ECKC: New Track, Same Race Winners in Mini-Max

The stout field of Rotax Mini-Max drivers shifted from Goodwood Kartways to the upgraded ICAR Circuit for round two of the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship and while the location was different, the story on track was very similar to the events that occurred just under a month ago.

Saturday featured intense battling between Thomas Nepveu (SH Racing/TonyKart) along with Goodwood winners Stefano Lucente (Karts & Parts/PSL Mini) and Patrick Woods-Toth (Ben Cooper Racing/BirelART). Nepveu was the fastest in Qualifying and controlled the PreFinal, but it was Woods-Toth who stepped up in the Final, snatching the lead on lap two from Nepveu, when he and Lucente touched, and never looking back.

Lucente mounted a charge for the lead and tracked down Woods in the closing laps, but he was unable to overtake before the finish allowing Woods to score his second ECKC victory of the season. Lucente and Nepveu completed the podium while Americans Dillon Defonce (SH Racing/FA Kart) and Chloe Chambers (Ben Cooper Racing/BirelART) completed the top-five.

The top three resumed their battle for Mini-Max supremacy a day later, but this time it came down to the final lap as no driver was able to break free. Nepveu led for the majority of the race but Woods-Toth kept him honest and the exchanged the lead often as the checkered flag drew closer. Back and forth the lead changed hangs with Lucente sitting in third just waiting his opportunity to pounce. That opportunity came on the exit of corner five on the final lap after Nepveu and Woods-Toth went side by side through corners four and five and came into contact on the exit of five. Slipping to the outside of the corner Lucente overtook both.

With the two losing enough momentum that Lucente didn’t need to defend in the final four corners, the Ontario driver claimed his second ECKC win of the season and his career.

The battle between Nepveu and Woods-Toth didn’t end in corner five however as Nepveu hit Woods heavily in corner nine to regain the second position before the finish, ending Woods-Toth’s race a couple hundred feet before the finish line. Officials deemed the contact excessive and disqualified Nepveu from second place, moving Defonce up to second and Xavier Harris onto the podium with Chambers and Gianluca Savaglio (Goodwood/Intrepid) into the top-five.

Mini-Max drivers Defonce (l), Lucente (c) and Harris (r) enjoyed the podium celebrations on Sunday (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)