ASN Canadian Karting Championships
Palladino Prevails in Excellent Briggs Junior National Final
34 karts duke it out in the biggest class of the weekend.
With the sun beaming the Junior Briggs class took to the track. As the biggest class of the weekend fans rushed to the fences to watch as Nicky Palladino (KGR/Exprit) was able to pull off a victory after some very heated racing.
A tight start saw plenty of passing as the first caution flew in turn 5. It was Gianluca Savaglio (Kosmic) who ultimately got the holeshot and found himself leading in the opening stage of the race. The top eight karts began to break away in a large pack as drivers began to spread out across the circuit.
2018 Briggs Junior Lite Champion Callum Baxter (GCR/Ricciardo), who began seventh, did an excellent job early on, working his way through the pack. Baxter was able to fight his way to first place within five laps and began to break away with Palladino. Action deeper in the field saw drivers fighting for every inch of track.
A scary moment occurred when the Laurent Legault (BCR/BirelART) flipped in the final corner of the track, thankfully the driver was okay and the race continued.
Palladino managed to gain back the first position from Baxter and found himself in control of the race. However, Baxter continued to pressure and the two traded the lead back and forth.
The third and fourth place drivers were able to catch up and with a group of four karts gunning for the championship this was anyone’s race.
Coming down to the final laps, the top-three drivers were switching positions every lap and the race fans were getting their money’s worth. Behind, Steven Navratil (K&P/Awesome) and defending champion Gianluca Savaglio (REM/Kosmic) came together in corner three, collecting Lily Flintoff (VSR/TonyKart) as well and end their chances at a victory after running upfront.
On the final lap, Baxter was leading but was passed by both Palladino and Marco Filice (Prime/BirelART), after driving defensively into corner five. A smart move by Palladino on the exit of the corner ensured that he made it to the next corner still in the lead.
Crossing the line, it was Nicky Palladino driving home the Canadian National title. Filice was followed by Baxter to complete the podium while fourth was Ari Korkodilos (Goodwood/Intrepid) and rounding out the top five was Jake Cowden (Karts & Parts/Awesome Kart).
Briggs Junior Final Results:
- Nicky Palladino
- Marco Filice
- Callum Baxter
- Ari Korkodilos
- Jake Cowden
- Zain Ikram
- Gianluca Savaglio
- Lily Flintoff
- Zack Lalonde
- Adam Ali
- Steven Navratil
- Jayden Elphage
- Mathieu Cousineau
- Boden Barnwell
- Owen Mahar
- Yuchen Ye
- Maddox Heacock
- Isaac Teed
- Nicholas Gilkes
- Jack Drury
- Anthony Boscia
- Mavrik Vermette
- Nicholas Scarfo
- Ayden Almeida
- Louka St-Jean
- Matte Ferrari
- Charles-Etienne Boucher
- Ethan Donkers
- Anthony Quezdada
- Daniel Ali
- Evan Brace
- Laurent Legault
- Logan Pacza
- Logan Ferguson
