2019 CKN Year in Review Awards – Part 1

The year and the decade have come to a close and with it, we wrap up the 2019 karting season with annual CKN Year in Review Awards. Recognizing the efforts of our drivers from coast to coast at events that we attended, we have nominated and selected our annual group of winners after careful thought and discussion.

It was another very busy season for CKN as we attended more than 30 races for the third year in a row. From local, regional and national races in four different provinces to international competitions in the USA and Super Finals in Italy, there was no chance to lift our foot off the gas pedal until this December holiday season.

As always, we appreciate your visits to our website and the reading content we create, as well as your support at all of our races through photo prints and photo package purchases. Since our launch in 2012, karting continues to be our passion and with your support, we are able to continue doing what we love the most and giving back to the sport in the form of media.

In our first of four sets of award winners, we present the Eastern, Western and Atlantic Canadian Drivers of the Year.

2019 Eastern Canadian Driver of the Year

Nominees:

Serge Boisvert, Stephen Goebel, Jordan Prior, Gianluca Savaglio, Jon Treadwell, Yu Chen Ye

2019 Winner: Gianluca Savaglio

As the region we see the most throughout a hectic summer of racing, it was very difficult narrowing this list down to six drivers, but picking the outright winner was a little bit easier than expected.

Gianluca Savaglio was a force every single time he hit the track in 2019 in both two and four-cycle competition, something we just don’t see out of too many competitors anymore.

After starting the season with support from Goodwood Kartways, Savaglio jumped over to Racing Edge Motorsports in June and he went from being a contender to a dominator. In the MotoMaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship, he won three Briggs Junior races in a row and added two more in ROK Junior all at Mosport Kartways. In addition, he scored a convincing win at the Canadian Open in Mont-Tremblant.

While he came up short at the ASN Canadian Karting Championships, Savaglio closed out his season in style, taking home two MRFKC titles, two TRAK club championships and another club title at Mosport Kartways. He also represented Canada at the ROK Cup SuperFinal in Italy, experiencing his first true international competition.

Now to see how he can handle the competition in the Senior ranks…

2018 Winner: Ayden Ingratta
2017 Winner: Connor Pritiko

2019 Western Canadian Driver of the Year

Nominees:

James Altamirano, Griffin Dowler, Noel Dowler, Mario Gil, Jason Leung, Connor Peet

2019 Winner: Jason Leung

In this list we have six drivers all qualified to win this award, making it very difficult to pick just one. In the likes of Dowler, Dowler and Leung, all were dominant in the Western Canadian Karting Championship, while Peet, Altamirano and Gil were chasing victories at different races throughout the season.

In picking Jason Leung we have to recognize not only his accomplishments in going unbeaten in Rotax Junior en route to the WCKC title but also his abilities outside the country as well. He was victorious in Europe, winning an IAME X30 Euro Series race, was on the podium in the SKUSA Pro Tour and finished on the podium in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.

Had there not been a conflict, we would’ve expected Leung to have competed for victory in both the Canadian Open and ASN Canadian Karting Championships as well.

Just like Savaglio, Leung will move up to Senior in 2020 and we’re excited to see how he fits in.

2018 Winner: Townes Allan
2017 Winner: Jason Leung
2015 Winner: Kellen Ritter
2014 Winner: Coltin McCaughan
2013 Winner: Coltin McCaughan

2019 Atlantic Canadian Driver of the Year

Nominees:

Callum Baxter, Kelsey Hann, Owen Livingston, Ethan Lowther, Owen Mahar, Isaac Teed

2019 Winner: Kelsey Hann

2019 may have been the best season we’ve seen from Kelsey Hann. After stepping up to the Senior Briggs division, Hann drove with complete confidence and it showed on the results sheet.

She never missed a race in the CKRA and drove home seven victories to secure the Senior Briggs title. Her adversity at the CKRA Summerfest event to bounce back from multiple incidents and steer herself to the front also displayed a composure we had not seen from Hann before.

In addition to her CKRA title, Hann also earned the top honour in the Coupe de Montreal championship in Quebec, opening the season with a victory, adding a second at ICAR as well as a pair of runner-up finishes along the way. Finally, Hann ventured to Ontario for the ASN Canadian Karting Championships and led a good majority of the Final, only to come up one position short of the National title against Canada’s best four-cycle racers.

2018 Winner: Aaron Kennedy
2017 Winner: Callum Baxter
2015 Winner: William Lowther
2014 Winner: Kelsey Hann

We have more awards to come, including Young Driver of the Year, Most Improved Driver, Up and Coming Driver and plenty more.