Downing on kart racing's fast track

Darren Zary, The StarPhoenix

MARTENSVILLE -- When the Downing family rolls into the race track parking lot in a tiny and rustic red trailer, the Saskatoon kart racers look as intimidating as Little Red Riding Hood.

Look under the hood, however, and you'll see Logan Downing definitely has what it takes.

The lesson? Don't judge a racing kart by its cover.

Downing entered the fifth annual Toyota Saskatoon Kart Grand Prix during the weekend as the top racer on the Rotax Max Junior class circuit, a Western Canadian series.

His low-budget outfit is reaping success.

"They spend their money on the trailers and stuff," Logan says of other racers. "All our money is spent on race parts. That's all that matters." His dad, Stuart, in his 10th season in the sport, echoes those sentiments. "We don't tend to spend a lot of money on things that don't make the kart go fast.

"Our trailer and hauler gets our stuff to the track just the same as anybody else's.

"I remember when we went to our first big race. We went around all these $100,000 haulers (in the parking lot). We rolled in with a little $100 trailer. We're going, 'Holy, man, what are we doing here?' We went on the track and we knew why we were there." For Logan, this is his first year of Rotax Max junior racing. Last year, he competed in the Honda Jr. II category.

"I came in second overall in the point standings, just by 20 points. At mid-season, we had some bad luck and our engine just about failed us on the last race day. That sucked." Logan, 14, has been racing since he was 10 -- "so everybody got more of a start on me, but I caught up." "I just like the speed and how much finesse there is. If you're off, like a foot off the line, you'll lose two-tenths of a second." The keys to success, he says, are "focus and never quitting." "I'd like to get serious, but you need lots of money to move up in karting." The Saskatoon Grand Prix was the second of three events used to crown the Western Canadian champion in the Rotax class. The final meet is July 27-30 in Calgary.

The winner of the series gets to compete in the Rotax world championships at Dubai in November. The series has three classes: Rotax Max Senior (16 years and older), Rotax Max Junior (12-16 years) and Rotax DD2 (16-plus years).

Logan Downing is one lap closer to realizing every karter's dream.

"He's doing exceptionally well," said Stuart Downing. "I'm really proud of how he's doing. Coming from the Honda (junior II class), a little lower powered kart, and being thrown into these high-powered karts, he's really adapted well and it's really nice to see and the (Saskatoon Racing Club) is really behind him, too. They're just cheering them on.

"In a way, I'm a little surprised, but he just adapts to these karts. We were down in Regina with a different kart and he just adapted to them all. He picks up a track real quick.

"He's willing to change, with different driving lines and the way he approaches the corners. That really makes him get to the next level." Stuart is in his second season as a racer in the Rotax Max Senior class. He and Logan talk shop a lot.