As the only kart on the grid with slick tires, only moments before the ROK Senior Final was to hit the track for the Kart Stars Canada Nationals Final at Goodwood Kartways, Matthew Miles (Exprit Kart) wasn’t 100% sure his team made the right tire decision. Even five laps in, it was still a struggle to find grip and keep his momentum, running around at the tail of the field. But, by the halfway mark of the race, the track turned and suddenly Miles was two to three seconds a lap quicker than his competitors; but more than fifteen seconds back of the leader.
Lap after lap, the gap closed and Miles was picking off karts as fast as he was catching them. As time was running out, he had worked his way by Kai Dalziel (Kosmic) for third and the leaders seemed out of sight. But he blistered off three quick laps in a row and had found the rear bumper of leaders Robert Soroka (RedSpeed) and Nicholas Hornbostel (Kosmic).
He got Hornbostel out of corner nine and as the white flag flew, Miles navigated corner one much better than Soroka and pulled off the pass. Pulling away throughout the remainder of the final lap, the crowd roared as Miles celebrated the unexpected victory.
In the race for second, Hornbostel moved Soroka out of the way in corner six to gain the position, but officials penalized him for it, moving Soroka to the second step of the podium and Hornbostel third. Nolan Bower (Exprit Kart) and Frank Launi (GP Kart) completed the top-five, a distant fourteen seconds back of the leaders.
For Soroka, Bower and Andrew Maciel (TonyKart), the rain couldn’t have come at a worse time and the three were the top of the field throughout the three days of dry track conditions.
For his victory, Miles raced his way into the ROK Cup SuperFinal being held this fall in Italy.
Runner-up wasn’t all bad for Soroka though, as New Speed Motorsports awarded him a test day in their NASCAR Pinty’s Series race car. He also won an entry fee into the 2021 Florida Winter Tour.
