The final major karting event of the Canadian season wrapped up this past weekend as the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship completed another at the Jim Russell Karting Academy in beautiful Mont-Tremblant, QC. It was a cool and overcast weekend as the event hosted the Coupe du Quebec on Saturday before setting up the ECKC Championship finale with some classes coming down to the wire for titles and for who would join Team Canada for the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.
While championship leader Stuart Clark (Prime/Maranello) limped around the track in the Prefinal at Mont-Tremblant to secure the title while nursing a foot injury, Francis Mondou (IPK/Praga) and Luc Sauriol (PSL Karting/CRG) were racing up front for the win.
Sauriol led early on in the Final as Mondou recovered from a tough start, but by halfway he was on the bumper of the CRG and looking for the lead. The two traded the top spot for a couple laps before Mondou was able to pull a gap. From there, Sauriol faded off and Mondou grabbed his first win of the season.
Clarks five wins earned him the championship, while Mondou and Martin Verville (Haase) stood on the championship podium. With Clark already qualified via his Canadian title, Mondou scored the ticket and joins Team Canada for the Rotax Grand Finals in New Orleans, USA.
The event caps off yet another successful year for the ECKC, showing growth at nearly every event this year. With a strong support and huge growth in the Briggs & Stratton classes as well as growth in the youngest categories of Rotax, the series has plenty to look back on this year as we know it is already looking forward to 2014!
