Friday Night DD2 Thunder Starts Off the 2023 EDKRA Summer Challenge

The Wednesday night Rotax DD2 racers got the opportunity to race on a Friday evening to be part of the 2023 EDKRA Summer Challenge presented by 3-D Line Locating at the Rotax Mojo Raceway in Warburg, Alberta and it was the perfect way to kick off the highlight event for the Edmonton & District Kart Racing Association.

Split into two groups based on weight but still competing as one, 22 drivers lined up on the starting grid. The unique 1-hour open practice and Qualifying session set the tone just after 5:00 PM where the top-3 from each division would return to the track for SuperPole Qualifying presented by Apollo Motorsports.

The skies were dark and gloomy, and rain was expected, but nothing more than a sprinkle would fall throughout the evening, with the sun even making a return around the 9:00 PM mark, just in time for the Final.

After a number of attempts to put down a flier, Griffin Dowler (TonyKart), Jared Freeston (Kosmic) and Dylan Ludwig (BirelART) were the fastest in Rotax DD2 397. At the same time, Colin Livingston (CRG), Damon Shelemey (CRG) and Aidan Ludwig (BirelART) advanced in the DD2 420 category.

Returning to the track, Dowler ripped off his fastest lap on his second of three fliers and while Freeston came close on his third, the order remained the same with Dowler scoring the $500.00 payday for the SuperPole with Freeston starting alongside him on the front row and Ludwig staying third.

For the 420 racers, Livingston was in a league of his own in SuperPole, going nearly six-tenths of a second quicker than Shelemey to earn the SuperPole and the nice payday that came with it.

In between sessions to give the DD2 drivers a break, there was practice time for the racers competing during the weekend portion of the Summer Challenge.

The two heat races were much the same up front as Dowler managed to keep the lead while Freeston remained close but didn’t push too hard. Behind them, Matthew Taskinen (CRG) utilized the two heats to recover after failing to set a time in Qualifying due to a mechanical failure with his drivetrain. He moved up to P7 in the first heat and then P3 in the second heat to put himself right back in the running for the podium.

In the Final Dowler once again controlled the start through the opening sequence of corners and gained the lead but this time he had Taskinen on his rear bumper after following him through past Freeston. The three quickly started to break away until disaster struck Dowler on lap three.

Exiting corner eight his throttle cable snapped, leaving Taskinen and Freeston scrambling to avoid the slowing race leader. Rolling into the grass, his race was over and it was now down to the two for the win.

Two laps later at the halfway mark, Freeston took his opportunity for the lead, overtaking Taskinen into corner one.

From there, Taskinen had a number of looks to regain the lead but Freeston never faulted. Navigating the circuit to perfection, Freeston notched the Summer Challenge win onto his resume. Taskinen’s bid for a full recovery had to settle for second place. At the same time, Ludwig completed the podium after starting the Final down in fifth place, overtaking Jason Berry (TonyKart) in the second half of the race to stand on the box.

In the race within the race, Livingston was no match for his competitors. He wound up battling amongst the mid-pack of the DD2 397 group and would cross the finish line 6.9 seconds ahead of Troy Shelemey (CRG) while Greg Zazzara (OTK) was a further six seconds to get to the finish line.

The evening was capped off by a live band taking the stage along with a local brewery proving some beverages before the podiums took place. Capping off the night would be a spectacular fireworks display and just like that, night one of the EDKRA Summer Challenge was complete.