive races slated for early in 2015.

CKN was able to check out the facility in August and while there was still lots of work to be completed, it will be a great place to race!

The new track in Saint-Celestine, Quebec

Flashback Friday: When Family Duos Dominated Canadian Karting

CKN Sidekick Neelan Nadesan reminisced about the ‘good ol days’ with his article about when family duos dominated Canadian karting. While these seem to part of the past it was a great read about some excellent memories that happened not too long ago.

Discussion: Should Canadian karting introduce a claim rule for Micro and Mini-Max?

Prior to the Canadian season starting we polled the CKN Nation about introducing a claim rule for the Micro-Max and Mini-Max classes to help keep the costs down and competition close. There was plenty of feedback and we were very happy with the response we got.

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Kart Racing Centre Takes on Exciting New Look

The facility was in need a much of a facelift and most of us knew it was coming. However most were caught off guard when Daniel and Marco Di Leo were announced as the new operators of the karting track at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (formerly Mosport). With the new crew, came the track upgrades with fresh asphalt, an adjusted layout and new buildings.

The news was followed up by the confirmation that CTMP will host the 2015 ASN Canadian National Karting Championships.

The CTMP Karting Centre received a must needed facelift at the end of 2014

Trailer Trouble Doesn’t Stop CF Racing from Attending Rock Island Grand Prix

The guys at CF Racing went for a wicked ride en route to the Rock Island Grand Prix as a blown trailer tire forced them into the ditch with their trailed tumbling behind.

The result wasn’t too pretty, but they never gave up as the trailer was put on a flat bed and towed to Rock Island so they could still compete in the unique street race.

The end result of the CF Racing trailer after a wild ride en route to Rock Island, Illinois

Taylor Gates Recovering After Scary Crash at ECKC Mosport

In only the second corner of the first race of the season for Taylor Gates, it all came crashing down as he soared through the air at Mosport in a very scary crash. He was able to walk away, but with a fractured foot that sidelined him for most of the season.

Taylor Gates took a wild ride as seen here

BRP Introduces the New Generation of Karting Engines – The Rotax 125 MAX EVO Series

While hosting their fifteenth annual Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Valencia, Spain, BRP Rotax announced the biggest update to their FR125 Rotax Max engine since it’s inception. The Rotax 125 Max EVO came after intensive testing and customer feedback and featured major upgrades to the engines components.

North America will roll out the engine into competition in April.

The new look of the Rotax Max EVO engine

CRG West Loses Team Trailer in Horrific Trackside Fire in Texas

The photos were shocking and the news shook us at CKN when we heard of a fire had burned down the tent and trailer of CRG West (now PSL West). In Texas for the SKUSA SpringNationals an electrical fire began what team owner Danny Kacic claims was the worst year of his life and made worldwide headlines.

While CRG West was able to continue on throughout the year, it wasn’t until seven months later that they were able to replace the trailer and rebuilt their trackside presence.

With the tough luck behind them, we wish the best to PSL West in 2015!

The CRG West trailer fire 

Update on the Condition of Ayrton Climo following crash at Le Monaco de Trois-Rivieres

It was a heartbreaking story to hear that American kart racer Ayrton Climo was hanging on for dear life following his practice crash at Le Monaco de Trois-Rivieres and it comes at no shock that this was our most read story of the year as everyone around the world prayed for positive news and updates.

While the road to recovery has been positive, yet long, Ayrton was transferred back to his home State in September and just before Christmas he was able to leave the hospital for the first time and go home for the holidays.

We hope to hear more positive news on his status in the New Year.

Ayrton Climo