PR: The RaceLab West Coast Kart Club Race Report

By: TheRaceLab.com

This past weekend, the RaceLab team competed in rounds 5 & 6 of the West Coast Kart Club at Greg Moore Raceway in Chilliwack, BC. With 8 drivers under the RaceLab tent, it was a busy weekend for the team and one that showed some of the best racing of the year.

Being a double-header weekend, Saturday saw 2 practice sessions in the morning, followed by qualifying then a pre-final and a final event. With qualifying results in the RoK GP class being extremely close, Bob Wakeling was able to take 2nd spot right behind Mike Pelletier and would start from outside the front row, while his teammates filled in the remaining spots. After the results remained unchanged in the prefinal, the final saw some great racing amongst the drivers. Wakeling made a late charge to make a pass for the lead but wasn’t quite able to close the gap as the laps winded down. Chris Eagles ran consistently to take the last step on the podium while Jordan Kettner finished 4th, with Ray Lord taking a top 5 finish and Davey Lam right behind him in 6th place. Taking 7th place was rookie driver Jason Houghton who showed a great improvement after attending a team test day a week prior to the race.

In the TaG Sr. class, Sean Smailes showed great improvement in his driving as he was able to run near the front of his class and run consistent lap times throughout the race.

Rotax Jr. saw Kellen Ritter taking the top step on the podium and his first Rotax Jr. victory! He drover a great race and was able to make it the whole race without a mistake and RaceLab is excited about his improvement as a driver.

Photo Courtesy: Racelab.com

With Sunday running the same schedule as Saturday, RaceLab was looking for a victory in the competitive RoK GP class. With Mike Pelletier again grabbing the pole position in qualifying, the grid was set up for what would be a great race. Making it through turn 1 smoothly, Wakeling made an aggressive move into turn 3 to take over the lead. It would stay this way, as he was able to run consistent lap times for the remainder of the race and take the victory. Chris Eagles was again right in the hunt, and finished an impressive 3rd place after again driving a very smart race. Behind him was Davey Lam, who after fixing some mechanical issues, was able to drive a great race and grab his best finishing position of the year so far. In 5th position was Ray Lord who once again had a strong race, especially in the final laps, as he was able to reel in Davey Lam and almost took over 4th spot. Jason Houghton again ran an impressive race, really showing his improvement as a driver and finishing in the 6th position.

Sean Smailes was again driving very well in the TaG Sr. class and was able to take an impressive 3rd place, which further showed his improvement as a driver.

In Rotax Jr, Kellen Ritter was half a lap away from taking his second victory of the weekend, but unfortunately dropped a wheel on the exit of corner 3 and dropped back to second spot. Although it was disappointing, it was still a great result, and with more practice he feels confident that the next win will come.

RaceLab was also host to a few beginner drivers who competed in the 4 stroke Sr. class in a “Race Now” kart provided by the RaceLab. Both drivers really enjoyed the experience, and were excited about the affordable and safe way to get a taste of real kart racing.

Again, race team coach Michael Hogg was happy with the results of the weekend, and is already looking forward to the next event.

“This weekend was a busy one, but I am really impressed with the way our team performed this weekend, especially the new drivers on the team. We hosted a team practice day this past week and I can honestly say the improvement in our drivers is huge. We are working hard to get the best results we can, and walking away from the weekend with a couple wins and podium finishes is always a good feeling. We will get back to preparing for the next event and looking for even better results!”

For any inquiries, please contact: Mike@theracelab.com