Follow along with our Team Canada updates from the 2022 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.
Good morning from Portimao. It is Finals day here at the Autodromo International Algarve where 8 Grand Finals Champions will be crowned along with one special showcase of Rotax’s new E10 Electric Mini Kart engine.
Last night, BRP Rotax officially launched their new engine for the Cadet divisions and a small showcase will be on display featuring some of the Mini Max drivers who failed to Qualify for their Final today. One of those drivers will be Alexis Baillargeon, which we’re excited to see try out the new package.
To learn more about the new Rotax E10 Electric engine, here is the official news release: https://grandfinals.rotax-kart.com/news/e10-announcement
Finals start at 10:21 AM local time, which is 5:21 AM EST.
Race Order:
- 10:21 E20 Junior
- 10:52 E20 Senior
- 11:36 Micro Max
- 12:23 Mini Max
- 1:05 E10 Demo Race
- 1:47 Junior Max
- 2:36 Senior Max
- 3:25 DD2 Masters
- 4:14 DD2
Tune in to watch and for our updates after each race to see how our drivers did.
Finals
DD2
- 1. Mark Kimber (GBR)
- 18. Jason Leung +18.556
Jason Leung ended Canada’s grand finals in DD2 with an 18th-place position. He was up in the top fifteen for much of the race but unfortunately lost out to lose one position from his starting spot. Pole sitter Mark Kimber went on to win the race making it three wins for Great Britain in this Grand Finals.
“Tough final race in DD2 today. I was able to say clear of all the crashing and was able to make up a few spots each time toward the top ten. However, I got rear-ended going into turn one in the closing stages of the race which put me back to 18th.” – Jason Leung
DD2 Masters
- 1. Kristaps Gasparovics (LVA)
- 22. Jared Freeston +16.525
- 30. Alexandre Gauthier +23.433
Jared Freeston was the top Canadian finisher in the DD2 masters final finishing in 26th. Alexandre Gauthier’s nightmare of a weekend came to an end finishing in the 31st position. Kristaps Gasparovics went unchallenged in the final taking the win ahead of France’s Paul Louveau who started the final from the Pole position.
“It was a bit of a static race. The start was kind of like putting a marshmallow into a piggy bank. After the start it was tough to catch up to the draft in order to move up the field” – Jared Freeston
“We had quite a bit of bad luck this weekend but overall I had fun.” – Alexandre Gauthier
Rotax Senior
- 1. Kai Hunter (GBR)
- 23. Adam Ali +9.043
Adam Ali had a great run up the field to finish 20th in class gaining a total of 11 positions in the final. Ali surely will be happy considering he had to race his way into the final after struggles earlier in the weekend. Kai Hunter leads a British sweep of the top five positions.
“After starting from the back, I had a strong pace early on and made up some positions. But coming to the end of the race, I wasn’t able to continue moving forward to fight at the front simply because of my starting position” – Adam Ali
Rotax Junior
- 1. Scott Marsh (GBR)
- 13. Jensen Burnett +9.381
Jenson Burnett was in the middle of a 16-kart battle for 4th place after the leads checked out at the mid-race point in the Rotax Junior final. Burnett had the pace to compete at the front however with the intense action in front of him it was hard for drivers in the mid to back of the pack to make it through to the front. Scott Marsh from the UK drove a clean race and was unchallenged in the end, taking the win ahead of fellow countrymen Ethan Jeff-Hall.
“The final wasn’t the best with all the stuff happing during the corners, every lap there was something new. We got a bit unlucky with the stuff that happened that race but we learn from our mistakes and come back stronger” – Jensen Burnett
Mini Max
- 1. Christopher El Feghali (LEB)
- 23. Lucas Deslongschamps
Canadian Lucas Deslongchamps was in the middle of a ten-kart battle in the mid-pack for most of the final. It was quite a competitive group and unfortunately for Deslongchamps, he dropped seven positions in the final finishing in 27th. Up front, however, it was Christopher El Feghali who took the win holding off a trio of Brits. Feghali swept the entire weekend from qualifying all the way to the final.
“This final was really hard since it was against the best in the world but I’m happy that I still made the final. I made a mistake in a corner and 4 guys passed me on the inside and after I had a collision and something was strange with the kart.” – Lucas Delongschomps
Micro Max
- 1. Martim Marques (POR)
- 20. James Bedard +16.350
- 34. Brando Londono DNF
James Bedard was on the move in the final picking 6 spots after engaging in a 5 kart battle through the later stages of the race. It was a tough one for Brando Londono however as an early incident forced him to retire with three laps to go in the main. The winner of the final was Martim Marques who drove a well-defended final lap to take the win ahead of Majus Mazinas of Lithuania and the UK’s Albert Friend. Marques’s victory was also the first for a Portuguese driver at the Grand finals. *Update* after a penalty in front Bedard was moved up to 20th James Bedard
“It was a pretty good race, I started 27th and then gained a position at the start. Unfortunately, there was a red flag and we had to have a complete restart. Overall I was able to battle up to 21st but a drop-down penalty for a driver in front put me up to 20th.” – James Bedard
E20 Senior
- 1. Jesper Sjoeberg (SWE)
- 12. Griffin Dowler +13.202
It was a tough race for Griffin Dowler in the E20 Senior final as he was battling at the front of the field in the early stages of the final until contact sent him down the running order. While he was able to still continue in the race, Dowler was only able to drive up to the 13th position. The race was won by Swede Jesper Sjoeberg who made a late move on German Luca Koester to take the win by only 7 hundredths of a second.
“The E20 Experience for me was phenomenal from start to finish. I cannot stress enough how well of a job the Rotax team as a whole does putting on the event. Additionally, the E20 package as a whole was also excellent. As for the final, I started 3rd. Unfortunately on the exit of corner three, a driver turned down on me forcing me back to 8th place. In the second lap in an effort to make up for the poor first lap, I was also in another wreck, This time worse than the 1st lap. This second wreck sent me to the tail of the field, unfortunately, we had the pace all weekend but it wasn’t enough to make up for the setback from the on-track action. I can’t say that I’m not disappointed about my results but I am very fortunate to race with some of the best this sport has to offer and again have another unforgettable experience” – Griffin Dowler
E20 Junior
- 1. Joel Bergstroem (SWE)
- 7. Aixin Chi +8.278
