Between the three Briggs Junior division races this weekend at Shannonville Motorsports Park, the gap biggest gap between first and second place was 0.017 seconds and one was even called a tie!
These Juniors really put on a showcase during the KartStars Canadian National Championships on the Shannonville circuit better known for bike and car racing but showed just how great of a kart track it really is.
In Saturday’s KartStars Junior Final which put a number of the Juniors versus the Junior Lites, we had a six-kart race for the win.
Elias McKenzie (CL Kart) led the early laps until Braedon Fowler (Intrepid) passed on lap three. The mix upfront also included Gavin Goldie (Intrepid), Christian Savaglio (TonyKart), Sam David (Intrepid) and Nathan Dupuis (Intrepid).
The race really opened up with three laps to go. McKenzie pulled out to pass on the straight and regained the lead with a push from Goldie. The next time down by Goldie grabbed the lead back from McKenzie and Fowler also advanced to second, while Savaglio and David mixed it up for fourth.
Coming around the final corner to the finish line, Goldie opted for the inside and McKenzie used the draft and pulled up alongside in a race to the finish line.
By eye, it was too close to call and according to the transponders, McKenzie was ahead by 0.001 seconds. However, a review of photos and video showed Goldie’s front bumper was first to the line and after a night’s worth of deliberations, KartStars officials decided that the pair of Goldie and McKenzie would be scored as Co-Winners.
Not to be left out, David overtook both Fowler and Savaglio on the final lap to advance onto the podium for the second time of the weekend.
KartStars Canada National Championship – KartStars Junior Final Results
1
Elias McKenzie
1
Gavin Goldie
0.000
3
Sam David
1.229
4
Braedon Fowler
1.290
5
Christian Savaglio
1.601
6
Nathan Dupuis
1.731
7
Stefano Picerno
6.970
8
Declan Black
7.009
9
Tyler Desrosiers
7.197
10
Michael Ing
7.338
11
Talon Clarke
9.340
12
Leoluca Dicarlo
12.725
13
Elijah Joshi
13.365
14
Natalie Parker
13.438
15
Joey Lecce
16.080
16
Max Franceschelli
16.536
17
Luka Jakimovski
19.498
18
Ethan Pollack
20.168
19
Sebastian Matthews
26.966
20
Carson Bartlett
31.800
21
Joshua Soumvalis
1 lap
22
Shae Clarke
10 laps
23
Scotty Watkins
10 laps
24
Jacob Parker
DNS
25
Michael Schwab
DNS
Sunday’s races were just as close and once again, one of them was decided by 0.001 seconds. What are the odds?
Briggs Junior Lite featured five drivers in the lead pack in the opening laps with pole-sitter Talon Clarke (Intrepid) leading the way ahead of Dupuis, McKenzie, Stefano Picerno (Exprit) and Luka Jakimovski (Intrepid)
Dupuis went to the lead on lap two, but was freight-trained on lap three and fell back to fifth, eventually fading away from the lead pack as the laps ticked away.
The lead swapped between Clarke and McKenzie until trouble found Clarke with four laps to go. His kart slowed exiting the bus stop and a mechanical issue ended his bid for victory early.
McKenzie was now in the lead with Jakimovski glued to his rear bumper, followed by Picerno.
Making his kart as wide as he legally could, McKenzie remained on top while both Jakimovski and Picerno looked for a way by.
The inside line was defended perfectly by McKenzie and once again it came down to a race to the finish line.
Picerno pulled out of the draft to get alongside McKenzie, but his momentum just wasn’t enough in time as McKenzie beat him to the finish line. Jakimovski also tried to draft to the lead, but crossed 0.083 seconds behind and still scored a great podium finish, while Dupuis was a distant fourth and Joey Lecce (Intrepid) won the race for fifth.
KartStars Canada National Championship – Briggs Junior Lite Final Results
1
Elias McKenzie
2
Stefano Picerno
0.001
3
Luka Jakimovski
0.083
4
Nathan Dupuis
5.654
5
Joey Lecce
10.624
6
Declan Black
10.628
7
Leoluca Dicarlo
10.748
8
Joshua Soumvalis
17.720
9
Jacob Parker
28.374
10
Talon Clarke
4 laps
In the final race of the weekend, it was fitting that one final time we had a near photo-finish to cap off a great return of karts to the famed Shannonville circuit.
A five-kart battle emerged upfront as a few drivers sought out their third podium of the weekend.
This time it was Michael Ing (Awesome Kart) leading Fowler, Savaglio, Goldie and David.
The lead changed often in this one as Ing, Fowler and Savaglio all wanted to lead. Contact on lap six between Ing and Goldie sent Ing off the track and out of contention once he finally got back up to speed.
No matter what seemed to happen, Fowler would regain the lead before the completion of each closing lap.
On the final lap, Savaglio went to the absolute inside of the track to find enough room underneath Fowler to get the lead into corner one.
Emerging from the final corner, it looked like Savaglio had it, defending the lead well, but Fowler once again pulled out of the draft at the perfect time and used the momentum to beat Savaglio to the line by 0.017 seconds, while Goldie and David were just a little further back after fighting for third.
Unfortunately for Savaglio, he was excluded from the results in post-race tech, and Goldie received a one-position penalty for the contact with Ing. This set the final podium with Fowler on top for his second win, followed by David, with his third podium, and Goldie, also with his third podium, with Ing fourth and Tyler Desrosiers (Ricciardo Kart) heading back home with a solid fifth-place finish.
KartStars Canada National Championship – Briggs Junior Final Results
