Rok Cup Racers Chasing SuperFinal Tickets at MRFKC Finale This Weekend

The race to Italy will be decided this Saturday at Goodwood Kartways when the MotoMaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship concludes their nine-round season where it all started back in May. The special event is a night race at Goodwood, meaning the Finals will take place under the lights and racers will have to navigate the long track with the chicane.

For Rok Cup Canada competitors, opportunities are on the line this weekend for the series champions to win their way to Italy to compete in the Rok Cup SuperFinal at South Garda Karting, a spectacular event that attracts well over 400 Rokkers from around the world.

With the single event offering up 1.5x points, no championship is confirmed entering the weekend. In addition, a few drivers have already secured a ticket to Italy courtesy of their victories at the ASN Canadian Karting Championships. Those drivers are Ayden Ingratta (Mini Rok), Andrew Maciel (Rok Junior), Dale Curran (Rok Junior), Xavier Harris (Rok Senior), Thomas Nepveu (Rok Shifter) and Joe Crupi (Rok Masters).

Here are the four Rok Cup Canada championships to watch this weekend at Goodwood and how close the points standings are going into the finale.

Rok Senior – Woods-Toth vs Hornbostel

It’s only fitting that this season-long dual comes down to the final race to determine a champion. Patrick Woods-Toth and Nicholas Hornbostel have both scored victories and podiums this season, as well as come together on track more than once this season. Following a superb showing at the two Mosport rounds, Woods-Toth jumped out to the lead and holds a 230-point advantage going back to Goodwood, where Hornbostel scored his race win. The war is far from over with both drivers looking to represent Team Canada in Italy.

Since he missed a couple of races, Ryan MacDermid is out of the championship picture, but still holds down third place. He has Cole Hooton and Chris Chanko knocking on the doors of the final podium step, while Mark Davis, Nolan Bower, Matthew Miles, Eamon Lowe and Justin Di Benedetto could use a solid race day to vault themselves into the top-five overall.

Rok Senior has been the most competitive two-cycle class we’ve had in Canada in many years and with fields consistently in the twenties, there’s been no shortage of excitement. Will it all end with a big bang? We will let you know this weekend.

Rok Junior – Five drivers have a shot

Following Andrew Maciel’s impressive victory at the ASN Canadian Karting Championships, that opened up a little bit of breathing room for points leader Gianluca Savalgio in Junior Rok, but the gap between the top-five heading into Goodwood is only 175 points. With 300 points going to the winner, this means every single one of these five drivers has an opportunity to win.

Our calculations show that a top-6 finish for Savaglio will win him the championship, but we know all too well that Junior racing is unpredictable and unforgiving. His Racing Edge Motorsports teammate Marcello Paniccia was very fast at Goodwood in the Spring and sits only 110 points back, while Connor Pritiko and Nicky Palladino are no strangers to the podium this season too. And we can’t count out Maciel going for the title sweep in the category, with him only 50 points back of the lead.

Rok Junior may be a little small this season, but this title chase is going to come down to the wire to see who joins Dale Curran and Maciel on Team Canada in Italy.

Rok Shifter – Can anyone catch Conquer?

It won’t take much for Conquer to secure the title in Rok Shifter as his 295-point margin is just under the maximum points a driver can attain this weekend, which is 325 if a driver was to qualify first and go on to win, but given how small the grids have been this season, Conquer just needs to start the Final to lock down his ticket to Italy. He’s enjoyed a great season in the MRFKC and has stepped up when his competitors have faulted.

The race for vice-champion will be exciting. Prime Powerteam duo Justin Luik and Zachary Shearer enter the weekend tied in points. With entry to Las Vegas up for grabs, we got a feeling both will be gunning for victory. Luik was able to secure a victory at Goodwood in May, while Shearer also has one victory this season, coming at Hamilton. It would take a little effort, but Dante Lerra and Stefano Lucente have a shot at the top-three as well if the cards fall into their hands.

Rok Mini – Esposito set to repeat as champion

The only driver to unofficially secure an MRFKC title in the Rok Cup Canada divisions is Frankie Esposito, as he will successfully defend his crown from 2018 and return to Italy in his final races as a Mini driver. His advantage over Joseph Launi is 345 points, more than Launi could score this weekend.

Cole Newton is also in the mix, but we’ve heard he has stepped up to Rok Junior for the remaining races this season, meaning he would vacate his current third-place standing. Ashton Henckel enters the weekend fourth, only 30 markers back of Launi for vice-champion, while Cooper Simpson is fifth, 160 points back of second.

Goodwood has been known for producing some great local racers, so we’re hoping to see some new helmets on the grid for the MRFKC finale, giving us a taste of what we could see on track in Mini Rok in 2020!

Online registration for the event is open and can be done so through the http://kartsportcanada.ca website. It is strongly suggested drivers PRE-REGISTER for the race weekend.

The day will begin at 12:00 Noon on Saturday and practice and race throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Following the podium celebrations, a complimentary fireworks show be on display.