PR: PSL Karting triumphant at ECKC Mosport rounds

Zachary Claman-DeMelo completed the sweep of the Rotax Junior class with two pole positions, two prefinal wins and two main event victories
(Photo: Cody Schindel/CKN)

Recently taking to Mosport International Karting for Rounds #4 & 5 of the 2012 Eastern Canadian Karting Championship (ECKC), PSL Karting proved their prowess at the challenging 12-turn, 1.5 km circuit. Set outside turn eight at Canada’s premier racing facility, Team PSL Karting drivers were triumphant during the double-header event weekend. New PSL recruit Zachary Claman-DeMelo blasted his competition with a complete weekend sweep of the Rotax Junior class, while Marc-Andre Bourgeois added another victory in DD2 Masters in his bid for the Team Canada berth. Matthew Latifi also took his fourth win of the 2012 ECKC season and secured his name in the record books as the 2012 ECKC Micro Max Champion. A nine member strong team also added an additional seven podium finishes to complete their Mosport campaign. With the series now headed into the finale event in less than a month, several other Team PSL Karting pilots have series titles within their grasps, and will look to continue their winning ways once the program resumes.

Nicholas Latifi and Pier-Luc Ouellette earned second and third place honours on Sunday in Rotax DD2
(Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

Leading the way for Team PSL Karting was CRG Factory pilot Zachary Claman-DeMelo. A new lap record of 55.008 in Rotax Junior put DeMelo on pole for Saturday’s events. Leading all but one lap in the eight-lap prefinal, DeMelo went on to take the win and secure pole for the all-important final race. Contact at the start of the final behind DeMelo allowed the red hot driver to quickly gap the field. With this CRG chassis dialed in, DeMelo cruised to an 8.367 second victory. Sunday was much the same for DeMelo. Posting yet another new track record during qualifying, with his lap of 54.655, DeMelo was determined to repeat his Saturday effort. Going flag-to-flag in the prefinal, DeMelo was challenged in the final, but managed to pull off the weekend sweep and again stood atop the blocks at podium presentations. DeMelo’s weekend moved him up to second in the overall championship points total.

Coming off a second place podium run at Circuit ICAR in Round #3, Samuel Fontaine had another strong run during the Mosport rounds. Posting a solid fourth place finish in the final on Saturday, Fontaine turned up the wick on Sunday to earn third place honours in the ultra-competitive Rotax Junior field.

“Samuel could have come away with a win at Mosport, but a lack of experience let it slip away,” noted Dominic Labrecque, PSL Karting Team Principal. “He will definitely be a contender at the series finale in Trois-Rivieres.”

In his quest for the Rotax DD2 Masters championship title and corresponding Team Canada berth, Marc-Andre Bourgeois was again on his game this past weekend. A winner from Round #2 at Goodwood Kartways, Bourgeois added another win to his 2012 haul. A racy final on Saturday saw Bourgeois emerge the winner and a second place podium result on Sunday added to his points haul from the weekend. 2006 Rotax Masters World Champion Luc Sauriol added another third place podium result on Sunday, keeping his title hopes alive as well. Sauriol currently sits third in the DD2 Masters standings before the one race drop, while Bourgeois is just 69 markers back from the points leader.

Marc-Andre Bourgeois claimed his second DD2 Masters win of the season at Mosport
(Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

In Rotax DD2, two-time World Champion Pier-Luc Ouellette would have a challenging weekend at Mosport. Troubles during qualifying relegated the karting legend to P20, and with championship points on the line in both the prefinal and final, Ouellette would need to recover in each. Powering through the eight-lap prefinal, Ouellette made it up to seventh to salvage his day. An even better result in the day’s final saw Ouellette back on the podium with another third place run. Sunday would see Ouellette post fifth quick in qualifying, before falling back to seventh in the prefinal. True to form, Ouellette would again make his way into podium contention, adding his third, third place finish to his 2012 ECKC results. Ouellette left Mosport with the overall DD2 point lead in hand, and will look to be on top of the podium when the series resumes at the Monaco de Trois-Rivieres for the series finale.

“Again we faced electrical issues with Pier-Luc, and the meatball flag during Saturday’s qualifying put us behind the eight ball,” continued Labrecque. “Still, PLO managed to come away with two podium finishes, and will now fight for the championship at Le Monaco.”

With his fourth place run in his first 2012 ECKC start at Circuit ICAR last month, Nicholas Latifi was back in action this past weekend. Posting P2 in Sunday’s qualifying, the 2012 Florida Winter Tour Rotax DD2 Champion then posted fast lap in the prefinal en route to the heat race win but had to settle for second place podium finish after the 15-lap main event.

Latifi’s younger brother continues to shine in the Micro Max ranks. Rookie pilot Matthew Latifi entered the weekend with all three feature wins to date under his belt. A racy day ensued on Saturday putting the future star back to third in the final, but Latifi came back out on top Sunday, earning pole position and the main event victory to complete his weekend. With his podium and win, Latifi locked up the 2012 ECKC Micro Max championship title, adding to PSL’s glory to date this season.

Matthew Latifi completed his weekend with a return step to the top of the blocks in the Micro Max division
(Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

Taking on the Briggs & Stratton Senior class, PSL Montreal’s Mathieu Demers added another podium result to PSL’s tally with his second place finish in Saturday’s final.

“It was great to see Mathieu back in a kart, and he helped put on a good show in the Briggs class,” concluded Labrecque.

Team PSL Karting will next see ECKC action as they host the series finale during the Monaco de Trois-Rivieres, the famed street race set on the site of the GP3R at Exposition Park July 26-29.

Team PSL Karting will be trackside in 2012 at the Pan American Rotax Max Challenge, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Quebec Cup, Le Monaco de Trois-Rivieres, United States Grand Nationals, ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Karting Championships and SKUSA SuperNationals. Team PSL Karting is associated with CRG, Maxter Kart Engines, Rotax, Tillett Racing Seats, Sniper, Unipro, Douglas Wheels, Vega, MG Tires, Arai, Bell, ULV, Mir, Freem, Elf Fuels, Alfano, MaxJet Software, D.I.D. Racing Chains, KC and Power Mist.

To learn more about the World’s #1 CRG distributor, sales & service, arrive & drive opportunities, PSL racing engines or dealer opportunities, please visitwww.pslkarting.com or www.pslkartingusa.com.