STEADY AS THEY GO

Top Karters adopted conservative strategies to secure berths in the World Finals

By ROBERT K. ROONEY

Karters from around Western Canada gathered at Varsity Chrysler SpeedPark in Calgary on the last weekend in July for the Western Canadian Karting Championship finals.

The big prize at stake was the ROTAX Max Challenge, which would send the top three karters in the region to the world finals in Dubai. Coming into the weekend, all three championship leaders adopted a conservative strategy, leaving the glory at the front of the pack for someone else to enjoy.

Blake Choquer of Langley, B. C. had a handsome, but not insurmountable lead in the ROTAX Senior class over Vincent Arsenault, Scott Campbell and Sean MacDonell.

Arsenault qualified quickest of the 25 karts. The first race of the day went to Dustin Sketchley with Matt Bantle second and Arsenault third. Choquer, however, took fifth; good enough to earn him the trip to the Gulf.

In race 2, Arsenault led with MacDonell less than a kart-length behind. For a while Campbell stayed in contact with the leaders while running third but was soon embroiled in a three-way fight that included Sketchley and Mark Arsenault.

MacDonell stayed within a tenth or two of the leader for the first 17 laps and on the last lap he found an opening as the two diced it up at the south end of the track. At the line, it was MacDonell just in front of V. Arsenault, followed by Campbell, Sketchley and M. Arsenault.

In the ROTAX Junior class, last year's champion Tyler Wheeler of Calgary had to keep an eye on Logan Downing, who could pull out the win if Wheeler faltered. Downing did all he could, timing in quickest in a field of 20 and winning the first race of the day.

Wheeler qualified third and was runner-up in the first race, leading Breyce Choquer across the line. In race 2, Downing set out to make it a dean sweep while Wheeler settled into second, keeping the leader in sight but staying well ahead of third.

This was probably just as well, as third was hotly contested among Thomas McGregor, Dexter Hucal and Nicolas Turcin. For most of the last half of the race these three seemed to come across the line in a different order every lap. At the finish, Downing got his sweep, Wheeler got his title and Turcin got third, followed by McGregor and Hucal.

Chris Beith of Sherwood Park knew he was going to Dhubai regardless of the weekend results because his main competitor in the ROTAX Direct Drive 2 class, Scott Campbell, missed the entire first race weekend in Chilliwack. Any points scored by Beith would earn him the title, and his third place in race one did just that.

Campbell got whatever consolation he could from scoring another clean sweep, winning both races; just as he did in Saskatoon. Kyle Stevens was second in race 1. Blake Choquer was second in race 2 with Dennis Yasar third.

Blake Choquer, the lanky BC 22-year-old who won the ROTAX Senior class laughed when asked if his height, well over six feet, is a handicap.

"Other drivers missed races," shrugged Chris Beith, who took the ROTAX DD2 class. "I was lucky. Everything pretty much ran flawlessly for me."

Bound for Dubai

"I'm fairly tall for this," Choquer admitted. "We spend a lot of time working technically; getting the right kind of setup, seat position and balance of the kart. It's definitely a struggle, but we make it work"

Choquer swept the May long weekend in Chilliwack, qualifying quickest and winning both races. In Saskatoon on the July long weekend, he won the first race and took third in the other. The result was that he needed a ninth in one of the final races to clinch.

"I wasn't just trying to just finish in the top nine," Choquer insisted. "I was going for the win. I was in second place when my battery terminal came off." Choquer managed to recover for fifth and is preparing for his second consecutive trip to the Worlds.

In ROTAX Junior, Tyler Wheeler was trying to for another shot at the World title. Last year in February, the 14-year-old raced his way onto the front row for the final, only to get punted off the track on the first corner of the first lap.

On his way to the 2007 title, Wheeler won in the dry in Chilliwack but ran in the wet on the wrong tires on day 2 and was ninth. In Saskatoon he was perfect; winning both races, so he knew the championship was his to lose.

"I wasn't going to try too hard and spin myself off the track," Wheeler said. "I'm looking at the big picture, trying to get to the world finals."

A pair of seconds behind arch-rival Logan Downing did the job for Wheeler.

"Other drivers missed races," shrugged Chris Beith, who took the ROTAX DD2 class. "I was lucky. Everything pretty much ran flawlessly for me."