|
 |
|
 |
| July 05, 2010 News |
| Race Report: Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship - Leamington |
Round four of the 2010 Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship sponsored by CF Groups and Quinlan Inc, was held this past weekend at the Point Pelee Karting facility located in Leamington, Ontario, Canada. In one of Canada’s most southern areas, the weather was perfect, as beautiful sunny skies, and warm temperatures brought many smiles in the paddock after what has been a very soggy season thus far. With the mercury well into the 30’s, the action on track was just as hot, with some very intense racing.
The event marked the first combined event of the season for the BSRKC where all twelve official classes took part. Adding in two local club supported classes, fourteen final races were held, with twelve different winners amongst the 175 entries. Doubling up on the weekend, local racers Grant Quinlan and Greg Rempel each scored a pair of victories. With their excellent performances on the weekend, they both earned the ‘Autosports Media Group BSRKC Driver of the Weekend’ awards. An extra special award was given to Durkac Karting for making the eight-hour trek from Sudbury for the race and providing one of Canada’s most talented karters, Aaron de Heus, with a chance to jump back into the driver’s seat.
The racing surface held up very well in Leamington, although tire management was very important throughout the 25 lap final races. For many, this event was their first trip to the PPK track, and judging by their smiles, it won’t be their last.
Saturday Report:
 | Grant Quinlan was near perfect on the weekend, earning two wins and a second place finish
(Photo by: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Kicking off the day’s final races, the local option Cadet class took to the track after lunch. Leading the field into turn one, Ciarra Collison, daughter of multi-time BSRKC Champion Jake Collison, erupted as the leader, while Tommy Quinlan got a great run to exit the corner in second place from his fourth position starting spot. While Quinlan battled with Ryley Hulme for second place, Collison was able to drive away. Never looking back, the young racer secured her first BSRKC victory. Hulme was able to sneak by and take the second position, followed by Quinlan.
The Honda Jr. Medium class provided plenty of excitement as fifteen karts took the green flag led by Scotty Nagel. Grant Quinlan, older brother of Cadet racer Tommy Quinlan, converted his front row starting spot into the early lead, followed closely by Nagel. Behind them, Nicholas Ledson and Jaret Stewart pushed hard to keep up with the front two, and after a handful of laps, it was a four-kart race for the lead. The quad ran nose-to-tail for a majority of the race, until Nagel made a move for the lead with two laps to go. Quinlan tried to counter the attack with a pass in turn six but was denied and in turn, lost his and Stewart’s momentum. Nagel held the lead through the first half of the final lap before Ledson dove to the inside of Nagel in turn six. Contact between the two resulted in Ledson’s kart flipping over top of Nagel. Limping to the finish line, Nagel was declared the winner, followed by Quinlan and Stewart. Ledson was able to walk away from the incident with some slight scratches on his arm, and was able to race his Rotax Junior race, later in the afternoon.
In the Rotax DD2 class, point’s leader Michael Glaze was embedded in a great daily battle with Eric Gerrits. Making his 2010 BSRKC debut, Gerrits pushed Glaze to his limits, and in the final race, the two swapped the lead early on. Cory Cacciavillani and Matthew Di Leo also joined the two in the early stages of the race, but by the midway point, found themselves in a battle for third place. Glaze was able to post continuous fast laps in the second half to pull a slight gap on Gerrits as the two received the last lap board. Taking yet another victory and a commanding point lead, Glaze held on for the win joined by Gerrits and Di Leo on the podium.
 | Just like her father, Ciarra Collison was the winner in her class, scoring the victory in the Honda Cadet
(Photo by: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Entering his second race of the day, Grant Quinlan was the man to beat in Rotax Mini-Max. The 2009 BSRKC class champion dominated the day’s action, taking the pole position in qualifying, as well as the pre-final and final victories. Putting in a great drive in his debut on a Greenspeed TonyKart, JP Hutchinson drove through the field in the final race. From his last place starting position, he posted times equivalent to race winner Quinlan en route to an impressive second place finish. Rounding out the podium, point leader Braydon Strik finished in third place.
The second local option class taking part in the BSRKC action was the TaG Sr./TaG Masters class. Competing together but scored separately, the two classes were full of flavour. Aboard his Vortex Rok powered Kosmic Kart, Cory Cacciavillani controlled the Sr.’s, followed by the Rotax of Alex Watzke, and the IAME Leopard of Matt Haggith. In the Masters, it was the IAME Leopard Italkart of Dale Cook topping the charts followed by the Rotax of Greg Howe and the Leopard of Joe Patrick.
Austin Milwain continued his 2010 dominance of the Rotax Junior class, as the Greenspeed pilot once again controlled the class. Unbeaten so far this season in BSRKC competition, Milwain swept the day’s action to make it five-for-five this year. Michael Taibi was able to benefit from a mid-race incident to hold onto second place, while Jamie Lockwood earned his first podium finish in the class with a great drive to third place.
Saturday’s final race featured another great battle between Zack Meyer and Addison Rayner. The duo has now raced together for three full seasons with great respect for each other. Meyer was able to grab the holeshot into turn one, and with that, the early race lead. Trying everything to get by, Rayner hounded Meyer the entire race, but just couldn’t quite make the move. That is, until the final lap, where an uncommon mistake by Meyer, handed the victory to Rayner. Exiting the final corner, Meyer slowed thinking he had already won the race, and was going to grab the checkered flag for a victory lap. Never giving up and always running until the end, Rayner scooted by Meyer before the finish line and took the win. The confused Meyer admitted his mistake, but vowed it would never happen again.
 | A last lap mistake by the leader, allowed Addison Rayner to earn his first victory of the season in F125 Shifter
(Photo by: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Sunday Report:
Headlining Sunday’s racing was the dominating performance by Greg Rempel. The local racer, competing in only a select few events throughout the year, scored two compelling victories in the Sr. Lite and Sr. Heavy classes.
After weighing in just under the minimum in Sr. Heavy qualifying, Rempel charged through the field in the pre-final, making his way up to fourth place and a great starting position for the final. Tucking into third place on the start, it only took Rempel a handful of laps to take the lead. Once out front, he never looked back, en route to an impressive five-second victory. Behind him, Marc Stehle and Cory Cacciavillani displayed a great 25-lap battle with Stehle getting the upper hand at the finish line and a sweep of the podium by Leamington area racers.
In his second race of the day in Sr. Lite, Rempel earned the pole position for the final with a great run in the pre-final. Leading the field into turn one, the outside row got a great run and Rempel settled for third place exiting corner three. However, once again, it didn’t take long for Rempel to work himself back into the lead. In cruise control, he never looked back, taking his second victory of the afternoon. After leading the opening laps, Aaron de Heus eventually was scored in second place in his debut on an Arrow chassis with Durkac Karting. Jeremy Brutzki also has a great drive to stand on the podium in third place.
 | Austin Milwain is five-for-five this season in BSRKC Rotax Junior competition
(Photo by: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
Pulling double duty on the weekend, Marc Stehle also entered the Masters class. Taking the pole-position and the pre-final, Stehle looked very good heading into the final race. But multi-time BSRKC Champion Jake Collison would have something to say about that. The two quickly broke away from the field on the start and began a 25-lap chess match. Swapping the lead back and forth, the two bounced off each other many times throughout the race, but neither held the lead for more than a handful of laps. Leading as the two took the last-lap board, Collison held the lead through turn one and two with Stehle all over him. A tight line through turn four allowed Stehle to get a run inside into the tight turn five hairpin. Contact between the two sent Collison through the dirt into a spin, with Stehle getting away to the checkered flag. However, the contact was deemed Stehle’s fault and resulted in a one-position penalty, giving the win to Collison, who recovered to cross well behind in second. Silently holding onto third place, Robin McLean earned his first ever BSRKC podium finish.
In the Junior Heavy class, the duo of Grant Quinlan and Sean McPhee were atop the results all weekend. McPhee posted the fastest time in qualifying, while Quinlan won the pre-final and inside pole-position for the final. Grabbing the lead into one, Quinlan lead lap one, while McPhee worked back into second place after being squeezed into third in the opening corners. From there the two, worked together to beak away from the remainder of the class to settle the race on their own. However, with two laps remaining, the two encountered some lapped traffic, and although Quinlan got through easily, McPhee was held up just enough that he wasn’t able to make the move he was hoping to for a shot at victory. Pumping his fist all the way down the front straight, Quinlan earned his second victory of the weekend and his third podium finish capping off a great weekend for the youngster. In a great battle for the final podium spot, Scotty Nagel was able to outrun Spencer Todd, who was making the debut of the much-anticipated Tecno 4-Cycle chassis.
Both the Jr. Lite and Novice classes were very much the same as two karts were able to break away early and battle amongst themselves for victory. In Jr. Lite, Jaret Stewart led the opening twenty laps, before Clay Van Eerd jumped out front. The two then swapped the lead for the final five laps, but with a great counter attack pass by Stewart with two laps to go, he was able to pull a three kart-length lead to take him to victory. In Novice, Austin Bisschop and Ty Lucio continued their ongoing battle for Novice supremacy with a drag race to the finish line, with Bisschop crossing a mere nine-hundredths of a second ahead, to earn his second victory of the season. Matteus Makos and Roman DeAngelis completed the podium in Jr. Lite and Novice respectively.
 | Sweeping the two Honda Senior classes, Greg Rempel was dominant on Sunday
(Photo by: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group) |
In the final race of the weekend, the Rotax Senior class put on a great show for the fans. The only 2-stroke class racing on Sunday, Michael Glaze was able to turn his pole position into a pre-final victory, holding off point’s leader Andy Jaffray. A tough start in the final for Jaffray forced him back to sixth rounding lap one. Working his way back through the field was just enough to allow Glaze to get away. Holding off the charging Jaffray at the finish line, Glaze earned the victory ahead of Jaffray and Alex Watzki.
Over the weekend, ten classes qualified for cash prizes. The BSRKC series presented a total of $3000.00 in cash to the top three finishers in those classes.
On July 10-11, the series will continue its busy month this weekend with a race for six of it’s official 4-cycle classes: Novice, Jr. Lite, Jr. Heavy, Sr. Lite, Sr. Heavy, and Masters at the Flamboro Speedway hosted by the Waterloo Regional Kart Club. The event has also added a special non-points race for the F125 Shifter class. Following Flamboro, all the classes will reconvene for the prestigious ‘Bear Hunt’ races at Shannonville Motorsports Park on July 28-August 1.
For more information on the Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship go to the series website at bsrkc.com. You can also call Lynda Chiovitti at 905.722.3089 or contact her via email at LyndaChiovitti@hotmail.com .
#33
"The Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship Series and its Principals, Organizers, Volunteers and Sponsors are committed to presenting the most professional regional karting Series in North America at an affordable cost. The BSRKC Series is dedicated to providing an environment of sportsmanship and camaraderie while furthering the development of kart racers of all ages and competitive levels. The BSRKC Series also intends to advance its racers into the higher echelons of motorsports through the Series’ namesake and Indy Racing League® Firestone Indy Lights™ Team Founder, Brian Stewart and Brian Stewart Racing. |
|
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
