Stouffville, Ontario: There was a specific goal this season for seventeen-year-old Mike Vincec and this past weekend at USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin, he completed the first step by taking the East Division championship in the Snap-on Stars of Karting series presented by Indy Racing League.
Mike, who drives for Hamilton, Ontario-based Cameron Motorsports was quick from first practice in his CRG/Maxter ICC. Saturday morning he would qualify third for the series of heat races that would follow throughout the day. Positions in the heat races would then determine the starting grid for the two divisional points races on Sunday. Mike would come away from the three heat races with a third and two second-place results putting him on the front row alongside last year’s champion. Mike’s 71-point lead going into the weekend gave him a bit of breathing room but anything can happen so the focus was to reach the podium.
In the first race, Mike had a clean start and although the leader pulled out a bit of a gap, Mike kept a clear gap back to second, conserving tires for the final, to bring home the first podium on the day. In race two he made a charge early and battled with the leader. After losing some ground mid-race, he brought the gap down to a kart length and settle in to take his second podium of the day. The combination of the two second-place results was enough to clinch the East Division championship.
“I feel pretty good now,” commented a very happy Vincec. “We came pretty close last year which made us want to come back and get the deal done. Trevor Wickens, Mattia from CRG and the Cameron Motorsports crew have done a fantastic job all season. The CRG chassis and SwedeTech Maxter engines have been awesome and I have also learned quite a bit in the two races we did in the European Championships this year. ” He continued, “Now we’ll focus on trying to wrap up the West Division title in Seattle on August 22-24 and bring it all to the series finals in October.”
In addition to the Stars of Karting series in North America, Mike has been competing in the CIK-FIA European Karting Championship with the CRG factory team. In the last round at Mariembourg, Belgium, Mike had a great run and after qualifying 44th out of over one-hundred entries, progressed through the heats and would earn a top-ten finish in the final race. He is just outside the top ten in the overall standings.
Mike has several events coming up in the next few weeks. First up will be the ORKC regional event at Mosport International Karting where he contends in the Rotax Max category. After that event Mike will be at the ASN Canada National Championships at Karting Grand Mere, Grand Mere, Quebec. Final races for the Stars of Karting Western Championship will take place in Seattle, WA and Mike will then return to Europe for the final round of the CIK-FIA European Karting Championship in France.
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