Team Canada Hits the Track at Rotax Grand Finals in Bahrain!

With all the pomp and circumstance of the opening ceremonies behind us, the 22 drivers representing Team Canada at this year’s Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals finally took to the circuit for their first on-track sessions of the week. For some, it was a chance to learn a brand-new layout, while others focused on re-familiarizing themselves with the Bahrain International Karting Circuit on their return to the event.

Practice 1 proved eventful, particularly in the Micro, Mini and Junior categories, where multiple red flags were triggered as drivers exceeded the limit on track-limits infractions. This led to several post-session discussions with race stewards to ensure the issue wouldn’t carry through the rest of the weekend. For these young drivers, the lost laps were costly; track time is at a premium with only a handful of sessions remaining before Qualifying on Wednesday.

The Senior and DD2 fields managed their sessions with more discipline, though a few drivers were still summoned to the stewards for similar violations.

Early adjustments were also the theme of the morning, as Canadian DD2 driver Gianluca Savaglio made changes to his seating position heading into FP2.

After the lunch break, all classes returned to the track for their second session of the day. This round ran much more smoothly, with no red flags across any category. Cadet drivers began to understand just how crucial the draft would be this week, as lap times dropped with additional MOJO rubber going down from the morning’s action.

In Rotax Senior, the odd-numbered group posted noticeably quicker times than the even group, likely benefitting from the D2 rubber laid down by the Junior sessions immediately beforehand. It will be interesting to see whether this pattern holds in Qualifying, as it could give the odd-numbered starters an advantage with the inside line for the heat races.

Tuesday will see a different schedule as the second half of Free Practice 3 doesn’t start until 1:58 PM. From there, the final two rounds of Free Practice will run into the nighttime, with racers getting their first chance to drive the Bahrain circuit under the lights.

Oliver Aupry – Photo by : Cody Schindel / CKN