Pair Of Podiums For Zachary At Mosport
press release
In what could only be described as an interesting weekend of competition, young Canadian driver Zachary Claman DeMelo went on to claim a pair of podium results at the fourth and fifth rounds of the Eastern Canadian Karting Championships (ECKC). Held at Mosport International Karting (MIK) just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Claman DeMelo showed true professionalism throughout the weekend and has all but been declared the champion on the class.
Above: Zachary Claman DeMelo leads a strong field of Rotax Junior competitors at Mosport
pic - Autosports Media Group
"Going into this weekend, our mentality for Zach was obviously avoiding on track incidents and collecting points in order to win the title," expressed Driver Coach Lee Bentham. "I have been working hard to teach Zach the value of patience and the skill of collecting good points every single race versus going for the 'instant gratification' of lower percentage moves and possibly risking too much in the process is the way to win championships. It seems to be paying off."
After a very successful two days of testing that saw Claman DeMelo as one of the quickest drivers in the paddock, it was on to the official action which started with Saturday morning's qualifying where the Tony Kart driver claimed the fifth quickest time. Looking to advance forward in the heat race, Claman DeMelo drove a very smart and clean race to take the win and pole position for the main event.
As a light mist began to fall, tuners scrambled to change setups on their karts to try and stay ahead of the game. At the drop of the green flag the rain began to fall heavier and the junior competitors had to use their skills to keep all four wheels on the track as all 32 drivers were on dry weather tires. When the fifteen-lap final was final over, Claman DeMelo claimed the third podium position and some valuable points towards the championship chase.
Sunday would be a little bit of a different day as he utilized his dry setup from Saturday's prefinal to claim Sunday's pole position. With points being awarded for both the heat race and main events, Claman DeMelo would charge hard in the prefinal to take another heat win and pole position for the main event.
Stretching his lead early in the final, Claman DeMelo circulated the MIK facility leading the first thirteen laps of the final. With a faster and non-championship threat driver approaching, Claman DeMelo tried to defend his lead for the final two circuits but would take no chances. After a late braking pass by the second place driver, Claman DeMelo chased his class rival for the final laps but would settle for a solid second place finish and a huge increase in his championship points lead.
With the weekend results, the ZCD Autosports driver looks to have unofficially locked up the Rotax Junior title with one event remaining. While championships are big in any series, the ECKC Rotax Junior title is an automatic ticket to the Rotax World Finals in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates this coming November as a member of Team Canada. Also, with the event being a qualifying round for the Rotax Pan American Challenge, Claman DeMelo has completed his necessary four race weekends to be eligible to run the series finale later this year.
