Newson: “There’s a reason so many of us are here competing to return to RMCGF!”

There’s plenty of buzz this week around the Rotax Senior division and the opportunity to win an invitation to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals. The Grand Finals is one of the best events on the global karting calendar each season, and there’s only one way to get there: by winning.

This weekend’s Max Karting Group Canada Final will award six of those coveted tickets, one in each of the core Rotax Max categories. The challenge is simple: after three days of competition, be the champion. There are three separate race days, each issuing equal points.

The Rotax Senior sold out at 40 entries, just as it did a year ago, and there are at least nine drivers who know what it’s like to compete at the Grand Finals and use it as motivation to win their way back each year.

One of those drivers is Mark Newson, last year’s Senior Max Champion at the Canada Final. After getting his first taste of true international competition in Italy last year, Newson has had the Canada Final circled on his calendar ever since.

Always humble, Newson knows it’s no easy feat to win at the Canada Final. The field is stacked with Canadian karting talent, along with a select few Americans trying to steal a ticket on Canadian soil.

“Winning last year felt great. It felt like a culmination of many years of hard work, especially after coming close a few times before.”

“Going into the weekend as defending Champion boosts my confidence a point or two, but I know the field is super tough. We have what it takes to do it again, but with competition like this, it definitely won’t be easy.”

Newson is back with support from Overdrive Motorsports, aiming to do it all again. He wants to return to the Grand Finals, held this year in the Kingdom of Bahrain, for a second chance to prove himself on the global stage after last year was an eye-opening experience.

“After last year, it feels like I’ve got unfinished business at RMCGF – I’d like to take what I learned from the first go around and see what we can do. It’s the best karting event on the calendar each year. There’s a reason so many of us are here competing to return to RMCGF!”

Who will take the crown this weekend? The Max Karting Group Canada Final gets underway on Friday at the Stratotech Racing Park in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.

Stay tuned to CKN all week long for over coverage of the event.