New Team and a Renewed Focus for Callum Baxter
Two-time Canadian Champion has his eyes on another National Prize
Nova Scotia’s Callum Baxter is focused on the big prize for 2021. Following a great first full season of two-cycle racing, his season was cut short in the fall due to the global pandemic and it kept him back from competing in a number of major international events.
The second half of the Canadian season saw Baxter go on an impressive winning streak. A Rotax Junior victory at the Canadian Open in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec earned him an invite to represent Team Canada at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal, and he followed that weekend up with a weekend sweep in Rok Junior of the Motomaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship at Mosport in Ontario that nearly earned him the overall championship.
It was a solid finish to the Canadian season and the perfect amount of momentum heading into the international winter season.
Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed traffic across the border and aside from one start in the USPKS, Baxter missed out on ROK and RIO to keep his focus on the Grand Finals. However, only a couple of weeks before the event in January, Rotax Max cancelled the event in Portugal due to rising cases and continued global travel issues. With quarantine measures still in place, Baxter opted to focus on his hockey team through the winter months and sat out the Florida Winter Tour season.
Fast forward to the end of June, and having not sat in a kart for more than six months, Baxter is ready to finally begin the new season and he has joined a new race team to boot.
He will suit up with Racing Edge Motorsports and compete aboard a Kosmic Kart. It’s a big change ahead of his final season of Junior competition, but something the young driver from Halifax is enthused for.
“I’m very excited to be with Racing Edge Motorsports this season. So far it has been a good start and I am sure it will just get better.”
He will compete in two-cycle and four-cycle races all season long, with his eyes on adding both Canadian Champion titles to his resume.
“My goal for this season is to win Nationals. I have won in Cadet and Junior lite and it would be nice to add Rok Junior and Briggs Junior to that.”
After competing in his first club race of the year this past Sunday at the Mosport Karting Centre, Callum is back on track this Thursday for the Canada Cup. It will be the first event to really see how the competition for this season will shape up ahead of the four-round MotoMaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship and of course, the Canadian Karting Championships. Baxter also plans to defend his Canadian Open title and hopefully secure another spot on Team Canada for the Rotax Grand Finals, held later this year in Bahrain.
With Racing Edge Motorsports Kevin Monteith overseeing the competition side, and Taylor Gates taking care of the tuning, Baxter is really happy with the people he is around and the support he is getting towards achieving his goals this season.
“I am getting lots of support from Kevin and Taylor. I think all their support will definitely help me achieve my goals for the season. It has only started so there is still lots I need to work on but I feel so far we are progressing well.”
“I also need to thank my sponsors for this season Porsche of Halifax, Silver Tiger Metals, GoGold Resources, Midwest Emissions Corp and Martello Wealth Management.”
