A Statement to the CKN Nation: 2014 Western Canadian Championships

A couple weeks ago, Rotax Max Challenge Canada released the new format for the Western Canadian Championship, something Canada hasn’t seen before. The championship will return to a six-race format, but this year hosting only two events with three races each, instead of one event, like in 2013 and three in years previous.

While the organizers have not confirmed the location for the two events, the dates have been set and we believe this is a great idea. Last year’s one-off was a great event, but having only one race put the pressure on everyone to perform, not only the racers, but the teams and organizers as well.

Western Canada deserves to have more than one event each year, especially when valuable Rotax Grand Finals tickets are on the line.

As mentioned, the locations are not confirmed as yet, but it appears that Warburg and Chilliwack could host the Western Canadian Championships in 2014. Alberta’s Warburg Kart Track was a great host last year, especially with the track and facility upgrades, while British Columbia’s Greg Moore Raceway provides some of the best racing in the country. Add in that the Rotax Can Am Prokart Challenge has its final round the weekend after the second WCC event in Chilliwack and it only makes sense from a organizational standpoint and could provide a few extra entries as well.

While the new format of having three race days in a weekend is a bit of a stretch, it is nice to see that the events do not overlap with the school year. Younger drivers are missing school enough as it is, and with these events playing out a day longer than usual, it was great to see organizers make

that move. Three straight race days will provide plenty of action, and what racer could complain about that?

The one thing we will be hoping for from the west in 2014 is some growth in the support classes. While Rotax Junior and Senior provided strong fields in 2013, Micro, Mini, and DD2 were pretty soft, as were the Briggs categories. Hopefully with the adjusted format we will see some better numbers across the board, as the program aligns itself with the rest of the nation.

We look forward to hearing more from the WCC as the Canadian season gets closer. The organizers are doing a great job listening to the paddock and making adjustments for the future, now we just need to watch it grow again.