Hamilton Hosts High-Speed Showdown as KartStars Canada Reaches Midway Mark

KartStars Canada returned to action this past weekend for round three of the 2025 season, and for the first time in series history, the paddock rolled into the Hamilton Karting Complex. With sunny skies, a refreshing summer breeze, and planes roaring overhead throughout the day, the weekend delivered one of the most exciting and scenic stops on the calendar so far.

Running in partnership with the Ontario Inter-Club Challenge, the event was split over two days with Vortex-powered categories hitting the track Friday evening for Qualifying and Heat races, while the Briggs classes joined on Saturday for a packed day of racing. As the championship reached its halfway point, the intensity on track matched the stakes, with drivers fighting for every position and every point.

Friday night saw four drivers claim pole position in their respective categories: Michael Nickle (VLR Senior), Andrew Valenzano (VLR Masters), Jayden Francisco (Mini ROK), and Cole Medeiros (VLR Junior), and remarkably, all four converted their speed into Final wins during Saturday’s showdown.

VLR Senior races toward corner 1 led by Michael Nickle (323) – Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN.

In VLR Senior, Michael Nickle made an impressive class debut. After suffering a pair of DNFs in the heat races, the Prime/BirelART driver rebounded with dominant performances in both the PreFinal and Final, leading the main event from lights to flag and winning by more than five seconds. Theo Silveira (Pfaff/Gillard) carved his way forward to finish second after starting sixth, while Jordan Di Leo (Goodwood/Exprit) secured a solid third-place finish.

VLR Junior delivered a thrilling intra-team battle as Cole Medeiros (REM/Kosmic) and Roman Doria (REM/Kosmic) ran nose-to-tail throughout the Final. Despite relentless pressure from behind, Medeiros held firm to claim victory, with Doria a close second. The fight for third saw James Tufford (JMF/Kart Republic) edge out Ahmed Mostafa (REM/Kosmic) after a tight opening few laps.

Andrew Valenzano (Goodwood/LN Kart) led every lap of the VLR Masters Final to earn his first KartStars victory of the year. With clean and consistent laps, Valenzano pulled away from the rest of the field as the battle for second unfolded behind him. Mark Pavan (AMP’d/LN Kart) came out on top of that scrap, while Stephen Hannah (Exprit) was promoted to third following a post-race penalty to Paul Rhodes (LN Kart) for failing to leave racing room during an attempted overtake.

Jayden Francisco celebrates his victory – Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN

Mini ROK delivered one of the most entertaining races of the weekend, with Jayden Francisco (Nitro Kart) fending off two fierce challengers in his return to Canadian competition. Running nose-to-tail from start to finish, Francisco had Christian Damianidis (Parolin) and his cousin Liam Francisco (Nitro Kart) shadowing his every move. Despite the constant pressure, Jayden kept calm and collected to secure the win, with Damianidis finishing second and Liam close behind in third.

The largest category of the weekend, Briggs Senior, saw 48 drivers take part in a packed field that produced intense, close-quarters racing from start to finish. Qualifying was incredibly tight, with the top 30 drivers separated by less than a second and Mitchell Morrow (BirelART) topping the charts. After multiple heat races to set the grid, it was Jaden Harry (CL Kart) who rose to the top, executing a perfect Final to lead every lap and secure his third straight regional win. Gianluca Savaglio (BirelART) and Owen McCarthy (BirelART) kept the pressure high throughout but were unable to find a way past the consistent and composed Harry.

Briggs Cadet saw a dominant performance from Yousef Adi (BirelART), who broke away early and never looked back, winning by a margin of 3.6 seconds. Behind him, Thomas Du (OK1) and Hayden Lawson (Parolin) engaged in a close battle for second, with Du holding his position at the line. A late-race incident between Nathan Stockwell (LN Kart) and Tristan Francisco (Nitro Kart) while running inside the top five removed both drivers from podium contention with just two laps to go.

Jaden Harry secured his third straight Briggs Senior victory on Saturday – Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN

Briggs Junior Light was another class led from start to finish, with Melville Dos Santos (OK1) setting the pace. Early in the race, Lorenzo Pigliarolo (CL Kart) locked onto Dos Santos’ rear bumper and the pair distanced themselves from the pack. Despite a late attempt to steal the win, Pigliarolo couldn’t complete the move and settled for second. Christiano Del Grosso (CL Kart) made one of the most impressive charges of the day, climbing from P10 to finish third.

In Briggs Junior, Ethan Chan (OK1) kept his unbeaten KartStars record intact with another lights-to-flag victory. Blake Fregeau (Coyote Kart) and Jackson Corbett (BirelART) made it interesting in the closing laps, with Corbett eventually finishing second and Ethan Tyers (Intrepid) grabbing third after both made moves on Fregeau during a thrilling final circuit.

Briggs Masters came down to the final lap, with Kevin May (OK1) waiting until the last possible moment to strike. After shadowing race leader Christopher Mitchell (OTK) for much of the race, May made the decisive pass on the final lap to claim the win. Eli Yanko (OTK) was elevated to third place after Levon Beaudin (OK1) was penalized for contact on the final lap in a dramatic end to the day.

Andrew Valenzano, VLR Masters winner – Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN

With the championship heating up, all eyes now turn to the KartStars Canada Nationals at Shannonville Motorsports Park on August 7–10. It’s four days of high-speed pack racing on the iconic car circuit, where photo finishes are practically guaranteed. Don’t miss it. Registration opens soon at kartsportcanada.ca.