ECKC Briggs Junior Championship Goes Down to the Wire at Mosport as Palladino Surprises With the Win

The always exciting Briggs & Stratton Junior class closed out their Eastern Canadian Karting Championship season with another thriller at Mosport Kartways. After Jordan Prior grabbed the championship points lead on Saturday courtesy of a victory, it was short lived as he had a less than desirable day on Championship Sunday.

Racing for the lead in the Prefinal, Prior crashed out of the race and had to start the championship final from the rear of the grid while his closest competitor, Gabriel Savoie finished second and took a big 45 points back in the standings.

It went from bad to worse for Prior in the Final as he was only able to complete four laps before having to retire with a mechanical issue, pulling to the side of the track near the Ron Fellows bowl and hanging his head in defeat as his championship hopes went out the door.

This put the pressure on Gabriel Savoie to keep all four wheels on track and finish strong and he did so, taking a third place finish behind Nicky Palladino and Gianluca Savaglio who worked together to stay out front of the big lead pack. Even in third place, Savoie celebrated as he crossed the finish line.

Avery Miller and Kelsey Hann once again had great drives but came up just short of the ECKC podium. There is no doubt we will see them on it in the future.

For Savoie, the championship was a major celebration for a driver who has only been racing for three years. Prior barely held on to second in the overall standings as William Chayer took third, 16 points back. Hann and Kai Dalziel rounded out the top-five.

Saturday Results | Sunday Results

Gabriel Savoie celebrates his ECKC Briggs Junior title with his parents and mechanic (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)