Thursday at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in New Orleans, USA was race day, as drivers finally got to hit the track for wheel to wheel action. On deck for the day was two of the three rounds of heat races for each class, all to help set the grid for Saturdays main events. The very race-able NOLA Motorsports Park provided some great action for drivers with Canadian drivers doing very well overall.
The ultra competitive Rotax Senior gave race fans at NOLA great entertainment throughout the day. The first Senior heat of the day which put groups A vs B with UK driver Edward Brand securing P1, while Carlos Gil (Spain) took second and Kyle Fowlie (UK ) took home a third place finish. Canadian driver Skylar Dunning finished a respective 24th after a difficult start. Dunning showed great aggression throughout the race, but the odds were not in his favor from time to time.
The second Senior Max heat was group C and D with Swedish driver Philip Morin taking first place, while Oliver Hodgson (UK) took second and Petr Bezel (Czech) took third. Canadian Zachary Claman DeMelo battled hard all race and was in the front running from start to finish, even leading at times. He had an excellent drive and ended up in 4th position, proving that he will be a great driver to keep an eye on. Quebec native Olivier Bedard finished 20th and battled very hard all race.
“I don’t plan on changing my heat race approach tomorrow as I am just looking for one more decent finish in the top-5 to secure a good starting spot for the
Pre-Final. The Sodi-Kart is different to what I’m used to but I’ve managed to adapt to it quite fast and I think it’s showing.”
– Zachary Claman DeMelo
In the afternoon is was heat A vs C where UK driver Oliver Hodgson better his first heat by taking first place, while second was Czech driver Petr Bezel. Third was Canadian Driver Zachary Claman DeMelo who again, had an outstanding drive. DeMelo was in a none stop battle with all of the top-5 drivers throughout the race and proved that he is more than capable of taking home a Grand Finals Title. Dunning, the other Canadian competing in this heat was subjected to bad luck which many of our Canadian drivers appear to be experiencing as he finished 26th overall.
Estonia driver Aavo Talvar who had an excellent drive won the final senior heat of the day featuring groups B and D. Second was Albert Gil of Spain and third was Oliver Askew of the USA. Askew had a great drive and worked his way up from quite far back in the field, setting fastest lap of the race as well. Canadian Olivier Bedard was able to secure 18th position after a hard fought battle in the ultra competitive Rotax senior field.
Tomorrow should prove very interesting for all Canadian Drivers.
