Intrepid North America wrapped up the biggest event in Canadian karting a week ago as a fourteen member squad contested the National Karting Championships in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. After a season-long Eastern Canadian schedule, a majority of the team were at the Jim Russell Karting Academy from Wednesday through Sunday in completing the National schedule for 2012.
“It was another great event at Tremblant and we were happy to have Intrepid North America representing in every Rotax Max category once again,” said Team Manager Marco Di Leo. “We certainly had some problems coming through the heats on Friday and Saturday, but many on the team were going in the right direction on Sunday. One bad heat had a number of us starting farther back than we would have liked, and maybe we just needed one more round! Still, it was a great experience for the young kids and the rookies on the team as well.”
By the end of Sunday action Matthew Barry and Xavier Harris were third and fourth in Micro-Max, Di Leo was fourth in Rotax Senior, and Tyler Kashak was fourth in Rotax Junior on the final lap until he was unceremoniously taken out. Multiple others were going forward in their fields, one among them Aleki Liverant, who was experiencing his first National Championship.
“The track was unbelievable!” he said of the famed Canadian venue. “It was a tough track, but incredibly fun, and had the most breathtaking views of any track I have been to. I was very happy with my qualifying performance to start, but I feel my heat races could have gone better. I had some mechanical troubles and driver errors that prevented me from moving up the order, but we were learning for Sunday.”
After qualifying P17 in a field of 27 on Friday, the first-year karter ran 18-17-23 in the heats to begin Championship Sunday in P21. He then advanced five spots in the Prefinal to sixteenth, then three more in the final to wrap up the week in thirteenth.
“The Prefinal and Final were some of the best racing I have had all year,” the Praga driver said afterward. “I moved up in both sessions, and by the last laps of the Final I was running times that were only a few tenths off the leaders. My two goals going into the event were to finish all the heats and get as close to the top ten as possible, both of which I accomplished. This year has been incredible for me. I have accomplished so much more than I thought I would by this point.”
Marco Signoretti also climbed into the top ten, finishing eighth after starting the day P17 among 29 Juniors, and Intrepid Quebec mates Francis Mondou and Dany St.Hilaire were each inside the top ten in sixth and eighth respectively. Intrepid North America now turns its focus to International competition, beginning with the Pan-American Rotax Max Challenge Championship Event to be held in Englewood, Colorado, and the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas, Nevada, to close the season.
*Team Facts: Intrepid North America is based at Goodwood Kartways in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, where drivers can progress from turning rental kart laps to world championships. The Intrepid North America race team represents the facility at National and International Championships like the Florida Winter Tour, Pan-American Rotax Max Challenge, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship and Canadian National Championships.
It has also had drivers contest the SuperKarts! USA SuperNationals, the World Karting Association Manufacturer’s Cup, the Rotax European Championship, the Rotax International Open Championship and the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals. Intrepid North America operates in conjunction with Intrepid Kart Technology, HRS Racing Engines, IMAF Racing Seats and Intremax.
Intrepid North America Team Results, Canadian Championships, Mont-Tremblant.
Rotax Micro-Max
Matthew Barry – 3rd
Xavier Harris – 4th
Rotax Mini-Max
Austin Riley – 15th
Rotax Junior
Marco Signoretti – 8th
Tyler Kashak – 13th
Rotax Senior
Marco Di Leo – 4th
Aleki Liverant – 13th
Bryson Schutte – 14th
Rotax DD2
Enrico Menotti – 14th
Matthew Di Leo – 12th
Rotax DD2 Masters
Francis Mondou – 6th
Dany St.Hilaire – 8th
David Nevin – 13th
Elvis Stojko – 14th
