CKRC Championship Round #2 Recap

Press release by: Jack Mazury / CKRC.

Entrants had a great day of racing with 107 entries across 11 classes, the largest being Briggs and Stratton Senior with 16, followed closely by the Shifter and Senior Rotax classes. VLR had a record entry count with 14 karts taking to the track in the combined Senior and Master run group. The weather was the warmest we have seen this season. There was a chance of rain in the afternoon which opportunely parted around the track after looking nearly certain to downpour and necessitate the use of rain tires.

On-track activities followed the driver’s briefing and tech inspections. Sessions ran smoothly throughout the day with no significant delays or setbacks to the schedule. On track, the racing was exciting with a legitimate photo finish in the Briggs Senior class between three drivers. JR Rotax and Briggs saw a plethora of activity in their finals with the finishing orders being shaken up from incidences and penalties. Grip levels are already higher than ever at the Strathmore Motorsports Park with lap records being under threat at every race meeting. Following this race, the track direction changes to clockwise, bringing forth a new task for drivers to get up to speed on the more technical of the two-track directions.

Many classes had new faces exhibiting speed at the pointy end such as Julian Swanson in Junior Briggs placing a strong 2nd, Dan Krzesowksi capturing pole position in the Senior Rotax class after a move from Masters, and Christian Sanguinetti taking his maiden victory in the Briggs Cadet class. Briggs Senior saw 3 karts drag race to the finish line, with captain consistent Paul Galecki steadying the ship to take victory over long-time cohabitant of the front Spencer Perreault and Porter Trim who has shown great speed so far this season. Briggs masters was a similarly close affair with Brad Walker squeaking out ahead over Brham Trim and Dave Cameron.

Past champions returned to the lead contingent in Shifter and Senior Rotax with Nathan Bartley taking a narrow victory over Jack Mazury and James Altamirano in the Shifter class after a lunatic day which saw grid shakeups, crashes, penalties, charges through the field, start line chaos, and some excellent defensive driving. Bobby Wallace regained form and wound back the years to showcase speed and come out with the third position in the fierce Senior Rotax class over perennial front runner Mark Newson. At the front, it was calm as James Altamirano cruised to victory with Aidan Carruthers enjoying a comfortable second place.

In VLR it was all about John Kwong and Cyrus Pischke. The two drove away from their respective fields in both Masters and Senior earning victories by large margins. The pair exhibited consistency and speed throughout the day, minimizing mistakes and sailing to victory lane. Mario Gimenez and Kris Dabrowski battled all day in Rotax Masters, with the former coming out on top after a 12-lap duel in the final.

Altogether it was a memorable day of racing at the Calgary Kart Racing club with smiling faces aplenty by day’s end at the podium ceremony. The next races take place June 25th and 26th, with the aforementioned direction change promising to shake things up once again. With the next pair being a double header, we hope to see another increased entry count with possible travelling drivers from other clubs across Western Canada.