Kelowna, BC driver Marco Kacic went to Medford, Oregon this past weekend for the final round of the Can Am Pro Kart Challenge. Marco had a point deficit which had him in fourth place in the overall championship prior to the weekend. Marco would have been the point leader going into the final round but he had a disqualification in tech at the last round due to the measurement from the top of the seat to the ground being 1/8” too low, a rule that his team was not aware of because it is a different measurement in Canada.
Marco had already qualified for the Rotax Grand Finals at the Western Canadian Championship (WCC) event in Canada last month, but from the beginning of the season it was the goal of Marco and Team CRG West to win a ticket to the World Finals at the Can Am Pro Kart Championship.
On Saturday, Marco had a fantastic drive coming from a fourth position qualifying spot to win the pre-final by almost half the straight-away ahead of the second place driver. In the Saturday final, Marco led most of the laps, had a great battle for the lead, and placed second by only a few hundredths of a second. At the end of the day, Marco was back on track to regain the points lead and hopefully take home the championship.
Unfortunately, Marco’s luck ran out on Sunday when he was hit from behind in the pre-final, causing damage to his kart, he was unable to complete the race which gave him almost last place points. Due to his non-finish in Sunday’s pre-final, the championship was no longer a possibility. In the Can Am Pro Kart Championship, the top two drivers win a ticket to the World’s so the overall goal was still available. Marco was now tied for second place in points going into the Final race. If Marco was to achieve his goal of winning that ticket he had a lot of work to do starting from the back row. Marco was able to work his way to fifth position in the final which was good enough to take second in the Championship and the Can Am Pro Kart ticket to the worlds. Team CRG West and Marco Kacic are extremely proud that they were able to climb back after some bad luck on track and in tech to still claim the World Finals ticket.
Marco will now have to forfeit his ticket that he won in the WCC to the driver that placed next in line in the series. Marco has to keep the Can Am Ticket because it is an International Series and takes precedence over the Canadian WCC series.
