The 2014 Western Canadian Championship is officially underway. Hitting the track at the 3 Flags Karting facility near Lumsden, Saskatchewan, a lineup of five classes and nearly 60 drivers completed an excellent first day of competition.
New for 2014 is a two round, six race championship for the WCC. Also new was series veteran Scott Campbell as he can now be found trackside as a series race director, giving a racers perspective on the action.
The very fast 3 Flags Karting track provided excellent action for race one, setting up two more days of great racing action, particularly in the Rotax Junior and Senior categories where tire strategy will come into play.
Bryce Choquer Cruises in Rotax Senior
Qualifying saw last years WCC Rotax Junior Champion Coltin McCaughan (CKN/TonyKart) post the fastest time, nipping Bryce Choquer (BBR/Kosmic) by a mere five-thousandths of a second for the pole-position.
A early scrap in the prefinal forced Choquer to work his way back to the front, but once he found himself on the rear bumper of McCaughan he made quick work of the Alberta native to take the lead and heat win.
No Challenge for Ryan Martin in Rotax Junior Final
With heavy winds over the facility when it came time for Rotax Junior Qualifying, Matthew Tiskinen (OverDrive/TonyKart) was able to score just enough of a draft to edge Austin Riley (Racing With Autism/Energy Kart) for the pole-position with the top-seven karts all within three-tenths of a second.
The prefinal was full of action as Tiskinen led through the first chicane until Riley dove inside in corner seven for the lead. That lead didn’t last long as Ryan Martin (KGK/TonyKart) overtook Riley for the lead an ultimately went on with the heat win. Riley second, Fulham third.
Friday Victory for Carson Vogel in Mini-Max
It started off looking like a one-horse race in Mini-Max as Marco Kacic (CRG West/CRG) blistered off a lap time in Qualifying nearly two and a half tenths quicker than his closest competition.
But when it came to racing, everything changed. Kacic was pressured early by Griffin Dowler (Apollo/TonyKart) in the prefinal. The two would eventually welcome Carson Vogel (BBR/Kosmic) to the lead pack, but Kacic held on ahead of Dowler and Vogel.
Ryan Dezall Holds on for Micro-Max win
Like the Mini-Max division, a strong crop of Micro-Max racers is a good sign for the future of karting in western Canada. Even though six isn’t a large number, for Micro-Max it is a great start for the youngest drivers in the country.
Ryan Dezall (Kosmic), who represented Team Canada last season at the RMCGF Micro-Max Invitational as rookie, was able to hold off a hard charging Jason Leung (PDB) to take the Friday victory. Leung tried everything to work his way by, but it was not the case on Friday. But he still have two more race days to try and earn the next step on the podium. Finishing third was Brad Bachalo (KGK/LH Kart) with Darryen Hliwa (CRG West/CRG), Shawn Kozma (ITALKART) and Spencer Perreault (PCR) rounding out the finishing order.
Christina Dezall and Kohl MacLaggan earn Junior 2 and 1 wins
Only four karts made up the Briggs & Stratton Junior categories with a pair of drivers in each the Junior 1 and Junior 2 divisions.
An early race for the lead resulted in Jaedin Wright (Arrow) spinning in corner 7 and Christina Dezall (PCR) all alone in the lead. Wright tried all he could to make up the lost ground, but Dezall was too far gone as she took the win in Junior 2.
In Junior 1, Kohl MacLaggan went flag to flag to earn the win over Jesse Gibson (Arrow).
The action continues Saturday with race two on the line.
Video: CKN Inside the Event: WCC Regina
