Kartstars Canada - Race 1 Recap

This weekend felt different - in a good way. KartStars Canada events bring together some of the fastest drivers from across Ontario and beyond, so the competition level is always really high.

Not perfect. Definitely not magically fixed overnight. But for the first time this season, it felt like things are moving in the right direction.

The biggest difference wasn’t even the finishing position. It was consistency.

KartStars Canada - Race 1

Practice actually started really strong 👍🏻

The pace looked much closer to the middle of the pack and the gap to the faster drivers was smaller than it has been. The kart felt good me and I was starting to feel more comfortable pushing it harder.

Then... qualifying 😩 I never really put a lap together when I needed it and ended up P16. That was frustrating because the pace during practice suggested there definitely a chance to do better.

Still, compared to earlier races this season, the important thing was that the speed didn’t completely disappear after qualifying.

In the pre-final, I managed to move up two spots to P14. More importantly, the lap times stayed consistent throughout the race. Instead of having one decent lap followed by a bunch of messy ones, the pace was much steadier from start to finish.

Turnaround in the final

I gained another position to finish P13, and the racing itself felt calmer and more controlled. The gaps to the drivers ahead were smaller, and for the first time in a while it felt like I was actually racing with the group instead of watching it disappear.

There’s still a lot to improve. Qualifying especially needs work because starting deeper in the field makes everything harder afterward.

But this weekend finally felt like proof that the work we’ve been doing with the team is starting to click.

Progress in racing is weird sometimes. A result sheet might only show P13, but weekends can feel completely different from each other. This one felt like a step forward.

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A big thank you to Team UltraKart and my sponsors: TDot Wraps, Glasslake Funding, NGD Services, Durham Wealth Planning Group and Clarke Engineering. Your support helps make our race season possible ❤️