#OntarioInterClubChallenge
Ontario Inter-Club Challenge: A Debut That Will Be Talked About for Years to Come
The Ontario Inter-Club Challenge made a spectacular debut, marking a historic day in North American karting with a record 211 entries, the largest single-day karting event in recent times. Held at a jam-packed Goodwood Kartways, the event saw 80 entries in the Senior Briggs class alone, the largest class entry in Canada in decades.
For the first time since 2019, Ontario’s major kart clubs and tracks – TRAK, HRKC, and MIKA – competed against each other, bringing a refreshing sense of camaraderie and rivalry to the paddock. The event also saw participation from WRKC and IKC supporters, adding to the vibrant atmosphere.
Despite a foggy start and tricky conditions during Qualifying, the day ran smoothly with 20 practice and Qualifying sessions, followed by 36 races – all without a single red flag or delay. A lighthearted moment occurred when Mother Goose attempted to reach her nest near corner three during the morning warm-up, adding to the day’s memorable events.
The high participation necessitated ‘B’ Finals for Cadet, Junior, and Senior categories. Trophies were awarded to the top five drivers in each Final and the top three in each B Final, recognizing their outstanding performances.
Within the Inter-Club battle, TRAK members defended their home turn, scoring five of the six race wins, while the sixth went to a member from the WRKC.
The grandstands were filled with enthusiastic supporters who cheered on their favourite drivers and celebrated the race winners throughout the day. The success of this event sets a high bar for the next round, scheduled to take place at the Mosport Karting Centre on June 23.
Cadet: Francisco navigates his way to victory
Jayden Francisco (Nitro Kart), one of three young Franciscos competing in Cadet on the day, was victorious in the A Final for Briggs Cadet.
He had his hands full as Asher Pavan (Parolin) and Marco Fazari (Intrepid) both took their turns leading the race in the middle laps, but when the race leaders had some lap traffic to contend with, Francisco navigated them the best and then pulled away to victory.
Melville Dos Santos (CL Kart) and Roy Chang (Intrepid) completed the top five.
In the B Final prior to the main event, Valentino Alpinelli (CL Kart) led every lap of the race to reach the finish line first but was out of his lane on the start and received a 3-second penalty for the infraction. Christiano Del Grosso (Intrepid) was the next to cross the finish line and inherited the win over Jacob Creed (Intrepid) and Ashton Wood (BirelART) as the top seven drivers transferred to the A Final.
Jr Lite: Stewien backs up his KartStars Win
Recovering from a tech infraction in Qualifying, Jamie Stewien (Intrepid) charged from last on the grid to the top of the podium in Briggs Junior Lite.
After working his way back to the front in the heat races, Stewien battled Oskar Swiderski (Goodwood F4K), Ethan Tyers (Goodwood F4K), Blake Fregeau (Coyote) and Andrew Adams (TonyKart) for the race lead in the main event.
Swiderski and Stewien traded the lead until lap nine. From there, Stewien, who won the KartStars Canada race, pulled away and celebrated his second race victory in as many weekends at Goodwood.
Second place went to Tyers with Niko Picerno (Exprit), Swiderski and Fregeau completing the podium.
Junior: Joshi maneuvers the traffic perfectly
The start of the Junior Final was a little chaotic with a large pile up in corner four, collecting many of the runners just outside the top six. This separated the pack of 41 karts up quickly and three emerged in the lead group upon the completed of lap one.
Declan Black (Goodwood F4K) was the initial race leader, but he gave it up to Elijah Joshi (Goodwood F4K) before the end of the opening lap, with Quinn Tyers (Goodwood F4K) right with them.
Tyers worked his way into the race lead on lap seven and held it up lap thirteen when Joshi returned to the point. The trio were tied together until they had to navigate lapped traffic on the final laps of the race.
Joshi managed the best way through and was rewarded with a gap which he managed all the way to the checkered flag.
Black kept close to Tyers and overtook him around a lap kart on the final lap to lock down second place. Fourth went to a hard-charging Ethan Chan (Goodwood F4K), who closed in and overtook Noah Landry (Goodwood F4K) on the final lap with the top five positions all going to TRAK members.
Senior: Webster Scores Emotional First Major Victory
Securing his first major victory, an accomplishment he has come so close to for so many years, Chad Webster finally got the monkey off his back and did it in the biggest field of competitors Canadian karting has seen in decades.
Read our full Briggs Senior story here.
In the B Final, Grayson MacDonald (BirelART) just narrowly made it across the finish line to secure the win before his right rear wheel departed from his kart.
MacDonald was able to get out front after a ferocious opening couple of laps and then settled in to beat Franco Savaglio (TonyKart) and Santino Crupi (Intrepid) to the finish line.
Sr Heavy: No stopping Tchiplakov all day long
Leading every lap of the final and topping every session of the race day, Vassil Tchiplakov (Synergy Kart) went unbeaten in Briggs Senior Heavy.
Rivals Jon Treadwell (Kubica Kart) and Jason Rothman (Coyote Kart) tried their best to get ahead in the early laps of the Final but were unable to overtake and stay out front.
Treadwell would eventually cross the finish line 1.4 seconds back of Tchiplakov with Rothman, Patrick Lelievre (Kubica Kart) and Carson Bartlett (CKR Kart) joining them on the podium.
Masters: Miller bests Conte for the win
There were a few fireworks in the Briggs Masters Final and when the dust settled, David Miller (TonyKart) rounded the final corner with a healthy lead to score the victory.
The race day was controlled mostly by Jeff Conte (Intrepid) and he started on the front row of the biggest Masters grid in a long while alongside Kevin May (Synergy Kart).
Conte jumped out the early lead with five karts making up the lead pack.
At halfway and running second, Ian MacIntyre (CL Kart) received a little contact from Miller entering turn four that sent him for a wild ride through the dirt and ended his chances, although he managed to keep going. The next time by, Jamie MacArthur (CKR Kart) was put in the corner two barriers while running sixth.
Two laps later, Miller made his move for the race lead, and just behind, Rich Folino (BirelART) and May came together, separating them from the lead pack and pushing May well down the order.
Miller created a separation in the closing laps and all Conte could do was watch from a distance as the race winner pulled away. Zach Boam (BirelART) caught and tried to push Conte back to the race leader but it was too little, too late as Miller celebrated the race win.
MacIntyre recovered to finish fourth with Levon Beaudin (Ricciardo Kart) taking the final position on the podium in fifth.
