PR: SH Karting displays excellent performances at ECKC opener

The SH Karting team travelled to the freshly paved Goodwood Kartways, just north of Toronto, Ontario for the opening rounds of the 2012 Eastern Canadian Karting Championship this past weekend. With eight drivers competing under the SH Karting team banner in Goodwood, the team had drivers split between to premier Rotax Junior, Rotax MIni-Max and Rotax Senior classes. Highlighting the teams results was Parker Thompson, from Alberta, who scored a victory in Rotax Junior in race #1 on Saturday. In total the team scored five podium appearances throughout the two days of competition.

The weekend was also very important as SH Karting worked very closely with the SH Ontario Karting Team (formerly GreenSpeed Karting), led by Darren White and Michael Morrison. The two teams collaborated to provide excellent results in all categories they competed in, sharing knowledge, data, information and more.

The return of Jesse Lazare to SH Karting was very big news in the paddock in Goodwood, and team manager Sacha Gagnon couldn’t have been happier to see Lazare rejoin the team he had much success with in the early stages of his career. “I am really happy to have Jesse back on a Tony Kart. We now have a really strong Rotax Senior Team at SH. Also, I will continue to help and prepare every Tony Kart driver to have the best result possible.”

Parker Thompson led the way for SH Karting, scoring a victory on Saturday and leaving Goodwood was a Rotax Junior points leader (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

Leading the charge for SH Karting in Rotax Junior, Parker Thompson from Alberta and 2011 WCC Rotax Junior Champion, scored a superb victory in Race 1. Thompson was in charge all weekend, also scoring a pole-position, a pre-final win, and a second-place on Sunday, allowing him to leave Goodwood as the provisional points leader.

For the other SH Karting drivers, the weekend wasn’t as pleasant, and Tommy Lamaire-Ouellett and Alexandre Couturier struggled to break into the top-ten all weekend in the ultra-competitive Rotax Junior class.

The trio of Steven Szigeti, Jesse Lazare and SH Ontario driver Austin Milwain truly made a statement in the Rotax Senior class this weekend. The three were never found outside the top-five in every competitive session, truly showing the speed and competitiveness of the SH Karting/TonyKart package. Szigeti was able to score two second-place results in the finals, giving him a great points run, while Lazare joined him on the podium on Sunday with a third-place effort. For Milwain, his number all weekend was five, as with the exception of Saturdays pre-final where he finished third, he finished fifth in every session.

For Marc-Andre Levesque and Maxime Couturier, the duo showed speed all weekend, but some bad luck and accidents kept them from showing their true potential, but nonetheless will be a threat all season long.

Steven Szigeti (339) and Jesse Lazare (321) were a powerful combination in Rotax Senior, earning three podium appearances in Goodwood (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

As the lone SH Karting driver in Rotax Mini-Max, Alexandre Lacroix continues to show improvement as he comes to grips with his Mini-Max power plant. Just missing the podium on Saturday with a fourth place result, Lacroix showed he can race up front with the best all weekend.

For the SH Ontario drivers, it was a very challenging weekend. Taegen Poles was able to creep into the top-ten in Rotax Junior, while Arika White continues to show improvement as she adapts to the incredibly talented Rotax Senior class, scoring a best result of 15th in the Saturday Final. Unfortunately for Cameron Morrison and Jamie Lockwood, injuries hampered their performances on Saturday and ultimately forced them to withdraw from Sunday’s competition.

The SH Karting Team is back in action this weekend as they look to defend their home turf during the second round of the Quebec Cup, being held at SH Karting.

For more information, please visit http://www.shkarting.com