Apollo Motorsports driver Parker Thompson, driving under the SH Karting banner, had a strong outing this past weekend at the ASN/FIA Canadian National Championships held at Circuit Karting Mont-Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Competing in the Rotax Mini Max class, Thompson adapted to the tricky facility early and proved that he was one of the drivers to beat all weekend long.
Driving the #80 Tony Kart, Thompson’s Canadian National Championships week got off to a rough start as a misplaced package in shipping would see Parker’s motor and other important pieces for his machine be lost in transport to Montreal. Utilizing a borrowed motor and engineering some pedal risers to make Thompson comfortable in the kart, the talented driver would set forth for a pair of test days as he looked to get up to speed quickly.
“We were thankful for the motor that SH Karting loaned us for the test sessions,” explained Thompson after Wednesday’s practice day. “We are hopeful that are stuff will show up before Friday’s qualifying session.”
Looking for an upside to the lost package, Thompson was able to log long practice sessions and multiple laps to familiarize himself with the facility. Learning tricks around the 16 corner track that decreased his lap time, Thompson was looking forward to the official timed sessions and the intense wheel-to-wheel racing action.
Arriving at the trace track on Friday morning, Thompson and his crew had learned that the race engine had arrived and they quickly began preparation to get it fitted to their Tony Kart. Hitting the track for practice one, Thompson was one of the quickest drivers on the track and was looking good heading into qualifying. Some major changes for practice two to test some different setups were in order and Thompson struggled slightly.
After resetting the kart and qualifying in the fourth position, Thompson and the rest of the Mini Max field were forced to use the heat race format to set the grid for the pre final. Starting all three of his heat races outside the second row, Thompson would look to improve with each heat and garner a front row starting spot for ‘Super Sunday’.
When the green flag flew for the first two heat races, Thompson and his Tony Kart machine were on a tear scoring third and first place results. Not only was Thompson at the pointy end of the field, the talented driver set the fastest race laps in both heats as he looked for Canadian National Championships glory. The third and final heat did not go so well for the Apollo Motorsports driver as the rain began to fall harder and harder. After being caught up in an opening lap incident, Thompson was forced to unfamiliar territory at the back of the pack and came home eighth.
With the combined points from all three heats, Thompson would improve one position for the start of the pre final and would line up inside row three. With the rain continuing to fall, Thompsons luck would head south as at one point in the twelve lap pre final he was mired back in the fifteenth position. Racing hard for every position, Thompson battled back up to the eighth position where he would take the checkers.
With high hopes for the main event, Thompson looked strong at the drop of the green flag. Looking like a seasoned veteran, the Tony Kart driver sliced and diced his way through the field. Setting the fastest race lap by almost half a second, Thompson was looking to make a pass for the third place podium position but a slight mechanical problem caused his machine to slow on the final circuit as he was forced to nurse it home to a fourth place result.
Thompson added, “I learned a lot this weekend. The tracks on the east coast of Canada are amazing and I am happy to have had the opportunity to compete against Canada’s best. I would like to thank my tuner Chris Freckelton and all the guys from SH Karting and Apollo Motorsports for their support this weekend.”
Parker would like to thank his current supporters and sponsors: Tony Kart West, SH Karting, Apollo Motorsports and BGR Graphics for all their hard work and continued support.
Press release prepared by: Race Tech Development // Photo courtesy of: Doug Thompson
PHOTO: Thompson leaves Montreal with a solid fourth place finish
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