For the first time in a number of years, there will be drivers crowned as Champions of Quebec. The prestigious title has been earned by a number of very successful Canadian motorsport icons over decades of race seasons, but throughout the past half-decade, the attention of karting in Quebec had shifted away from the provincial title and into more regionalized programs. More to do with the economic hardship the province of Quebec had been facing than anything else, it has been a welcome sight to see the recession finally going away and in return, new racers are flocking to tracks across the province to join the sport again.
As Gabriel Genest explained to CKN, it had been a couple years since the last time all of the members of Karting Quebec had met, but that changed this past winter and from that meeting came with the return of the Quebec Championship, or the Championnat du Quebec.
“After experiencing the recession since 2008-2009, now with the economic recovery, we gathered all the members of Karting Quebec,” explain Genest. “It was more than two years since our last meeting and we decided to put all our forces back into the evolution of karting and restart the Championnat du Québec, with all the luster that this title brings.”
One of the key members of Karting Quebec since the beginning has been SH Karting of Mont Saint-Hilaire, but they too had seen a number of changes over the past five years that saw the competition side of the business step aside, while focus moved back to operating the kart track. That also changed over the winter and we asked Genest what it meant to Karting Quebec to have SH Karting back a part of the program.
“In the same way, SH saw our new commitment has also decided to embark on this adventure,” he elaborated.
The structure of the Quebec Championship will see at least seven races in 2018. Four of the races will partner up with the Coupe de Montreal, including this weekends series opener at SH Karting, along with events at Circuit ICAR, SRA Karting and the Jim Russell Karting Academy in Mont-Tremblant. There will also be a few standalone events, including a race at SC Performance in Saint-Celestin. Two races are currently listed with locations as TBA and while Genest wouldn’t confirm where those races are going to be held, we have a good feeling at least one of them could be at the beautiful KCR Karting in Chateau-Richer.
It’s a promising time for karting in Quebec and the wheels are in motion to see growth and prosperity back in the province that embraces motorsport more than any other in Canada.
2018 Quebec Karting Championship Events
May 6 – SH Karting (With Coupe de Montreal)
May 20 – SC Performance
June 3 – SRA Karting (With Coupe de Montreal)
June 17 – TBD
July 22 – Circuit ICAR (With Coupe de Montreal)
Sept 9 – TBD
Sept 29-30 – Jim Russell Karting (With Coupe de Montreal)
