Canadians Invade Indiana for Briggs 206 Cup and Return Home Victorious!

Many of Ontario’s Briggs & Stratton top guns jumped at the opportunity to travel south of the border this past weekend and take on a selection of American LO206 racers on their home turf. Competing in the Briggs & Stratton 206 Cup Grand Championship at New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana, no less than 19 Canadian drivers were in attendance and they brought home the hardware in a number of different classes, including a pair of race wins.

The long NCMP track lapped around one-minute and fifteen seconds, meaning there was plenty of time to battle on track each lap and drafting was very, very important. The race day format featured Qualifying, two heats and Final to determine the race day winners.

The 206 Cup wasn’t shy to hand out prizes throughout the weekend and included some great finds. Jamie MacArthur and Gabriel Savoie each took home a brand new ZAMP helmet, Marc Stehle won a MyChron 5 and Scotty Watkins was the winners of a Sniper alignment tool.

“It was great to see the Canadian participation. Simply stated the bar was raised on what were some very competitive classes to begin with,” stated David Klaus of Briggs & Stratton Racing.

Saturday

Saturday’s Junior Final was the best of the weekend as Canadian drivers worked together and swept the top-four positions at the finish line. Stefano Lucente topped the podium joined by Gabriel Savoie and Jordan Prior while Canadian Champion Avery Miller was fourth. Ayden Gough secured a tenth place finish as well in the field of 22 Junior drivers.

Shortly after Lucente’s win, Scott Jefferies added to the Canadian podium tally, driving home the race win in Masters by a whopping five seconds! Jamie MacArthur and Quinn Dewsbury rounded out the top-five in fourth and fifth while Ron Henrie jumped back in a kart and finished seventh. Stephen Goebel was a DNF.

In the CIK Senior Medium Final, Canadians were once again out in full force but came up just short of victory. Marc Stehle stood on the podium in second with David Patrick joining him in third while Michael Glaze was fourth. Steve MacVoy was twentieth with 22 karts in the category.

Competing in the 23-strong Sportsman category, it was a rough ride for the Canadian trio as Ayden Ingratta managed a seventh-place effort followed by Scotty Watkins in twelfth. Callum Baxter was a DNF after a crash on the opening lap.

In the Senior Medium category, which had an open bodywork option, Michael Glaze was ninth, Robert Soroka was twentieth and Gavin Sanders was a DNF.

“I gotta thank the NCMP owners for a great weekend. They treated us Canadian’s very well and we had a blast. The 206 Cup was awesome, we will back next year,” exclaimed Dale Bonham, manager of AI Motorports.

Watch as Callum Baxter just avoids a flipping fellow competitor. The racer would be okay and actually landed on all four wheels.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZuU3ItFwBb

Sunday

Looking for more glory on Sunday, the Canadians returned for day two.

For the Junior drivers, it was a tougher outcome as none were able to return to the podium. Jordan Prior wound up one position short in fourth with Savoie just behind in fifth. Lucente was racing with Prior and Savoie but was hung out to wide and fell back in the order, taking tenth, one spot ahead of Miller. Gough brought his kart home in thirteenth.

The Masters put forth another great effort and remained at the top end of the results sheet with Jefferies taking second, MacArthur third, Henrie fifth and Dewsbury sixth.

For the second straight day, Michael Glaze was fourth in the CIK Senior Medium Final followed by his teammate Marc Stehle. Dave Patrick was ninth after battling all race long with Glaze.

Michael Glaze leads the pack of CIK Senior Medium racers (Photo courtesy: Randy Glaze)

Sunday was a better day for Canadian Champ Callum Baxter as he finished on the podium in third place, two spots ahead of Ingratta. It was a rough go for Watkins who wound up seventeenth at the finish.

In the Senior Medium Final, Glaze could only muscle a seventh-place result in the Final, two spots ahead of Soroka. Sanders was fifteenth in what we expect was a weekend to forget.

All in all it was a positive vibe that exited the pits in New Castle on Sunday with many Canadians stating to CKN they plan to return next year.