GBR KARTING ROCKS MARTENSVILLE KARTING

Saskatoon played host to the WCC where GBR Karting continues to dominate in several classes

Chilliwack, BC - GBR Kart Racing Inc. (GBR) of Chilliwack, British Columbia, the official North American distributor for the Lewis Hamilton chassis, completed another impressive weekend with nine drivers running ten karts in four different RMax classes. The western karting scene descended on the close quarters of the Saskatoon Kart Club track located just east of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The weekend saw GBR Karting hit the podium seven times as all GBR Karting drivers ran well and kept near the front of their class. While the weekend ended in controversy, the GBR Karting team represented the LH Kart brand well as they set their sights on Western Canadian Championship titles.

Rotax Junior Max
Zachary Scalzo was one of the front-runners all weekend, putting constant pressure on the leaders. On Saturday Scalzo was able to take second in the prefinal and third in the final. In addition, GBR Karting newcomers, John Buzza and Yakov Zaretskin were both hovering around the top five, finally ending up in seventh and eighth. On Sunday, GBR/LH Kart had two juniors qualify in the top with Scalzo qualifying second and Buzza fourth. The start of the prefinal proved to be disastrous for Scalzo as a turn one wreck knocked him out of the top ten. He was then involved in subsequent accidents as he tried to come through the field, eventually ending up eighth on the day. Buzza did slightly better, ending up sixth while Yakov also had a tough final falling to 12th.

"It was too bad for Zac on Sunday. He was fast and pretty much everyone knew it, but this is motor racing and sometimes thing don't go your way," commented GBR senior driver Chris Glover.

Rotax Mini Max
Jeff Fulham was busy all weekend trading fast times with the top runners in his GBR Karting prepared LH Kart. Sunday saw Fulham's driving take a leap forward as he qualified on pole and took the prefinal win. In the final, Fulham drove a great race as he and the leader ran away from the field. In the end, Fulham finished a very impressive second. Jeff currently sits near the top of the championship, only a few points out of the lead.

"Sometimes we forget that Jeff is only in his second year of karting as he seems to easily be able to execute on everything we tell him. He's just going to keep getting better and better," stated GBR Team Manager Kevin Glover.

Rotax DD2
Kyle Herder dominated on Saturday having a perfect day. It wasn't a run away, however, as the competition was close behind, but he was perfect taking pole, prefinal and final. Daniel Burkett was right there in times, putting in the fastest lap of the final on his way to fourth after an extremely tense battle with reigning DD2 Masters World Champion Scott Campbell. On Sunday, Daniel Burkett put his LH Kart on pole with Herder second. Burkett was able to maintain this for the start and take the prefinal win. In the final, Daniel fell to fourth on the start, with Herder emerging from turn one in the lead. The second place kart made a move on Herder later that lap and pulled a small gap, which Kyle was unable to recover settling for second with Burkett in fourth.

"DD2 is a new venture for GBR this year, but I'm very happy to see that we've been able to quickly adapt our program to it such that we can be successful right away. This is largely do to the immense amount of experience on this team, but having some of the best equipment on the market doesn't hurt either," continues Kevin Glover.

Rotax Senior Max
GBR Karting entered four drivers in Rotax Senior that included points leader Chris Glover, Daniel Burkett, Kyle Georgeson and Vitali Tchikichev. Chris Glover set the pace for the field most of the weekend, trading fast times with the lead group. Saturday an intense battle at the sharp end of the field had Glover dicing with the leader yet separated by literally hundredths all day. Kyle, Vitali and Daniel all had a rough day despite the fact that they could run competitive lap times as multiple incidents hindered their true potential.

"I was able to run the fastest time in both the prefinal and final, but we were so close that the tight confines of the track kept me from mounting any kind of attack. The timing system showed that we were separated by only a couple tenths on both the prefinal and final, which is the closest race I've ever been in," comments Chris Glover on his Saturday performance.

On Sunday, Glover was again a front-runner qualifying third and taking the prefinal win. For the final, Chris again battled the entire race with Bryce Choquer, eventually ending up second. However, it proved to be moot as post-race appeals resulted in the final not counting and championship points being awarded by the prefinal and qualifying.

"The officials were put in a very tough position and though we were neutral as the appeals had nothing to do with us, I support the officials 100%. Chris and I have both personally been on either end of decisions like this so we know you just need to roll with it," comments Kevin Glover back at the team's home base of the Greg Moore Raceway. "The team did an excellent job this weekend. We had a several great results and scored some big points. We leave here leading the Senior and DD2 point standings, which puts us in a great position heading into Calgary next weekend. I believe Calgary will suit our equipment even more so than Saskatoon so it should be a very good wrap up to what's been a very competitive season."

The Western Canadian Championship resumes racing action on July 21st as the final weekend takes place at the Varsity Chrysler Speed Park in Calgary, Alberta. Here the series will wrap up and award invitations to Team Canada. GBR Karting provides trackside service and support programs to any driver competing Western Canadian Championship, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship and the ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Championships.

To learn more about GBR and their complete line of products and services please email kevin@gbrkarting.com or you can call during business hours at 604.724.0078. Be sure to check the GBR race schedule at www.gbrkarting.com. On non-race weekends GBR can usually be found testing at Greg Moore Raceway in Chilliwack, BC.