Round 3 of the Ontario Inter-Club Challenge at Hamilton: Grassroots Racing at its Finest

The Ontario Inter-Club Challenge has quickly become one of Prime Powerteam’s favorite series. With Round 1 at Goodwood and Round 2 at Mosport delivering fantastic events, we were excited to see the series make its way to our home track for Round 3. This event is special because it captures the essence of grassroots kart racing—no big team tents, just pure Briggs & Stratton Lo206 racing.

Don’t get us wrong, we love our major events, complete with team tents and days of pre-race testing, but there’s something undeniably special about club racing and single-day race events. It brings us all back to the heart of the sport: the competition, camaraderie, and simplicity.

A Packed Schedule and a Full Grid

Saturday saw many racers arrive for an afternoon of practice before the main event kicked off on Sunday. Racers got plenty of track time with a packed schedule, including a practice session, timed qualifying, two heats, a super heat, and a final. The turnout was fantastic, with close to 200 Briggs racers registered across six categories. In some of the larger classes, the field was so big that groups had to be split for qualifying and heats!

Prime Powerteam was there in a support capacity, with our mechanics ready to assist as needed. For some drivers, our back shop stayed busy, but overall, it was a smooth day with lots of clean racing.

David Barnes and Logan Pacza

Club Racing at Its Best

The Ontario Inter-Club Challenge brings together racers from three of the largest karting clubs in the province, making for thrilling competition. Let’s dive into the highlights from Prime Powerteam’s drivers:

  • Cadet: Lincoln Lima put in a fantastic performance, securing a 3rd place finish, while Carlo Lot wasn’t far behind, finishing 5th. Yousef Adi just missed out on a top-10 spot, finishing strong in a stacked field of 35 cadet drivers.
  • Junior: Leo Serravalle took home the win after a hard-fought race, with teammate Nigel Longley joining him on the podium in 3rd. The Junior class was another massive field, with over 30 drivers competing.
  • Masters: Timmy Turbo (Tim Salvatore), one of our key mechanics, swapped his tools for a steering wheel and delivered a stellar 2nd place finish, joined on the podium by Rich Folino, who secured 3rd.

The Main Event: Briggs Senior

All eyes were on the Briggs Senior category, the headline event of the day. Owen McCarthy set the tone early qualifying on Pole out of over 50 racers and for the final Prime had three drivers—David Barnes, Logan Pacza, and Jordan Prior—starting in the top 5. The final was a fight, with nine DNFs, including four Prime drivers, making it a challenging race for the team.

Despite the chaos, David Barnes held strong, keeping pace with the lead group and securing a well-deserved 3rd place finish.

A Packed Briggs Sr Field

Looking Forward

Round 3 of the Ontario Inter-Club Challenge was a reminder of why we love grassroots racing. The competition was fierce, the racing was clean, and the atmosphere was electric. We’re already counting down the days until next year’s Inter-Club Challenge. Prime Powerteam will be back, ready for more!

See you on the track!

Photos by Canadian Karting News, for more great shots from the event visit our Gallery.

author avatar
Prime Powerteam

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *