Canada’s first major is here and it’s shaping up to be a great one.
The Canadian Open is taking place at Circuit ICAR this weekend where four tickets to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals will be awarded to the race winners in Rotax Mini, Junior, Senior and DD2.
It has drawn great attention, with more than 125 Rotax racers entering the event and the competition is strong. Along with a strong contingent from the host province, drivers from Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have made the trek along with a selection of American and International drivers.
Touring around the paddock on Thursday, we made a few notes ahead of this weekend’s big event.
Rotax Senior is going to be a show with more than 40!
All season long it has been great to see strong numbers in Rotax Senior and this weekend there are more than 40 drivers suiting up in the headline category.
All of the regulars from the Coupe de Montreal are here, along with a few standout Ontario drivers too. In addition, J3 Competition has arrived from the USA with a few contenders of their own.
It’s hard to pick a potential race winner for this weekend with many talented drivers capable of winning this weekend.
Defending Canadian Open champion Laurent Legault (Premier Karting/OTK) is back. All four Coupe de Montreal race winners are here; Lucas Nanji (HM Propela/KR), Timothe Pernod (PSL/BirelART), William Bouthillier (HM Propela/KR) and Lucas Deslongchamps (TAG/CRG). The Racing Edge Motorsports pair of Ryan Maxwell and Gianluca Savaglio have been very quick this season and there are many more.
Mini, Junior and DD2 all in the 20s
The numbers continue to grow each year of the Canadian Open and impressively Mini Max, Junior Max and DD2 have all exceeded 20 entries this weekend. It sounds a little small, but in reality, there has been great growth in these categories from previous years.
Junior Max will be interesting to watch, just as it has been all year. The Coupe regulars, Alexis Baillargeon (PSL/BirelART), Edward Kennedy (Energy Americas/Energy Kart) and Olivier Mrak (REM/Kosmic) will have their hands full with a number of drivers bringing their international experience ICAR. Ty Fisher (REM/Kosmic) has continuously been on the podium in the USA this year and is making his first start in Eastern Canada. Rayan Ghandour (KR Sport/Kosmic) is back home for the weekend after spending his season in the UK. Toby Lien (BBR/TonyKart) has been competing in the Rotax Euro Trophy this season and Antoine Lemieux is back after he too has been busy competing in Europe this season.
We also can’t count out the likes of Gabriel Balog (RaceLab/JV Kart), Jayden Hidding (PSL/BirelART), Cole Medeiros (REM/Kosmic) and Jacob Messely (ETI/CL Kart).
In DD2 it is shaping up to be a similar showdown to last year as Lucas Pernod (PSL/BirelART) and Gianluca Savaglio (REM/Kosmic) are back and looking for another ticket to the Grand Finals. It won’t be easy for them this week as Lucas Nanji (HM Propela/KR) has shown strong speed this year while contending with Ludovic Sabourin (BCR/BirelART) and Christophe Legrand (CRT/BirelART) for Coupe de Montreal race wins. Matthew Taskinen (TAG/CRG) has flown in from Alberta to compete in his favourite category and American Cooper O’Clair (J3/CompKart) are also expected to be in the mix in DD2.
As for Mini-Max, we’re not even sure who to focus in on amongst this great group of young racers. Jeremy St-Cyr (PSL/BirelART) has been ultra quick this season, scoring a few Coupe de Montreal race wins, while Leo Da Silva (REM/Kosmic) is coming off of a Rotax Ontario win last weekend. Olivier Chasses (HM Propela/KR) and William Rosetti (BCR/BirelART) have just returned from the Rotax Euro Trophy in Italy with valuable international experience. Mateo Pai (BBR/Falcon) is here from British Columbia, as is Sebastian de Moissac (Prime/BirelART) and Dylan Lambert (Prime/BirelART) from Alberta. The Lorusso brothers, Nicholas and Massimo can’t be counted out either. Finally, Brando Londono (Energy Americas/Energy Kart) was the most recent Coupe de Montreal winner in Mont-Tremblant two week ago.
Scrolling through the list of 23 hungry Micro-Mini drivers, it’s going to be great racing this weekend.
Who will join Team Canada?
Two drivers are already locked onto Team Canada even before this weekend starts as Alexis Baillargeon (Mini) and Olivier Bedard (DD2) secured their tickets to the Rotax Grand Finals at the Rotax Winter Trophy in Florida.
The tickets this weekend are open to Canadian and American drivers, so there’s no guarantee all four winners will join Team Canada, but we’re hoping they do.
As a reminder, there will be six tickets, one is each Rotax category, awarded at the Canadian Championships next month at Hamilton. To win those, drivers need to be competing this weekend at ICAR as they will be awarded to the drivers who score the most points between the two premier Canadian events.
There is one other chance to qualify in Canada this summer and that is at the MKG Canada Final in two weeks in Warburg, Alberta. Visit http://maxkartinggroup.com to learn more about that race, where six tickets will be awarded.
Plenty of racing on tap
On Friday the event will officially kick off with Qualifying and Super Pole Qualifying, where the top six drivers will get two laps to set their best time for a chance at the Pole Position. The heat races will also start Friday afternoon and run throughout the day Saturday as every category will have three heat races. On Sunday, there will be a PreFinal to set the Grid for the Main Events on Sunday afternoon for all the marbles.
Pizza night on Saturday
The event organizers have hired a pizza truck to cook up some delicious pies on Saturday evening for all of the drivers in attendance. This popular event is the organizers way of giving back and keeping the event light and social before the all important final day of competition.
Yes, there are Briggs racers here too
Briggs Cadet, Junior, Senior and Masters are on the schedule this weekend too but the attendance is lower than expected. We still expect some great racing in the four cycle categories, but with the Rotax classes continuing to grow, this could be the final year the Briggs are a part of the Canadian Open.
Last Chance to Order Your Photo Package from CKN
Friday is the last day to order a weekend photo package from CKN for the Canadian Open. It’s going to be a busy one, so don’t forget to get your order in ASAP to ensure you get to go home with an awesome printed photograph from the Canadian Open, as well as a great selection of professional digital images. The packages only costs $150.00 and can be ordered on the CKN Online Store.
