Lorenzo Mandarino

Garrett Grist

Darren White

	The Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship
	The Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship
	The Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship contested its sixth and final round over the holiday weekend and three new Rotax Max Challenge Champions were confirmed at Kawartha Speedway. Lorenzo Mandarino gave Pserra/Birel its first regional title, Garett Grist added the junior Regional to his National championship, and Darren White added an Ontario Regional title to his 2009 Championship from the Florida Winter Tour. White was firmly in command of the DD2 field at Kawartha as he was comfortably on pole from timed qualifying. He then walked his GreenSpeed/TonyKart well free in the prefinal, as Team Canada mate Frank Launi improved to second and Brendan Bain took third. The trio would be most of the story in the main as well, creating the podium after twenty laps. For the second time on the day White held at the start while Bain muscled his CRG into second in the opening turns. Launi was third the first time onto the banking, followed closely by Enrico Menotti, Tyler McEwan, Paul Carvalho, Rich Hibbs, Eric Simon and Matt France. Launi then took his GP to second on lap two, but White made it crystal clear early on that on this day he was untouchable. He was nearly two seconds clear by lap five, and had the entire length of the start/finish straight before the race hit half distance. He never put a wheel wrong in taking his third win on the schedule, and that left Launi and Bain to fight for second. The pair swapped the spot multiple times in the back half, the most intense racing coming in the closing stages. Bain took second coming off the oval on twelve, only to have Launi take it back at the final hairpin. Bain then came calling again the next lap, but with the same result. He looked a third time on eighteen, this time resulting in a side-by-side drag race down the start/finish straight before Launi once again held the position. Still on the hunt, Bain went for the inside coming off the oval, Launi fought to hold the spot, and the loss in time allowed for Hibbs to jump inside at the next turn for third! They ran under the checker one lap later, White free and clear ahead of Launi and Hibbs - but the podium was not yet set. After correcting an engine problem in the pit earlier in the day, Hibbs broke his seal and failed to report the change in number before going racing. His seal number didn’t match in tech, and he was booted, clearing the way for Bain to take third. France was then fourth in a strong drive from the back after correcting a shift-cable problem and McEwan was fifth after scrapping with France for most of the afternoon. White was also in the Rotax Senior field, starting off-pole alongside Tom Cadieux and his Goodwood/Intrepid. The pair were joined fighting at the front in the prefinal by Mosport/CRG’s Brad Forbes, Mandarino, and Kevin Monteith. After some bump-and-grind, Cadieux maintained pole through the prefinal followed across the stripe by Forbes and Mandarino, White having been bounced in the closing stages. There was more bouncing at the start of the final when GP teammates Launi and Zack Meyer ended up on the grass along with Melissa Curran, championship contender Michael Glaze and Pearce Herder. The mess led to a restart, and things ran better the second time through. Cadieux once again held top spot followed by Mandarino, Forbes, Monteith and Glaze - the lead pair immediately beginning to work free as the order shuffled behind. Mandarino shadowed Cadieux to half distance before the pair put it on cruise in the second half. Cadieux taking his first win of the season after a move from shifter to rotax, and Mandarino sealing the championship after sensing no threat from Glaze who had fallen back. The scrap for the podium came down to Launi, Forbes and Monteith with each driver running in multiple positions heading in. By the checker it was Launi third, followed under the flag by Monteith and Forbes. White crossed sixth after fighting back from the grass at the start, and Herder was seventh. Grass was a factor in the junior final as well, ending what had become a dominating day for Michael Adams. The PRKosmic junior driver started the day from pole position, and went flag-to-flag in the prefinal when he and Pserra/Birel's Austin Milwain ran clear of the pack. At the start of the final, Adams once again got the holeshot while Milwain slotted second after going side-by-side with Cory Cacciavillani through turn one. Cacciavillani washed wide in turn two, but held third spot from GreenSpeed/TonyKart driver Cameron Morrison, Champion-elect Garett Grist and Goodwood/Intrepid's Spencer Todd. While the lead pair jumped off the front, the quartet behind waged war. Grist and Morrison swapped fourth early on before the TonyKart went one better working lap five and got Cacciavillani for third. Todd then got by Grist as well, the National Champ looking to keep the nose of his Top Kart clean, and just before half Cacciavillani had his Kosmic back to third when he got by Morrison coming down off the Kawartha banking. As the field hit half distance in a twenty lapper, Adams continued to lead with Milwain in pursuit, followed by Cacciavillani, Morrison, Todd and Grist. Things then set to boil in the second half. First Morrison took third back working lap twelve, and a lap later Todd was into fourth when he passed Cacciavillani coming off the banking. The Intrepid driver then carried on, taking third himself heading into the closing stages when the all eyes turned back to the lead pair. Running the chute from turn two toward three, Adams dropped a rear wheel and spun through fescue, handing the lead and win to Milwain. Adams resumed second, and two spots on the podium were set while the third was far from it. The dust flew when Morrison went inside Todd coming off the banking and Cacciavillani jumped at the chance as well, only to have contact delay both and allow for Grist to slip by for fourth. All settled the juniors crossed the final time with Milwain winning from Adams, Morrison, Grist, Todd and Cacciavillani. Round six at Kawartha concluded the on-track action of the BSRKC for 2009 while the series banquet remains, scheduled for January 30th, 2010, at La Vita Banquet Halls in Woodbridge, Ontario.
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