Green Speed Karting

Double Podium for Greenspeeds Ryan Horses in Kawartha

After losing out on last years Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship in a tie-breaker, Ryan Horses kicked off his 2010 campaign in search of the overall championship in fine fashion, taking two podiums and the points lead. Competing at the semi-temporary Kawartha Downs and Speedway, near Peterborough, Horses fought through the largest field of Shifter karts the series has seen in years, but also with a severely blistered hand, to earn his strong finishes. With these impressive results, and his professionalism off-track to his competitors, he earned the 'Autosports Media BSRKC Senior Driver of the Weekend' award.

"I was in so much pain at the end of the day Monday," commented Horses. "I have to thank my team, Greenspeed Karting, as well as my mechanic Leonard D'Arrigo for all their hard work, as well as their moral support. I nearly didn’t race the final on Monday, but they kept me focused and I almost won."

After running a couple shakedown practice sessions on Sunday morning, D'Arrigo and Horses felt very confident heading into qualifying. Pushing his TonyKart on lap two, he was able to post a time quick enough for third and a spot on the inside of row two. Jumping into second position off the start, Horses remained calm, cruised on the bumper of the leader and saved his tires for the final. A mistake in the late stages by the leader, forced him to shortcut the track and Horses was awarded the pole-position for the final.

Grabbing the holeshot, Horses led the way through the opening three laps. With pressure from behind, Horses began a battle for the lead that delighted the crowd with many passes throughout the top three. However, by the halfway mark, a battle for second allowed the leader to get away and out of reach for Horses and he was forced to settle for second place.

Following the race, Horses was very happy with his race and result. "What a wicked race, that was a blast. For the first half of the race, the three of us all led and swapped the lead every lap! I cannot complain with second place in a race like that."

Returning on holiday Monday for race two, Horses and his Green Machine posted a blistering time of 44.185 seconds to earn the pole-position in qualifying. However, a stalled go-kart on the first attempt forced him to the back of the grid for the start. Working his way through the field, a slight error in the super-fast back chicane resulted in contact with the outside wall, and ultimately a bent axle. Also, the blister that had developed on one of his hands had expanded and was causing significant pain to Horses.

Originally deciding not to start the final, a discussion with his team and mechanic changed his mind and when the class was called to the grid, Horses was there. Starting last, Horses worked into fifth place rounding lap two and third place by lap five. Setting chase on the leaders he worked into second with five laps remaining. With the leader fatiguing, Horses posted his fastest lap on his final tour, allowing him to catch and drag race the leader to the checkered flag. Crossing a mere three-tenths of second ahead, Horses had won the race. However the victory was short lived as a one-position penalty was accessed to him for contact with another kart earlier in the race.

"That was amazing! I had only planned on running two laps, just to get the points because my hand hurt so much, but by lap two I was in fifth and had the lead group in my sights. I just kept going, and the next thing I knew, I was in second and catching the leader. I would have really liked to win that race, not only for me, but for Len my mechanic. But I will take second."

With two runner-up finishes, Horses left Kawartha Downs with the overall points lead in the 125 Shifter class. Next up for Horses will be this weekends Eastern Canadian Karting Championship round at Mosport International Karting. Round two of the BSRKC takes place on June 11-13 at the freshly paved Innisfil Indy.