On Friday July 18th the Waterloo Regional Kart Club (WRKC) staged their best attended race of the 2014 season. It was hard to tell if it was because of the beautiful July summer evening, the cash prizes that were up for grabs, or the spectacular fire works display at the end of the evening. The real highlight of the evening was the great racing action, providing plenty of entertainment for the spectators that filled the grandstand.
The event got a big kick start when the club announced a competitor in each class would go home with a gift card. But the excitement was kicked into overdrive with a special cash challenge offered by race sponsor Fine Details of Milton, the Car Cleaning Specialists. The first competitor to win a final race after starting from the back of the grid would claim the cash reward. It wasn’t going to be easy, and in order to qualify you first had to be either the fastest qualifier, or win the pre-final race.
The racing action got started with Qualifying rounds for each class. In the Cadet class it was Joey Woolsey with the fastest qualifying lap. He earned the first starting spot for the pre-final race in the process. Johnny Robillard was less than a tenth of a second behind Woolsey, Cole Quinton rounded out the top 3 qualifiers. In the pre-final race Robillard grabbed the lead on the first lap, and despite a strong challenge from Christian Alger, Robillard would get the win. Alger settled for 2nd, with Woolsey close behind in 3rd. Robillard would start the final race from the pole position. In the final race it was Joey Woolsey with the win. Cole Quinton had the fastest lap but had to settle for 3rd place. Quinton Murdoch was the 2nd place finisher. Ethan Slote finished in 4th place, Jordan Ramsbottom was 5th.
In the Novice class the top 7 qualifiers were less than a second a part. When qualifying was over it was Liam Rhodes with the fastest lap. Tyson Wassink was close behind in 2nd, Kyle DaSilva was 3rd, Nathan Alger and Josh Bisschop rounded on the top five. Rhodes was dominant all evening long, he managed to win the pre-final and the final race. In the final race it was Wassink who managed to mount a challenge for the lead. He started the race in 3rd, then managed to get by both DaSilva and Rhodes on lap 7, but his lead was short lived as Rhodes was back out front the next time by the start finish line. At the finish it was Wassink in 2nd, DaSilva in 3rd, Josh Bisschop in 4th and Keidon Fletcher rounding out the top 5.
The Junior Lite class in 2014 has seen 2 drivers dominate the field. Ciarra Collison comes into Race Number 8 with 4 wins on the year. Aaron Turnbull has won the other 3 races. Making it interesting would be the last time the club qualified it was Turnbull with the fastest lap. This time around it was Collison who paced the field in qualifying earning the chance to start the pre-final from the pole position. She turned the pole
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position advantage and some quick laps into the pre-final win. Turnbull wasn’t going to just go away, he had the fastest race lap in the Pre-final. In the final race it was neither Collison or Turnbull who would manage to get the fastest lap, it was Max Wright, converting it into a 4th place finish. Collison was the winner, with Turnbull close behind in 2nd place. Madison Colling had a good race both starting and finishing the final in 3rd place. The final podium spot was claimed by Peter Ditner.
The Junior Heavy competitors put on a great show. Austin Bisschop started the night off by posting the fastest lap in qualifying, just edging out Kaitlin Neely. In the pre-final it was Neely with the win in a very closely contested race. In the final race, Neely managed to lead from the start but on lap 2 Bisschop took the lead and held onto finish 1st overall. Neely was 2nd, but had her hands full as 3rd place finisher Andrew Whelan was never far behind. Wesley Tobin had a strong race to claim the 4th spot on the podium, Kendra Cassidy was 5th.
The Senior Medium class had the largest field with 31 karts registered. Tristan Gill was the class of the field. He had the fastest lap in qualifying, and led every lap in both the pre-final and the final. It the final it was Steven Murdock finishing 2nd, TJ Marshall was 3rd, Ryan Brutzki and David Miller finished 5th and 6th respectively. In the Masters class Brian Wilkinson had a dominant performance. At the time of writing this report the results were not official.
It was a great night for all the competitors. Prior to the start of the final races there was a drivers parade on the track to the start finish line. The pre-race ceremonies were concluded with the National Anthem being sung by Erin Breen of Cap Stone Music in Burlington. The night was concluded with the grandstands full of competitors and spectators to watch the great fire works display. The club was very grateful to have Fine Details of Milton as our race day sponsor. They dedicated the race to the memory of Kimm Poirier-Fletcher who lost her courageous battle with Cancer this past April. All WRKC members were proud of the battle she waged with the Ontario Government over their lack of support for a medication she desperately needed. Her dedication to this cause will help many other cancer victims for years to come. As for the $500.00 Fine Details challenge there were only a few drivers who qualified. In every case they chose to keep their well earned starting spot in the final to score valuable points needed towards the 2014 championship.
For more information please visit our club website at website www.wrkc.on.ca.
