Apologies to all for the delay in posting, apparently forgetting to press “publish” results in postings not being viewed. Newbie error, shouldn’t happen again.
Saturdays practice was quieter than most, with many putting on a show at the Ferrari Festival on Preston street. The festival was very exciting for all those involved, and for as much as those in the grandstands loved the show our racers put on, I am sure our racers had even more fun being able to put the pedal to the metal and speed down a stretch of Carling Ave. A great thank you to all those who came, you all presented yourselves in a very mature manner sharing your passion for karting to all those who wanted to hear more, and represented our club as the open, welcoming club we are.
Sunday morning looked promising as the skies were blue and the rain was holding off, but that promise was short lived when 2 minutes into the junior practice, red flags were shown due to a quick downpour of rain, making the track too dangerous for slick tires. Fortunately by the time the qualifying started, the track had once again dried and tires were changed back from wet to dry set up. The junior race had some unexpected results when in the qualifying, Connor Cose- Manuel, in his first race as a non rookie, finished third in the standings. Carter Jones, who had not raced the previous two races, qualified second. Ryan Armstrong, in the new K&K kart finished on top almost a full second ahead of second place. Emily Conty, would start fourth in the pre-final, Dagan Hartman, Fifth, Amy Armstrong sixth, Jamie Woodward, seventh, and Gavin Cose- Manuel, Eighth. In the pre-final, Ryan Armstrongs’ strong start won him the race, with Emily Conty finishing second. Connor Cose-Manuel continued to race hard and finished in third. Amy Armstrong moved up for the final in fourth place, followed by Dagan Hartman, Jaimie Woodward, Gavin- Cose- Manuel, and finally Carter Jones. Carter was having difficulties in the final , and spun out after the straight, moving him to the back of the class. In the final, Ryan Armstrong once again clinched first place with a strong start, and Emily Conty just didn’t have enough race left to catch him. Connor Cose- Manuel and Amy Armstrong battled hard for third place, both raced strong and both were determined to grasp third place on the podium. It could have been either one, until the final turn into the straight, with Amy in third and Connor close behind, but and over steer by Connor put him in the grass and he wasn’t able to recover in time, giving Amy Armstrong the third place position, Carter Jones had worked his way up in the standings and also managed to pass Connor before Connor could get himself back on the track. Connor ended up finisheing fifth, followed by Dagan Hartman, Gavin Cose- Manuel and finally Jaimie Woodward.
The senior race was intense as the top four racers of the day were all determined to stand at the top of the podium. In qualifying it was Anthony Conty who managed to run the fastest lap, followed by Alex Pocheo, then Brian Saunders, Nick Saunders then Scott Armstrong. Prefinal started with a battle for first, with Alex Pocheco pushing through the crowd, Brian Saunders pulled through second, Anthony Conty third, with Anthony and Brian battling for second, Alex quickly made space between him and them. Anthony, mid race managed to pass Brian, giving him a second place start in the final, Nick kept his fourth place for the final and finally Scott Armstong at the back. During the pre-final there was some questionable on and off track behavior that resulted in a warning to the front runners, and it was thought that a handshake and apology had resolved the issue. Because of the intensity of competition between these young drivers they were all given a pre race warning that there would be zero tolerance for unsportsmanlike conduct, so all the racers started with a warning already under their belt. Alex Pocheco again, quickly took grasp of first place in the start as Brian Saunders and Anthony Conty again battled for the second place position. Brain Saunders took control of second place in the start, and Anthony Conty, three laps in was given a warning for bumping while turning into a corner. Anthony again midrace, managed to get by Brian and the final finished with Alex Pocheco in first, Anthony Conty in second, Brian Saunders in third, Nick Saunders in fourth and Scott Armstrong in fifth. Final standing were changed after the race, when Brian Saunders was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, and due to a second warning, Anthony Conty was moved down to third place, the final standings therefor were as followed, Alex Pocheco in first, Nick Saunders in Second, Anthony Conty, third, Scott Armstrong in fourth and Brian Saunders disqualified.
The Masters class, was a much quieter, less intense race with Jacques Larose and Greg Jewell qualifying at the top of the crowd followed by John Wayne Ross, then Antonio Falcone, Frank Jones, and finally Kevin Conty. Greg Jewell showed Jacques Larose the he was not going to give up the top of the podium easily as the pre final ended with Greg Jewell in first, followed by Jacques Larose. Frank Jones, moved his way up in the pack, gaining a third place start in the final, followed by Wayne Ross, Kevin Conty and finally Antonio Falcone. The battle for first was on in the final as Greg Jewell and Jacques Larose were both determined to finish first. In the end it was Jacques Larose who won top of the podium, Greg Jewell was a close second, and Wayne Ross grasped third. Frank Jones was fourth, Kevin Conty fifth and Antonio Falcone sixth.
Despite the weather it was yet another weekend of great fun. Thank you to all the racers who braved the crazy conditions and came out. See you all next race at Lombardy July 4th and fifth.