Transitioning to a new racing series has been challenging to say the least for 13-year-old Nathan Blok, but it’s a challenge that both he and his parents have been embracing as a good learning opportunity.

During the summer, Blok competed in three races as part of the Coupe de Montreal’s Rotax class at both the Monte St. Hilaire and St-Roch-de-L’Achigan tracks.

In early June at St. Roch, race two of the season saw him qualify eleventh of 17 and while he gained to positions in the pre-final, a hit from behind left him in thirteenth and too far back to catch the leaders.

Hit from behind several times in the final, Blok spun off the track coming out of a corner and, unable to restart the kart, he received his first DNF (did not finish).

Later that month at Monte St. Hilaire he qualified again in eleventh, .85 seconds off the pole, and once more gained two positions on the start, but an accident involving a competitor resulted in the red flag for the race, with a shortened version restarted once the ambulance had left the track.

This time, Blok started 10th, jostling for position over several laps, and finishing in ninth when the chequered flag fell, with his fastest lap being .81 seconds off the leader’s quickest time.

During the final, it was a scary moment for Blok as a kart that went off the track, came back on collecting him in the process.

The competitors’ left front tire hit Blok’s rear bumper, exhaust pipe and radiator. As the other go-kart cart-wheeled Nathan was soaked with hot water from the broken radiator, hit on the shoulder and head with the front tire and stopped when the other kart crashed down on Blok’s front bumper. The other karter was ejected when his kart did a final flip.

Thankfully, Blok was uninjured, but his race day had ended, and a post-race review of the kart also indicated that an enginer re-build was overdue which might have had an effect on some of his times.

In early July, race three at St. Roch showed improvement as Blok qualified in fifth out of 16, just .394 seconds off the pole.

He was able to retain is position by the end of the pre-final, only .52 seconds off the winner’s fastest lap.

In the final, some early race jostling saw him fighting to remain at the front, culminating in a fantastic pass on lap 6 that put him in fourth position.

Some handling issues saw him drop back a bit on lap 7which was later discovered to be caused by sheered off bolts that hold the floor pan. As a result of pushing hard and driving on the rumble strips, every corner saw the throttle foot drop as the floor pan scraped on the pavement making for difficult handling.

Despite the difficulties, Blok held on but was passed by several drafting karts and in the end he finished ninth, having regained one spot thanks to another spinning off.

The good news was that Blok’s fastest lap was only .29 seconds off the winner’s.

Blok has spent the remainder of the summer practicing while attending a few races in Toronto and working on the setup of his new kart, a Mach 1 which arrived in mid-July.

“He is very excited. This is the first time he has had a new kart to race with as his last two were five years old and his first was nearly 20 years old,” said Blok’s father Steve who outfits his son mechanically.

“The vast majority of Nathan’s competitors do not race a kart that is over two years old and in fact, some of the top competitors go through two new karts per season,” Mr. Blok said.

At the end of July, Blok was invited to Pembroke’s Miramichi Lodge for a karting demonstration before approximately 50 residents, staff and family members, after which he was invited to return in 2008.

He also returned to Renfrew’s Bonnechere Manor for a similar demonstration, his fourth year at this event.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Steve Blok (613) 582-3877