#RFKC
Weekend Sweep for Baxter in ROK Junior; Ali Wins Championship by 1-point!
On the cusp of a breakout all season long, Nova Scotia’s Callum Baxter (BirelART) finally secured his first win in ROK Junior and he did it in fine fashion, leading and topping every official session of the weekend in round three of the MotoMaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship at the Mosport Karting Centre.
On Saturday, Baxter fended off an early challenge from Marco Filice (BirelART) before pulling away to a smooth 4.7-second victory. Ayden Ingratta (RedSpeed) pressured Filice throughout the middle stage of the Final, eventually getting by and taking second away from the championship contender, who had to settle for third.
With the championship going down to the wire and Baxter unfortunately out of the picture, he duplicated his performance from Saturday, sweeping the race day and the weekend.
In the Final, Daniel Ali (Kosmic) jumped out to the lead from the outside row, a move that was called a jumpstart and earned him a penalty from the officials. Baxter slipped back to third behind Filice but patiently waited for a few laps before pulling the trigger. On lap four, he got by both drivers to regain the lead and then once again, began to check out on his competitors, pulling away to another four-second victory.
Ali would hold off Frankie Esposito (BirelART) and Filice for second, but was accessed a one-position penalty for the jump start, knocking him back to third and moving Filice to second.
Quickly the calculators were going to see who would be the champion.
The top-three would be separated by only a single point with Ali holding the advantage, while Esposito and Filice tied for second, with the tie-breaker to Esposito for his two race wins this season. Marcello Paniccia (Kosmic) ended up fourth overall, falling back a position this weekend, while Baxter completed the top-five, only 22 points behind Ali.
What an incredible championship finish!
With the championship win, Ali earned entry into all three rounds of the 2021 ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour, while Esposito was awarded entry to the 2020 ROK the RIO in Las Vegas.
Race Result: MRFKC ROK Junior Race #5
- Callum Baxter
- Ayden Ingratta
- Marco Filice
- Marcello Paniccia
- Frankie Esposito
- Daniel Ali
- Caleb Campbell
- Ian Qiu
- Cruz Formusa
- Cole Newton
- Brady Clapham
- Anthony Boscia
- Luke Mann
- Aixin Chi
Race Result: MRFKC ROK Junior Race #6
- Callum Baxter
- Marco Filice
- Daniel Ali
- Frankie Esposito
- Ayden Ingratta
- Marcello Paniccia
- Ian Qiu
- Cruz Formusa
- Caleb Campbell
- Brady Clapham
- Anthony Boscia
- Cole Newton
- Aixin Chi
