#CoupedeMontreal
Coupe de Montreal: Rotax Categories Give a Great Preview for the Canadian Open!
Our Coupe de Montreal Round 2 Rotax + Shifter Race Report
With the Canadian Open just over a month away, the Coupe de Montreal event at Circuit ICAR was the perfect opportunity for Rotax racers to prepare themselves for the first invitations to join Team Canada this season.
Rotax Senior once again was a stout field of competitors with 43 on the entry list. With a Final grid of only 36 positions, this meant for the second event in a row that two PreFinals and a Last Chance Race were required to determine the Final starting grid.
There were also additional entries in Rotax Mini-Max, Junior Max, DD2 and DD2 Masters with 142 Rotax racers taking to the track, up slightly from round 1 at SH Karting.
Not to be forgotten, valuable Coupe de Montreal championship points were also up for grabs during the weekend and spectacular racing was on display right next door to the airplanes bringing the Formula 1 materials for next weekend’s Grand Prix.
Rotax Senior
Putting in a perfect weekend wasn’t easy for Timothe Pernod (PSL/BirelART) as a very talented Rotax Senior category was tight at the top.
A blistering lap in Qualifying started his weekend off on the right foot with the pole position but it was no easy feat in the races.
Click here for the full Rotax Senior Report.
Timothe Pernod being chased by William Bouthillier and Ryan Maxwell (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Rotax Junior
Making his first start of the season in his home country, Edward Kennedy (Energy Corse NA/Energy Kart) was impressive over the weekend.
He moved up to Junior over the winter and competed in a number of races in Florida, getting up to speed in the full-size chassis and that proved very beneficial and Kennedy was in control all weekend long.
Click here for the full Rotax Junior Report.
Edward Kennedy celebrating his victory. (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Rotax DD2
Ludovic Sabourin (BCR/BirelART) secured his victory of the year in Rotax DD2.
The battle up front changed dramatically in the PreFinal when fast qualifier Gianluca Savaglio (REM/Kosmic) was sidelined with a mechanical issue.
This opened the door for Sabourin to swoop in and take advantage and from there, he controlled the category.
Christophe Legrand (CRT/BirelART) kept close to Sabourin and finished second while Cederic Cataphard (CRT/BirelART) took the third step of the podium. Round 1 winner Lucas Nanji (HM Propela/Kart Republic) was fourth.
Ludovic Sabourin (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Rotax Micro-Mini
Two drivers stood out during the weekend in Rotax Micro-Mini Max with one controlling the top spot from start to finish.
Coming off a runner-up finish in round one, Jeremy St-Cyr (PSL/BirelART) topped all three competitive sessions at ICAR to put himself atop the championship standings. Brando Londono (BL Racing/Energy Kart) was just behind him in all three sessions, as the pair had an edge on their competition.
Third place was Olivier Chasse (HM Propela/Kart Republic) who edged out Antoine Lazinet (Premier Karting/TonyKart) in a photo finish. Fifth place went to Massimo Lorusso (Scuderia Lorusso/CRG).
Jeremy St-Cyr (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Rotax DD2 Masters
The Chocolate Racing Team swept the podium in Rotax DD2 Masters.
Driving home the victory was Alexandre Gauthier (CRT/BirelART), who is seeking a return to Rotax Team Canada this season. Only 0.276 seconds back at the finish line was Franois Dulac (CRT/TonyKart) who made a late race charge and overtook Maximilien Gareau (CRT/MG Kart) with three laps to go.
After winning the PreFinal, David Laplante (Premier Karting/TonyKart) failed the rear-width test and had to start the Final from the rear. He charged back to fifth place in the race, running out of time to catch fourth place finish Pascal Acquaah (ETI Racing/BirelART).
Alexandre Gauthier (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Rotax Masters
Alexandre Boyer Laporte (Velox Canada/Velox) returned to the top of the Coupe de Montreal podium in Rotax Max Masters. He had to contend with a very fast Michel Legrand (PSL/BirelART) all race long, trading the lead a couple of times and scored the victory by 0.766 seconds.
Third place went to Sylvain Chenard (TonyKart).
Alexandre Boyer Laporte (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Open Shifter
In Open Shifter it was another dominating weekend for Davide Greco (PSL/BirelART).
Greco was the only driver to break into the 42-second bracket and was untouchable en route to another Coupe de Montreal race victory.
Second place went to Charles Gauthier (PSL/BirelART) while Marc-Andre Levesque (SH Karting/SodiKart) was third.
In Open Shifter Masters, Nicolas Bedard notched his second win of the season, finishing third overall on track. Dany St-Hilaire (PSL/BirelART) and Franco Vassallo (PSL/BirelART) completed an all PSL Karting podium in Masters.
Davide Greco (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Open Shifter Masters podium (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)
Next up for the Coupe de Montreal is round three at SC Performance in Saint Celestin. Registration will open shortly at http://coupedemontreal.com.
The Canadian Open will take place at Circuit ICAR on July 19-21 where tickets to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals will be awarded. Registration for that event will open in a few weeks time.
