Weather Doesn’t Dampen Spirits in ROK Cup Quebec Debut!

In its much anticipated debut, the ROK Cup Quebec hit the track this past weekend at the PSL Montreal circuit in Mirabel, Quebec. The new championship for 2014 powered by Vortex Engines, has introduced an alternative engine package to Eastern Canada that has shown success around the globe.

The weather for the event was cold and wet with showers throughout most of the day. But this didn’t dampen the spirits of those in attendance, especially series promoter LP Gelinas. Like a kid in a candy store, he was ecstatic to see the debut of his new series and to have enough entries in his Mini-Rok division to ensure at least one driver will represent the series at the ROK Cup International Final, one of his goals for 2014.

In attendance for the event was Andre Martins from ROK Cup USA and Mauricio Piccoli from Vortex Engines to support the series, drivers and mechanics with any questions they had about their Vortex ROK packages.

“Thanks to André Martins who sent Mauricio Picoli to help us prepare our new ROK Cup engine packages to test Saturday and race on Sunday,” exclaimed LP following the weekend. “It was a great first event. Everybody had so much fun that we almost forgot the weather!”

“I am very happy and proud to be part of the ROK Cup program, it will grow this wonderful sport!”

For the most part, all eyes were focused on the Mini-Rok class. As mentioned, enough drivers signed up to ensure the champion will represent the series to Italy. In Qualifying it was Justin Arseneau (CRG) who posted the quickest time in the tricky wet conditions. But when it came to racing, Patrick Woods-Toth (CRG) was the man to beat as he scored the win in both the PreFinal and the Final to top the podium in the series debut and take the early championship points lead. Woods-Toth was joined by Arseneau and Louis-Charles Gelinas (CRG) on the podium while Maxime Courtemanche, Anwar Bailey and Antoine Joseph completed the results.

Patrick Woods-Toth was the inaugural winner in Mini-ROK (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

There was also three ROK Junior drivers in attendance. Making his debut in the Junior division, Tommy Simard (TonyKart) was the fastest in Qualifying, but a steady drive in the Final by William Orsini (TonyKart) earned him the victory with Simard second and Chloe Courtemanche third.

For interested junior drivers, there is still a chance to join the series and add another ticket to the ROK International Final. A total of six drivers need to commit to the championship in order for the class champion to go to Italy.

PSL Montreal also had it’s Open Shifter category on track. Although no ROK Shifters made their debut this weekend, there are some drivers who will be debuting the ROK shifter engine very soon. Winning the race was Allan Moreau (Birel).

About ROK Cup Quebec:
The ROK Cup Quebec is a 10-race championship open to all racers held at PSL Montreal for 2014 as part of the I-Kart Club Championship. Powered by Vortex ROK engines, the championship has six categories available for drivers to compete in: Micro-ROK, Mini-ROK, ROK Junior, ROK Senior, ROK Masters and ROK Shifter. For classes exceeding six drivers in their championship, the class champion wins a paid ticket to the ROK Cup International Final in Italy to compete against the best “Rokkers” in the world. Looking at the future, the series plans to host five race events at different tracks across Quebec in 2015.

For more information about the ROK Cup Quebec, contact LP Gelinas at lpgelinas@pslmontreal.com or www.pslkartingmontreal.com.

Click Here for ROK Cup Quebec Photo Gallery