Aldergrove kart racer Jordan Redlin, 16, is ready to go on to the Nationals next week in Toronto.
"What a race weekend I had competing in this year's Canadian Western Championship!" Jordan exclaims.
"After an engine malfunction in qualifying, I found myself starting each qualifying heat race in the last place position."
The organization for this year's Canadian Westerns included a Qualifier which determined the position for all three of the qualifying heat races. A tally of points determined starting positions for the pre final and the finishing position of the pre final determined the starting position of the final. The winner of the final is awarded an opportunity to represent Canada at the Rotax World Finals, "The Olympics of Karting."
"Because I had an engine malfunction in qualifying I had to start all three qualifying heats at the back of the pack," said Redlin.
"Luckily we had the kart setup nailed as I won the pole position and won the main event at the club race the weekend before. My qualifying position was set at 18th so I had a lot of work ahead of me as each heat race is only 10 laps long. In the first heat I advanced my position to third place. In the second heat race I advanced my position to fourth place while setting the fastest lap. In the final heat race it started to rain, and passing karts becomes very difficult, so I drove with caution and advanced to 11th position.
"When the tally of points came in I was set to start the pre final in fifth position. As we took the green flag for the pre final I found myself turned backwards on the outside of turn 3 by a competitor. I worked quickly to get back on track as most of the grid sailed on by — needless to say I was not happy to be near the back of the grid again fighting my way through the field. By the end of the race I had made up ground, finishing a respectable sixth place.
"As we lined up for the final race I was set to start directly behind the driver who bumped me off in the pre final. The competition was fierce so I worked hard and at half distance I had broken into the top five. I continued to run fast laps, passed fourth place and continued to hunt down second. As the laps wound down I was able to get within a few seconds of second place but ended the race in third.
"While I had hoped to take the win it was a great finish considering the tough starting position. I was glad to stand on the podium and thank my sponsors. I would like to thank the support from Fikse Wheels, Kodiak Aerospace, West coast Metal recycling, Screenguild signs, Canadian Karting News and The Black Press," Redlin said.
"I am reaching out to all businesses in hopes to raise the required funds to compete in this year's Canadian Nationals where there is the opportunity to win the last Team Canada spot. As an added bonus it will be televised on RDS (French TSN) and possibly English TSN as well. A custom decal kit will be made before the event for advertising purposes, as well as signage for the trailer," Jordan said.
For those who are not familiar with karting, 15,000 drivers from over 60 countries currently compete in the program. The sport of kart racing is nothing like going down to your local fun park and having a buzz on 15km/h rental karts. These karts are physically and mentally exhausting as they approach speeds in excess of 150 km/h depending on the circuit and can pull loads in excess of 3 g's, similar to high power formula cars.
Karting on average is done on a 1 km., 10 to 14 turn circuit that is usually completed in under one minute. A typical race is about 15 to 25 kms. in length. The competition is extremely close with lap times within thousands of a second.
Karting is very popular around the world and in Canada. This year the Canadian Nationals will be held in Ontario and will be televised on RDS (French TSN).
Redlin is planning on racing in this event if he can raise the required funds and with the Canadian Nationals starting the third week in August, time is of the essence. Consider supporting a local driver to compete nationally. You can reach Jordan at victorywin1@gmail.com or phone 604-856-7311 or 604-835-6900.