Tyler Givogue and Frank Launi lead Canada's top karters with wins in the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship presented by Toronto Star Wheels at 3S track in Sutton

SUTTON, ONTARIO - July 6 – Rounds 7 and 8 of the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship presented by Toronto Star Wheels took place on July 5-6 at 3S Go-Karts in Sutton, Ontario. This is the same venue that hosted rounds 3 and 4 of the championship, but this time the outcome in the headline Formula Senior class was much different than in the previous rounds.

Two drivers scored their first wins of the year in Formula Senior. Ottawa’s Tyler Givogue (#3 on right) – who has been battling bad luck all year – came through with the Pfaff Motorsports pole and a round 7 win. “It was great to get a win – finally,” Givogue said after round 7.  Joining him was Innisfil’s Frank Launi (#7 on right), who finished second in round 7, then went on to lead every lap in round 8. “What a race. I managed to get a good start, but I could hear Tyler right there. It must have been great to watch,” Launi said after round 8.

Third in round 7 was Sutton’s Juliana Chiovitti, while Mark Sampogna and Chiovitti rounded out the podium in round 8.

Launi also took home the The GM Racing award, which goes to the driver who displays outstanding competition skills and sportsmanship. Givogue’s Kart Depot team took home the Pratt & Miller award, which goes to the team judged to exhibit the highest levels of teamwork in the areas of presentation, preparation and results.

Formula Junior has been a fierce battle between Markham’s Daniel Morad, who took the Pfaff Motorsport pole this weekend, and winner of the first five rounds, Guelph’s Robert Wickens.  Morad took the round 7 win with Wickens in second and Mississauga’s Keaton Doerksen in third. In round 8, rain played a big part in the outcome of the race, when most drivers went out on dry tires and hoped the track would dry. Wickens mastered the tricky conditions and went on to lap the field on his way to the win. Morad was second, despite spinning once and Casey Kulczyk scored his first podium finish with a third.

The other SRFKC junior class, Canada Junior, had Jeff Blackburn on the pole, but he was unable to convert that into a round 7 win. Pearce Herder, from third on the grid took the lead early and cruised home to a comfortable win. Behind him came Wickens and Doerksen. In round 8, Wickens took the early lead until Doerksen and Morad worked together to draft their way back up to Wickens. Doerksen took Wickens with a nice pass heading into the ‘tennis court’ section of the track. They stayed in that order until the final lap when Wickens tried to pass Doerksen. Morad ended up going by them both to take the win. Doerksen was second and Wickens slipped back on the final turn as Blackburn took over third.

In Rotax Max, the 58-kart field was broken down into two groups. Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe took the Pfaff Motorsports pole and went on to win round 7 and 8 – a clean sweep. Ottawa’s Jason Robar, was third until the final set of corners where he managed to get by Uxbridge’s Aaron de Heus for second – demoting de Heus to third in round 7. . Gilford’s Brad Leliever and Oshawa’s Shawn Gardner rounded out the podium in round 8.

In the ‘B’ group, Innisfil’s Frank Launi came from 34^th on the grid to win and advance to the ‘A’ group, then started at the back of the 30 kart ‘A’ group in round 8 and finished sixth.

Canada Senior front runner, Markham’s Marco Di Leo, took the Canada Senior pole and he led until the last lap, when he was overhauled by Whitby’s Justin Mascoll for the win.  Di Leo finished second and Cambridge’s Jake Collison – from sixth on the grid – came home third in round 7.

Di Leo couldn’t make the call for the start of round 8 and he left the pits as the karts were just taking the green flag, but he cut across the track to join the field and received a black flag, his day was done.  Mascoll completed the double, by winning round 8 ahead of Markham’s Sal Ditta and Shanty Bay’s Les Baier.

Briggs & Stratton World Formula has seen Whitby’s Justin Mascoll at the front of the field for most of the year. Mascoll continued that trend by taking the Pfaff Motorsports pole and he went on to convert that to a round 7 win. Behind him came Pickering’s Rob Oakman and Ajax’s Jason Bradimore. In round 8, Bradimore hounded Oakman for the lead until the final turn, where he passed for the win, but a yellow flag was flying in that corner, so a one position penalty was assessed to Bradimore, giving the win to Oakman. Finishing third was Etobicoke’s Rick McMullen.