CKN Predictions: Rotax DD2 – 2013 ASN Canadian National Karting Championships

The most anticipated Canadian karting event of the year has finally arrived. This week the 2013 ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Karting Championships hit the track for the 15th version of the race, for five days of intense action, all to determine our nine 2013 Canadian Champions. Seeking the glory of a National title, the countries best kart racers have their way to Goodwood Kartways, just north of Toronto, with Rotax drivers also seeking invitations to join Team Canada at this years Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, while the Briggs & Stratton drivers have a full array of prizes on the table. A large amount of pre-entries predicts a very successful event as the Nationals returns to Ontario after three years in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.

CKN will be trackside for the entire event, with our usual Live Blog for those at home, as well as results as they happen on social media and posted to our competitions page when available. Video interviews will also be on tap as we highlight each days successors. Be sure to check out https://www.canadiankartingnews.com/live to follow the action beginning with Canadian Tire SuperPole Friday.

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, Parker Thompson 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 Tremblant, 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.

Rotax DD2

This year’s Rotax DD2 class has been a bit of a dud compared to previous seasons. Barely cracking ten drivers at any event, the two-speed program has been lacking immensely even if the few that are racing are extremely talented. News the Ben Cooper will not be racing at this years Nationals and ultimately not defend his title came as a shock to CKN, but he has decided to focus more on his KMS North America race team after securing the 2013 Florida Winter Tour Rotax DD2 title and a ticket to the Grand Finals. Cooper has raced all season in the Rotax DD2 class, winning all but one race so far in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship.

After missing the opening rounds of the season, Pier-Luc Ouellette finds himself in the drivers seat for this years Rotax DD2 title. Ouellette returned to the hot seat at the ECKC rounds at Goodwood, finishing second on Saturday before scoring a dominating victory on Sunday. He will be pulling double-duty this year, racing in Rotax Senior Max as well, but Ouellette feels up for the challenge as he seeks another trip to the Grand Finals and another shot at a world title.

Second on our predictions list is Brendon Bain. The Maranello North America pilot has been very quick this season behind Cooper, and is on the verge of that breakout victory. A solid week at Goodwood could put Bain on top and finally score him that ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals he has been seeking for three years.

Bain’s teammate Fred Woodley shares the third best average by the CKN panel, but with one of us selecting him to take victory on Sunday he slots ahead. Woodley is also on the verge of that breakout victory, but it comes very challenging when racing the likes of Cooper and Ouellette, who are both past Grand Finals Champions. Sharing knowledge with Bain could handy if either of them want to beat Ouellette.

Also holding an average finish of third in our predictions is Marco Di Leo. After many years in Rotax Senior, Di Leo has shifted to DD2 this season but has yet to pick up a victory. He would like nothing other than to end that streak this weekend on his home track of Goodwood, but has his work to do.

Completing our top-five, Enrico Menotti just snuck in with one pick for him to finish fourth. Menotti doesn’t seem to be as fast as he has been in previous years of DD2, but he seems very focused on this weeks Nationals and that could move him up the order and possibly onto the National podium.

Some names have popped up as potential racers this weekend, including Frank Launi. The Innisfil driver is a past Canadian DD2 Champion, winning the last time the Nationals were at Goodwood. Also, drivers like Cory Cacciavillani and Alessandro Bizzotto caught the eyes of the CKN panel to finish in the top-five.

As of today, there are only seven pre-registered drivers, but we hope to have at least twelve if not fifteen on track this weekend.

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!

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