Shifter Karts Play at Canadian Karting Challenge Innisfil

If you were reaching for gears on your kart this past weekend, odds are, you were at the Innisfil Indy for the Canadian Karting Challenge. The event had three different shifter kart options, Junior, Senior and Masters and brought out some great drivers for a fun-filled day of action. The CKC was also our second stop of the CKN Summer Tour this past weekend after we visited the Waterloo Regional Kart Club on Saturday.

Stealing the show in Shifter Senior was Zachary Shearer. After stalling on the first attempt at a start, from pole position, Shearer had to start the Final from the tail of the grid on a very tight Innisfil Indy, that challenges drivers to be creative if they want to pass. After the start, Shearer was running fourth when the battle for second heated up, it allowed Stefano Lucente to pull out to a decent lead. When Shearer finally got by Dante Lerra and Lucio Masini, he had a big gap to the leader.

Fortunately for Shearer, Lucente would get tired as the laps wound down, as he admitted to CKN after the race. As his lap times slowed in the 20-lap main, Shearer remained consistent and closed in. With Lucente hanging on, Shearer slipped by and stole the victory from the rookie shifter racer, which earned Shearer our CKN Driver of the Day award. Masini would finish on the podium in third after holding off Lerra.

In Shifter Master, Giles Gallie inherited the lead with only a couple of laps left in the Final when race leader Daniel Uruena came to a quick halt. This allowed Gallie to drive home the win ahead of Jimmy Lo and defending Canadian National Champion Tony Demarco.

Giles Gallie (Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN)

A very unique option offered at the Innisfil Kart Club and the CKC is the Junior Shifter class. Giving young drivers the chance to learn the fundamentals of shifter racing, it is a great opportunity at the CKC. The race win went to Marcello Paniccia ahead of Antonio Ferrari and Aiden Almeida.

In addition to the trio of shifter classes, there was a Mini category for drivers with a Mini Max or Mini Rok engine as well as Briggs 206 option. In an exciting affair, Jordan Smith came out on top in Mini ahead of Joseph Launi, which Michael Ricco completed the podium finishing in third place. Winning in Briggs 206 was Antonio Trubacco with Jac Young narrowly holding off Griffin Todgham for second place.

Next up for the Canadian Karting Challenge will be their highlight event of the season. Taking to the famous Shannonville Motorsports Park, a 2-day showdown will take place on July 21 and 22.