The 2013 Coupe du Québec season finally hit the track this past weekend as karters, teams and families all made their way east of Montreal to SH Karting. The facility was in tip-top shape, with lush grass wrapping around the tight and twisting 1KM track. A new format for this years Coupe saw officials toss out the qualifying session and replace it with two inverted grid heat races. With drivers selecting a number at registration, their grid position for heat one would be reverse for heat two, creating lots of action and passing through the entire field of each class. These two heats would be followed up by the usual Pre Final and Final races.
It was a relatively small turnout for the two-speed DD2 class at the Quebec Cup as only four drivers were registered, while seven DD2 Masters help fill the grid.
Leading the charge early on, Dominic Legrand (CRG) controlled the two heat races, while Dany St-Hilaire (CRG) was the man to beat in the Masters category. Legrand would also go untouched in the Pre Final as his closest competitor, Alessandro Bizzotto (PSL Karting/CRG) would be sidelined after only one lap.
In the Final, it appeared that Legrand would easily cruise away. But after managing his way through the Masters traffic in the early stages, Bizzotto was on a tear as the laps wound down. Tracking down the leader with three to go, Bizzotto wasted little time getting by and began to pull away. With no energy left, Bizzotto scored his first victory of the year while Legrand held on for second. St-Hilaire would cross third to take the Masters victory, while Francis Méthot crossed fourth and completed the DD2 podium. St-Hilaire would be joined by Martin Verville (Haase) and Francis Bellemere (CRG).
This year, the Coupe du Québec will only complete five rounds instead of the usual six, including the final race at historic Grand Mere Karting in July. CKN will have more about this in the near future.
Round two takes place on June 15 and 16 at SRA Karting.
