CKN Predictions: Rotax Mini-Max – 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 Mini-Max

With this years Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals including demonstration races for the Mini-Max division, three tickets to New Orleans, USA are up for grabs this weekend for drivers in the class for drivers to join Team Canada at the world-class event. Like Micro-Max, the field is relatively small but provides some great racing action all the way through and with the added incentive of New Orleans on the line, Mini-Max will come down to the wire not only for first, but second and third place as well.

Leading the charge in our Rotax Mini-Max predictions is Antonio Serravalle. The standout driver can call Goodwood home, and he took three out of four top predictions by the CKN panel, with the other interestingly thinking he may just miss the podium. Serravalle has had a strong year thus far, winning in ECKC action and currently holding the points lead.

Coming in second, Charles Deschenes returns to Goodwood after scoring a victory at the recent ECKC round in July. He was the only driver other than Serravalle to get a first place vote, and the Quebec driver is enjoying a good year, always in contention for victory and podiums. His pace towards the end of the ECKC weekend was very impressive and if he can continue that throughout the week, he could very well leave as National Champion in the category.

Just behind Deschenes is another pair of drivers out of the province of Quebec. Thierry Cote has been very strong all season long, and already secured his ticket to the Rotax Grand Finals by winning the Western Canadian Championship in Alberta. Still seeking that first major victory in the East, Cote is looking for a little redemption after losing the last race at Le Monaco on the final lap. He will be one to watch for sure at Goodwood. Also scoring an average under four was Samuel Lupien. The privateer has been doing very well this season and could easily end up on top of the podium with a breakout weekend at Goodwood.

Capping the top-five in our CKN Predictions is Joe Soranno. The Ontario pilot has had an up and down season thus far but gained some confidence this past weekend standing on top of the podium at a Goodwood club race. He’s also been on the ECKC podium this year and now has his sights set on the top of the National podium.

Other notables in the class saw Tommy Simard, JP Hutchinson and Roman DeAngelis earn picks by the CKN panel. The last we checked, Hutchinson was still up in the air about competing at the Nationals and will truly be missed if that’s the case. Also joining the pack at Goodwood is Stephan Bachalo of Manitoba as the lone representative from the West in the class.

Unofficially there are eight drivers entered in the class, but like Micro-Max the class should have over a dozen on race 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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