Top 5 For Latifi At Eastern Canadian Championship Round
press release
Nicholas Latifi of Toronto, Ontario, a member of the Sofina Foods Driver Development Program, tackled the tight confines of the Pointe de Lac Karting Circuit located just west of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. A full day of practice was on the docket for Friday, followed by the second round of the Quebec Championship, which took place on Saturday. Many of the top drivers in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship would use the Saturday event as a test session for the Sunday main event. The first year DD2 pilot was able to set third quick time in Saturday qualifying followed by second place in the hotly contested prefinal. From his front row start in the final, Latifi pushed forward and battled with the lead group. Contact with a back marker on lap 11 ended his day early while running in the fourth spot. Sunday would see drivers take on the third round of the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship.
Above: With his solid fourth place finish in Pointe de Lac and consistent runs all series, Nicholas Latifi currently sits fourth in the overall ECKC points standings
(Photo by: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media Group)
"The weekend certainly had it's up and downs as weather played a huge part in the overall outcome," comments David Tennyson, of the Sofina Foods Driver Development Program and driving coach for Latifi. "Nicholas drove really well and is consistently mixing it up with the guys at the front. It was tough getting taken out on Saturday, but that's racing."
Sunday was a new day for the PSL Karting CRG driver as Latifi went fourth fastest on the qualifying time sheets in very wet conditions. For the prefinal the talented teenager was starting on the second row with half the field on slicks, while the other half, including Latifi, heading out on rains, due to the fact that the track was still wet and not yet beginning to dry. Latifi quickly took the lead in the opening laps only to be passed in the next few laps by drivers on slicks as the track gained a dry line very quickly. A tough battle in the prefinal had the 15-year-old take sixth to sit on the third row for the final. Latifi would start the final with a brand new set of slicks and looked to make the most of the dry, green track. A great race at the front had Latifi pace the leaders while moving forward to grab fourth place at the line and another solid points scoring event. Latifi now sits fourth in the overall DD2 championship points standings.
"The weekend at Point du Lac was very eventful. We faced adverse conditions of rain in both practice and the races. We were always running inside the top five in practice so we knew we had a good shot at finishing on top. On Saturday I was running fourth in the final only to get in an accident three quarters of the way through with a back marker. This cut my race short," comments Latifi as he prepares for the next round of ECKC action. "We went into Sunday with a clear mind ready to bounce back. On the second lap I was passing for third when contact from behind made me lose a lot of positions. I battled my way back up to fourth just missing out on a podium. Overall I'm really happy with the weekend and I'm looking forward to Mosport. I really have to thank my mechanics Jean Francois and Coy, my coach, David, and my parents for all their hard-work and support."
