Mosport Karting Champions to be crowned by CART's Tagliani

Mosport Kart Club Banquet of Champions
11 Karting Champions to be Crowned by Rocketsports driver Alex Tagliani

Oshawa, Ontario -- Alex Tagliani, driver of the No. 33 Johnson Controls Lola, will help crown 11 champions of the Mosport Kart Club in Oshawa, Ontario this Saturday. Below is a compilation of driver bios and categories. Among the 11 champions to be crowned by Tagliani, is Shawn Gardner winner of the senior Rotax competition. Earlier this season Shawn captured the 2003 Rotax Canadian National championship and has been invited to compete in the 2003 Rotax Max Challenge World Final in Egypt on January 16, 2004.

2003 Champion -- Gary Klutt #7
Novice -- Honda GX160 (0.450 restrictor plate) 8-12 years old This is Gary's first championship in only his 2nd full year of racing. The road to the 2003 championship consisted of 11 races with an impressive 8 poles and 7 feature wins. Gary also finds time to play AA hockey for the Milton Winter Hawks and enjoys school volleyball, dirt bike riding and snowmobile adventures. Gary would like to thank Yellow Freight and Pit Pal for their support in 2003.

2003 Champion -- Tyler MacLeod #9
Junior Lite -- Honda GX160 (0.500 restrictor plate) 9-13 years old Tyler is very happy to have captured his second consecutive championship after winning the 2002 Novice title. This year was very busy as Tyler competed at the club level and against the best in Ontario in the provinces regional series. Tyler managed to come away with a top five finish for the series. Tyler enjoys soccer and volleyball and is attending Grade 7 at Dale Road School near Coburg. He appreciates the support of Kennedy's Automotive NAPA, Greeley Steel and Surplus, Cor-Mar Auto and Business Affairs Ltd.

2003 Champion -- Josh Brittain #15
Junior Heavy -- Honda GX160 11 - 15 years old Josh has been racing for 6 years and this year he won his third championship. Josh was the champion in the 2000 F-100 Jr. class, the 2001 Junior Lite class and now is the 2003 Junior Heavy champion. To his acclaim Josh is also a very promising young hockey player and is honing his skills on the Bass Guitar.

2003 Champion -- Jamie MacArthur #75
Senior Lite -- Honda GX200 15+ years old Jamie started racing in 1995 at Whitby Kart Club won rookie of the year and finished 3rd overall. In 1999, he won the senior light championship at Mosport Kart Club. He finished third overall in the O.K.R.A. series and won most sportsmanlike driver of the year. In 2000 he won the Canada Cup in senior heavy. In 2001, he finished 2nd in senior heavy at Mosport and then in 2002 won the senior heavy championship at Mosport along with high points senior. In 2003, he won the senior light championship.

2003 Champion -- Brennan Nielson #97
Senior Heavy -- Honda GX200 15+ years old Brennan is 15 years old and a Grade 10 Student at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School. Brennan has always wanted to race go-karts since he was little, and saved up enough money through a paper route job to buy his very first go-kart with the help of his father. In his 3rd year of racing, he had three 1st places, three 2nd places, and three 3rd place finishes on his way the Mosport Senior Heavy Championship, which also earned Brennan The Senior Rookie of the year Title. Brennan would like to thank Ajax Muffler and Rad, and Kingsway Transmission for their support.

2003 Champion -- Brad Forbes #99
Rotax Junior -- RM125 Spec jr. 12-15 years old Brad is a 12 year old from Kingston who has been racing for 5 years. In addition to his championship he also place 2nd in the 2003 Ontario Regional Series. Brad is a black belt in Kara and also enjoys hockey and volleyball. His favorite racetracks are the 2km long track at Mosport and the Nelson circuit at Shannonville.

2003 Champion -- Shawn Gardner #11
Rotax Senior -- RM125 15+ years old Shawn is a 29-year-old racer who has several championships to his credit since he started racing at Family Kartways in 1985. This year was very special as it saw Shawn crowned not only the Mosport Champion but also the Canadian National Rotax Max Champion. With this title came an invitation to compete at the Rotax Max World Finals in Egypt on January 16, 2004. Special thanks to his dad, SRA and the Rotax organization.

2003 Champion -- Jarrod Browne #19
F-100 Senior -- Yamaha KT-100 15+ years old Jarrod started racing in 1999 in the Arrive and Drive program in Hamilton. He then purchased his own equipment and started racing at the Innisfil Kart club. He finished 5th two years in a row at the end of the season. He moved to Mosport this year and took home his first championship. According to Jarrod the Mosport facility is the best in Ontario; the track configurations are exciting, fast and challenging. He would like to thank his sponsors who played a large part in his success this year, they are BFI Canada, Distinctive Packaging Ltd, Riedmann Motorsports and Precidio Inc.

2003 Champion -- Allison MacLeod #50
80cc Junior -- Shifter 80cc 12-15 years old Allison has numerous championships and experience to her credit and is among the best racers in the province. She has raced in Honda four cycle and now in shifterkarts and has shown that there is little that she cannot handle. This is the second consecutive 80cc championship for Allison and this year she will add high points for a junior and most poles to her list of achievements. Allison has been racing for 7 years and aspires to climb the ladder of professional motorsports. With help from Skyrider Equipment we look forward to watching her success.

2003 Champion -- Ian Hogg #2
125cc Senior -- Shifter 125cc 15+ years old Ian Hogg, in his second year of shifter kart racing has won the Mosport 125/ICC championship on his Tony Kart. Ian is currently attending Brock University and taking Sports Management and will be finishing up his degree this December. Ian has been involved in all forms of sports throughout his athletic career, but racing has deemed one of the most challenging and rewarding of them. Along with looking forward to the next season of racing, Ian is also perusing a career to become a Peel Regional Police officer. It's a long and strenuous process, but just like his hard work and determination paid off in karting this year, he hopes that soon he will get the opportunity to work for the Peel Police.

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