Article by: Crawford Kilpatrick.
What a finish to the 2016 Ottawa-Gatineau Karting Championship! Round #8 went off without a hitch, with 30 racers participating in our Briggs & Stratton Novice, Junior, Senior, and Masters categories including the final of the OGKC’s Rental Kart Championship. We couldn’t have asked for a better day – it started off warm and threatening rain in the morning; however, the rain stayed away and it made for a great day on the track.
The Novice category has been a quiet one this year, but we are working on trying to attract additional racers to this category next year. At Race #8, Samuel Spurling had a great day staying at the top of the timesheets through both Heat races as well as the Final. Brayden Ghosen, who had his first kart race ever today, did a great job out on the track and took second place. Le Circuit Quyon, the home track of the OGKC, is looking at some options for next year that could bring the numbers up in this category. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting news!
Novice
1. Samuel Spurling
2. Brayden Ghosen
The Junior category was close close close and fast fast fast, with the Juniors racing on the track at the same time as the Seniors. It was great entertainment, to say the least! In the Final, Paul Hoffman had a fantastic drive in his Margay Brava, crossing the line over eight seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Vincent Lamothe, also in his Margay, drove hard to take a really strong second place – enough for him to clinch the overall 2016 OGKC Junior Crown. Great job Vincent!
Junior
1. Paul Hoffman
2. Vincent Lamothe
The Senior category was extremely close for the second and third steps of the podium. Charlotte Lalonde had established an insurmountable ten-second lead in her Margay over the following pack, and finished off the year in style with another victory. Second place in Race #8 went to Shane Findley in his Birel from the Lombardy Kart Association, who was closely followed over the line by LCQ regular Henry Knox in his first year racing with a Ricciardo Kart.
With the Race #8 results tabulated, Charlotte Lalonde has been confirmed as the overall 2016 OGKC Senior category champion, with Henry Knox in second, and Jamie Hynes taking the third step of the podium. Congratulations Seniors!
Senior
1. Charlotte Lalonde
2. Shane Findley
3. Henry Knox
The Masters category was a rough and tumble affair, with several drivers challenging hard for victory. James Dunn (Margay Racing), who has been strong all year, finished the year in style with a start-to-finish victory. For much of the race, James was closely pursued by Mike Forget; however, with only a few laps remaining, Mike was unable to get his kart to the finish line. Second place went to Crawford Kilpatrick in his Margay Brava. Third place went to Darren Mallette, celebrating his first podium of the year – better late than never Darren! With Race #8’s results calculated, Mike Forget has been confirmed as the 2016 OGKC Masters champion! James Dunn takes second overall, missing out on first by only nine points. Rounding out the top three overall is Crawford Kilpatrick. Great job Masters – next year is going to be a good one!
Masters
1. James Dunn
2. Crawford Kilpatrick
3. Darren Mallette
In the Rental Kart Challenge series, the racing was very competitive amongst the 10 participants. Guy Bélisle took the lead right from the start, and was hounded throughout the entire 15-minute race by Jason Chen. Michèle-Ann Sauvé took third position just a few seconds back from Jason, narrowly holding off Peter Dunn who had a great race to finish fourth. Jason Chen did just enough to clinch the overall rental kart championship, with Michèle-Ann taking second, followed closely by Guy Bélisle.
Rental Kart Challenge – Race #5
1. Guy Bélisle
2. Jason Chen
3. Michèle-Ann Sauvé
The overall championship results can be viewed here.
Congratulations to all the racers on an incredible season! Seventy-six racers participated in one or more races in our five categories throughout the 2016 season. Karting is alive and well in Canada’s Capital Region – we are really looking forward to 2017!
Stay tuned for more information about the end-of-year enduro scheduled for Sunday, October 2nd. Everyone is invited to participate in this great event which will see teams composed of both experienced competition-kart racers and karting newbies competing for the overall endurance crown!
