Fazari Charges to Rotax Junior Victory at Mosport

Marco Fazari timed his charge to perfection on Sunday at the Mosport Karting Centre, racing to victory in the Rotax Junior Final during Round 2 of the Rotax Max Challenge Ontario championship.

The Rotax Junior category delivered exciting racing throughout the weekend, with multiple drivers showing race-winning speed. Round 1 winner Antoine Bazinet (Pfaff/Gillard) entered the event as the driver to beat after earning the CKN Fastest Qualifier Award and backing it up with a heat race victory and a dominant Super Heat win.

However, when the Final began, it was Leo Da Silva (REM/Kosmic) who wasted no time taking control of the race.

Starting near the front, Da Silva made a bold move on the opening lap to wrestle the lead away from Bazinet and appeared poised to challenge for the victory. Unfortunately, his race took an unexpected turn on lap three when he encountered sand that had been dragged onto the circuit following an incident the lap before. Sliding wide through corner six, Da Silva was forced to gather up his kart and dropped all the way back to sixth position.

The misfortune handed the lead to Olivier Chasse (Prime/RedSpeed), who paced the field over the next three laps while a hungry pack of challengers closed in behind him.

Ryker Magro (Ultra Kart) was the next driver to emerge at the front, making his move on Chasse to take over the race lead. Yet Magro’s time at the front lasted only a single lap as Fazari was rapidly working his way forward. Setting some of the fastest laps of the race, Fazari caught and passed Magro before immediately beginning to pull away from the field.

Once out front, Fazari was untouchable.

The Racing Edge Motorsports driver steadily increased his advantage over the closing laps and crossed the finish line 1.541 seconds clear of the competition, throwing his arms into the air in celebration after a commanding drive to victory.

Behind him, Magro drove a smart race to secure the runner-up position and collect valuable championship points.

The battle for the final podium spot provided plenty of drama right to the checkered flag. Bazinet found himself under intense pressure from the recovering Da Silva and Nicholas Lorusso in the closing laps. After eighteen laps of racing, just 0.178 seconds separated the trio at the finish line, with Bazinet narrowly hanging on to third position.

Da Silva’s impressive recovery drive earned him fourth, while Lorusso completed the top five after one of his strongest performances of the season.

Ethan Tyers crossed the line sixth, followed by Chasse, whose early stint at the front ultimately resulted in a seventh-place finish. Stefano Lanzillotta, Robert Tronchi Jr. and Ivan Cheung rounded out the top ten.

Another solid weekend for Bazinet keeps him in the championship lead as RMC Ontario steers to Toronto Motorsports Park for round three in only a few short weeks.

Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN