While most of Eastern Canada’s kart racers will either be competing at Mosport Kartways or Circuit ICAR, a few have opted to take on a different karting challenge this weekend, the USAC Karting Battle at the Brickyard, including one driver looking to add another title at the feature event.
The Battle at the Brickyard is a once a year opportunity for karters to race on a temporary circuit set up inside turn four at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the same speedway that hosts the prestigious Indy 500, Brickyard 400 and previously was the home to the F1 United States Grand Prix.
The organizers know how big of a deal it is to host an event at the ‘Racing Capital of the World’ and thus they treat their racers to a special weekend. It includes a pace lap of the full 2.5-mile speedway itself, where all of the karters suit up and lap the track in a 5-wide formation on Friday evening after Qualifying. Other special events are scheduled throughout the weekend, including movie viewing and concerts, while the on-track portion of the event runs from Friday through Sunday.
Quyon, Quebec’s Charlotte Lalonde will return to the Margay Ignite category in hopes of defending her crown. She brought home the unique Brick trophy two years ago as the race winner in Indianapolis. This years field of identical Margay Karts with Briggs 206 engines features 51 entries, meaning Lalonde will have her work cut out for her if she wants to add another.
In addition, a few other Canadian drivers will be in attendance. Ciara Collison will suit up in CIK Briggs 206 Medium, while her father Jake will bring the race suit out of retirement and compete in CIK Briggs 206 Masters. Cole Quinton will run in CIK Briggs 206 Junior, along with Ayden Gough. Finally, our friend Rob Howden from EKN will race in the Margay Ignite Masters class as the race reporter gets the chance to jump back in the karting seat for a weekend.
Editors note: we corrected the article to note that Lalonde won in 2017, not 2018.
