British Columbia’s Jason Leung has become the first Canadian karter to win in the IAME International Series after taking victory this past weekend in Belgium.
Taking to the amazing circuit of Mariemburg, Leung only managed to qualify fourteenth on Friday among the 56 competitors in the X30 Junior category.
However, from there he progressed forward and saved his best for Sunday. Ranking ninth after the heat races, in which he closed out with a second place finish, he once again pushed forward in the PreFinal. Advancing four spots to fifth, Leung earned a key starting spot on the inside row for the Final.
Exiting the first corner, Leung was third and he didn’t wait long before moving up to second, following his KR Racing teammate on lap three. At the halfway mark, Leung made a move to the lead on the main straight and it triggered a major battle for second place. Leaving his competitors to fight, Leung drove off into the distance and scored the race win.
Highlights of the race can be watched below.
“The race weekend was difficult since I qualified 14th overall but in the heats I made sure I stayed consistent with high finishes to get us a top-ten start for the prefinal. I believed for the whole weekend we had a shot for first since we had the pace,” explained Leung.
“It felt amazing as I haven’t had a victory in a while and to win in such a big event with drivers from all over Europe it felt like I truly accomplished something.”
Leung will be back in action in the IAME Euro Series, hoping to defend his championship points lead, when round two takes to the track in Castelletto, Italy on May 23-26.
