Latifi Hits The Podium at Mosport
press release
Nicholas Latifi of Toronto, Ontario, completed a solid weekend of regional Rmax racing at Canada's home for racing, Mosport International Raceway. Latifi continues to impress in his first season of DD2 sitting as the top rookie in the recent EKN.ca DD2 Driver Rankings.
The weekend marked rounds four and five of the six round series that attracted drivers from across Canada as well as the US as the weekend was also Pan American qualifier event. Saturday was a crazy day as Mother Nature did her best to keep teams and drivers guessing all day. In Saturday's qualifying, a wrong choice in tires put Latifi 11th on the grid in the 22-kart field. In the prefinal, while running fifth, contact late in the race dropped Latifi back a few spots to finish in eighth place at the line. The final was wet and all the drivers were ready to make moves to the front. Latifi, shuffled back several spots off the start, charged through the field to take third and earn a trip to the podium.
Above: Nicholas Latifi's drive in the wet on Saturday led to a third place podium result
pic - Cody Schindel, Autosports Media Group
"Nicholas' drive in the wet on Saturday was amazing. He drove through some heavy traffic and up to the front," comments David Tennyson, driving coach for Latifi. "A few more laps and I think he had something for the two leaders for sure."
Sunday brought clear and sunny skies for day two of racing action. Latifi would go eighth in qualifying and look to make another trip to the podium. A solid run in the prefinal was ruined as Latifi was spun heading into the bowl while in fifth place sending him back to 13th in the final standings. During the first lap in the final Latifi would see significant contact as another kart ran over with the left spindle and front end of the chassis sustaining damage. The 16-year-old driver completed the whole race like this and a solid run in the final saw Latifi move up several spots to tenth before the flag flew, his second top ten of the weekend.
"The Mosport weekend had many ups and downs. We were always inside the top five in practice and were looking forward to a strong qualifying result. In the final, the track was wet and I completed the most exciting race of my life. I went spinning off at the start and dropped to the back of the field. I fought back to end up finishing third," comments Latifi. "On Sunday, I was looking forward to the final as I knew I had good speed to get to the front. Overall I am relatively happy with the weekend because I scored some crucial championship points on Saturday. I have to thank my mechanics Jean-Francois and Coy, my coach David, and my parents for all the hard work."
Up next for Latifi will be the final round of the ECKC taking place at the spectacular Mont Tremblant Karting Circuit. This weekend will also include a round of the Quebec Cup.