This time is finally here, the 2013 ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Karting Championships are officially under way at Goodwood Kartways, just north of Toronto. After months of preparation and weeks of practice, Friday represented Canadian Tire SuperPole Qualifying day at the Nationals, where all nine classes hit the track for qualifying and their first of three heat races.
Rotax Junior saw Devlin Defrancesco (DFR/TonyKart) top the charts in timed qualifying, posting a time of 36.862 seconds around the tight and twisty Goodwood Kartways. Gianfranco Mazzaferro (Ferrolati Corse/TonyKart) and Jeff Kingsley (Pserra Racing/TonyKart) made it an OTK top three while Cedrik Lupien (CSL/Birel) and Jordan Slipacoff (TonyKart) completed the top-five. With 27 karts in the field, qualifying was even more important as it set the grid for all three heat races.
Mazzaferro got the jump in the first heat race on Friday afternoon, however Defrancesco would take the lead back only two laps later. Slipacoff slotted into third just ahead of Kingsley, while Lupien fell back early. Up front Defrancesco pulled away to take the heat as Mazzaferro held second. Kingsley moved up to third with Slipacoff on his hells while Lupien rebounded to come back to fifth. Notably, ECKC winner Alex Lacroix qualified twelfth and scored a DNF in heat one, a tough start to his Canadian Championships.
The action resumes tomorrow as the Juniors have two more heat races left. With lots of action in heat one, things should get interesting tomorrow as drivers look for as few points as possible before Sunday.
