Race 3 of the Hamilton Regional Kart Club season took place this past weekend, and while it was certainly warmer than the previous round, most of us were still left wishing for a little more spring sunshine. The good news is: warmer weather is on its way as we head into the bulk of our racing season.
This marked the third race in as many weeks for our racers, and now we head into a brief break from on-track action at Hamilton. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be visiting other tracks with no HRKC racing at the Hamilton Karting Complex. Next weekend is KartStars at Goodwood, followed by the Ontario Interclub Challenge, also at Goodwood. That event does count toward the HRKC championship, and we hope to see a strong showing from our club members. The following weekend, June 1st, is an off-week for HRKC, but many of our Rotax racers will be making the trek to Round 1 of the RMC Quebec series in Mont-Tremblant.
Race 3 was characterized by drivers getting out their brooms with 7 out of 8 classes being swept by a driver. It also had a sense of urgency—perhaps a little too much—as race directors had to remind drivers to slow down on the starts and adhere to the acceleration line. That line is clearly marked in yellow just before the start/finish line—it’s not far back, and jumping early brings penalties and risks. Despite the reminders, several jump start penalties were handed out, which, as many now know too well, can ruin an otherwise perfect race. Remember: if you’re starting on the outside, you must cross the line behind the driver on pole. Jumping early from the outside only increases the chances of collisions into Turn 1. Keep it clean. You can’t win a race if you don’t finish it, and these rules are there first and foremost for safety.
That said, it was another classic day of club racing with strong turnouts across every class. Here’s how things unfolded:
In Briggs Cadet, Yousef Adi was untouchable throughout the day, going P1 in qualifying and sweeping both the prefinal and the final. Behind him, though, the action was intense. Lincoln Lima kept the pressure on in the final but couldn’t quite find a way past, eventually finishing third behind Nathan Stockwell, who got the better of Lima late in the race to secure second place.
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Cody Shaw continues to be the driver to beat, extending his lead in the championship with a third straight win. He took the victory by over eight seconds, a dominant display once again, and was joined on the podium by his loyal pup. Noah Prodger and Wyatt Smith rounded out the podium in a competitive class.
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Jackson Morley is on a roll in Briggs Junior, taking his third straight win after once again sweeping the day. He started on pole, won the prefinal, and held on in the final after a thrilling early race. Brandon Bowden got the lead off the start but was assessed a jump start penalty. A lead trio of Bowden, Maxwell Willetts, and Morley pulled away from the field, with a second trio of Kaden Malik, Alexander Bach, and Cole Campin in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, Bowden suffered a mechanical issue on Lap 6, forcing a retirement. That left Morley and Willetts to work together, building an 8+ second gap to the rest of the field. Morley eventually took the win with Willetts close behind in second. Behind them, the trio of Malik, Bach, and Campin battled all race long, with Malik coming out on top for third.
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Briggs Senior continues to be our biggest class, and once again it was split into A and B groups. The B final saw Dillon Coleman take the win, followed by Cody Vigers, Adrian Christopher, Harley Collins Appleton, Rydan Morash, and Cayden Olsen—all advancing into the A final.
In the A Final, it was Mitchell Morrow starting in the lead after qualifying on pole and winning the A prefinal, he completed the sweep by taking home the win in the final. It wasn’t a walk in the park, though. Owen McCarthy and Alex Murphy were right in the mix, and all three drivers took turns at the front during a back-and-forth battle. McCarthy made a bold last-lap move to snatch second away from Murphy, who had to settle for third. Raul Gabriel Canuto claimed the fastest lap of the race and just missed the podium in fourth. The level of racing in this group continues to be top-tier and exciting to watch.
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We had a birthday celebration in Briggs Masters, and it was a dominant one. Christopher Mitchell, celebrating his special day, set the tone early by taking pole and then never looked back. He won the prefinal and final by over five seconds. Behind him, Patrick Lelievre and Matthew Radaelli rounded out the podium.
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In Rotax Mini Max, Lincoln Lima put together a perfect day, sweeping the day by taking pole, the prefinal win, and sealing the deal with the final. It wasn’t without challenge, though—Lot was in close pursuit during the final but suffered an off track moment late in the race, dropping him down the order. Also joining the grid this weekend was Mateo Pai, who showed great pace throughout. In the end, it was Lima in first, Nathan Stockwell in second, and Yousef Adi grabbing his second podium of the day in third after a strong and consistent performance.
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Another win for Jackson Morley, who was dominant in Junior Max. He qualified on pole and never looked back, winning both the prefinal and final with authority. Aristides Theodoropoulos ran a clean race to finish second, with Stefano Lanzillotta rounding out the podium in third. Ava Cabral had a tough weekend—missing qualifying due to kart issues, running the prefinal with the wrong gear, and then charging from the back in the final only to be disqualified for being underweight despite setting the fastest lap. A frustrating result for a fast driver, but her pace shows she’ll be back with a vengeance.
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In Rotax Senior Max it was a thrilling final. Jaden Hundel qualified on pole, but Sam David came away with the win in the prefinal. In the final, Nigel Longley got the jump early, but it turned out to be a jump start, and he was assessed a penalty. Michael Nickle for the second week in a row found himself at the back of the grid on the start, this time due to a DNF in the prefinal. This week, Michael could not be stopped as he carved his way through the field, taking the win. Jaden Hundel secured 2nd, and Nigel Longley in third (after the penalty was applied).
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Conner Freer, our resident Sports Photographer, was on hand for Race 3 and got a great bunch of shots. Check out the gallery on his website – https://hrkc-race-3.connerfreersportsphotos.com/. Be sure to follow Conner on Instagram @connerfreersportsphotography to be kept in the loop for the next time he is capturing the HRKC action. Order your photo packages direct through Conner.
Thanks to everyone for a great race weekend! We now enter a brief break, with our next official HRKC event being the Ontario Interclub Challenge at Goodwood. Don’t forget, this counts as an HRKC points race and is a great chance to compete against racers from the province’s other top clubs.
We return to Hamilton on June 7th for The Dash presented by CKN, which will feature exciting prizes, trophies, and for the first time this year, we’ll be running Track Layout 2 in reverse. There will be plenty of practice opportunities between now and then, so keep an eye on the HRKC weekly emails for updates.
We’ll see you all at Goodwood—and then back at Hamilton in June!
Originally posted on Canadian Karting News at – https://www.canadiankartingnews.com/hrkc-supports-rmc-ontario-with-great-club-racing-action/ While the spotlight was on the Rotax Max Challenge Ontario opener,
This past weekend at Hamilton Karting Complex was one to remember. We hosted our first national race of the season—the
