The Encore
The Nationals and ECKC have come and gone, and with it the perceived climax of this year’s karting season. Alas, that was not the case as there was still Mosport Karting Club racing to be had and a few other extra surprises. Going into September, I had very nearly clinched the MIKA championship for Rotax Junior, just needing to take the green flag of one more race to get the last 7 points I needed to put me mathematically ahead of everyone else for the championship. I didn’t need a perfect day, or to drive away in every session, but I wanted my perfect day to go out with a bang. And I got it! Although it all came down to the last corning, being a little closer than I’d hoped for in the final, I led every lap in that race to take my victory that a) closed out the championship, b) was my last time driving as a Junior, and c) meant that it would be a great time to have my friends spray me down on the podium.
Taking a week or two to get some downtime, preparations were set for a very busy end of September and October. Before I knew it, it was time for one last trip to Mosport for my last race of the year… as a Senior. It was so different from Junior! I think there were at least 5+ screams of excitement in morning practice just because it felt so cool. The tyres were better, the acceleration was better, and the experience itself was just better. I loved it! Adjusting quickly, I qualified third and rounded out the day in second. It was a great way to end the season, and retire my long-standing use of the number 207.
The excitement didn’t stop there! Later this month, I’m excited to announce I’ll be doing at least one test day in an F1600 car with BGR, I finally turned 16 so now I can drive on the roads as well as a track (getting my G1 on my birthday like a typical teenager would), and best of all, this weekend I’m doing the Bridgestone Racing Academy at Mosport in a F2000 car to qualify for my car racing license. It’s going to be fantastic. This is my encore to what seemed like the end of 2014 racing… but it turns out the curtain hasn’t come down quite yet on racing for 2014.