It was another beautiful day at Goodwood Kartways as the fourth race of the 2013 Eastern Canadian Karting Championship hit the track. Officially the largest entered event in ECKC history, it is great to see the series continue to grow, especially in the Briggs & Stratton divisions. With a more sunshine blazing down on the track, the action also heated up with many shake ups on the championship standings when all was said and done.
Rotax Senior saw a major shake up in the championship this weekend at Goodwood. Zachary Claman DeMelo (IPK North America/Praga) moved himself into the championship hunt while double race winner at Mosport Kevin Monteith (Racing Edge Motorsports/Birel) struggled to complete the opening lap of every race this weekend.
Kicking off Sunday’s Qualifying session, Olivier Bedard (KMS North America/Birel) scored the pole-position, edging out Saturday winner De Melo. Kieran Oxley (Racing Edge Motorsports/Birel) had a great qualifying session to post the third quickest time while Zacharie Scalzo escaped from the slower group to rank fourth just ahead of Pier-Luc Ouellette (PSL Karting/CRG).
The Pre Final would see DeMelo lead from the flag drop. Behind, Scalzo and Bedard held on while Steven Szigeti (SH Karting/Zanardi) worked past Ouellette for fourth in the early stages. Running in line until the final couple of laps, Bedard would finally move past Scalzo for second with Scalzo falling down to fifth. Making the same move next time by, Bedard moved into the lead and would take the Pre Final ahead of DeMelo, Szigeti, Scalzo and Ouellette.
DeMelo would jump ahead at the start and lead the field exiting corner one to start the Final with Bedard and Scalzo in tow. Bedard would move into the lead on lap five, but on lap seven the front would shake up as De Melo attempted to pass for the lead but tangled with Bedard allowing Ouellette to move into the lead, and Andrew Palmer (J3 Competition/Kosmic) to move from sixth to third. DeMelo would resume in second but Bedard found himself in the grass in corner nine and out of the race.
Tracking down the leader, DeMelo returned to the point on lap fourteen in corner five, with Palmer attempting to get by Ouellette in six. But the two made contact and this allowed DeMelo to get away while Ouellette held the the position. From there it would be smooth sailing for DeMelo as he scored his second victory of the weekend and vaulted himself right back into the championship hunt. Ouellette would hold on for second, his second podium of the day, while Scalzo would rebound to complete the podium. Szigeti rolled past Palmer with two to go to take fourth.
Double Mosport winner Monteith would wind up 19th in this one after another terrible day. His championship lead took a major hit this weekend and he will need to rebound in Trois Rivieres if he wants to take the title.
The series now shifts to the province of Quebec for remaining races. Round three will be held in conjunction with the Coupe du Quebec at Le Monaco de Trois Rivieres on August 1-4. This street race is a not miss for everyone.
