RMCGF: Two heat race wins for Canada in heat 1

It was a great start for Team Canada in Portugal this morning as two Team Canada drivers were able to win their respective first heat races.

Rotax Junior

Zachary Claman DeMelo looked to give Canada it’s first heat race with at the 2012 Rotax Grand Finals as lead a majority of the Rotax Junior A vs B race. However, a last lap accident while battling for second, resulted in a DNF for DeMelo. He will have his work cut out for him and will need two solid finishes in his remaining heats. In the same heat, Zachary Scalzo was able to move forward from his 20th starting spot to finish ninth.

In the C vs D heat, a wild start created plenty of action for the Juniors to maneuver. Forcing his way through, Parker Thompson about to move as high as fifth, before being pushed back to ninth. At the finish, Thompson would cross in sixth, while Tommy Lemaire-Ouellet would manage to finish fourteenth.

Rotax Senior

All three Canadians were in the C vs D heat race, and Team Canada was lead by Jesse Lazare. Staying up front with the extremely tight front pack, Lazare would find himself as high as fourth, and as low as eighth before finally crossing in sixth. Marco Di Leo and Bryce Choquer were right in the thick of the action, running together for most of the race before crossing in 16th and 18th.

Rotax DD2 Masters

Canada would score their first heat race win of the event in Rotax DD2 Masters after a brilliant start and drive by Scott Campbell. After working his way into the lead with passes in turn’s one and three, Campbell was in the lead by lap three and never looked back en route to the checkered flag. In the same heat, Stuart Clark drove well, running as high as fifth before settling into sixth at the finish.

In the C vs D heat, Luc Sauriol had a great start to jump all the way to fifth place on lap one. But some contact throughout the heat forced him down the order and he would cross the finish line in ninth.

Rotax DD2

In the Rotax DD2 A vs B heat race, Nicholas Latifi utilized his inside row two starting position to move into second on the start. After trading the position with American Cody Hodgson in the opening stages, Latifi would hold on and take second at the checkers. A crash at the start of the heat for Zacharie Richard Robichon put him about a half track behind, and with no other retirements, he would finish in 31st.

A brilliant start by Ben Cooper would see him pass for the lead in the hard braking outside of turns two and three to grab the lead. From there, Cooper put down a pace that was unmatched by his competitors to take the heat race win. For Pier-Luc Ouellette, his terrible run of lack at this years Grand Finals continued as hard contact on the opening lap put him out of the race with a bent axle.

The second heat race for everybody is run this afternoon at Kartodromo International do Algarve. Be sure to check in to our CKN Live broadcast and be involved with our live chat.