The green light in Ontario has been given and finally, the Hamilton Regional Kart Club and the Canadian Mini Indy are excited to get their season underway.
For Trevor Wickens, this has been the longest gap between races he has endured since he ventured into the karting world back in the 90’s. Following the completion of the summer schedule in October, Wickens didn’t venture down south for the typical season finale races in Las Vegas, and while there were plans in the works for winter karting in Florida, constant international travel rule changes and hurdles required to cross the border halted his Prime Powerteam from competing in the Florida Winter Tour for the first time in two decades.
“Going south in the fall and winter has been the norm for so long that we forgot how cold Canadian winters are. Although we would have preferred to be racing the FWT and SKUSA Winter Series, the break allowed us time to reflect on places we could have improved in 2020. We have never been more prepared for a season than we are in 2021, both in terms of performance and structure.”
This past weekend the Canadian Mini Indy in Hamilton was finally able to open its doors to racers to practice, and every time slot was filled with drivers itching to get back into the seat. To stay safe, each day was split into morning and afternoon sessions to keep the number of people on-site at a minimum. With the province of Ontario beginning Stage 1 of restarting the economy a few days earlier than expected, it was a bonus weekend ahead of the planned start this coming weekend.
”The past 10 weeks have been some of the toughest the Canadian Karting Community has ever faced. It brought a grin to our face to finally see karts driving in anger on track.“
For the Hamilton Regional Kart Club, this weekend will serve as a chance to shake off the rust, get back into some routine and practice for club race one, which will take place June 26. The practice weekend will help walk the new racers through the weekend plans, provide technical inspection of karts and engines ahead of the season and of course allow for on-track practice to get up to speed. Veteran racers from the club help oversee all of these activities.
This season, the Canadian Mini Indy Rookie Series has graduated 18 drivers from Arrive & Drive to club racing over the winter months. This number has steadily grown over the past few seasons and has helped bring the club to nearly one hundred members spread across the four main Briggs 206 classes; Cadet, Junior, Senior and Masters.
“Danielle and I have made it a business priority to offer a fun, safe, family environment for our racers while maintaining a competitive level of competition. We are proud that since we started running the Canadian Mini Indy we have grown our Arrive and Drive programs and HRKC both by over 75%. We will keep pushing forward trying to offer the best racing experience possible.“
This season the club will once again provide a full season of 16 races for Briggs 206 racers while adding two-cycle ROK and Rotax classes during five of the club races for a mini-series.
July will be a very busy month at the Canadian Mini Indy as the club will host an inter-club race on Saturday, July 10. HRKC will welcome racers from MIKA (Mosport) and IKC/CKC (Innisfil) for club race five. The following day, a non-points CKN Dash for Cash is scheduled, where prizes are expected to exceed $10,000 again.
Those two events will act as the preparation event before the MotoMaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship rolls into Hamilton on July 17/18. The regional championship is also a double-points day for HRKC club racers and will see many of Ontario’s best racers compete in the opening round of the major championship.
“2021 is going to be a history maker. Racing families can look forward to top-notch racing week in and week out. Club racing, MRFKC, Specials Events will fill our weekends. Our members and staff are up for the task! 2021 will be one to remember.“
The Canadian Mini Indy Rookie Series also welcomed their Arrive & Drive racers back over the weekend and are primed to begin racing on June 29. Among the many races throughout this summer, a highlight event will be the 6 Hours of CMI Endurance race on August 28. The Rookie Series will also feature a 7-race Trophy Cup program.
More information about the HRKC, Canadian Mini Indy and Rookie Series can be found on http://canadianminiindy.com.
