If there is one category this season we are really looking forward to when it comes to the Motomaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship, ROK Senior is it. The premier two-cycle division in the country right now, we are expecting more than twenty drivers at the opening round this coming weekend, and more as the season progresses.
If we consider the two races leading up to this weekend’s race as any indication, this is the closest the category has ever been upfront and we are surely in for some great races this summer.
Two-time defending champion Patrick Woods-Toth returns for a third season with Prime Powerteam. He’s been nearly unbeatable over those two years, but has come under some serious pressure in the pre-season races this year. Will that continue at the MRFKC, or will Woods find that extra gear again and return to his dominant form? Only time will tell.
Seven of last year’s top-ten championship finishers are back for another season of competition. Returning to PRO/Mosport Karting for a second season, Dale Curran will be looking for more than just a season finale race win this summer, while Robert Soroka and Andrew Maciel look to remain mainstays on the podium again.
Ryan Macdermid and Daniel Fellows have international experience that can’t be ignored, while Adam Ali is the wild card that could score an upset win at any time this summer, especially at Mosport. Sadly, Daniel Ali is sitting out round one after injuring his wrist this past weekend at Hamilton.
We can’t count out the Miles brothers too, Matthew and Jacob, who have shown good pace to start the season and a little extra commitment to the competition. Cole Hooton and Connor Pritiko are another pair to keep an eye on at Hamilton this weekend.
The growth of the class is another reason we are so excited for Rok Senior. Graduates from Junior include Marco Filice (winner this past weekend at the CKN Dash for Cash), Brady Clapham (whose rise from Briggs Junior Lite to Rok Senior has been quick and impressive), Lorenzo Morsillo, Cruz Formusa, and Daniel Dimarinas, while a trio from Quebec has joined the action in the likes of Mathieu Cousineau, Laurent Legault and Lucas Pernod. Owyn Thomas has switched back from Briggs to Rok too.
Missing from our list this weekend is three drivers we had high expectations for this summer. Gianluca Savaglio has decided to race in Rok Shifter this weekend and not Rok Senior, the same for Jared Ramnarayan, while Nicky Palladino is taking the weekend off but says he will be back for round two of the MRFKC.
Who knows, a few last minute entries could push us to 25 this weekend and just add to the showcase that will be Rok Senior this season.
