In two weeks, the Western Canadian Karting Championship will kick off their second season of competition. Returning to Greg Moore Raceway in Chilliwack, British Columbia, the first of three rounds will hit the track for Rotax racers looking to qualify for the Rotax Grand Finals, along with Briggs and Shifter racers chasing trophies and bragging rights.
With a year of experience, the series organizers have a much better understanding of what to expect and have ironed out some of their challenges from year one, including a full-time race director and technical director. They recently re-signed Exclusive Autosport as a title sponsor for the series, with the Formula Car team awarding testing sessions at the end of the season to four WCKC competitors.
The future is bright for the series and we cannot wait to check in on them when the CKN Summer Tour lands in Regina, Saskatchewan for stop two of the series in June.
We caught up with Scott Campbell, one of the four men making it all happen in the west, to ask him some questions about the series, to get some updates and see where everyone is at.
Here’s our conversation in our latest instalment of CKN Chatter.
Let’s begin with a look back at 2018. What did you like as a series in regards to starting a new program and travelling literally thousands of kilometres to make it all happen?
SC – It was great to have something that the western drivers could travel for a big series. It was overdue to have something like the WCKC in the west. With over 330 entries in the 3 events, it was great to see the western drivers come to support the WCKC too.
You sent out a questionnaire at the end of the season and had plenty of feedback from the racers after year one. What were some of the topics that were discussed the most?
SC – The big one was having a constant race director and tech person. Others were about having the same tires at each event and having only one set of rules, as in 2018, the WCKC race injunction with club events which made for some challenges.
The first race takes place in Chilliwack, BC, the same place the WCKC ended off last year. Tell me what helped keep them on the schedule while adding two different circuits for the other two races?
SC – Well the Chilliwack facility is one of the best in Western Canada. Also to have a race in May Chilliwack is usually warmer than the rest of the West. We at the WCKC want to move the races around so all the clubs can have a chance to host a WCKC event. Regina and Edmonton were next on the list and have some great facilities.
And what attracted the series to have raced at South Sask Kart Club and EDKRA?
SC – As I said in the previous question Regina and Edmonton have great facilities to host a WCKC. Regina also just built their new track and the WCKC will be the first large event run at it. EDKRA track in Warburg has put a countless hour into building a top-notch facility that has full power at each pit spot, full washrooms with showers and many more items.
2019 Western Canadian Karting Championship Schedule:
- May 17-19 – Greg Moore Raceway // Chilliwack, BC
- June 28-30 – WF Botkin Raceway // Regina, SK
- August 16-18 – Rotax Mojo Raceway // Warburg, AB
Let’s talk about the Rotax Max program, how great it was to build a WCKC team that represented Canada at the Rotax Grand Finals?
SC – It was great to see five drivers from the West go to the Rotax Grand Finals in Brazil this past year. Every one of the drivers showed pace to be racing in the finals up near the front. I look forward to seeing which drivers will represent Team Canada this year at the Rotax Grand Finals in Sarno, Italy.
What are the prizes available for racers to win this season?
SC – In addition to our Rotax Grand Finals tickets to the champions in Mini Max, Junior Max, Senior Max, DD2 and DD2 Masters, Exclusive Autosport is awarding a total of four test drives in their F1600 Spectrum Cars to Rotax Junior, Rotax Senior and MVP of the series. We will have another announcement in the coming weeks with some more awards we’re giving away.
The lottery engine program is back for another season. It seemed to go very well last year and the racers were happy with equality. Is there anything that needed adjusting for this season?
SC – It really did go great last year. Everyone was very impressed with how close the racing was with the lottery motors. The only thing that will change this year is that the WCKC has added the Micro Max class to the lottery program with 3 tickets to the Rotax International Race in Le Mans, France.
One of the things we noticed last year was the inconsistency of officials as some main positions changed each race. Does the WCKC have a team of officials for 2019 that will attend all three rounds this year to give the racers some consistency?
SC – Yes this was something that we at the WCKC wanted to take very seriously and have found a full-time Race Director and Tech Official that will be at all 3 events.
CKN – Finally, is there anything else you would like to let the racers know before the season gets underway?
SC – We are just really looking forward to a positive and fun year at the 2019 WCKC for everyone competing. We wanted to remind everyone that the WCKC has Rotax Grand Final tickets in Mini Max, Junior Max, Senior Max, DD2 and DD2 Masters.
The first event is May 17-19 in Chilliwack which is fast approaching and to go onto the online store at www.wckc.ca to register for the event. All Briggs and Rotax classes will be using the Mojo Tires.
In closing, We would like to thank our partners Exclusive Autosport, Rotax Max, Mojo Tires, and CRG West for their continued support of the WCKC. If anyone would like to come on as a sponsor for the WCKC they are encouraged to contact wckcteam@gmail.com.
