The anticipation has been building all summer long and after major karting events across this great country of ours from May through August, Canada’s premier kart racers have come in troops and invaded the Jim Russell Karting Academy in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec for the 2014 ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Karting Championships.
Nine classes will do battle this week and the event will feature approximately 175 drivers from provinces as far west as British Columbia and east as Nova Scotia. Three of those classes will utilize the Briggs & Stratton LO206 engine platform with the remaining six powered by Rotax Max engines.
While every driver will be seeking National glory in their respective classes and entering their names into the record books, four National Champions will earn invitations to join Team Canada at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, held this year in Valencia Spain. Those invitations will be awarded to drivers winning in Rotax Junior, Rotax Senior, Rotax DD2 and Rotax DD2 Masters.
CKN is already trackside for the event, with our usual CKN Live Blog for those at home, as well as updates as they happen on the CKN Social Feed and results posted to our competitions page when available. Be sure to check out https://www.canadiankartingnews.com/live to follow the action beginning with Canadian Tire SuperPole Thursday.
With views on predicting who should fare well in working toward those goals, Canadian Karting News has prepared unique class previews for this year’s National Championships, with staffers Cody Schindel, Neelan Nadesan, Nathan Kelly and Jason Holland submitting predictions for each class. Taking into account results from this year in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Western Canadian Championship and Coupe du Quebec; last year’s performances in Goodwood, and their general track record, drivers were ranked by the CKN panel. Then, taking the average of the four ballots, an unofficial class ranking was created. Drivers that were not listed on all four ballots were issued a score of 6.
Briggs & Stratton Junior
The Briggs & Stratton Junior class is shaping up to be just as thrilling as its older counter part Briggs Senior. These young drivers are promising to give quite a show to spectators the at Mont-Tremblant and many of these athletes are looking to secure a championship win to boost their resume for future plans.
Out of Ontario, 13 year-old Roman DeAngelis has secured the number one pick in our predictions. He is a young driver with a professional attitude and has been setting fast times all season long. With his consistency, strong mindset and drive, DeAngelis has a strong shot at this years Canadian National Championship. The young talent has spent his season juggling a mix of Rotax and Briggs as well as racing across North America, making him on of the busiest karters of the year.
Austin Bisschop came in as the second pick by the crew at CKN. Although Bishop is still searching for a golden finish this season in ECKC events, he can always be spotted on the podium. In previous seasons Bisschop has won his fair share of championships and he will look to add the Canadian Nationals to his list.
CKN’s third pick is Tyler McCullough, who is the 2013 returning champion in Briggs Junior. McCullough will look to defend his tittle for 2014 after a his hard fought battle last year in Goodwood. He has the experience to have a certain level of comfort with this championship, which will give him an edge over other drivers.
From the East Coast it is Kelsey Hann taking the fourth spot. Hann has a couple wins under her belt this season and is on the hunt to extend her victories with a Canadian National Championship. Hann has been racing hard at the fastest track in the Maritimes, East Coast Karting, and she is partnering up with PSL Moncton for the weekend. With strong focus Hann has a very real shot at winning the title.
Another driver from the Goodwood region, Nicholas Horbostel will look to mix things up in the Briggs Junior class. The talented youngster promises to put on quite a show, as his aggressive driving style will add an aspect of excitement to this weekends racing.
That rounds out our top-five predictions for Briggs & Stratton Junior, a class that will have race fans on the edge of their seat come sunday. All drivers are looking to claim the championship and there are many drivers not mentioned that have an equal shot at the championship. We cannot wait to see what these young Briggs drivers have to show at the 2014 Canadian National Championship
| Driver |
Pick 1 |
Pick 2 |
Pick 3 |
Pick 4 |
AVG |
| Roman DeAngelis |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1.75 |
| Austin Bisschop |
4 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
3.50 |
| Tyler McCullough |
1 |
6 |
3 |
6 |
4.00 |
| Kelsey Hann |
6 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
4.00 |
| Nicholas Hornbostel |
2 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
4.75 |
| Xavier Dorsnie |
5 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
5.25 |
| Steven Oliver |
6 |
6 |
6 |
3 |
5.25 |
| Graci Young |
6 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
5.50 |
| Andre Fiorini |
6 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
5.50 |
| Joshua Conquer |
6 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
5.75 |
| Justin Beers |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
5.75 |
Please Note:
– These are strictly predictions offered up for CKN readers, and not any type of formal ranking.
– With no official pre-entry list, predictions were based strictly on those who are qualified through the ECKC, WCC and Quebec Cup.
– These are just for fun, read and enjoy!
