Team Canada Scores Two Top 10's in Malaysia
There are 'World Championships', and then there are what I call true World Championships, the difference being that in the 'true'
versions the entire World is actually represented with teams or drivers. This is the case when the RotaxMax World Finals takes place. This year it was held in Langkawi, Malaysia, with over 40 countries and 4 regions represented.
It is a true Karting World Championship, and without doubt you'll hear much more about many of the drivers who raced there in the coming years, so it also serves as a gauge of where the new talent is coming from.
Canada was represented by four drivers, who either won, or finished second in the ASN Canada FIA National Karting championships held back in August of this year at SRA Karting in Quebec. Two drivers were from Ontario, Eric Gerrits, who competed in RotaxMax Sr., and Marco Di Leo, who competed in the RM1 division. Both Canada's Junior drivers were from Quebec, and they were Christophe Boisclair and Maxime Pelletier. All four drivers have impressive resumes, and all represented Canada well.
Boisclair led the team with an impressive 7th place, while Di Leo backed up his younger teammate with a 10th overall in RM1. Di Leo was as high as
6th place in the final, but he was punted off just a few laps from the end, and fell back a few spots. Di Leo got the result the hard way, after being disqualified in the first heat for being too light. That put him on the outside looking in, and he had to go through the last chance race, to be added to the back of the RM1 field for the final. In the pre-final, Di Leo moved up 15 plus spots to finish 15th, and in the final he moved forward again to finish 10th.
Boisclair was on the pace all weekend, but getting caught up in someone else's mess cost him a shot at the podium. These were the best results for Canada at a World Finals since 2000, where Steve Bernard finished 8th in the Senior class, the first time the event was held in Langkawi. Both Eric Gerrits and Maxime Pelletier drove well, but neither made the final in their classes.
There are 'World Championships', and then there are what I call true World Championships, the difference being that in the 'true'
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| Christophe Boisclair brought Canada its best result ever in RotaxMax World Finals. (Photo: Jim Leggett, RussBondAgency.com) |
It is a true Karting World Championship, and without doubt you'll hear much more about many of the drivers who raced there in the coming years, so it also serves as a gauge of where the new talent is coming from.
Canada was represented by four drivers, who either won, or finished second in the ASN Canada FIA National Karting championships held back in August of this year at SRA Karting in Quebec. Two drivers were from Ontario, Eric Gerrits, who competed in RotaxMax Sr., and Marco Di Leo, who competed in the RM1 division. Both Canada's Junior drivers were from Quebec, and they were Christophe Boisclair and Maxime Pelletier. All four drivers have impressive resumes, and all represented Canada well.
Boisclair led the team with an impressive 7th place, while Di Leo backed up his younger teammate with a 10th overall in RM1. Di Leo was as high as
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| Marco Di Leo and his Cameron Motorsport tuner, Trevor Wickens get ready for qualifying in Langkawi, Malaysia. (Photo: Jim Leggett, RussBondAgency.com) |
Boisclair was on the pace all weekend, but getting caught up in someone else's mess cost him a shot at the podium. These were the best results for Canada at a World Finals since 2000, where Steve Bernard finished 8th in the Senior class, the first time the event was held in Langkawi. Both Eric Gerrits and Maxime Pelletier drove well, but neither made the final in their classes.