Burnett, Ramos and Fazari Crowned ROK Canadian Champions; Conquer On Top in Shifter

More than National pride was on the line at the Motomaster Canadian Karting Championships this past weekend. Rok Cup Canada racers were also chasing several international prizes including entries to Italy and Las Vegas.

A mix of weather threw a curveball to all the competitors with rain showers sporadically falling throughout Saturday and Sunday’s races at the Hamilton Karting Complex, the perfect location to host Canada’s best karters chasing National glory.

ROK Junior – Dominant Redemption for Burnett

For the second year in a row, Jensen Burnett (REM/Kosmic) dominated the ROK Junior division en route to the National title.

After a heartbreaking end to his race in Rotax Junior earlier in the day, Burnett proved he wouldn’t be stopped in his second final of the day.

Christian Papp (VSR/TonyKart) started the Final alongside Burnett and stepped on the gas pedal a little too early, getting the advantage into corner one, but also receiving a jump-start penalty.

Burnett slotted into P2 behind Papp on the opening lap but wasted no time returning to the lead, pulling to the inside on the front straight and overtaking Papp.

As the only driver to match Burnett’s pace, Papp stayed close to the race leader for the entirety of the 25-lap main event, but Burnett ensured he kept 2-3 kart lengths between them to avoid any passing attempts.

Leading 24 of the 25 laps, Burnett sealed his fifth Canadian National title in the past four years and successfully defended the ROK Junior crown.

The race for third place saw Olivier Mrak (REM/Kosmic) overtake his teammate Cole Medeiros (REM/Kosmic) on lap two and while he couldn’t keep up with the top two, he managed the race to stay within three seconds of Papp to rank ahead of him in the final results.

Fourth and fifth went to Major Makovskis (PRO/CL Kart) and Medeiros, earning his second top-five of the day after winning Rotax Junior.

With the victory, Burnett scored himself a ticket to the ROK Cup SuperFinal in Italy this October, a race he won as a Mini Rok driver in 2021. Mrak and Papp earned themselves entries to ROK Cup USA’s ROK Vegas for their efforts.

ROK Senior – Ramos takes the title back to Brazil

As fast as the ROK Senior Final got underway, the red flag flew to bring all the drivers to a halt as Arnaud Sabourin (Prime/BirelART) went for a wild ride on the exit corner one. Thankfully, he was okay but his go-kart was not.

During the red flag delay that required a little turf repair, the skies opened up and a rain shower came pouring down. As the racers were lined up for a restart, they instead were sent back to the pits as the race was declared wet.

Only minutes after the karts were back in the pits, the rain stopped and the sun returned and after the 15-minute window to swap tires, everyone returned to the grid, on their slick tires.

The sun was so strong that dry patches formed on the track before the karts even fired back up and no driver even attempted rain tires.

The opening two laps were a little slick for the drivers to manage but once the race line was dry, it was game on.

Gianluca Savaglio (REM/Kosmic) got the jump on polesitter Diego Ramos (PRO/CL Kart) to lead the opening lap, but Ramos came charging back on lap three to regain the race lead.

In his own element, Ramos pulled away from Savaglio lap after lap, to build a big advantage and after 25 laps, Ramos was more than 3 seconds ahead, celebrating his victory by sitting up on top of his seat and pointing to his team on the sidelines.

Savaglio cruised to second place in an uneventful race for the podium.

On the final lap, Ryan Maxwell (REM/Kosmic) and Ayden Ingratta (REM/Kosmic) were able to overtake Frankie Esposito (Prime/BirelART) for third and fourth.

But it all changed after the race with a few penalties accessed. First, Savaglio had a jump-start penalty. Ingratta had two penalties, one for short-cutting the track and another for a pushback bumper, to push him well down the results. Finally, Esposito came across the scales under the minimum weight and received a DQ.

With the dust settled, Ramos was crowned the champion after having his win earlier in the day taken away, Maxwell was second and Savaglio was third, his third podium result of the day. Fourth was Joseph Launi (PowerHouse/Maranello) and fifth was Joshua Soumvalis (PRO/CL Kart).

Ramos scored an invite to the ROK Cup SuperFinal in Italy, a race he finished in the top five last year. Maxwell and Savaglio scored entries to ROK Vegas.

ROK Mini – A new shining star is born

After a few failed attempts to get the Mini Rok Final started, the lights finally went out and the young drivers scattered left and right towards corner one.

Asher Pavan (AMP’D/Parolin) roared from the outside of the front row to take the race lead with Ava Cabral (Prime/BirelART) slipping up the middle to overtake pole-sitter Marco Fazari (Intrepid), as did Ryker Magro (Prime/BirelART).

As the pack rounded the final corner to complete the first lap, Pavan’s number flashed on the info board with a 3-second penalty for jumping the start.

Exciting opening laps endured as Pavan led the way as Fazari worked his way back forward, battling hard with Cabral, Magro, Christian Damianidis (PRO/CL Kart) and Christopher Jacinto (CJR/TonyKart).

On lap nine, Cabral surrendered P2 to Fazari and on the following lap Jacinto worked his way by into P3. With some clear track, Fazari set his sights on the race leader and closed the gap.

Wasting no time, Fazari overtook Pavan on lap sixteen to regain the lead for the first time since the start of the race. Pavan came right back at him to return to the lead as the pair revved up the race.

Just behind, Jacinto was cruising in third hoping for an opportunity to join the race for the lead while Damianidis and Cabral had fallen back and were racing for fourth.

With five to go, Fazari slotted in behind Pavan and aware that he had a penalty, didn’t push the envelope for the rest of the race.

Pavan was the first to reach the finish line just ahead of Fazari but the 3-second jump start penalty swapped the top two positions and awarded the glory to Fazari.

Third to cross was Jacinto, but he had a technical infraction that removed him from the results and moved Cabral onto the championship podium. Damianidis and Magro completed the top five.

For his victory, Fazari will get his first opportunity to race in Italy this fall at the ROK Cup Superfinal while Pavan and Cabral received entries to ROK Vegas.

Open Shifter – Return to the top for Conquer

Two years after a painful mistake took away his first Canadian Shifter title, Joshua Conquer raced his way back to the top of the National podium in Hamilton.

It was no easy feat for Conquer (JMF/Factory Kart), who had a strong challenger for the weekend, American Shifter Champion Billy Musgrave (JMF/Factory Kart).

Conquer started the weekend with the fastest time in Qualifying, but three races in a row, the inside starting spot got beat off the start line, forcing Conquer to fight his way back to the race lead.

In the PreFinal, Musgrave jumped out to the early race lead and kept Conquer at bay, potentially by design as this gave Conquer the preferred starting lane for the Final.

When the lights went out, Conquer’s tires gripped immediately while Musgrave’s spun and Conquer grabbed the holeshot into corner one. Lucas Nogueira (PSL/BirelART) lept ahead of Pier-Luc Ouellette (TAG/CRG) as well and the race was on.

Quickly, Conquer and Musgrave pulled ahead of their fellow competitors while Michael Riccio (Powerhouse/Maranello) was a on charge from the rear, having to start last after losing a tire in the PreFinal.

This time around, Conquer would not be denied. Musgrave pressured him on a few occasions, but was never able to overtake.

Leading every lap of the Final, Conquer celebrated his race win with a big fist pump and some victory donuts with the checkered flag. Musgrave had to settle for P2 in his first Canadian start while Riccio overtook Nogueira with two laps to go to stand on the podium in P3.

The race finished just in time too as lightning struck close to the track only moments after Conquer received his checkered flag and heavy rain fell minutes later.