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Heat Races Bring Highs and Lows for Team Canada
Thursday delivered a full slate of heat races for Team Canada at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Bahrain after most of Wednesday’s Heat 1 sessions were postponed due to issues in timing in scoring.
Only Micro Max and Rotax Max Junior were able to complete their opening heats on Wednesday evening, leaving all remaining categories to tackle a packed schedule on Thursday. This included Mini Max, which received a mulligan after its initial Heat 1 was invalidated due to incorrect grid orders.
So instead of a morning warm-up, racing kicked off immediately on Thursday morning with Mini Max taking to the track to redo their heats at 9:00 AM.
In Micro Max, Jayden Francisco has led the Canadian contingent, scoring a pair of 12th-place finishes to secure 11th on the grid for the Prefinal. Teammates Oliver Aupry and Jack Klym have been making the most of their first trip to the Grand Finals, with Klym battling an illness as well.
It has been a challenging week for the Canadian Mini Max group, as all four drivers have consistently finished outside the top 25 in each of their three heats. As a result, it appears unlikely that any will advance to the Final, something we were not expecting from this group.
The opposite is true in Junior Max, where Team Canada has enjoyed a strong showing. Rayan Ghandour and Alexis Baillargeon have been battling for heat wins every time they’ve taken the track, while Leonardo Serravalle continues to work forward in his heat races. Jeremy St-Cyr is also battling in the top half of the groups, but has run into some penalty trouble, hurting his overall results. Cole Medeiros can’t seem to catch a break on track, but he’s done a very good job to not get a pushback bumper and that has really helped him off track, moving up in the final ranking of his heats today.
After the heats, Ghandour ranks P2, Baillargeon P5, Serravalle P17 and Medeiros P29, putting them all in transfer positions, while St-Cyr is on the outside looking in, ranking 46th.
In Senior Max, Ayden Ingratta has been the leading Canadian for much of the week and is positioned to start Friday’s Prefinal inside the top ten. Ryan Maxwell also delivered an impressive Thursday with two top-ten results and a top-five finish, placing him well for the Prefinal. Olivier Mrak struggled in his heats and will need an exceptional run to make Saturday’s Final.
In DD2, both Matthew Taskinen and Gianluca Savaglio led the way for Canada. Taskinen finished inside the top ten in all three of his heats, while Savaglio scored two top-ten results and missed a third due to a Heat 2 penalty. Lucas Pernod also had a solid day with one top-ten result and should have a chance to transfer with a clean Prefinal. Lucas Nanji has shown strong pace, but penalties and misfortune have hindered his results; he will need a strong Prefinal drive to keep his weekend alive.
In DD2 Masters, Noel Dowler and Sebastien Bernier battled in the mid-pack through Thursday’s two heats. Bernier was disqualified from Heat 1 for being underweight, placing him further down the Prefinal grid.
Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN
For RMC Grand Finals Results – Click HERE
MICRO MAX
Heat 1
Heat 1 brought mixed fortunes for the Canadians. Starting 18th, Jayden Francisco surged forward six spots and battled within reach of third place. Oliver Aupry also improved, climbing from 25th to 17th. Unfortunately, Jack Klym was involved in a Lap 2 incident in Turn 5 and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. He was cleared to continue racing in Heat 2.
Heat 2
Francisco matched his Heat 1 charge with another six-position gain to finish 12th. He has shown strong pace and will need another solid run in the Prefinal to position himself for the Final. Aupry held his starting position to finish 22nd after a hard-fought race in the mid-pack. Klym, returning after his Wednesday night hospital visit, finished 35th after a drop-down penalty demoted him from 31st on track.
MINI MAX
Heat C vs D
All four Canadians were grouped together for their first official heat. Christian Sanguinetti led the group with a 25th-place finish. Nicholas Lorusso rebounded from the back of the grid to climb ten positions to 26th. Heston Jeffery, the highest-qualifying Canadian, fell 13 spots to 30th, while Mateo Pai slipped two positions to finish 31st.
Heat A vs C
Jeffery and Pai represented Canada in this pairing. Jeffery dropped from 18th to 25th, while Pai gained three spots to finish 27th. Pai briefly passed Jeffery on the final lap but was overtaken again and lost an additional position in the same sequence.
Heat B vs D
Sanguinetti recorded another 25th-place finish, improving three positions. Lorusso gained two spots to place 33rd after being pushed wide at the start, preventing him from reconnecting with the field. Both drivers required standout results in Heat 3 and the Prefinal to keep their Finals hopes alive.
Heat A vs D
Sanguinetti finished 26th, with Lorusso cracking the top 30 with a 29th-place result. After penalties, Lorusso was classified 28th. Both will face an uphill climb in Friday’s Prefinal.
Heat B vs C
The Canadians’ difficulties continued as Pai and Jeffery finished 29th and 32nd. It has been a difficult week for the Mini Max squad, and their chances of reaching the Final are now extremely slim.
Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN
ROTAX MAX JUNIOR
Heat A vs B
Ghandour made a strong start from the outside of Row 1, taking the early lead and engaging in a race-long fight with Britain’s Albert Friend and Jacob Ashcroft. He reclaimed the lead with two laps remaining and crossed the line first. St-Cyr charged from 25th to 12th, while Serravalle recovered from opening-lap contact—dropping to 32nd—to finish 16th.
Penalties reshuffled the results: Ghandour received a jump-start penalty, placing him ninth; St-Cyr fell to 23rd due to a push-back bumper penalty; Serravalle benefitted and was classified 11th.
Heat C vs D
Baillargeon delivered a strong drive, recovering from being pushed wide at the start to finish third after rejoining the lead pack. Medeiros advanced from 25th to 14th and later rose to ninth once penalties were applied.
Heat A vs C
Medeiros was the lone Canadian in this heat. After avoiding a Turn 1 incident, he dropped to 33rd but worked forward to finish 27th. Penalties promoted him to 22nd.
Heat B vs D
Ghandour retook the lead in Turn 2 and Baillargeon made a brilliant start from eighth to second by Turn 5. A tight battle allowed challengers Brecelj and Babicek to close in, ultimately overtaking Baillargeon and catching Ghandour. Ghandour briefly lost the lead mid-race but regained it to win. Baillargeon held off heavy pressure to finish sixth, with Serravalle taking tenth after showing strong late-race pace.
Penalties placed Baillargeon and Serravalle 11th and 14th, while St-Cyr—pushed wide late—benefitted to finish 16th.
Heat A vs D
Baillargeon rocketed into second behind Ashcroft as the pair, along with Vince Vanderhallen, broke away early. A tactical final-lap exchange saw Baillargeon make a bold three-wide move into Turn 8 before securing second place at the line by four-hundredths of a second. His heat results position him strongly for Friday’s Prefinal and Saturday’s main event, barring incident.
Heat B vs C
Ghandour led early once again but was shuffled back in a five-kart scrap, ultimately recovering to finish second. Serravalle and St-Cyr delivered impressive drives from 15th and 18th up to sixth and seventh, though St-Cyr briefly cut the circuit during a chaotic final-lap sequence. Medeiros finished 20th.
ROTAX MAX SENIOR
Heat A vs B
For the first time this week, a Canadian led Senior Max to green as Ingratta executed a clean start to take the holeshot. Butcher overtook Lassoued for second on Lap 3, then passed Ingratta a lap later as the top three drove clear from the field. Maxwell slipped back early but recovered to finish 11th, later promoted to tenth due to a penalty for another driver.
Heat C vs D
Mrak started 27th and climbed to 18th midway before being caught in an incident in Turn 10, dropping him to 30th. A post-race disqualification ahead elevated him to 29th, though his own drop-down penalty prevented him from gaining further positions.
Heat A vs C
Ingratta lost the lead on Lap 1 after drifting wide while defending into Turn 5. Committed to the inside line, he continued to slip back and finished seventh. Mrak surged forward 12 spots to 16th and was later classified 15th after penalties.
Heat B vs D
Maxwell started eighth but fell to 11th amid a physical race and a late full-course caution that limited recovery opportunities. Post-race penalties promoted him to eighth.
Heat A vs D
Ingratta again led early before Butcher executed another crossover pass in Turn 5. A two-lap sequence of side-by-side battling with Lassoued allowed the pack to close in. After a shuffle involving Babickova and Goff, Ingratta finished fourth following a last-corner overtake by Goff.
Heat B vs C
Maxwell was prominent at the front, finishing fourth after a five-kart battle near the end. Mrak gained five positions to finish 23rd, leaving him in a must-perform situation for the Prefinal.
ROTAX DD2
Heat A vs B
Savaglio ran as high as fifth but slipped to tenth in a tightly contested race. Pernod followed closely in 13th, gaining one spot from his starting position.
Heat C vs D
Taskinen started eighth and battled inside a large group fighting for third, eventually finishing ninth. Nanji started 19th, dropped to 23rd, and later moved to 21st after penalties.
Heat A vs C
Nanji made up a position early and ran 19th for most of the race before finishing 21st, later demoted to 27th by a penalty.
Heat B vs D
Starting fifth and eighth, Savaglio and Taskinen fought in the lead group for much of the race. Taskinen climbed to sixth, while Savaglio faded to eighth. Pernod finished 14th. After penalties, Taskinen improved to fifth, Pernod to tenth, and Savaglio fell to 16th.
Heat A vs D
Taskinen endured a difficult start from the outside row, dropping to 13th before fighting back to eighth with two laps remaining. Intense late-race battling shuffled him to tenth at the flag.
Heat B vs C
Savaglio fended off heavy early pressure to secure seventh. Pernod and Nanji both enjoyed strong openings, running ninth and tenth. Pernod later slipped back to 12th, while Nanji finished 16th—his best heat result.
Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN
ROTAX DD2 MASTERS
Heat 1
Dowler dropped a few positions to finish 15th, while Bernier placed 21st before being disqualified for being underweight at the scales.
Heat 2
Bernier rebounded to finish 16th. Dowler slipped to 20th after a Lap 1 stack-up in Turn 5 disadvantaged both Canadians. Post-race drop-down penalties placed Bernier 20th and Dowler 28th.
Photo by: Cody Schindel / CKN
With Thursday’s heat races complete, all drivers now turn their attention to Friday’s Prefinals, the final opportunity for Mini Max, Junior, Senior, and DD2 drivers to secure the points needed to advance to Saturday’s Grand Finals. Prefinals will begin later in the day, setting the stage for another night of racing under the lights.
Be sure to check in with CKN tomorrow for full Prefinal coverage as we find out which Canadians will move on.
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