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| October 15, 2008 News |
| Race Report: Oktoberfest Grand Prix |
For a photo gallery, courtesy of Autosports Media's Cody Schindel, click HERE
 | Ciarra Collison joined her father Jake in victory lane after his Masters win
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media) |
Clear blue skies welcomed over 110 drivers and teams to Flamboro Speedway last Saturday as the 27th Annual Waterloo Regional Kart Club Oktoberfest Grand Prix was presented by AtoZ Capital Corporation and Andy DeFrancesco. Maintaining tradition from past years, drivers drew their first heat starting position at registration, and a fabulous day followed. Seven classes filled the schedule in contesting flip-grid heats and Oktoberfest main events.
Two heat race wins for Jake Collison placed him on pole for the Masters final but Randy Packham jumped to the front on lap one followed closely by Collison. Renewing a season-long battle from the Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship, the two broke free from the pack and made it a two-kart race for the win. Packham led until lap six when Collison smoothly drove under him into turn one. From there, Packham attempted to overtake Collison many times, but couldn’t complete the pass. Collison earned the first feature of the day with Packham second, Randy Knipping third and FunRacers.ca teammates Fred Jordan and Dwayne Cinnamon completing the top five.
Nineteen karts entered the Novice class forcing the group to be split into two groups. Joshua Shantz scored two heat race victories to earn pole for the ‘A’ division beside Matthew Scannell, who scored a win and a second in his group to earn the front row. A tough start for Shantz allowed Scannell to pull a large gap early in the final and he looked to have the race in the bag as Shantz worked his way back toward the front. Shantz worked his way to second, and as the laps dwindled down, so did the lead of Scannell. The margin narrowed, and Shantz was on the bumper of Scannell as the white flag flew. He took the lead in turn one, held through the final lap and earned the biggest win of his career to date. Fighting for the podium, the battle for third between Tyler Turnbull, Ryan Fraser and Jared Gill lasted all fifteen laps as the three swapped positions many times. Although he posted his fastest lap of the race on the final flyer, Fraser had to settle for fourth as Turnbull took third and Gill completed the top five. In the ‘B’ division, Austin Rogers won a very eventful feature followed by Noah Bray and Michael Dambrosio.
Looking for his second Oktoberfest win on the day, Collison was back in action in the Senior Heavy class but after two tough heats, stealing a win was going to be a challenge. TJ Marshall started the final on the pole with WRKC Senior Heavy Champion Shane Stickel alongside. Marshall led lap one with Stickel and Alison Macleod in tow. The three quickly pushed away and made it a three-kart race for the win. Stickel jumped to the lead on lap six until Macleod pushed Marshall back to top spot on lap twelve. As the three raced under the white flag Marshall dropped to the inside to block any attempt by Macleod into one but however Marshall pinched himself too deep into the corner allowing Macleod to cross underneath on exit and take the lead. Holding on for the remainder of the lap, the USAC development driver returned victory lane. Marshall and Stickel drag raced to finish line for second with Marshall crossing three-tenths clear. Corey Jones was fourth and Collison completed the top five.
 | Alison Macleod returned to her karting roots and earned a win in the Senior Heavy class
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media) |
The Junior Heavy feature started off with bang as a push from behind sent Michael Taibi over Bryson Schutte exiting turn one. The mêlée collected others as well, but the biggest losers from the action were Schutte and Taibi as they locked together and fell to the tail of field. Adam Racine jumped to the early lead leaving Julius Makos, Max Preston, Tyler Weber and Brandon Jarvis to battle for the remaining podium positions. By the midway point, Racine’s lead was well over five seconds and the group battling for second continued to beat and bang on each other. Racine duly held to the checker, but was denied a victory lap due to a broken header - then called back to the line to take the flag around. Weber placed himself on second step of the podium while Preston was third with the fastest lap of the race. Michael Adams and Makos completed the top five.
In the most eventful race of the day, Senior Lite was quite a show for the crowd. After a disqualification to Michael Glaze in heat two was reversed, he lined up for the final in the third position. Tyler Hendricks led the group through the first lap with Lucas Smith and Glaze trailing. TJ Marshall was in contention for this win as well as he and Marco Di Leo rounded out the top five early. Hendricks’ lead grew quickly in the early laps as he posted lap times much quicker than rest. Glaze and Di Leo disposed of Smith on laps three and four, and the two pushed hard to catch the leader. Still, the only thing that was going to allow them a sniff at the front was a mistake by Hendricks - and just that unfolded on lap eleven. Running wide entering the interior from the oval, Hendricks maintained his lead but Glaze and Di Leo were now right on the bumper of the leader. The three veterans were then set to settle matters in the closing laps. First Glaze executed an excellent pass entering the front stretch to take the lead but Hendricks took it back in short order. Di Leo then took his turn at the front after a bump-and-run in turn one, but Glaze got it back before the lap was out. He held it to the white flag, but Di Leo dove to the inside as the pair rejoined the oval on the final lap and won a drag race to the checker. Officials would have their say though, and after a quick interview with Hendricks the visiting Di Leo was assessed a three-position penalty, handing the win to Glaze. Jumping up to second was Marshall and after starting seventh, Chris Packham was awarded third. Di Leo and Matthew Radelli completed the top five.
 | Tristan Gill earned the win but fell one position short of the championship in Junior Lite
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media) |
Although the Junior Lite feature was cut short due to a red flag, the race up front wasn’t short on action at all. Inside the battle for the Oktoberfest crown was a WRKC championship battle. Coming into the race, Scotty Nagel needed to finish the feature in the third position or better to clinch the championship or stay within two positions of Tristan Gill. Jumping to the early lead after starting second, Nagel led the first two laps before surrendering it Justin Collison. After a tough start, Gill battled back to the second position on lap four and made his move for the lead on lap eight. From there the front four of Gill, Collison, Nagel and Austin Penney maintained their positions until a red flag waved on lap twelve. As the drivers came to a stop at the start finish line, Nagel was full of cheers and energy as he knew the race was past halfway and he had earned the championship. Gill was rewarded as the race winner, but Nagel was the champion. Collison was classified second and Penney was scored fourth. The Driver who flipped and caused the red flag, James Moore was awarded fifth and walked away unharmed.
The final on-track action of the day saw Austin Bisschop and Jordan Howse go head-to-head for the Cadet win. Although Bisschop already earned the overall WRKC Cadet championship, he was chasing the WRKC Junior High Points championship. Howse had an excellent start and grabbed the early lead with Bisschop in second and Gehrig Halliday in third. It didn’t take long for Bisschop to take the lead, but consistent fast lap times by Howse kept Bisschop on his toes. At the finish line, Bisschop crossed just over two-tenths ahead and one step closer to the Junior High Points championship. John Ditner, Halliday and Hudson Turpin completed the Cadet top five.
Oktobefest wrapped up the 2008 WRKC race season at Flamboro Speedway. The WRKC banquet will be held on Saturday, November 8th, at The Grand Valley Golf & Country Club. Tickets are still available and will not be sold at the door. For full information regarding WRKC and its upcoming banquet please visit http://www.wrkc.on.ca |
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