MRFKC Rok Cup Report: Intense Heat and Competition at Mosport – Part 2

The MotoMaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship crossed the halfway point on Saturday as round three took the track at Mosport Kartways. Hosted on the same weekend as the popular Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, karting was on display to the large crowd of motorsport hungry race fans on hand and with a full day of racing on tap, there was no shortage of excitement.

Just like the year prior, the first stop for the MRFKC of the summer at Mosport Kartways was under extremely hot and humid conditions. To stay hydrated and prepared for the races, the entire paddock was consuming bottles of water and Gatorade like beer at a frat party and we’re happy to report there were no incidents of dehydration this time around. With the extreme heat came extreme competition, as the double-final race format meant plenty of track time and racing and a late finish to the day’s activity.

Rok Senior – Woods-Toth and MacDermid Split the wins again!

With an excellent field of 26 drivers, which included a trio of Masters, Rok Senior has become one of the best classes on track this summer in the MRFKC and the competition up front is incredibly close. This weekend saw the addition of Dale Curran (REM/Kosmic) and Mackenzie Clark (Prime/BirelART), who made their season debut’s in the Senior ranks and fit right in with the regulars.

Qualifying was divided by hundredths of seconds. On Friday evening, the grid was set for Final 2 and while Ryan MacDermid (REM/Kosmic) blistered off a lap time that was more than two-tenths quicker than the rest, second through tenth were separated by only 0.152 seconds! On Saturday morning when the group returned for their second round of Qualifying, the top three were only 0.051 seconds apart, this time led by Patrick Woods-Toth (Prime/BirelART), while Curran was P2 in both sessions.

With lap times this close, the racing wasn’t quite as exciting as we expected. Woods-Toth surrendered the lead to Curran at the start of Final 1, but jumped to the point on lap two and then managed his gap to the finish, earning his second win of the season. He was followed across the line by Clark, his teammate at Prime Powerteam, while Curran slipped back to fourth in the final running, losing third to MacDermid with two laps to go.

Ryan MacDermid (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)

In Final 2 MacDermid did the virtually the same thing, except he didn’t need to overtake Curran on lap one. MacDermid led from flag to flag to add his win total this season, with this one marking number three and even after withdrawing from race four at Hamilton, he is still very much in the championship hunt.

Woods-Toth got the best of Curran at the beginning of the Final again, making his move for second on lap, but in this race, he just didn’t have enough to battle with MacDermid for the win. Curran was able to hold on to third place in Final 2 to score his first Senior podium appearance, while Nolan Bower (VSR/TonyKart) and Clark completed the top-five. The top seven positions did not change after lap two.

Nicholas Hornbostel (REM/Kosmic), championship leader entering the weekend, did not have a good day at Mosport. He put in a seventh-place result in Final 1, but crashed on the final lap with Mark Davis (KGR/Exprit) while battling for eighth and had to settle for eighteenth by the time he got to the finish line of Final 2. He will need a big bounce back at MRFKC4 to get back into the championship battle with Woods-Toth and MacDermid.

Stefano Lucente (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN

Rok Shifter – Lucente bags another while Lerra finally gets a win

We finally got a grid of more than ten shifters on track as twelve lined up for Final 1. When the green flag was dropped, Stefano Lucente (FA Kart) launched hard from the first grid spot and nailed the holeshot into the first corner. Dante Lerra (Intrepid Kart), fresh from a WSK race in Italy, Zachary Shearer (Prime/BirelART) and Taegen Poles (Energy Corse/Energy Kart) followed Lucente through the opening sector of the lap while the rest scrambled into position.

As the laps ticked off, Lucente’s lead grew over Lerra, who was also pulling away from Shearer. Joshua Conquer (VSR/TonyKart) worked his way by Poles to gain the fourth position, and that would be all the action inside the top-five in Final 1. Victory to Lucente, his second of the season, joined by Lerra and Shearer on the podium.

With the sun setting in the distance and the light fading, the Rok Shifters returned to the track just before 8 PM for Final 2 to close out the long race day. This time is was Lerra’s chance to control the show and he did just that. He too would lead every lap and managed his gap to second place. In this one, it was Conquer who cruised in second place after a great start and he held the position all the way to the finish. Third would go to Justin Luik (Prime/BirelART) after Lucente initially scored the position, but received a one-position penalty for jumping the start.

Dante Lerra (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)

All in all, there were eleven hours of on-track activity and everyone from the corner workers to the trackside officials to the competitors is commended for helping keep the schedule rolling and ensuring the racing was complete before the sun finally set.

Round four of the MRFKC returns to Mosport Kartways on July 27-28.