Eastern Canadian Karting Championship
RMCGF Team Canada Driver Preview: Fred Woodley
Continuing with our Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals qualifiers from the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, today we take a look at the journey that Boston, Ontario’s Fred Woodley took to become a member of Team Canada in the Rotax DD2 category.
Woodley wound up as the vice-champion in both the ASN Canadian National Championship and the ECKC after a fierce season long battle with Jeffrey Kingsley and therefore claimed the ECKC ticket. While the Rotax DD2 class was quite small this year in Canada, the two kept it very interesting, exchanging victories and a few incidents along the way too. Woodley’s was a contender everywhere he went in 2014 and his breakout victory finally came at ECKC Goodwood.
“I qualified for the Rotax Grand Finals through the ECKC series this year. It was a short moment of satisfaction; then I realized that racing at the Grand Finals would be extremely challenging and a great experience. Representing Team Canada has been one of my goals for a number of years so being able to reach that goal is incredibly satisfying.”
Outside of Canada, Woodley scored some very valuable international experience at the Florida Winter Tour, Rotax Pan American Challenge and Rotax Euromax Challenge that will bode well when he arrives in Valencia, Spain for the Rotax Grand Finals.
Fred Woodley had his best season to date in 2014, although he came up just short in his championship bids in the ECKC and at the Canadian Championships. (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)
Driver Bio:
Name: Fred Woodley
Division: Rotax DD2
Age: 18
Hometown: Boston, Ontario
Years Racing: 7
Race Team: Maranello North America
Past Trips to RMCGF: None
Career Highlights (To date): Canadian National Vice-Champion (2014, Rotax DD2), ECKC Vice-Champion (2014, Rotax DD2)
Woodley is product of Trevor Wickens’ Prime Powersports operation and the two will work very closely together in Spain. The two have a very unique relationship that has helped elevate Woodley from a competitor to a contender. “We have spent about 14 weeks together over the past 12 month so we are pretty close.”
And the two have a big ambitions for Woodley’s first time competing at the Rotax Grand Finals. “I want to finish in the top-10 this year. I remember Zach Robichon finishing eighth at his first appearance two years ago, so I know it is an attainable goal!”
Woodley is very excited to debut his new helmet in Spain as Polen Designs has recreated his initial design for this special event.
In regards to preparation Woodley has been busy doing his homework on the Kartodromo Lucas Guerrero circuit. “I haven’t seen a video describing the track but I have seen a few on-boards. The track looks to have some fast corners as well as a very tight section. The last three corners before the start/finish line look to be challenging but also a lot of fun! In the past, flowing tracks have been a weakness for me, but at both the Nationals and Pan Am we were able to overcome it. Coincidentally, at each of the Nationals and Pan Am Trevor told me that ‘this track is flowing – it really doesn’t suit you, don’t be surprised if you’re slow.’ So I think that if Trevor thinks I will be slow at the Grand Finals it’s a good thing!
Finally, hitching a ride to the airport following the Rotax Pan Am event in North Carolina with American karting legend Alan Rudolph was quite beneficial for Woodley. “I drilled him with questions and I was able to get a better understanding on what to expect. Trevor has also been to this event before and we have discussed the procedure many times.”
Through the month of November CKN has full coverage of the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals and Team Canada. CKN will be trackside in Valencia, Spain from November 23-30 to bring you all the action on https://www.canadiankartingnews.com and on our social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
