Canadian Karters Hunt 'The Bear'
press release
It's that time of year again, time for the annual pilgrimage of karters to descend upon the famed Shannonville Motorsport Park in search of one of the most sought after trophies in Canadian karting - the Bear.
The legacy continues July 27-31 as racers from across Ontario and Quebec will all vie for race wins and the coveted Bear as the Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship presents the Canadian Grand National Bear Hunt for Round #4 of the 2011 BSRKC series.
Often referred to as the 'Festival of Speed,' the annual five-day BSRKC Shannonville event is the largest event on the Canadian karting calendar, often seeing entries close to the 500 mark. Stiff competition, a unique venue and the hope to walk away with a Grand National Bear for your mantle all combine to make the event the place to race next weekend. Hosted jointly by the Simcoe Kart Club and the Waterloo Regional Kart Club, organizers have been working hours on end to make this event the best yet. Racing action will be fierce all weekend long and with the BSRKC 2011 series heading into the penultimate round, championship battles are heating up. Coupled with one-off entries looking to add a Shannonville win on their resume, series regulars will have their hands full as each competitor will be vying to reach the checkered flag first.
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Fields are always stacked and the competition fierce in Shannonville |
Heading into Shannonville, Clay Van Eerd retains his lead in the Rotax Mini Max class, over Flamboro winner and 2010 BSRKC Mini Max class champion Ryan Mohan and Zachary Shearer. With three podiums in 2011 action, Chad Campbell heads to the midway point of the season as the Rotax/TaG Junior leader. TonyKart pilot Jamie Lockwood was poised to sweep the Rotax/TaG Junior class at Round #3 after taking the pole position and prefinal win in Flamboro, however points leader Campbell was able to steal the lead to take his first BSRKC win this season. Lockwood will be hot in Shannonville after taking third there last year. In the final two-stroke class, Olivier Cote has two wins under his belt so far, at the opener and at the previous round at Flamboro. Look for Cote to continue his run against a stacked field of Rotax/TaG Senior competition at Shannonville.
After missing the Point Pelee round, Jeffrey Kinglsey edged out Nick Ledson and Scott Nagel in the Junior Medium final at Flamboro. Heading into the fourth round, Nagel will be looking for strong results to maintain his championship lead and Ryan Mohan will look to add another Bear to his collection. Nagel, the 2010 Junior Heavy Vice-Champion, also holds points in the Junior Heavy category and with his win in the third round increases his lead over Trevor Rancier and Flamboro second place finisher Kyle Edgar. Kingsley will be tied for the lead in Junior Lite, despite finishing sixth at Flamboro after taking the previous two wins, with 2010 Novice champion Austin Bisschop who is fairing well in his first year in the Junior ranks. Novice will be up for grabs, as Zachary Latimer will fall in the class standings after a disappointing DNF in Flamboro. Race winner Andrew Whelan will take over the point, and look for a good battle in this young class.
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Karters from across Ontario and Quebec will all be vying for a Grand National Bear |
The Senior Heavy lead belongs to TJ Marshall as his closet competitor and perennial frontrunner and 2010 Rotax/TaG Senior Bear winner Michael Glaze did not compete at round three. Marshall will not only be looking to earn a Bear but also cushion his championship lead after finishing fourth in 2010. A familiar name sits atop the Senior Lite ranks, as Pearce Herder will be on a Bear hunt in Shannonville. Kevin Monteith, Jonathan Treadwell and Curtis Fox are in the mix as well, and look for their names to be near the top of the sheets for round four.
3-S Go Karts racing team member Matthew Di Leo topped the blocks recently in the ICC/Moto category in Flamboro, adding to his win from Round #2. Di Leo is in command of the overall championship, with Kristian Jeffrey in hot pursuit. Recent podium finishers Joe DeMarco and Josh Adams are never ones to rule out for the victory next weekend. Steve Lyons will have his sights set on earning a Bear in Shannonville after going three-for-three in finals so far in the Masters class.
In addition to all of the classes vying for the Grand National Bears, cash prizes will be presented everyday at trophy presentations to the top three podium finishers in the official BSRKC Championship classes. All entrants will also be eligible for draw prizes generously sponsored by 401 Dixie Nissan / Infiniti & Peter Geer, and CF Groups & Cole Cacciavillani.
With loads of track time scheduled into the five-day event, drivers will hit the track for practice Wednesday and Thursday to perfect their set-ups and prep for three days of racing action. The full docket will see races over Friday, Saturday and Sunday including 4-cycle, 2-cycle and ICC/Moto with a total of twenty-one classes making up the weekend schedule. All classes will follow the popular warm-up, qualifying, prefinal, final format with winners walking away with ultimate bragging rights and that enviable Grand National Bear. All event information, including registration, parking, practice, event schedules and accommodations are available at www.BSRKC.com.
