Valverde and Crupi Run Away with Junior Rok and VLR Masters Finals

With invitations to the Rok Cup SuperFinal on the line at the KartStars Canada National Championships, we saw two drivers run away with the victories in their respective Finals and secure their positions on Team Canada.

Rok Junior was controlled all weekend long at the speedy Shannonville Motorsports Park by Christian Valverde (Exprit Kart).

He came to the event with victory as his motivation and he was lights out in every session on track, including the Final where he pulled away to a 5-second victory and was the only driver to break the 42-second lap barrier.

A shootout between Ethan Pollack (Exprit Kart) and Braedon Fowler (Exprit Kart) was put on for the second step of the podium. Pollack put the pressure on, especially late in the race, but Fowler kept himself ahead and earned the position, along with an entry to ROK Vegas.

Baz Kedairy (Intrepid Kart) and Sara Vico were a little further down the road in fourth and fifth while Franco Savaglio (Kosmic Kart) rounded out the field.

KartStars Canada National Championship – Rok Junior Final Results

It was a very similar story in VLR Masters, where Joe Crupi (TonyKart) was a man on a mission to get back to the SuperFinal. Pulling double-duty for the weekend, Crupi was also in action in Rok Senior, his focus shifted to VLR Masters for the weekend and the award that came with it.

After last year’s heart-breaking mechanical DNF in the Final, Crupi was flawless in Sunday’s race, lapping more than a half-second quicker than his competitors and pulling away to a 12-second win in the 14-lap Final.

Crupi joins Team Canada for his third trip to the SuperFinal.

Paul Rhodes (Exprit Kart) worked his way by Alexander Mankovski (Intrepid Kart) on the opening lap to get into second place and used some great laps to pull away from the race for third. He held on for the position and was all smiles after the race and nearly missed the post-race celebration on the main straight.

Rebounding from a slow start, Cayden Goodridge (Intrepid) took a few laps to make his way by Mankovski but was not able to chase down Rhodes.

In the race for fourth, Mankovski and Mark Pavan (Intrepid Kart) tied at the finish line.

KartStars Canada National Championship – VLR Masters Final Results