Ayden Ingratta was the first of four drivers on Sunday at the Canadian Karting Championships to book themselves a ticket to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, taking place in Bahrain this coming December, after delivering a beautiful performance in the Rotax Junior Final.
All weekend long it was a four-kart race up front between Ingratta (AI/RedSpeed), fast-qualifier Frankie Esposito (Prime/BirelART), Callum Baxter (REM/Kosmic) and Logan Pacza (Prime/BirelART) and the Final was no different.
Esposito was the first to lead the race, but Ingratta advanced from his third starting spot to pressure the early race leader. Making a pass on lap two, Ingratta went to the lead and was followed by Baxter. The next time by, Baxter pulled off the same pass on Ingratta to take control of the race.
Sticking tight to the bumper of the race leader, Ingratta began to push Baxter and the two pulled away from Esposito and Pacza while Ian Qiu (BBR/TonyKart) and Aiden Carruthers (REM/Kosmic) slipped back from the lead pack.
As the laps ticked away in the 22-lap marathon, Baxter and Ingratta had a sizable gap built up. At the halfway mark, Ingratta started to pressure for lead, showing his nose in a few corners before fully committing to a pass in the hairpin on lap fourteen to get the lead.
Baxter lost a few kart lengths in the process but used the draft to close back in on the leader.
The final five laps saw Baxter really apply the pressure on Ingratta and that forced Ingratta to begin a defensive approach, allowing Esposito and Pacza to slow close back in.
Baxter looked left and right in every passing corner, but Ingratta planted his RedSpeed Kart at the apex each time and stopped any chance of a crossover move.
The final lap saw Pacza, now in third, close in on Baxter’s bumper and forced him to be cautious on any pass attempts.
Defending perfectly on the final lap, Ingratta held off Baxter to score the win, while Esposito tried to pass Pacza entering corner ten on the final lap, but he tagged his rear corner and both spun out. By the time they got pointed in the right direction, Qiu had gone by to sneak onto the podium.
Following the race, Baxter had a pushback bumper penalty knock him back to third and elevated Qiu up to second.
This will be Ingratta’s first opportunity to compete in the Rotax Grand Finals, an invite-only event featuring the best Rotax racers from around the world.
Motomaster Canadian Karting Championships – Rotax Junior Final Results
