PR: Team PSL Karting Starts 2014 Eastern Canadian Karting Championship with Multiple Victories and Podiums

Heading home to Canada for the first round of the 2014 Eastern Canadian Karting Championship (ECKC), powerhouse Team PSL Karting would enter a stout line-up of 20 drivers competing in nearly every class offered. Battling cold, windy conditions on Saturday, and a milder Sunday, at the Mosport International Karting circuit in Bowmanville, Ontario, the PSL/CRG outfit would post solid results across the board to start their 2014 ECKC effort off right.

“We had a great weekend in Mosport, and a great start to our ECKC season,” explained Dominic Labrecque, President of PSL Karting. “We have been making big improvements on our CRG chassis, and it shows in our results.”

With five drivers entered in the Rotax DD2 division, results would be plentiful for Team PSL Karting. The Netherlands Milan Dontje would put PSL/CRG on the podium Saturday with a second place finish, while Jeffrey Kingsley continued to make strides in the two-speed category. Just missing the podium on Saturday with his fourth place finish, Kingsley would be on a tear Sunday. Clocking first in qualifying to take the day’s pole position, the class rookie then went on to sweep the day winning both the prefinal and final. Making it an all-Team PSL Karting podium, Dontje would join Kingsley on the second step again with Alessandro Bizzotto in third, after placing fifth on Saturday with the fastest race lap. Americans Gavin Reichelt and Alan Rudolph would complete the DD2 quintet, with both posting top-tens both days in Mosport.

DD2 Masters drivers would make several trips to the podium as well, with Paul Carvalho moving up from his fourth place qualifying effort to finish second in the prefinal before taking the Saturday victory to put PSL/CRG on top. Etienne LaSalle of ACM Karting battled back from a 11th place finish in the prefinal to post another podium finish for PSL, taking third place honours and fastest race lap. Sunday would again see the duo mix it up at the front of the field. LaSalle clocked off pole in qualifying and then scored a second place podium finish in the final while Carvalho would complete the podium in third.

Christophe Paquet celebrates his victory in the potent Rotax Senior class on Saturday (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CanadianKartingNews.com)

ACM Karting’s Christophe Paquet would lead the charge in the Rotax Senior category, coming from fifth on the grid in qualifying and the prefinal to take the Saturday victory. Making a last lap pass for the win, Paquet would also clock the fastest race lap. Sunday saw Paquet improve to third in qualifying, with the rising talent finishing second in the prefinal. Again the fastest kart on the track, Paquet would make another last lap pass, this time for second, to place on the podium for the second time on the weekend. CRG Factory pilot Jordon Lennox would be back with Team PSL Karting for the ECKC rounds, posting a top-five on Saturday before a first lap incident on Sunday took him out of contention.

In Rotax Junior competition, The Netherlands Rinus Van Kalmthout would score the Saturday pole position against a stacked field of 26. Unable to capitalize on his speed, Van Kalmthout would end his day only three laps into the final. Sunday saw the European back at the front, moving up nicely from seventh in qualifying to fifth in the prefinal and finally third in the final to stand on the day’s podium. Thierry Cote would add a top-ten to Team PSL Karting’s bevy of results, finishing seventh on Saturday.

The youngest drivers under the Team PSL Karting tent would post positive results all weekend. Coming off a dominating performance at the opening round of the Coupe du Quebec, Alex Legare would leave Mosport with sixth and fourth place results in the Mini Max class. In Micro Max, William Michaud stood on the podium Saturday after his third place finish and posted a top-ten on Sunday in seventh. Justin Arseneau was also in the top-ten both days, finishing just off the podium in fourth for Saturday and sixth on Sunday.

In Briggs Senior action, Tommy Lemaire Ouellet started his ECKC off with second in Saturday qualifying. Making his bid for the win, Lemaire Ouellet was running in second before contact took him out of contention. Hoping for a better day on Sunday, Lemaire Ouellet was forced to start from the tail of the field after enduring engine issues. Slicing his way through the field, he would eventually finish sixth setting fastest race lap and a new track record.

Rounding out Team PSL Karting’s efforts, Corey Walsh would add two podium results in the growing Briggs Masters class. Clocking second in qualifying and in the prefinal, Walsh would take the Saturday victory after working his way to the lead on the last lap. Walsh was the fastest kart on the track on Sunday, but would have to settle for a second place podium finish.

Team PSL Karting will be back in ECKC action when the series resumes June 27-29 at Goodwood Kartways in Stouffville, Ontario.
Team PSL Karting will be trackside in 2014 at the SKUSA Pro Tour, the United States Rotax Grand Nationals, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, Coupe de Quebec and the Canadian National Championships. Team PSL Karting is associated with CRG, Maxter Kart Engines, Rotax, Tillett Racing Seats, Sniper, Unipro, Douglas Wheels, Vega, MG Tires, Arai, Freem, Alfano, D.I.D. Racing Chains, Briggs & Stratton, KG and ORG.

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