A handful of Canadian drivers took part in the SKUSA SpringNationals this past weekend in Utah, with three of them scoring victories.
In fact, Canadian drivers dominated the X30 Junior division and the Micro Swift class.
On Saturday, Jensen Burnett, who just returned from the European Championships in Sweden, was able to lead the majority of the Junior Final and defended his lead on the final lap to secure the win and become one of the youngest X30 Junior winners in SKUSA history at just 11 years old.
Sunday’s race once again saw Burnett (RPM/TonyKart) in contention, but this time it was with fellow MRFKC Mosport race winner Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts/CRG), who finished fourth on Saturday. The two waged a great battle until contact on the final lap ended with Burnett in the sand and out with less than half a lap remaining while Ingratta was able to regain speed and cruise to the finish line to take the victory. A racing incident no doubt, but it would have been awesome to have a Canadian 1-2 finish.
In a press release, Ingratta stated he has his eyes on the Pro Tour championship following great results in the first two rounds. “After finishing fourth on Saturday and seeing the official results of Sunday’s prefinal, I had something to prove and did just that with the win. That motivation will carry me towards my next event as I look to claim my first SKUSA Pro Tour title.”
In the Micro Swift division, we once again saw a weekend of domination by Rocco Simone (Parolin USA/Parolin). Now living in the USA full time, Simone has been karting non-stop and it is showing with yet another pair of major victories. He leaves Utah with the SKUSA Pro Tour championship points lead heading to the final round of the season, which takes place in Indiana.
On Sunday we also saw Adam Ali drive to a third-place finish in the KA100 Senior Final, putting Racing Edge Motorsports on the podium. Side note, Kevin Monteith and his REM team packed up immediately after MRFKC Innisfil and drove across the continent to support his team of drivers in Utah.
Other notable Canadian finishes from the weekend were: Jason Leung finishing sixth in X30 Senior on Saturday, Cedrik Lupien taking eighth in KA100 Senior on Sunday, Davide Greco finishing eight in Pro Shifter on Sunday and Alex Chartier finishing P11 on both days in X30 Junior.
There was a major Canadian contingent of racers in Utah over the weekend, showcasing just how talented the grids of Canadian karting are at the moment.
