The 2013 ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Karting Championships presented by Canadian Tire hit the track for Championship Sunday at Goodwood Kartways, just north of Toronto, Ontario. The final day of competition meant nine new Canadian Champions would be crowned in their respective classes, while 10 drivers would join Team Canada for the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, held this year in New Orleans, USA. It was a beautiful day at Goodwood, aside from a brief rain shower during podium presentations. The action on track was tense, exciting and everything it was expected to be as Canada’s best battled for National supremacy.
This season one name has stood out in the Rotax Micro-Max division. Matthew Latifi (Ferrolati Corse/TonyKart) has been undefeated this season thus far, but come the Nationals it was a different story. After stealing the pole-position on Friday, William Chayer (KMS/Birel) gave Latifi a good run in the Prefinal after Latifi started mid-pack. But Latifi held on for the prefinal win with Chayer second and Matthew Barry (MDL Evolution/Praga) third.
The Final saw the two Micro-Max standouts go head-to-head. Chayer jumped to the early lead but by lap two Latifi had regained the lead. While the two up front battled, Barry and Xavier Harris (Praga) duked it out for third, the final podium position and invite to the Grand Finals. Skipping to five to go, a mistake by Latifi allowed Chayer to close back up on his bumper and eventually make his move to the lead. But Latifi countered back the next time by. Back and forth the two raced hard and clean with Chayer grabbing the lead with two to go and move into a defensive line around Goodwood. Latifi tried high, low and everywhere in-between, but Chayer ran the final two circuits perfect and would cap his great weekend with his first Canadian Championship. Latifi was unable to defend his title and finished second while Harris completed the podium.
All three on the podium will join Team Canada in the Rotax Micro-Max invitational at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in New Orleans, USA later this year.